Democrats cry foul after Republicans fast-track partisan veterans bill: 'Dirty tricks'

This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. End of dialog window. House Democrats are crying foul on Wednesday after Republicans used a fast-track tactic to pass partisan legislation designed to increase pay for disabled and injured veterans. Democrats opposed the GOP’s Take Care of America’s Veterans Act (TCAVA), saying it would expand some veterans’ benefits by slashing others. In her daily whip notice, Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) urged House Democrats to vote no. Yet when Rep. Addison McDowell (R-N. C.), the Republican lawmaker presiding over the House chamber on Wednesday afternoon, brought the bill up for consideration, no one on the Democratic side demanded a recorded vote — a curious silence given that Democrats were whipping against the bill. That allowed McDowell to declare the bill passed instantly, by voice vote. Furious Democrats accused Republicans of playing “dirty pool.” They said Republicans pulled Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, away from the podium, where he was leading the Democratic side of the debate, in order to discuss changes to the bill. It was during that parlay — while Takano was away from his microphone — that McDowell fast-tracked the proposal, they said. “After publicly announcing a recorded vote on the TCAVA legislation, House Republicans asked if RM Takano and Democrats would agree to last minute engrossment corrections,” a Democratic leadership aide said. “While members and staff were evaluating these changes away from the podium, House Republicans called the vote up and passed it by voice within seconds — depriving Democrats of the ability to even evaluate the proposed changes and ask for a recorded vote so Members could vote against the biggest cut to veterans benefits in US history. “On Veterans Day of all days, using dirty tricks to steal from Veterans is a disgrace.” The TCAVA package revises the Veterans Affairs (VA) disability ratings for sleep apnea and tinnitus, expands eligibility for a memorial headstone or marker for the spouse, establishes a standardized screening process for routing admission to some mental health care programs and addresses VA personnel, hiring, and infrastructure matters. Republicans quickly applauded the bill’s passage. “This historic package of veterans legislation delivers long overdue reforms to strengthen veterans’ healthcare, expand benefits, and cut through VA bureaucracy,” House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chair Mike Bost (R-Ill.), who sponsored the bill, wrote on X. “Our veterans kept their promise to America, and this Veterans Day, we’re delivering for them,” Bost added. The massive package of bills, which has divided veterans groups, was stalled in the House for months. In July, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) pulled the bill from the House floor after GOP leadership realized the massive measure did not have enough Republican support to advance. Veterans groups supportive of the package celebrated. “This Veterans Day, Congress did more than thank our veterans for their service and sacrifice. They took meaningful action to honor the promises we made to them,” Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) Executive Director John Vick said in a statement. “This is the kind of leadership our veterans have waited far too long to see from Washington, and we thank the lawmakers who worked hard to make it happen.” Democrats are pushing an alternative bill, sponsored by Takano, that also increases benefits for disabled veterans. That bill, dubbed the Major Richard Star Act, advanced on the floor Wednesday. It was brought up after Democrats had successfully garnered 218 signatures on a discharge petition to force a vote on the bill. It is scheduled for a final vote on Thursday. The measure, named after a U. S. Army combat engineer who was diagnosed with cancer due to toxic burn pit exposure, would give around 54,000 combat-injured, medically retired service members retirement pay and Veterans Affairs (VA) disability concurrently. “It is far past time for us to end the wounded warrior tax and to give our combat wounded veterans the compensation they have earned,” Takano said on the House floor. The bill, which was originally introduced in 2023, has been supported by a variety of veterans groups, but its potential passage has been blocked by Republican senators in 2025 and earlier this year over cost concerns. The Major Richard Star Act received a boost earlier this year after being endorsed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.