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Shameful': GOP lawmaker rips Obama's threat to veto veterans' funding
FILE - In this May 21, 2013, file photo, Rep. Martha Roby, R-Ala., speaks to the reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, May 21, 2013. Republicans hoping to ride Benghazi to a November sweep of midterm elections have entrusted a seven-member team, including Roby, with "getting to the truth," in the words of House Speaker John Boehner, on whether the Obama administration misled Americans about the deadly attack. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File) AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File

Shameful': GOP lawmaker rips Obama's threat to veto veterans' funding

Rep. Martha Roby (R-Ala.) accused the White House Wednesday of pretending the GOP's bill to fund the Department of Veterans Affairs makes cuts to the VA, in an effort to blame Republicans for the ongoing failure of the VA to serve veterans.

The spending bill for fiscal year 2015 would increase total VA funding by $3.6 billion compared to current funding, but the White House released a statement complaining about cuts. Those cuts, however, can only be seen as cuts when compared to the funding the White House requested.

For example, the White House said it objects to the bill because of a $582 million "reduction" to the VA's construction budget. But in reality, the proposed budget maintains the current level of funding.

That didn't stop Democrats from claiming this as a "cut." But in a floor speech, Roby slammed that skewed logic as an attempt to pretend it's the GOP's fault that the VA has failed so many veterans.

"Only in Washington, D.C., will a $3.6 billion increase on behalf of our veterans be called a cut," she said.

"It's being called a cut because it's the only way to shift the blame away from this administration's failure to our veterans back to the Republican-led House," she said. "It's clearly politics that is driving us, and I am asking ... that the president seriously rethink his position."

"The administration needs to take responsibility, and they are trying once again to point fingers at leadership in this House, that is doing all that we can to ensure that our veterans get timely care, the best care that we can provide them," she added. "This is cynical and it's shameful, and I believe ... that the American people can see straight through it."

Roby also called Obama out for toying with a bill to fund services to veterans who have served the country.

"I was extremely disappointed, alongside my colleagues, to see that the president yet again has threatened to veto this bill," she said. "This bill provides critical, much-needed veterans for our military families and our veterans, and the president should not play around with that."

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