Rep. Mike Thompson led nearly 140 lawmakers on a letter urging Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough to minimize the fallout from a gun-related policy rider included in the fiscal 2024 spending law enacted this month.
The rider included in the six-bill spending package would bar the Department of Veterans Affairs from reporting veterans unable to manage their benefits to the Justice Department for a background check without approval from a judge. Only three Democrats in the House and Senate voted against the package, despite deep misgivings about the provision from some within the party.
“For decades, veterans who are a danger to themselves or others have had their information submitted to the background checks system to help keep them and our communities safe. The Kennedy Amendment ends this practice and would place troubled veterans and our communities at risk,” Thompson, D-Calif., said in a statement, referring to Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., who offered the amendment attaching the provision to an earlier Senate spending bill.
