Republicans Freight VA Budget Bill with Poison Pill Provisions

A new bill from House Republicans aims to gut protections for LGBTQ veterans and undo the agency’s progressive abortion policies. In a statement Monday, the White House budget noted that the legislation would have “devastating consequences” for American veterans. It pointed to a series of problematic statutes. One would reverse the VA's policy of providing abortions in cases of rape, incest or where the life or health of the mother is at risk. Others, according to Military.com, “would ban gender-affirmation care for transgender veterans; effectively ban the VA from flying the LGBTQ+ pride flag at its facilities; and prohibit ‘any discriminatory action’ from being taken against someone whose religious or moral beliefs are ‘that marriage is, or should be recognized as, a union of one man and one woman.’”