Deluzio joins opposition to bill he says would cut veterans' benefits
The debate over caring for those who serve our country has reached a peak in Washington, D.C., with leaders from the Pittsburgh area playing a major role.
As a disabled veteran from Allegheny County, Craig Romanovich is concerned he soon won't be able to get the proper care or benefits for the severe tinnitus, the constant ringing in his ears, he suffers from after serving in the Army.
"I signed a contract with this nation, and that contract said I will protect you, and when I'm done, you're going to take care of me," Romanovich said. "It deprives me in my sleep, it causes anxiety, it causes depression, it causes issues in my family. These are the hard truths of something I live with every single day."
Romanovich, who is also the executive director of the Union Veterans Council for the AFL-CIO said he would have to fight for those secondary conditions on their own merits if the Take Care of America's Veterans Act or a similar proposal were to pass Congress. Under it, Republican supporters said veterans would see an expansion of benefits. However, they would also lose benefits for two of the most common disabilities: tinnitus and sleep apnea.
Local Pennsylvania Democratic Congressman Chris Deluzio, a veteran himself, spoke out against the bill with colleagues and union reps in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, shortly before a vote on Friday was pulled.
"This bill, it betrays that sacred obligation our country has to veterans," Deluzio said.
Nonetheless, they fear the battle is not over.
"This is not strengthening the VA. This is hollowing the VA out," American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley said.
Ultimately, they said this bill would reduce and strip benefits for more than 150 million vets, and slash $57 billion in future disability payments in the next decade. They also said it would make significant cuts to the VA home loan benefit, remove workplace protections, make it easier to reduce staffing levels that are already low, and take a greater step in privatizing VA medical care.
"When funding leaves the VA in this way, nurses leave, services shrink, wait times grow, and our veterans lose access to the specialized care that they can only get in VA hospitals in this country," National Federation of Federal Employees National President Randy Erwin said.
Most importantly, they said it would pit veterans against veterans, paying for services they want to introduce and expand upon with the funds of those they cut.
Instead, they're pushing for five more Republicans to sign onto the Major Richard Star Act for a vote of the full House, a bipartisan bill with more than 300 co-sponsors, that they said would positively improve care for those who serve.
"The grateful nation pays its debts. It does not send the veterans that bill," Romanovich said.
KDKA reached out to our Republican Congressmen Mike Kelly and Guy Reschenthaler for comment but has not heard back at this time.
