Leader McCarthy's Statement on the PACT Act

Statement

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA-23) issued the following statement on the PACT Act:

"When the House voted on the PACT Act in March, I had concerns over the ability of the VA to implement the act without adversely impacting the care that veterans are currently receiving. The Senate made improvements to the bill that would allow the VA system to integrate these newly-enrolled veterans seeking care more seamlessly. Unfortunately, the Senate also inserted a budget gimmick that would make hundreds of billions of dollars of existing spending mandatory, an accounting shell game that would allow Pelosi, Biden, and Schumer to pursue more inflationary spending on unrelated programs without budget constraints.

"Our veterans deserve reliable, quality health care, not more inflationary spending that every American, including veterans, cannot afford. Ranking Member Bost offered a commonsense amendment, the Honoring our PACT Act, which would still have ensured veterans exposed to toxic chemicals would receive health care services and benefits they need and earned in their service to our country, while eliminating the budget gimmick that could allow for more reckless spending in the future on unrelated programs. Had this amendment passed or had the Democrats taken out this unnecessary budget gimmick, I would have proudly voted for the legislation.

"With 9.1 percent inflation, House Democrats should have joined House Republicans to support our veterans by passing a clean PACT Act. Instead, they used our veterans as convenient cover for more reckless spending."

Source