Issue Position: Veterans

Issue Position

Grateful to the men and women who have served our country. Generations of men and women have fought with great valor to preserve and protect our nation. Many take for granted the freedoms we hold so dear and forget that those freedoms are not free. We will forever be indebted to those who have served.

Ensuring affordable, quality benefits for military retirees is a priority of Congress.

Many of our military retirees were promised health care for life when they joined the military. Veterans should receive the benefits they deserve in a fair, consistent, and timely manner.

Horrified by reports of delays in basic medical screenings at VA hospitals or clinics throughout the country, which may have caused serious injuries or led to the deaths of a number of veterans. This is completely unacceptable, and these systemic failures must never again happen at the VA to the detriment of those the agency serves -- our nation's veterans.

Office stands ready to assist with any specific issues that veterans may have with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Actions

Voted to support the Veterans' Access to Care Through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act (H.R. 3230). Importantly, this bill will require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to allow eligible veterans to receive care outside of the VA system at non-VA facilities if that veteran resides more than 40 miles from the nearest VA medical facility -- as is often the case in the Ninth District -- or if that veteran is unable to obtain an appointment within a 30-day timeframe. This bill will also give the VA greater authority to hold accountable and fire those higher-ups at the VA who, in failing to meet to their obligation to ensure quality, timely care, fail our nation's veterans. This bipartisan legislation passed the House and the Senate and became law when the President signed it on August 7, 2014.

Supports the Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act (H.R. 32), which would end the so-called "Widow's Tax." Current policy requires surviving spouses of service members killed in the line of duty or from a service-connected cause to forfeit the Survivor Benefit Pension annuity. This creates a substantial burden for the surviving spouses of those brave service members that have made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty or from a service-connected cause.

Supports the Veteran's I.D. Card Act (H.R. 1598), which would provide all veterans, not just those who are entitled to receive retirement or medical benefits, with an ID card from the Veterans Administration. This legislation would allow many veterans who have served honorably to prove their status as a veteran much more easily so they can access benefits and discounts that many private businesses offer to veterans.

Supports the Timely Access to Health Care Act (H.R. 241), which would ensure that veterans seeking primary and specialty care from a Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility will receive an appointment within 30 days.

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