Chairman Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., speaks with an aide as he arrives for a House Committee on House Administration hearing on "American Confidence in Elections: Protecting Political Speech" on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, May 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI) was among the many GOP congressmen who voted to likely slash the benefits of Veterans before making a Twitter post honoring servicemembers for Memorial Day.

On April 26, Steil and his fellow Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass the Limit, Save, Grow Act to address the debt ceiling. In addition to raising the debt ceiling, this legislation would roll back all discretionary spending in the United States, including benefits for veterans. According to PolitiFact, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) makes up the largest portion of discretionary spending, making it very difficult to not slash benefits for veterans if this legislation becomes law. There are also no explicitly stated protections for veterans’ benefits in the bill.

Despite these facts and concerns from the VA itself, Republicans insisted that the Limit, Save, Grow Act would not reduce benefits for veterans. With no specific language in the bill to protect these benefits, not reducing them would be extremely difficult. According to the League of Conservation Voters, an environmental advocacy group, the Limit, Save, Grow Act would have also repealed much of the environmental and clean energy policies that were enacted by the Inflation Reduction Act last summer. Prior to being elected to represent Wisconsin’s first Congressional district, Steil worked in the manufacturing industry for ten years. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 37,000 veterans live in Steil’s district.

Steil isn’t the only Midwestern Republican to vote to almost certainly cut veterans’ benefits while honoring them. During debate on the Limit, Save, Grow Act last month, Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL) strongly but falsely stated that the bill would not cut veteran spending despite there not being any protections in the bill.

“I’m dead serious that we’re not cutting veterans, and I mean it,” Bost said during the House session. “The White House and Democrats know that we can get our fiscal house in order while ensuring our service members and veterans are taken care of. And yet, with no regard for the impact of their words, they continue to speak lies about how House Republicans are cutting veterans’ benefits.”