Rep. Roy issues statement on H.R. 8371

WASHINGTON, DC - Representative Chip Roy (TX-21) issued the following statement:

"I voted against H.R. 8371 because I believe that Congress should do better and that our veterans deserve more than what was put on the floor today.

This was a de facto omnibus bill cobbled together from several individual bills which should have been considered on their own merits as single-subject legislation. Instead, these were all packed together, thrown on the House floor, and rushed through under suspension of the rules without a chance for non-committee members to do our job and debate and amend the legislation. Despite this lack of adequate debate and amendment, the bill addresses serious questions such as further entrenching gay marriage into federal law. Finally, this legislation will be paid for by hiking up fees on veteran home buyers instead of addressing the swamp's bloated bureaucracy and rampant spending addiction.

While this bill does contain some good provisions to support veterans (like streamlining veterans' access to community care), the way it was brought up, passed, and paid for is not how this body should be doing business and is a disservice to all the brave men and women who served and sacrificed.

Congress' job is to represent, and how we do things here matters. Our veterans deserve more than the swamp's business-as-usual approach."