Crow Introduces Bill to Stop Trump and Hegseth from Hiding the Human Toll of Their War with Iran
AURORA — Congressman Jason Crow (D-CO), a former paratrooper and Army Ranger who serves on the House Armed Services Committee and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, introduced the Honoring the Sacrifice of Troops in War Act to prevent the Secretary of Defense from manipulating government data on troop casualties and therefore hiding the human cost of war.
Secretary Pete Hegseth recently recategorized the death of four servicemembers and the injuries of more than 200 others in an attempt to downplay the damage done by the President’s reckless war with Iran. Not only does his move shamelessly disrespect these servicemembers’ service to our country, but it could also impact the benefits they and their families receive. The Honoring the Sacrifice of Troops in War Act prevents the Pentagon from hiding the human cost of this war going forward, fixes the records they’ve already changed, and restores any benefits stripped from troops and their families as a result.
Joining Congressman Crow on this bill are Representatives and fellow Democratic veterans Pat Ryan (D-NY), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), Eugene Vindman (VA-07), Maggie Goodlander (NH-02), Chris Deluzio (PA-17), Herb Conaway (NJ-03), Derek Tran (CA-45), Mike Thompson (CA-04), Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Ted Lieu (CA-36), and Salud Carbajal (CA-24).
“The men and women who step up to serve and defend our country deserve respect, and their families deserve to know they’ll get the full benefits earned in service. It’s wrong for Pete Hegseth to play politics with their service so he can hide the human toll of Trump’s reckless war with Iran,” said Congressman Crow. “This Administration has proven time and again that they don’t care about our servicemembers or our military families.”
“Every Patriot deployed to this war in Iran – the 50,000 still in theater, the hundreds wounded, and especially the 18 killed – are American heroes. They deserve to be honored as such – not swept under the rug by a President and SecDef so humiliated by their failure that they’d rather dishonor the troops than tell the truth,” said Congressman Ryan. “It’s a total betrayal of our armed forces by the very people that swore to protect and do right by them. I’m proud to lead so many of my fellow veterans in Congress to make it clear we will not stand for the Trump Administration’s disgraceful disrespect of American heroes – before, during, or after their deployments.”
The legislation is endorsed by VoteVets and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA).
Crow has repeatedly condemned Trump’s illegal war of choice with Iran. He successfully forced congressional votes on two of his War Powers Resolutions to rein this war in, both of which passed the House on a bipartisan basis. Crow continues to lead legislation to prohibit federal funding for the war, and he has demanded that the Trump Administration reveal the full, true cost of this war on the American people. As someone from a working class family who served three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, Crow has seen firsthand the toll forever wars have cost servicemembers and hardworking Americans.
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