Rep. Elise Stefanik gives a victory speech on election night, Nov. 3, 2020, at the Queensbury Hotel in Glens Falls. (Provided photo — Christopher Lenney, Watertown Daily Times)

Democratic congressional candidates this week criticized U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, for voting against two veterans bills that had bipartisan support, including from six of eight House Republicans from New York.

Stefanik and Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-Clinton, were the only two New York House Republicans who voted against the bills.

Stefanik on Jan. 20 voted against HR 4673, legislation to automatically enroll veterans in the Veterans Health Care System when the Department of Defense notifies the Department of Veterans Affairs of their eligibility.

The legislation passed by a vote of 265-163, with 221 Democrats and 44 Republicans voting in favor, according to the Library of Congress government information website.

Ezra Watson, one of four candidates seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge Stefanik in November, said automatic enrollment is essential to getting veterans who may be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or mental illness enrolled in VA health care.

“Some of them need to be automatically enrolled because many don’t have a support system,” he said.

Alex DeGrasse, senior adviser to Stefanik, said that automatic enrollment takes away the opportunity for veterans to make a choice whether to be enrolled.

“It could also diminish the VA’s ability to prioritize veterans with the highest needs,” he said.

Stefanik was not available to comment directly for this report.

On Jan. 12, Stefanik voted against HR 1836, legislation to expand GI Bill eligibility for educational benefits to reservists and National Guard members.

The legislation would change criteria to count every day a reservist or guard member is paid and in uniform toward eligibility.

The legislation passed by a vote of 287-138, with 219 Democrats and 68 Republicans voting in favor.

The legislation was pushed through without the proper “due diligence,” DeGrasse said.

“There were no legislative hearings on this bill, or the opportunity to hear from outside stakeholders such as veteran service organizations,” he said.

Although not direct testimony, the National Legislative Service of the VFW did include the legislation in its list of priority bills for the session.

Matt Castelli, another of the four candidates seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge Stefanik in November, criticized Stefanik in a news release and in a Twitter post on Tuesday for voting against the two bills.

“By voting against these bills, Elise Stefanik has failed the veterans, service members and military family members of the North Country,” said Castelli, a former CIA counterterrorism official from Wilton.

In a telephone interview on Wednesday, Castelli said that both bills were “sensible solutions” that had support from the Veterans of Foreign Wars and other veterans organizations.

DeGrasse said Stefanik has a strong record on veterans issues.

“Since she took office, Congresswoman Stefanik has delivered millions of dollars in VA benefits for constituents. In addition, she has delivered numerous bipartisan results including fixing and improving access and quality of VA care and benefits,” he said. “These (two) bills had clear problems that were not addressed.”

Watson, another Democratic candidate, had raised veterans issues in a recent telephone interview with The Post-Star.

In a subsequent telephone interview on Tuesday, Watson, a technician from Wilton, said Stefanik’s votes seemed to contradict her frequent claims to be a champion for veterans.

“I am kind of surprised, but not really surprised,” he said, calling both bills “no-brainers.”

The other candidates are Bridie Farrell, a political activist and former competitive skater from North River, and Matt Putorti, a lawyer from Whitehall.

Stefanik has, in fact, been vocal about veterans issues.

She has introduced or been an original co-sponsor this session of several veterans issues bills, including legislation to permanently extend a health care transportation program for veterans in “very rural” areas, permanently extend a housing assistance program for “very poor” veterans families, and establish a VA program to use veterans to train service dogs and place the dogs with veterans experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder of depression, according to the Library of Congress government information system.

She co-sponsored legislation to establish counseling centers for veterans enrolling in college.

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Head Start award

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In other 21st Congressional District news, Stefanik on Wednesday was one of five House members who received the National Head Start Association PROMISE award.

PROMISE is an acronym for Protecting Our Most Important Students Early.

The award recognizes her consistent support of Head Start, including her co-sponsorship of early childhood nutrition legislation and her support for Head Start funding in the 2022 federal budget.

“I believe that early childhood education is essential,” Stefanik said in a virtual awards ceremony, streamed live on Facebook. “Giving our children a strong start in life is what makes the difference in the next generation.”

Stefanik said annual federal Head Start funding has increased by more than $1.5 billion since she took office in 2015.