Beto O’Rourke proposes ‘war tax’ to fund veterans’ health care costs

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke is pledging to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and help create a federal health care fund to cover the costs of those who serve in future wars by taxing those who don’t.

The former El Paso, Texas congressman unveiled his veterans’ proposal Monday and attended a veterans’ round table in Tampa, Florida.

The proposal says the new health care fund would be paid for using a “war tax,” ensuring Americans who haven’t served share “some of the cost of going to war according to their means.”

“This new tax would serve as a reminder of the incredible sacrifice made by those who serve and their families,” O’Rourke said.

Households making less than $30,000 per year would pay $25; those making less than $40,000 would pay $57; those making less than $50,000 would pay $98; those making less than $75,000 would pay $164; those making less than $100,000 would pay $270; those making less than $200,000 would pay $485; and those making more than $200,000 would pay $1,000.

The plan pledges to improve the Veterans Affairs health care system, including requiring the public reporting and display of staffing rations and wait times, expanding tele-health offerings, pushing for an industry-wide standardization of electronic health care data, and mandating a new focus on mental health, addiction treatment and suicide prevention.

O’Rourke also wants to expand “reverse boot camps” to better prepare veterans for life after leaving the military, and his plan provides immigrant veterans a “pathway to citizenship.”

In addition, O’Rourke is calling for National Institutes of Health spending on Alzheimer’s research to double to $5 billion per year “to confront risks stemming from” military service

His plan emphasizes care for female veterans, pledging to “cover the full spectrum of women’s reproductive health care, and include the provision of contraception with no out-of-pocket costs, in vitro fertilization without regard to marital status or sexual orientation, and abortions to the extent they are provided by other federal programs.” VA hospitals would also be required to provide free child care.

O’Rourke also says he would require the Defense Department to upgrade the service records of LGBTQ veterans who were discharged due to their sexual orientation.

O’Rourke had introduced legislation in 2016 and 2017, while he was in the U.S. House of Representatives, to create the same “war tax” and trust funds for veterans of future wars that he proposed on Monday.

The idea is not a new one: Prior to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States had historically levied additional taxes in times of war. Under former President Lyndon B. Johnson, Congress enacted an income tax surcharge that meant taxpayers eventually owed 10% more. A group of House Democrats sought a similar tax in the mid-2000s, but were unsuccessful.

O’Rourke was a member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee for all of his six years representing El Paso in Congress. He was the lead sponsor of a measure that expanded mental health care for veterans with “other-than-honorable” discharge — which his campaign says the Trump administration has failed to implement. He also successfully pushed for a measure that requires mental health examinations for those leaving military service.

“We must be willing to pay any price, and bear any burden, to provide the full care, support, and resources to every single veteran who served every single one of us,” O’Rourke said. “Eighteen years into the war in Afghanistan, and nearly three decades after our first engagement in Iraq, the best way to honor our veterans’ service is to cancel the blank check for endless war — and reinvest the savings to ensure every American can thrive upon their return home.”

O’Rourke launched his 2020 campaign in March. The unveiling of his “war tax” plan comes before the Democratic field holds its first debate Wednesday and Thursday nights in Miami.