Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA) issued the following statement of disapproval after House passage of H.R. 4366, the FY2024 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act:
“I am deeply disheartened by the harmful and poisonous provisions authored by House Republicans added to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs funding bill,” said Congresswoman Brownley. “Not only does this bill fail to honor our commitment to America’s veterans, but this bill also drastically undermines our national security by cutting military construction by over $1.5 billion and withholding additional funding for military installation climate change and resilience projects.
“To add further insult to injury, extreme MAGA Republicans have once again hijacked the appropriations process to perpetuate their anti-choice and anti-LGBTQ agenda. This bill would prohibit VA from implementing its rule on access to abortion care, preventing women who have served in uniform from accessing lifesaving, reproductive health care. House Republicans’ continued assault on reproductive health care rights is an egregious affront to our democracy and further erodes the hard-earned freedoms that our servicemembers and our veterans have fought for.
“I voted no on this bill because I cannot, in good faith, support legislation that obstructs military readiness and strips women veterans of their rights and their bodily autonomy. It is with great disappointment and frustration that I am, once again, calling on my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to stop using our servicemembers and veterans as pawns in an ideological debate.
“It is my hope that the Senate rejects this harmful bill, and I will remain committed to working to ensure that the final FY2024 MilCon-VA Appropriations bill includes provisions that actually invest in our servicemembers, our veterans, and our nation’s defense.”
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Issues: 118th Congress, Defense, Veterans' Affairs