On Veterans Day, Republicans blindsided Democrats by quietly passing a bill via voice vote to cut money from the VA.

House Republicans advanced a legislative package on Veterans Day that included the Major Richard Star Act, allowing combat-injured and medically retired veterans to receive both full military retirement pay and VA disability compensation without traditional offsets.newsweek.comnewsweek.comVeterans Day 3 New Bills Aim to Change Va ServicesIt allows combat-injured, medically retired veterans with fewer than 20 years of service to receive concurrent receipt of full military retirement pay and VA disability compensation The measure moved through the chamber via a voice vote rather than a recorded roll-call vote while the chamber was busy and noisy, catching congressional Democrats off guard.washingtonpost.comwashingtonpost.comVeterans Benefits HouseThe vote was conducted via a voice vote rather than a recorded roll-call vote, allowing it to pass quickly amid a noisy and packed chamber The Defense: House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and other Republican supporters defended the...+1 more

Major veterans service organizations and Democratic lawmakers strongly condemned the procedure and the underlying structure of the legislation, arguing that the bill funded new benefits by reducing or cutting earned benefits for other groups of veterans.vfw.orgvfw.orgVfw Condemns Cowardly and Dishonorable House Passage of Benefit Cuts on Veterans...The "Pay-For" Debate: Major veterans service organizations (such as the VFW, DAV) and congressional Democrats heavily opposed the structure of the bill, arguing that Congress shouldn't fund benefits for one group of veterans by cutting or... While supporters defended the parliamentary procedure used during the packed session, the move sparked immediate backlash from advocacy groups over how the package was financed.+1 more