Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) recently slammed President Joe Biden for prioritizing individuals who are illegally crossing into the United States over U.S. military veterans by providing healthcare services to illegal immigrants.
The Republican senator argued that the Biden administration has created longer wait times for veterans to receive medical care by using Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities to provide care for illegal immigrants.
During a recent interview with Fox News, Tuberville highlighted the “No VA Resources for Illegal Aliens Act,” which the Alabama senator recently introduced with Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.). The Republican legislation would prevent the federal government from using VA facilities or medical providers to treat illegal immigrants.
“[Biden’s] decided, OK, we’ve got to feed all these 10 million people we’ve let come across the border, we’ve got to house them, and we’ve got to give them health care,” Tuberville told Fox News. “They’ve opened up care from the doctors in these [VA] community care systems. The lines now in the VAs are getting longer. Our funds that are supposed to go to the veterans are going to these illegal immigrants that are coming across.”
READ MORE: Video: ESPN host slams Democrats for prioritizing illegal immigrants over poor Americans
Introducing the legislation in December, Bost, the chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, criticized Biden’s border policies for creating a “humanitarian and national security crisis.” Bost claimed that the Biden administration appeared to be “taking resources away” from U.S. military veterans in order to provide healthcare for the illegal immigrants pouring across the southern border.
“As a Marine, I believe any dollar taken away from a veteran is a promise broken to those who served. I’ve demanded answers from the Biden administration and been stonewalled every step of the way,” he said. “Until I get the response our veterans deserve, I’ll use every available tool of my chairmanship to end this practice and put our veterans first.”
During his interview with Fox News, Tuberville said he hopes the No VA Resources for Illegal Aliens Act will receive bipartisan support in a critical election year. While he acknowledged that the legislation might not come to a vote this year, he suggested that Congress has a “great opportunity” to at least discuss the legislation and provide more information to the American public.
“An election year is a great year to try to get some kind of bipartisan help on any type of bill, especially when it comes to the veterans,” the senator said. “That means so much to us here in our country.”
