Left-leaning group, Lauren Boebert trade fire over the Colorado Republican's support for veterans

A left-leaning nonprofit on Thursday launched a six-figure ad campaign blasting U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert over her opposition to veterans health care legislation, but a spokesman for the Silt Republican denounced the attack as a "hit job" that ignores the lawmaker's record supporting vets.

Rocky Mountain Values, a progressive, dark-money group that announced in April that it plans to spend millions going after Boebert before next year's election, hit the airwaves with a 30-second TV ad featuring Pueblo Marine veteran George Autobee.

The ad debuted on the anniversary of President Joe Biden signing the PACT Act, which expanded health care and disability compensation for veterans exposed to toxic substances during their service. Billed as the largest expansion of veterans benefits in decades, the $325 billion legislation passed last summer with bipartisan support, drawing opposition from 11 Republican senators and 147 GOP House members, including Boebert.

"I know about service. I watched my brothers die on the battlefield," Autobee says in the ad. "There's one thing that sticks with you from serving is you leave no one behind. But Lauren Boebert voted against healthcare for veterans who were exposed to the toxic burn pits."

A spokeswoman for the group said the ad it's spending $350,000 on TV, digital, radio, print and mail ads delivering the message. It's set to air in the Colorado Springs TV market, which includes Pueblo, the largest city in Boebert's 3rd Congressional District, after also airing on Thursday in the Denver and Grand Junction markets.

Biden and Utah's Republican governor, Spencer Cox, appeared at a VA hospital in Salt Lake City on Thursday to promote the law.

Nearly 350,000 veterans have had their claims approved in the last year and another 111,000 have enrolled for care, the Associated Press reported.

Calling Autobee "the star of this hit job" and a "liberal extremist" who once campaigned for Democrats Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama, Boebert's campaign manager, Drew Sexton, predicted that voters won't buy the veteran's message.

"George and progressive, dark-money groups can keep shoveling money into attacking Congresswoman Boebert, but 3rd District voters know better when it comes to her strong record of supporting our veterans," Sexton told Colorado Politics in an email. He noted that Autobee launched another group that opposed Boebert during her first run for the House in 2020.

Sexton pointed to a string of Boebert's recent legislative achievements on veterans issues, including a half dozen amendments she sponsored that have passed the House and four veterans-related bills she supported that have been signed into law.

Boebert, he added, "is continuing to fight to ensure our veterans receive the care they earned."

As for voting against the PACT Act, Sexton said Boebert considered the bill poorly drafted and was concerned the VA was unprepared for the influx of new claims, potentially leading to worse care for veterans already facing backlogs. Difficulty with the program's rollout has confirmed those qualms, he added, pointing to problems veterans have faced signing up online and a growing backlog of cases.

What's more, Boebert disagreed with approving the bill's massive price tag without offsetting the spending, he said. She was also bothered that the bill made a distinction between gender and biological sex, he said. 

The Department of Veterans Affairs on Thursday extended the application deadline from Aug. 9 to Aug. 14 for veterans and theirs survivors to receive benefits backdated to a year ago, citing website difficulties the VA says have been mostly resolved. Veterans who file an intent to apply for benefits by the deadline will also be eligible for backdated benefits, the VA adds.