Gallego Holds Community Conversation with Native Veterans

TUBA CITY – This week, Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) hosted a Tribal Veterans Community Conversation in Tuba City, Arizona, to hear directly from Native veterans in Northeastern Arizona. ICYMI: Navajo Times: In Tuba City, Gallego says feds are failing Navajo veterans Find more photos from the event HERE . During the event, Senator Gallego met with Gold Star families and reflected on his own experience losing friends in war: “Of the around 200 men to serve in my company, 23 died. About one third of us were either wounded or killed. The average age was probably around 20. And so especially right now when we’re in another war – a war that, by the way, I’ve been against from day one. The reason I was against is because, like the Iraq war, they were just going to send a lot of these young men and women into a war they weren’t ready for. They didn’t think about what was going to happen. They didn’t think about how to get out of this war. And then what happens, obviously, is they send us very quickly to war … but when we need something, when we get back, we need our VA services, we need our pay, we need our assistance, then they’re always very slow, right?” Senator Gallego has consistently spoken out against and voted to end Trump’s illegal war . When asked about the VA’s restructuring plan and hiring freeze and how it would impact Native American veterans, who already have to travel excessive distances for care: “We’re trying to stop that, because I’m afraid what they’re going to do is keep firing people or keep letting people go, and then not replace them. And the places that usually get squeezed are the places that are like here, or other rural parts of America. Because it’s always easy to find a doctor who will go to Phoenix, right, or dentist, or anything else like that. Once you lose a doctor, dentist, or nurse from rural Arizona, from Indian country, it’s really hard to replace them.” Senator Gallego has consistently pushed back on VA staffing cuts. Last year, the VA reversed course on plans to lay off more than 83,000 employees after Senator Gallego placed a blanket hold on all VA nominees in response to the initial plan. Senator Gallego also spoke about how he’s fighting back against Republican attempts to cut veterans benefits : “Right now, there’s a bill that’s very dangerous, that wants to go cut veteran benefits … There’s a lot of money in this country. We gave a lot of money to a lot of rich people. We’re going to war right now for big oil corporations. If he wants to expand services to veterans, you don’t need to rob other veterans to pay for that, right? And so, I’m standing against this bill.” Read More: Gallego, Democratic Colleagues Oppose Republican Plan to Cut Disabled Veterans’ Benefits