NYT: Despite Promises, Veterans Affairs Department Cut Thousands of Roles for Doctors and Nurses – READ HERE
***WATCH: Senator Murray’s opening remarks at the hearing***
Washington, D.C. — Today, at a joint Senate and House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs hearing for the legislative presentation of The American Legion and VSOs, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA)—a former chair and senior member of the Senate committee—spoke forcefully to her Republican colleagues on the true cost of Trump’s war of choice with Iran. Senator Murray reiterated her call to end the war with Iran and slammed Trump for sending our servicemembers to war while failing to keep his promise to care for them when they return home, as he cuts thousands of unfilled roles for nurses and doctors at VA.
In opening comments, Senator Murray said:
“Thank you to all of you who are here today and everyone in this country who has served our nation. We all owe you, and we all say this, a debt of gratitude for your service, but it is more than that. We owe you to keep the promise that when you come home, we will be there for you in any way, both to the current veterans and to the ones who we will see in the future.
“I think it’s really important today Mr. Chairman, and this has kind of been glossed over, this point of time we are in, where we have a President who is taking us to war in Iran. Who seems to have no problem sending other kids off to a war, but seems to have a problem in picking up the tab, when it comes right by doing our servicemembers when they come home. With a VA right now, that has waiting lines that veterans can’t get served, that we see doctors and nurses who are not being hired, and no thought has been given to that.
“What we hear from Trump, is that he is saying this bombing campaign in Iran could go on ‘indefinitely.’ He’s saying that the death of our servicemembers in a war of choice is, quote and he said this— ‘just the way it is.’ He’s saying he won’t rule out putting American boots on the ground in Iran.
“I think it is a very serious time for our country. I have served on this committee for more than thirty years, I know the consequences of war as each and every one of you does in front of me. And to go to war without preparing for the future and making sure that we are there for the men and women who serve us—and we thank them for that—but when they come home as well. And Mr. Chairman, we are not ready for that today, this has to be a consequence that we consider.
“For numerous reasons, I’m going to be using my voice today to vote no on the war in Iran. But it is the responsibility of this committee and every Member of Congress to think about all the consequences of war and take that into account and hold this administration accountable and make that clear when we make our choices moving forward. I thought it was really important to say that today with all of you who have served our country and know what those sacrifices mean.”
Senator Murray was the first woman to join the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee and the first woman to chair the Committee—as the daughter of a World War II veteran, supporting veterans and their families has always been an important priority for her. Senator Murray has been outspoken in standing up for veterans, VA employees, and VA researchers against Trump and Elon Musk’s indiscriminate mass layoffs last year—forcefully denouncing the administration’s plans, pressing administration witnesses at every opportunity, and holding multiple press conferences with VA employees and veterans in Washington state who were abruptly laid off for no reason. Last year, Senator Murray forcefully denounced the Trump administration’s initial plan to fire 80,000 employees at VA. Toward the end of last year, Senator Murray released a videoslamming the Trump administration’s new plan not to fill thousands of open positions at VA, and demanding answers.
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