Posted on 04/17/2025 7:39:46 AM PDT by Red Badger
In a stunning display of conservatives’ determination, two Republican senators have introduced a piece of legislation that will redirect taxpayer funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to rebuilding and repairing state veterans’ homes, hot on the heels of the discovery that a significant portion of USAID’s funding was being used to advance a woke agenda on a global scale.
For context, on April 10, 2025, Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the Veterans First Act of 2025, a piece of legislation that hits particularly close to home for Sen. Tuberville, who is Alabama’s representative on the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Sens. Tuberville and Lee proposed the act following a February 3 White House press release detailing the extent of waste and abuse at USAID.
In a statement released by Sen. Tuberville, the conservative policymaker explained the rationale behind the bill, describing USAID as an artifact of the Biden Administration and a long-running source of wasteful federal spending. Tuberville explained, “Let’s be honest, USAID was largely being used as a Democrat slush fund under Joe Biden.”
Continuing his statement, Sen. Tuberville pointed out that taxpayers’ money could be better spent on meeting the needs of America’s veterans rather than on leftist causes. Tuberville said, “We don’t need to waste billions of taxpayer dollars on research in Wuhan or transgender operas in Colombia when our own veterans are living in horrible conditions. There are more than 160 state veteran homes across the country that provide long-term care to eligible military veterans.”
Tuberville went on to explain the urgent need for funds to be reallocated to provide better housing for veterans. Providing context for where the money would go, he said, “This critical legislation would provide sufficient federal funding to cover all outstanding Priority 1 VA State Home Construction projects that already have the state-matching funds. Our veteran heroes were willing to lay down their lives for our freedom. The least we can do is make sure they have a decent place to call home.”
In addition, Tuberville clarified in his press release that he had significant help from Rep. Dave Taylor (R-OH), who brought the Veterans First Act before the House of Representatives. Chiming in to emphasize the need for the act to be implemented, Rep. Taylor said, “Under the Biden-Harris Administration, taxpayer dollars were wastefully sent overseas to fund DEI initiatives while the pressing needs of veterans here at home were ignored.”
Continuing, Rep. Taylor praised President Trump for opening the door to better use of taxpayer dollars. Rep. Taylor said, “Under President Trump, Republicans are getting our Nation’s priorities straight, and our Heroes are at the top of the list. I am proud to lead this bill to ensure State Veterans Homes across our country are equipped with the funding to meet our veterans’ needs.”
Adding more gravitas to the statement issued on the Veterans First Act, Sen. Mike Lee shed even more light on how the act will reallocate funds, specifying that $2 billion will be directed towards veterans’ needs. Sen. Lee explained, “Our bill takes 2 billion dollars that was going to be thrown into the USAID money pit and distributed to radical progressive causes across the globe, and instead puts it toward desperately needed housing and hospitals for the men and women who defend America. We should put our veterans before any foreign interests or organizations.”
Watch Sen. Tuberville honor an Alabama veteran:
VIDEO AT LINK...................
Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is outstanding news!
They can’t do that.
I’d prefer to stop spending $$$ instead of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
It’s a step in the right direction, but it isn’t nearly enough considering the cost or real estate now.
Probably not going to fly. It’s a foreign aid agency.
Though there certainly issues for homeless vets. The situations I have seen are almost all a consequence of mental illness. State Veteran homes tend to be a dementia focused arrangement, rather than other mental illness.
To my great surprise, I got a recent briefing on these things and was told the average age of homeless vets who had been gathered and found a place to live . . . is 60. They did not file for VA injury/disability claims or for VA healthcare, nor for VA pension, and they did not know anything about the many civilian poverty programs like Section 8, SNAP or utility subsidy.
It’s not that there is too little funding. It’s that the guys never investigate options. They just find a bridge and get under it.
McTurtle and company should be gearing up to oppose this. It’s what they do, and I have no polite words for them.
Outstanding!!!
DITTO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Misleading headline for those of us with basic English skills. ‘Move’ is an active verb. Filing a bill moves nothing. ‘Proposes’ would be both accurate and honest.
Awesome
USAID has been a slush fund for a lot longer than the Biden administration, and for GOP and Dems alike. USAID used to be synonymous with CIA.
Bravo.
“They can’t do that.”
Sure they can. Like Obamacare it shouldn’t even need a vote. It can just be “deemed to pass”.
PPL who don’t respect the law eventually lose its protections. Maybe that time has come for Democrats.
This is better than where it was wasted before.
The minute a dollar is saved, these idiots find something else to spend it on! What have we gained?
Stunning display of conservatives determination.
Your vote being counted in action.
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