Press Releases

Washington, DC—April 28, 2022...Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3) today led the introduction of the Veterans First Act of 2022 to stop the White House from diverting resources for our veterans to manage their self-inflicted southern border crisis. The legislation specifically prohibits the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from prioritizing the needs of illegal immigrants over our nation’s heroes as the Biden Administration expects a surge at the southern border following their efforts to rescind the Trump-era immigration policy Title 42. The measure is the House companion to Senator Boozman’s bill. 

Congressman Womack said, “First, the Biden Administration floated compensating illegal immigrants with hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars. Now, they’re considering taking resources from our veterans to deal with a border surge of their own making. It’s insanity. Our heroes shouldn’t carry the burden of President Biden’s failings. We won’t stand for having the care of those who have proudly worn America’s uniform redirected to deal with the consequences of the White House’s disastrous immigration policies.”

Just yesterday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas confirmed conversations between agency staff to divert Veterans Affairs (VA) resources, doctors, and nurses to help care for illegal immigrants have happened. This follows previous reports of the Biden Administration considering what interagency resources could be deployed to deal with surges should Title 42 policies be lifted. The Democrat majority has failed to secure the border, leading to the largest wave of illegal border crossings in our country’s history, including over 1.5 million border encounters in just the past six months.

The Veterans First Act of 2022 is supported by 30 original cosponsors, including Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1), David McKinley (WV-1), Dan Newhouse (WA-4), Jody Hice (GA-10), John Rutherford (FL-4), Ken Calvert (CA-42), Brian Mast (FL-18), Ashley Hinson (IA-1), Bill Posey (FL-8), Richard Hudson (NC-8), Julia Letlow (LA-5), Hal Rogers (KY-5), Bill Johnson (OH-6), Darrell Issa (CA-50), Clay Higgins (LA-3), Chuck Fleischmann (TN-3), Adrian Smith (NE-3), Ted Budd (NC-13), Austin Scott (GA-8), Daniel Webster (FL-11), Claudia Tenney (NY-22), Mike Johnson (LA-4), French Hill (AR-2), Mary Miller (IL-15), Kat Cammack (FL-3), Dan Meuser (PA-9), Gus Bilirakis (FL-12), Matthew Rosendale (MT-AL), Greg Murphy (NC-3), and Ralph Norman (SC-5).

Womack has been a steadfast advocate of border security and committed to legislatively enacting strong reforms to fully revamp our immigration policies. He has seen the escalation of the southern border crisis caused by President Biden's policies firsthand, voted to authorize and fund border wall construction, called for reinstating the “Remain in Mexico” policy, expressed the need for elimination of “Catch and Release” measures, and previously supported comprehensive proposals that would have delivered a working, lawful, and effective immigration system.

Text of the bill can be found here.

Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3) has represented Arkansas’s Third Congressional District since 2011. He is a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

womack.house.gov

###