Congressman Vicente Gonzalez Votes Against Taking Benefits Away from South Texas Veterans

Contact: Alexis Torres

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34) stood with South Texas veterans and rejected House Republicans’ legislative package, H.R. 9237, the so-called “Take Care of America’s Veterans Act,” which would significantly reduce disability benefits for 1.5 million future veterans, raise health care and homeownership costs for veterans, create a slush fund to enrich the President’s allies, and more.

“When a veteran returns from service, our government has a responsibility to provide them with the resources and support they’ve rightfully earned,” said Congressman Gonzalez. “Instead, extreme Republicans in Washington weaponized meaningful legislation, like the bipartisan Major Richard Star Act, to provide themselves political cover as they egregiously loaded up a nearly 600-page package with harmful provisions to implement the largest cut to veterans’ benefits in history and raise costs for military families. South Texas is home to more than 50,000 veterans, and nearly half live with service-connected disabilities. Voting for this package in its current form would have meant turning my back on those who proudly served.”

Congressional Republicans falsely claim that the Major Richard Star Act—a bill to restore veterans’ military retirement and disability compensation to disabled veterans—can only be advanced through this larger package. By doing so, the VA benefits that are being cut by H.R. 9237 would be used to pay for costs that the Department of Defense (DOD) should be responsible for, not the VA. These expenses could easily be funded through the annual Defense spending bill. Notably, there is strong bipartisan support for a House discharge petition to force a standalone vote on the Major Richard Star Act, thereby avoiding the diversion of funds from other veteran benefits and services. Congressman Gonzalez and 214 Members have joined the discharge petition, and it only needs three more Members to reach the required 218 signatures. 

After being introduced on June 10, 2026, Speaker Mike Johnson and Republican leadership forced H.R. 9237 through the House of Representatives without any input from veteran service organizations (VSOs). Specifically, this legislation would:

• Cut more than $57 billion in disability benefits for 1.5 million future veterans with tinnitus and sleep apnea, many of whom require treatments like hearing aids and CPAP devices to live a healthy life;
• Increase VA home loan refinancing fees by $4 billion, nearly tripling fees from 0.5% to 1.42%. For a South Texas veteran refinancing a $250,000 mortgage, the fee would rise from about $1,250 to $3,550; 
• Include a $500 million IT slush fund that the Administration will use to enrich contractors and reward the well-connected;
• Establish a dangerous precedent by statutorily reducing VA disability ratings, undermining a thorough medical process that evaluates impairment of earning capacity, public comment, and clinical evidence;
• Accelerate the privatization of veterans’ health care, creating new grant programs for private providers and diverting resources from VA mental health and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) programs. This could increase reliance on community-based by diverting resources from existing VA medical programs.
• Direct GI bill funding toward low-quality, for-profit and unaccredited online programs. This would weaken educational benefits for veterans as they make the transition to civilian life. It also strips VA psychologists of collective bargaining rights, weakening mental health services at the VA at a time when these services are more important than ever.