Homeless mentally ill veteran languishes on the street near C.A.S.S. (Central Arizona Shelter Services) in Phoenix, Arizona on night two of the Republican led shutdown of government. He says he was turned away from getting services he needs at the VA center because of the government shutdown? His story seems to indicate what Rep. Kirkpatrick said about a VA back log in her state being made worse by the Republican led government shutdown is true. Picture by Ron Rodriguez, taken by cell phone on October 2, 2013 and sent by email to author to illustrate the plight of homeless veterans in Phoenix, Arizona.
On October 2nd, 2013 Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick of Arizona asked for and was granted permission to address the United States House of Representatives for a few minutes regarding day two of the Republican shutdown of government.
During that time she complained bitterly about the closure of national parks and the more serious issues of VA and Social Security “back logs” that are adversely affecting constituents in her state (and by extension across the nation).
“Mr. Speaker, partisan games have serious consequences. One of the many consequences is in my Arizona district where the Grand Canyon National Park is closed and our local economy is taking a direct hit. Instead of acting responsibly and funding the government with a clean bill, on Monday night the House GOP acted recklessly. The bill that they passed Monday night was so weighted down with partisan baggage that they knew it would lead to a government shutdown, and yet they chose this approach intentionally.”
“The price of these partisan games is high and the American people are now stuck with the tab. Some estimates have the shutdown costing our Nation about $300 million every day. In Arizona and across the country, this hurts our working families, small business owners, veterans, and seniors. And this hurts our tribal communities. I have 12 Native American tribes in my district. All of these folks need and deserve to have elected leaders working to help them, not hurt them. After what happened on Monday, we must now do the urgent work of funding and reopening our government. But instead, the House GOP is stalling with more games, introducing piecemeal bills that pick winners and losers for funding. Last night, they tried to do it with piecemeal bills for veterans and for national parks”, she said.
“I will always fight for our veterans. I am proud to serve them in my work on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee. The first piece of legislation I passed this year will help our veterans who are stuck in the VA backlog. And I will always stand up for our national parks. I am grateful to live near the Grand Canyon, a national treasure. My district has many of these wonderful destinations. I recently introduced a bill that will protect and expand the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument in southern Arizona. So my support for these issues is clear. But the real way to support our veterans and support our parks is to reopen the government. And if piecemeal is their solution, then what about making sure Social Security offices are open to help our seniors?”, said Rep. Kirkpatrick (source: Congressional Record http://thomas.loc.gov).
Rep. Kirkpatrick currently serves on the powerful Veterans’ Affairs Committee and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in the 113th Congress.