Democrats need to vote yes and open up the government, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins told Newsmax on Monday, stressing that the longer the shutdown goes on, the worse it is going to get.
Collins said on "Wake Up America" that "what's on the table right now is opening the government, funding our troops ... and then you negotiate on the issues that are subsequent to that."
The veterans affairs secretary stressed that "the Democrats have chosen not to."
"And they made it seem like this is not a perfect bill," he continued.
"Well, last time I checked you only have three votes when you get into Congress. You have yes, no and present. You don't have perfect. Everyone would vote perfect if you could, but there is no perfect."
Collins emphasized that Democrats "need to vote yes and open up the government," stating that he has almost 40,000 employees "who are working on furlough ... and this just can't continue."
"This inhibits our ability to reach out to new veterans, it inhibits our ability to help veterans who need care, and the longer this goes, the worse that's going to be," he said.
Collins reiterated that "Congress needs to understand this."
"They are playing with the veterans' issues and the veterans' lives, and they are doing it, seemingly, for political gain," he said.
Collins added that many of the veterans who get services "are actually furloughed from the federal government themselves, so this is a stressful environment for them."
Collins pointed out, however, that "at this point we get advanced funding for our hospitals and our disability benefits, which means we are covered" for the time being.
He added, "So if you are a veteran out there who is having a health issue, please use your VA. All our lines are open."
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Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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