On this Veterans Day federal holiday, America got a taste of what is coming in this lame-duck session, as House Republicans passed the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act (TCAVA) using a fast-track tactic, with Democrats calling it a “dirty trick.” 

The TCAVA package is designed to increase pay for disabled and injured veterans. It also makes changes to the Veterans Affairs (VA) disability ratings for sleep apnea and tinnitus and expands eligibility for a memorial headstone or marker for the spouse, among other things, according to The Hill. 

It also deals with VA personnel, hiring, and infrastructure matters, and it establishes a screening process for admission to certain mental health care programs. 

Democrats are crying foul, calling it “dirty pool” and a “dirty trick.” After Democratic Whip Rep. Katherine Clark, Mass., urged Democrats to vote no on the bill, the bill was brought up for consideration when the ranking member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., was away from the podium, where he had been leading the Democratic side of the debate, in order to discuss changes to the bill. 

That is when Rep. Addison McDowell, R-N.C., the Republican lawmaker presiding over the House chamber on Wednesday, brought the bill up for consideration. When no Democrat demanded a recorded vote, that allowed McDowell to declare the bill passed instantly, by voice vote. 

“While members and staff were evaluating these changes away from the podium, House Republicans called the vote up and passed it by voice within seconds — depriving Democrats of the ability to even evaluate the proposed changes and ask for a recorded vote so Members could vote against the biggest cut to veterans benefits in US history,” said a Democratic leadership aide, according to the outlet.

“On Veterans Day of all days, using dirty tricks to steal from Veterans is a disgrace.” 

Republicans pushed back. “This historic package of veterans legislation delivers long overdue reforms to strengthen veterans’ healthcare, expand benefits, and cut through VA bureaucracy,” House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chair Mike Bost, R-Ill., who sponsored the bill, wrote on X.