Election 2026

Independent, source-first accountability

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Issue record

Veterans

In short

Flores's campaign would cut VA wait times, fully fund benefits and back mental health care. Gonzalez's campaign says he is working to stop deporting honorably discharged veterans and bring care closer to home. Royal's site and 2024 survey state no veterans position; Espinoza's campaign would improve the VA and end veteran homelessness. Gonzalez voted for the PACT Act, now law, and from 2017 to 2023 sponsored bills to stop veteran deportations; none became law.

Campaign positions

What each campaign says.

Eric Flores

His campaign says he will fight to cut VA wait times and widen access to care across the district, support fully funding veterans' benefits and disability claims, and champion mental health and suicide prevention for veterans.

Vicente Gonzalez

His campaign says veterans should have the benefits, health care and resources they earned, and that he is working to stop the deportation of honorably discharged veterans and to bring health care closer to home.

Chris Royal

No position on veterans was found on his site or in his 2024 survey answers, though he describes his own Army service in both.

Eddie Espinoza

His platform would improve the VA and veterans' benefits and end homelessness among veterans.

Evidence timeline

What the record shows.

  1. official action

    Vicente Gonzalez: Matches stated record claim

    Spending laws for 2022, 2023 and 2024 list three VFW post projects he requested, $1,904,454 in all, two of them for new buildings rather than updates.

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    His campaign says he delivered federal funding to update local Veterans of Foreign Wars posts, so veterans and community members have safe spaces to gather. The explanatory statements for three years' appropriations laws each list a VFW post project with him as the House requester. For fiscal 2022, $304,454 for the Brooks County VFW, the Lopez Williams Post, from the Agriculture Department's rural community facilities account (page H1729). For fiscal 2023, $750,000 for a new building for Post 8788 (page S9538), and for fiscal 2024, $850,000 for a new building for Post 2410 (page S2158), both from HUD's Community Development Fund. The three laws are Public Laws 117-103, 117-328 and 118-42, and the three rows come to $1,904,454. Limit: Three posts in three years, each in an enacted statement with his name in the House requester column, which is where a member's community project funding is recorded. Two of the three paid for new buildings rather than updates to old ones. The statements allocate the money; whether USDA and HUD have paid it out was not checked. Two of the three tables are printed as page images, so those rows were read by eye.

  2. official action

    Vicente Gonzalez: Matches stated direction

    He sponsored the Repatriate Our Patriots Act in four Congresses from 2017 to 2023, but none became law and he has no bill on it in this Congress.

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    His campaign says he is working to prevent the deportation of honorably discharged veterans. He has sponsored the Repatriate Our Patriots Act, on noncitizens released from the armed forces under honorable conditions, in four Congresses: H.R. 3429 in 2017, H.R. 1078 in 2019, H.R. 4382 in 2021 and H.R. 717 in 2023. Each was referred to committee and went no further. In December 2022 his amendment to the Veteran Service Recognition Act was agreed to 213-207 (Roll Call 502) and he voted Yea on the bill, which passed the House 220-208 (Roll Call 503) and ended in the Senate. Limit: Six years of sponsorship and one House-passed bill he amended are evidence of the work the claim describes. None became law. The claim is in the present tense, and Congress.gov records no bill of his on the subject in the current Congress.

  3. official action

    Vicente Gonzalez: Matches stated record claim

    He voted for it at both House votes in 2022, including the final vote on the bill that became law that August.

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    His campaign says he voted to pass the PACT Act so veterans exposed to toxic chemicals during service receive the care they deserve. He voted Yea on the House bill, H.R. 3967, on March 3, 2022 (Roll Call 57, 256-174), and Yea on S. 3373, the vehicle that became law, on July 13, 2022 (Roll Call 309, 342-88). It became Public Law 117-168 on August 10, 2022. Limit: He voted for it at both House votes, including the one on the bill that became law. He was one of 342 members voting for final passage and was not a sponsor.

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Sources24 source records

How we use sources

  1. Prioritieshttps://www.ericflores.com/priorities

    Eric Flores for Congress · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Campaign-controlled source. Eight subjects: South Texas and the Coastal Bend, the cost of living, infrastructure, water, veterans, seniors, farmers and ranchers, and small business. There is no section on health care, education or the border, though the home page lists securing the border among his priorities.

    candidate statement

    For: Eric Flores: campaign position

  2. Issueshttps://vicentegonzalez.com/issues/

    Vicente Gonzalez for Congress · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Campaign-controlled source. Seven subjects: affordability, seniors, women's rights, education, veterans, health care and jobs. It states goals rather than proposals, and names no bill. There is no section on the border, energy or campaign finance.

    candidate statement

    For: Vicente Gonzalez: campaign position

  3. Accomplishmentshttps://vicentegonzalez.com/accomplishments/

    Vicente Gonzalez for Congress · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Campaign-controlled source and the page where he makes claims about his own record: seven sections on the economy, jobs, seniors, veterans, women's rights, health care and education. Every quoted sentence on this desk was matched against the live page.

    candidate statement

    For: Vicente Gonzalez: campaign position; Vicente Gonzalez: Matches stated record claim; Vicente Gonzalez: Matches stated direction

  4. Chris Royal for Congresshttps://chriscongress.com/

    Chris Royal for Congress · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    A one-page site built on a website builder, much of it marked under construction. It carries no paid-for line, so it was identified by its name, its Libertarian content and its closing request to vote for Chris Royal in November; it is the address search results give for his campaign. It links no social account. Read September 23, 2026.

    candidate statement

    For: Chris Royal: campaign position

  5. Chris Royalhttps://ballotpedia.org/Chris_Royal

    Ballotpedia · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Carries his own answers to Ballotpedia's candidate survey, given in 2024 when he was running for this seat as an independent. They are his words but they are two years old, and he was not on the 2024 general-election ballot. Used for his biography and for positions where his current site says nothing, each marked with its year. The page lists a personal Facebook account.

    candidate statement

    For: Chris Royal: campaign position

  6. Prioritieshttps://espinoza4tx.com/priorities/

    Espinoza For Congress · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Campaign-controlled source; his platform as a list.

    candidate statement

    For: Eddie Espinoza: campaign position

  7. Explanatory statement regarding H.R. 2471, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (document)

    Congressional Record, U.S. Government Publishing Office · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Congressional Record of March 9, 2022, Book III. The Agriculture division's community project funding table, printed as page images, has on page H1729 (PDF page 21, rotated) the row: Rural Development | Community Facilities | Brooks County VFW | VFW Lopez Williams Post | TX | 304,454 | House requester Gonzalez, Vicente | Origination H. Column headings: Agency, Account, Project, Recipient, Location, Amount Provided, Requestor(s) House and Senate, Origination. PDF SHA-256 9215a670933407a8d7346ee63dfe8b803494d5993a15ae3e5a65b254b3093821. H.R. 2471 became Public Law 117-103. Re-read on September 23, 2026 by OCR of the page turned upright; the row is as given.

    official legislative record

    For: Vicente Gonzalez: Matches stated record claim

  8. H.R. 2471, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/2471

    Congress.gov · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Became Public Law 117-103 on March 15, 2022.

    official legislative record

    For: Vicente Gonzalez: Matches stated record claim

  9. Explanatory statement regarding H.R. 2617, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, Division L (document)

    Congressional Record, U.S. Government Publishing Office · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Submitted by Senator Leahy, December 20, 2022. The Transportation-HUD community project funding table has on page S9538 (PDF page 214, rotated) the row: Department of Housing and Urban Development | Community Development Fund | New VFW Post 8788 | Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8788 | TX | 750,000 | House requester Gonzalez, Vicente | Origination H. The GovInfo HTML prints the table as an image; the PDF carries a text layer. PDF SHA-256 82b45ef2eb706be327fc45884d3072aea3c40d689f1b2d08536841c196c90332. H.R. 2617 became Public Law 117-328.

    official legislative record

    For: Vicente Gonzalez: Matches stated record claim

  10. H.R. 2617, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/2617

    Congress.gov · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Became Public Law 117-328 on December 29, 2022.

    official legislative record

    For: Vicente Gonzalez: Matches stated record claim

  11. Explanatory statement regarding H.R. 4366, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (document)

    Congressional Record, U.S. Government Publishing Office · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Submitted by Senator Murray, March 5, 2024, covering Divisions A to F. The Transportation-HUD community project funding table has on page S2158 (PDF page 936, rotated) the row: Department of Housing and Urban Development | Community Development Fund | Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2410 | New VFW Post 2410 Building | TX | 850,000 | House requester Gonzalez | Origination H. The same page lists four more Gonzalez projects, $5,850,000 together. The HTML prints the table as "[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED]"; the page was read from the PDF image. PDF SHA-256 5f46243e2976b003c79c7a36e4713b90f49a1016e6fa846c7592a6767fc0e8d2. H.R. 4366 became Public Law 118-42. Re-read on September 23, 2026 by OCR of the page turned upright; the row is as given.

    official legislative record

    For: Vicente Gonzalez: Matches stated record claim

  12. H.R. 4366, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/4366

    Congress.gov · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Became Public Law 118-42 on March 9, 2024.

    official legislative record

    For: Vicente Gonzalez: Matches stated record claim

  13. H.R. 3429, Repatriate Our Patriots Act, 115th Congresshttps://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/3429

    Congress.gov · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Sponsored by Gonzalez on July 26, 2017, his first year in office; referred to subcommittee.

    official legislative record

    For: Vicente Gonzalez: Matches stated direction

  14. H.R. 1078, Repatriate Our Patriots Act, 116th Congresshttps://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/1078

    Congress.gov · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Sponsored by Gonzalez on February 7, 2019; referred to subcommittee.

    official legislative record

    For: Vicente Gonzalez: Matches stated direction

  15. H.R. 4382, Repatriate Our Patriots Act, 117th Congresshttps://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/4382

    Congress.gov · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Sponsored by Gonzalez on July 9, 2021; referred to subcommittee.

    official legislative record

    For: Vicente Gonzalez: Matches stated direction

  16. H.R. 717, Repatriate Our Patriots Act, 118th Congresshttps://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/717

    Congress.gov · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Sponsored by Gonzalez on February 1, 2023 with 20 cosponsors; referred to the Judiciary Committee and went no further. The text concerns noncitizens released from the armed forces under honorable conditions.

    official legislative record

    For: Vicente Gonzalez: Matches stated direction

  17. Roll Call 502, 2022, H.R. 7946, Gonzalez amendmenthttps://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2022502

    Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Recorded vote of December 6, 2022; the question was on agreeing to his amendment, A002; it was agreed to 213-207. Read from the Clerk's roll-call XML by Gonzalez's member ID, G000581, which Congress.gov's by-state listing for the 119th Congress gives for him.

    official legislative record

    For: Vicente Gonzalez: Matches stated direction

  18. Roll Call 503, 2022, H.R. 7946, Veteran Service Recognition Acthttps://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2022503

    Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Recorded vote of December 6, 2022; the question was on passage; it passed 220-208. Read from the Clerk's roll-call XML by Gonzalez's member ID, G000581, which Congress.gov's by-state listing for the 119th Congress gives for him.

    official legislative record

    For: Vicente Gonzalez: Matches stated direction

  19. H.R. 7946, Veteran Service Recognition Act of 2022https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/7946

    Congress.gov · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Sponsor Mark Takano. Passed the House on December 6, 2022 and was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee the next day, where it ended. Gonzalez's amendment, requiring regulations within 90 days of enactment, was agreed to before passage.

    official legislative record

    For: Vicente Gonzalez: Matches stated direction

  20. Roll Call 57, 2022, H.R. 3967, Honoring our PACT Acthttps://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202257

    Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Recorded vote of March 3, 2022; the question was on passage; it passed 256-174. Read from the Clerk's roll-call XML by Gonzalez's member ID, G000581, which Congress.gov's by-state listing for the 119th Congress gives for him.

    official legislative record

    For: Vicente Gonzalez: Matches stated record claim

  21. H.R. 3967, Honoring our PACT Act of 2022https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3967

    Congress.gov · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Sponsor Mark Takano. Passed the House on March 3, 2022 and the Senate with an amendment on June 16; the Act itself was enacted through S. 3373.

    official legislative record

    For: Vicente Gonzalez: Matches stated record claim

  22. Roll Call 309, 2022, S. 3373, the vehicle for the PACT Acthttps://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2022309

    Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Recorded vote of July 13, 2022; the question was on passage of the Senate bill as amended; it passed 342-88. Read from the Clerk's roll-call XML by Gonzalez's member ID, G000581, which Congress.gov's by-state listing for the 119th Congress gives for him.

    official legislative record

    For: Vicente Gonzalez: Matches stated record claim

  23. S. 3373, Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our PACT Act of 2022https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/3373

    Congress.gov · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    The vehicle that became Public Law 117-168 on August 10, 2022, after the House passed it on July 13 and the Senate agreed to the House amendment on August 2.

    official legislative record

    For: Vicente Gonzalez: Matches stated record claim

  24. Public Law 117-168, Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022https://api.govinfo.gov/packages/PLAW-117publ168/htm

    U.S. Government Publishing Office · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Enacted text, used for the Act's full title.

    official legislative record

    For: Vicente Gonzalez: Matches stated record claim