02-07-2025
Texas lawmakers Escobar, Gonzales split over military construction funding bill
Two Texas lawmakers are at odds over a recent military construction funding bill.
The U.S. House of Representatives on June 25 passed the Republicans' Fiscal Year 2026 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs funding bill by a vote of 218-206, which provides funding for military construction and provides appropriations for the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs.
Two Democrats — U.S. Rep. Jared Golden of Maine and U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington — joined Republicans to pass the measure.
For U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, who voted against the bill, the Republicans' proposal stands to negatively impact servicemembers and military readiness.
'Our troops and veterans are not a political football," Escobar said in a news release after the vote. "I'm fighting alongside House Democrats to protect servicemembers, veterans, and their families so I cannot in good faith support this bill.'
Across the aisle, Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio, who represents a portion of El Paso and served 20 years in the U.S. Navy, the bill is a step in the right direction toward providing a higher quality of life for active servicemembers and veterans alike.
"I've made it a top priority to build legislation to strengthen Texas' military installations, enhance quality of life initiatives, retention, and readiness across all branches of our armed forces, and fully fund and expand veterans' health care services and benefits," Gonzales said in a news release. "With the House passage of this bill, we're one step closer to getting a package signed into law that delivers real results for our military community and our veterans.'
The measure is only one in a long line of bills that collectively will make up the Department of Defense budget.
More: Third woman to command Fort Bliss Army hospital ready for facility, budget challenges
Escobar asserts that the legislation fails to meet key needs of the military, its servicemembers and veterans, and is part of Project 2025, a plan from the conservative Heritage Foundation aimed at drastically changing the federal government.
Escobar said the bill "worsens the quality of life for servicemembers and their families at Fort Bliss, raises costs for Americans while benefitting big corporations by privatizing medical care for veterans — a component of Project 2025 — and hurts military readiness."
'For 12 hours, my Democratic colleagues and I submitted amendment after amendment to try and mitigate the damage of this bill — almost all were rejected by Republicans," she said. "We are left with a piece of legislation that enables VA workforce reductions, further limits access to abortion care for the women veterans in my state and recklessly allows firearms to be accessed by those who pose a risk to themselves or others during their most vulnerable moments."
Following is a breakdown of Democrats' key complaints with the legislation:
Underfunds military construction by $904 million, shortchanging the Department of Defense's infrastructure needs that are vital to military readiness, recruitment, and retention
Leaves military installations, servicemembers, and their families vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and worsening natural disasters by failing to include dedicated funding to strengthen military installations against these threats or help them recover from past natural disasters
Underfunds America's commitments to NATO infrastructure by $188 million below what is needed.
Gonzales sees the bill as an opportunity to make key investments in military installations and veterans' communities in South and West Texas.
"I proudly served for 20 years in the U.S. Navy, and I will always stand up for our servicemembers, veterans, and military families in South and West Texas and across the country," he said.
While Escobar insists that the bill will cause workforce reductions at the VA, Gonzales said the bill "fully funds VA benefits and programs." Where Escobar asserts the bill will compromise veterans' health care, Gonzales said the bill "fully funds" health care programs.
Additionally, the bill includes the following wins for Texas and beyond:
Support for the timely construction of new VA medical facilities in El Paso at Fort Bliss
Funding for the planning and design of an Army Reserve Center to enhance training and mission support at Camp Bullis in San Antonio
Investments in programs that support housing accommodations for homeless veterans
Investments in programs that support specialized care for women veterans and childcare services
Maintains funding levels for research, mental health programs, and other programs relied upon by veterans.
Adam Powell covers government and politics for the El Paso Times and can be reached via email at apowell@
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Military bill draws fire from Rep. Escobar, support from Rep. Gonzales
