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Floor Speech
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Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, the chairman and I share a bipartisan commitment to putting our veterans first, including providing them with the kind of memorial and cemetery recognition that they have well earned. There is no difference between us on that point.
And I think we also share a belief that Members of the U.S. Senate have a duty--it is a constitutional duty--to hold accountable the executive branch and demand information from the executive branch to perform our obligations of oversight and scrutiny.
I think we also share a respect for Sam Brown's service to our Nation. As a veteran--as a decorated veteran--who has earned appreciation for his service, the kinds of qualifications he brings to this office are impressive. But this nominee was advanced out of committee by a 10-to-9 vote. So it is clear he does not have unanimous support.
He said, when he was asked about whether he would support the Trump administration's plan to fire nearly one-fifth of the VA's workforce, including many who are veterans themselves--in fact, one-third of the VA's workforce are veterans:
We owe it to the Secretary in good faith to hear his full plan, which none of us have heard yet.
That is really the point. This issue is bigger than Sam Brown. It is about information that has been denied to our committee and to us as Senators.
The Secretary of the VA is actively working to undermine our bipartisan oversight efforts. Cuts have been made to contracts that delivered critical support and services to veterans. Despite multiple bipartisan requests, the Secretary refuses to share the list of canceled contracts. Thousands of VA employees have been bullied, driven off their jobs, or fired by Elon Musk and Secretary Collins. And there are plans to fire 83,000 employees, and we haven't seen those plans. All the Secretary has told us is that it is his goal and he will accomplish that goal. He denied us that basic information.
So I have said I am opposing this nomination until we are given the information and disclosure we need to do our jobs. The Secretary has issued a pause on rulemaking that effectively halts efforts underway to provide veterans, including K2 veterans suffering from radiation exposure, the benefits they desperately need, or PFAS victims or other victims of toxic exposure. And he has refused to indicate when this so- called pause will be lifted or whether it is permanent.
Again, we have a job to do, and we have a right to demand--in fact, the Constitution requires that we make that demand--the VA must be transparent and accountable. Instead, the Secretary has come before our committee. He dissembled, he obfuscated, he has attacked anyone who questions him, and he denies us the basic information--denies the American people the information--that he owes us.
My request is simple. If the President or my Republican colleagues believe that a certain nominee is a priority, come clean with the American people. Give us the information we need. What contracts have been canceled? Who is impacted by that action? What research has been stopped? Who has been fired, and who will be fired? What is the plan? Address the unprecedented levels of obstructionism from this administration and give the American people, including our Nation's veterans, the full and public debate they deserve.
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Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I respect the points that my colleague from Kansas has just made as chairman. We have worked together in a bipartisan way. I hope we will continue to work together to make sure that the National Cemetery Administration is given the resources it needs and the personnel that are required to make sure this Nation honors our veterans.
As we speak, members of that workforce, the National Cemetery Administration, have been fired or are being fired or will be fired. Resources may be strangled. We deserve to know--we need to know--to honor our veterans. That is the information we are demanding from this Secretary of the VA.
I respect the assurances that Sam Brown will do his job. But when he was asked specifically at his hearing whether, if directed by the President to take action that would break the law, he responded that he could not ``imagine a scenario where the President would ask me to do anything unlawful.'' We know the President has asked members of this administration to do unlawful actions.
But the main point is bigger than Sam Brown. What are the resources that are being withheld in both workforce and dollars to expand our cemeteries as is required to make sure we provide places that honor our veterans? This basic information is an absolute prerequisite for us to do our job and assure that veterans are really honored on this Memorial Day and every day of the year.
We owe our veterans that honor--honor with action--every day, not just Memorial Day. Americans who lay wreaths this Memorial Day are entitled to know what dollars, what commitments, what plans there are for our national cemeteries. We need and deserve that disclosure.
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