A plea for Lauren Boebert to honor her commitments to vets this Veterans Day

This Veterans Day, Coloradans will celebrate the service and honor the sacrifice of men and women who served our country in the military.

Veterans Day is not a political holiday, but elected officials at every level will march in parades, attend barbecues, and speak at events across the state. They will claim to stand with veterans, but we shouldn’t take their word for it. We must look past their rhetoric and at their actual records.

For me, this issue is personal. I am a proud U.S. Navy veteran. We have seen what reliable, trusted representation can look like with State Rep. Matt Martinez — a U.S. Marine who served in Iraq — leading and passing a bipartisan bill to expand Colorado veterans’ access to mental health care. Pueblo can also be proud of State Sen. Nick Hinrichsen, an Army veteran who served in Iraq, and worked last year to create new workforce opportunities for Colorado veterans.

Pueblo had hoped we would have an ally in fighting for veterans in our U.S. Representative in Congress, Lauren Boebert. She proudly boasted her “pronoun is patriot,” and spent tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars advertising what she claims is her record of supporting the men and women who served.

Unfortunately, I have been deeply disappointed in Lauren Boebert’s actual voting record, which demonstrates a pattern of putting personal gain ahead of her responsibility to members of the military and veterans across her district.

When many of those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan suffered lasting health effects from exposure to toxic substances, and found themselves wrongly denied healthcare coverage to treat their conditions, it was Boebert’s duty to support them. But instead she opposed the bipartisan PACT Act which provided the largest health care and benefit expansion in VA history. The PACT Act ensures that veterans who suffer lasting health effects of toxic burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances get the healthcare they need and deserve.

It’s no exaggeration to say that every veteran knows the hardship that comes with delays receiving healthcare at VA facilities. It was Boebert’s responsibility to strengthen the Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure the delivery of timely, quality care and benefits to Colorado veterans. But while she claims that she’s done this in recent mailers, the truth is Boebert voted against the Strengthening Oversight for Veterans Act of 2021, which did just that.

It was Boebert’s role to vote to ensure the government didn't default on its debts weakening national security. Instead, she used this threat in her political game to try to pass the Default on America Act that would have cut veteran outpatient visits, leaving them unable to get appointments for care like mental health and substance disorder treatment.

It would have worsened wait times for benefits, threatened medical care and slowed constructions of healthcare facilities, cut housing for veterans as well as deprive veterans of mental health, substance use, and other health services.

The reality is, in the short three years that Boebert has been in office, she has managed to vote against veterans more than 15 times, voting against bipartisan legislation and choosing political gamesmanship instead.

Because we’ve so far seen no changes in her efforts moving forward, I’m asking for Colorado veterans to join me in our district-wide call for Boebert to stop breaking her promises to us.

Given the unfortunate absence of progress in her efforts, I'm urging Colorado veterans to unite with me in a district-wide plea for Boebert to honor her commitments to us.

Today, the country sits at the precipice of another government shutdown. For nearly 40 days Boebert has claimed to be focused on making sure that will not happen but her actions have not matched her words.

Instead, she has been working to elect an extreme Speaker of the House, an ally of her Freedom Caucus, in order to pass the cuts to defense budgets and benefits that veterans rely on that the Caucus has been pushing.

Now the clock is ticking towards shut down which would mean tens of thousands of active duty military in Colorado having to work without a paycheck which also hurts their families, reduces their household spending, and impacts local economies. Seniors and veterans could also see delays in disability claims and Medicare and Social Security support.

Boebert likes to say “As your congresswoman, it is not my role to keep you healthy.” Well, I am here to say without hesitation — Yes, it is your responsibility.

Doing your duty is simple: You put your responsibilities ahead of personal gain. Those who have served our country in the military, such as myself, understand this duty. Those who serve our country as an elected official, such as myself, understand this same duty.

On behalf of Colorado veterans, during Veterans Day weekend, I am calling on Boebert to stop opposing legislation that helps them save money and live healthier, better lives.

Jerry Solano is a Puebloan who served in the U.S. Navy from 1964 to 1969 and as a Hospital Corpsman after graduating from Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego, California. Following his honorable discharge, he worked for 45 years as a Registered Nurse for the State of Colorado. Jerry is a proud Puebloan who has spent his career caring for the wounded and injured, not only in Vietnam, but at Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Pueblo and the Pueblo Regional Center.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Lauren Boebert should stop opposing legislation that helps veterans