Dignity for Mst Survivors Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. MRVAN. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise in support of the Dignity for MST Survivors Act, legislation I was proud to introduce and collaborate with Chairman Takano, Chairwoman Luria, and my other colleagues to address longstanding issues regarding the treatment of survivors of military sexual trauma.

I also thank the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Paralyzed Veterans of America, The American Legion, and the Wounded Warrior Project for their endorsements of this legislation.

The Dignity for MST Survivors Act seeks to support and affirm veterans who experienced sexual trauma during their military service as they navigate the Board of Veterans' Appeals claims appeal process.

According to the data collected by the Department of Veterans Affairs, an unconscionable 1 in 3 of our brave women veterans and 1 in 50 male veterans report having experienced sexual assault or sexual harassment.

Such traumatic events often have lasting impacts on these individuals' physical and mental health, placing MST survivors at heightened risk for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other debilitating conditions.

Despite these clear treatment needs, many MST survivors face significant difficulty in accessing healthcare and disability benefits from the VA.

In August 2021, an investigation released by the VA's Office of the Inspector General found that an astounding 57 percent of denied MST claims were improperly processed by the VA, in part due to claims processors' lack of MST training.

Multiple veterans service organizations report that the BVA has proven similarly ill-equipped to deal with appeals of denied MST claims and that the current claims appeal process has the unfortunate potential to retraumatize MST survivors.

While the VA has taken steps in the right direction, more must be done to improve the claims appeal experience, show compassion, and safeguard the dignity of MST survivors.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation in order to ensure MST survivors are not retraumatized at any point in their effort to obtain the world-class healthcare and disability benefits to which they are entitled.

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