What they said. What they meant.

Plain-language translations from Congress.

Recent debates

8 latest topics

House of Representatives

Take Care of America's Veterans Act

Official Congressional Record ↗

Mark Takano

Democrat
“You want to spend a lot of money without offsets. But you want veterans to pay for their own bill. I don't think that's fair. I want you to admit that you treat veterans differently.”
Our translation 72% shorter

Kimberlyn King-Hinds

Republican
“I want this bill to pass. It will spend money on many things for veterans. Two of my bills are in it. They will spend money on doctors traveling to territories and on telehealth for some island countries. I want more spending on veterans. I want the government to say it is helping veterans.”
Our translation 80% shorter

Mark Takano

Democrat
“I don't want to pay for this bill by taking money from other veterans. The Republicans want to spend $95 billion on many other things without an offset. Why should this bill be different? I want the Republicans to be consistent in their rules.”
Our translation 70% shorter

Mark Takano

Democrat
“This bill will cut benefits for some veterans with sleep apnea and tinnitus. The chairman is wrong. He says it won't do that. But it will. The VA can review and lower ratings. This bill will make current service members ineligible for these benefits. Even if they get hurt now. The Republicans are wrong. They want to treat two veterans with the same condition differently. I don't like that. Republicans don't ask for offsets for other big spending. But they want to cut benefits to pay for this. I want you to vote no.”
Our translation 81% shorter

Mark Takano

Democrat
“I want you to vote no on this bill. Many veterans don't like it. It will take money from some veterans to pay for other veterans. We should not do that. The government should find other ways to pay for this bill. I don't like pitting veterans against each other. We should not balance budgets on the backs of veterans. We should honor our contract with veterans. I join many veterans who oppose this bill.”
Our translation 77% shorter

Mike Bost

Republican
“I want you to vote yes on this bill. Many veteran groups support it. They want Congress to act. This bill will help veterans. The other side says veterans don't want this bill. That is not true. The other side just doesn't like how we pay for the bill. But we need to pay for it. We can't just talk about helping veterans. We need to pass a bill. This is a good bill. We need to pass it now. I want Congress to help veterans. That is why I support this bill.”
Our translation 87% shorter