A top Republican on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs put U.S. military veterans on notice that their benefits and care may not be safe as President Donald Trump continues to steamroll massive funding cuts throughout the federal government.
The acknowledgment came Monday as Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC) refused to rule out on CNN’s “News Central” if Trump and his new Department of Government Efficiency could come after funding for veterans. Murphy was asked point-blank if some of the “pain” he said comes with restructuring a federal agency would affect veterans.
“Can you guarantee that veterans benefits and care will not be affected by these cuts?” CNN host Brianna Keilar asked.
“No, I can't guarantee anything,” Murphy responded. “But the whole purpose, again, of restructuring is to make sure that that agency is efficient.”
The North Carolina Republican, who sits on the veterans affairs committee, then attempted to make clear his position on veterans issues before launching into a critical attack of the government department whose job it is to administer benefit programs for military veterans, their families and survivors.
“Look, I care for our veterans,” Murphy said. “One out of 10 constituents of mine are veterans. “It’s a real issue in eastern North Carolina.”
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“But the real issue is also when somebody can't get benefits, and they're put off their doctor's appointments for 8 or 10 months when they can't get care,” he added. “That is where an agency has failed. We’re trying to get an agency that actually works for the people, that is supposed to be taken care of.”
The comments came as Murphy told viewers that he recognizes the public is “of course, up in arms because they don't want their issue or their particular agency, you know, dealt with.”
“But this is a national emergency to try to get our finances under control,” he said, adding that “the V.A. was mismanaged.”
The CNN host pointed out that veterans are already seeing hits to their care. Keilar told Murphy that support staff “crucial to the veterans crisis line” have been affected by the hiring freeze, in addition to personnel cuts to employees processing disability evaluations, which she added is leading to issues with understaffing.
Murphy's home state of North Carolina is home to the sprawling Marine Corps Base Camp Lejune.
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