{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/2026/08/13/bennet-hickenlooper-duckworth-colleagues-push-to-stop-trump-from-hiding-the-true-cost-of-the-iran-war-and-dishonoring-the-sacrifices-of-our-heroes/", "Bennet, Hickenlooper, Duckworth, Colleagues Push to Stop Trump from Hiding the True Cost of the Iran War and Dishonoring the Sacrifices of Our Heroes", "2026-08-13", "2026", "2026-08", "Democrat", "Senate", "CO", "Michael F. Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", "bennet", "https://www.bennet.senate.gov/news/page/", "scraper", "Denver \u2014 Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) joined combat veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and 15 of their Senate Democratic colleagues to introduce legislation that would stop the Trump administration from obscuring the true cost of President Trump\u2019s disastrous war from the American people.\n\nThe Honoring the Sacrifices of Our Troops in War Act would prohibit the Secretary of Defense from manipulating casualty records and jeopardizing the benefits of our servicemembers and public servants. The bill introduction comes after the Pentagon unprecedentedly recategorized recent casualties suffered in President Trump\u2019s war in Iran, including four killed and over 200 wounded servicemembers, under a separate category outside Operation Epic Fury in an attempt to downplay the damage done and evade accountability to the American people.\n\n\u201cThe Trump Administration\u2019s decision to reclassify the deaths of four service members and the injuries of more than 200 is not only dishonest; it is an affront to the service and sacrifice these men and women, and their families, have made,\u201d said Bennet. \u201cOur legislation will stop this administration from obscuring the continuing cost of President Trump\u2019s ongoing war with Iran and, more importantly, will provide confirmation that those who have answered the call to duty and their families will receive the rightful recognition and benefits they are owed.\u201d\n\n\u201cBrave Americans who sacrifice everything for this country shouldn\u2019t have their service rewritten by an administration more interested in political convenience than accountability,\u201d said Hickenlooper. \u201cAltering casualty numbers doesn\u2019t just hide the true cost of this war. It diminishes the sacrifice of every service member who was wounded or killed. They and their loved ones deserve better.\u201d\n\n\u201cI refuse to let Donald Trump dishonor the service of our heroes just because it benefits him politically to lie about the length of this illegal campaign and hide the true cost of his war from the American people,\u201d said Duckworth. \u201cTrump knows his war of choice is unpopular, which is why he\u2019s manipulating casualty records to try and fool the public into believing it\u2019s been less of a disaster. It\u2019s an insult to our fallen heroes, and it could jeopardize the benefits of troops and civilians he continues to put in harm\u2019s way. Our brave men and women in uniform deserve accountability, not a Commander in Chief who plays games with their sacrifices.\u201d\n\nVoteVets and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) endorse this legislation.\n\nBennet has worked tirelessly to ensure service members and their families have access to the benefits they are due and to end President Trump\u2019s reckless war against Iran. Bennet has repeatedly voted in favor of War Powers Resolutions to remove U.S. troops from active conflict operations in the Middle East absent explicit Congressional authorization. In March 2026, Bennet co-sponsored the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) Promotion Act, a bipartisan bill that would provide support to veterans in the TAP applying for benefits they earned in service. In March 2025, Bennet joined over 40 colleagues to introduce legislation to provide combat-injured veteran retirees their full benefits.\n\nIn addition to Bennet, Hickenlooper, and Duckworth, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) cosponsored the bill.\n\nThe text of the bill is available HERE.\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-14T06:13:05Z", "2026-08-14T06:14:08Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/2026/08/13/bennet-hickenlooper-duckworth-colleagues-push-to-stop-trump-from-hiding-the-true-cost-of-the-iran-war-and-dishonoring-the-sacrifices-of-our-heroes/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.280893037095666, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}