Over the weekend, Florida Rep. Greg Steube (R) issued a letter to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland (D) regarding the National Park Service's recent decision to stop providing vehicle escort services to veterans on Honor Flights. As a result, Steube has taken issue with this, sharing on social media that the goal is to “ensure Honor Flight veterans receive the full experience they have earned.”
Rep. Steube took to social media to announce the letter sent to Secretary Haaland, writing, “as soon as I was alerted that National Park Service stopped offering vehicle escort services to our veterans on Honor Flights, I joined my colleagues in working to reinstate this critical service.”
As soon as I was alerted that National Park Service stopped offering vehicle escort services to our veterans on Honor Flights, I joined my colleagues in working to reinstate this critical service.
We must ensure Honor Flight veterans receive the full experience they have earned. pic.twitter.com/ha2EjfUMiZ
— Congressman Greg Steube (@RepGregSteube) March 19, 2022
In the letter, the Florida Republicans explains the need for vehicle escort services to provided.
Honor Flight is an opportunity for veterans to take a trip to Washington, D.C.
On the trip, “our nation’s heroes have the opportunity… to view all the war memorials in our nation’s capital that are dedicated to their service and sacrifice.”
As such, “Honor Flight typically pays the USPP to provide escort services during the day of the war memorial tour” because it “allows the veterans, including those with disabilities, to see all the war memorials during their allocated time in Washington, D.C.”
Noting that the USPP had contacted Honor Flight about their concern with escort vehicle services, the response was that “the Department of Interior has not explicitly given persmission to the USPP to do so.”
Calling the response “concerning and disappointing,” Steube is now seeking answers from Haaland considering that the “Florida Hub is scheduled to visit this spring.”
As Steube concluded in his social media post, the goal is to "ensure Honor Flights veterans receive the full experience they have earned."