WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Representative Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), an Air Force veteran and member of the House Armed Services Committee, voted against the FY25 Military Construction (MilCon), Veterans Affairs (VA) and Related Agencies appropriations legislation, known as MilCon-VA, after hyper-partisan provisions were added to the bill. The bill passed along largely partisan lines, 209 to 197, with 25 members not voting.

“As a third-generation veteran, I am enormously honored to serve in Congress on behalf of our past, current, and future men and women in uniform. There is never an appropriate time for partisan politics, but especially when it comes to our military community,” said Houlahan. “Disappointingly, House Republicans brought forward a bill completely void of the spirit of bipartisanship, and I had no choice but to vote against it. When this MilCon-VA funding bill inevitably ends up in the Senate graveyard of partisan legislation, I look forward to working on a commonsense bill to fund necessary national security priorities and take care of our nation’s veterans, including the more than 30,000 who call PA-06 home.”

The House-passed FY25 MilCon-VA bill included harmful provisions that will prohibit the VA from offering reproductive health care counseling such as abortion options, eliminate funding to help bases adapt to a worsening climate crisis, derail progress on veteran suicide by making it harder to remove firearms from those who may be a harm to themselves, and more.

Houlahan added: “For too long, both parties have adopted a divisive tactic of passing partisan bills through the House, knowing cooler heads will prevail and ultimately a bipartisan compromise will be signed into law. I reject this divisive approach and urge all of my colleagues, including House Republicans, to bring bipartisan funding bills to the floor moving forward.”

Echoing Houlahan’s disappointment, New Democrat Coalition (NDC) Chair Annie Kuster (NH-02) and NDC National Security Task Force Chair Marilyn Strickland (WA-10) also rejected the legislation:

“Rather than move away from the hyper-partisan and extremist approach that severely delayed the 2024 appropriations process, House Republicans are doubling down, attempting to advance harmful, poison-pill filled legislation that President Biden has already vowed to veto.

“This bill has no chance of actually becoming law, and it fails to adequately support our Veterans and servicemembers. House Republicans added extremist policy riders that attack Americans’ access to reproductive healthcare, threaten the LGBTQI+ community, and harm historically marginalized communities, while leaving our country’s Veterans without the benefits and resources they deserve. 

“New Dems are committed to passing commonsense, bipartisan government funding bills on time. We call on our Republican colleagues to abandon extremism and work across the aisle to get it done – our servicemembers and Veterans deserve it.”

The New Democrat Coalition is comprised of 100 center-left House Democrats committed to breaking through gridlock to deliver results for Americans.

Houlahan is an Air Force veteran, an engineer, a serial entrepreneur, an educator, and a nonprofit leader. She represents Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional District, which encompasses Chester County and southern Berks County. She serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. She is the recipient of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Abraham Lincoln Leadership for America Award which “recognizes members who demonstrate the bipartisan leadership and constructive governing necessary to move our country forward” and the Congressional Management Foundation’s 2022 Democracy Award for best Constituent Services in Congress.

###