Turner Supports Bills to Improve Service and Benefits for Veterans and Service Members

Statement

Turner Supports Bills to Improve Service and Benefits for Veterans and Service Members

I serve on both the Veterans' Affairs (VA) and House Armed Services Committees (HASC). These committee assignments provide me with opportunities to work for Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and those who wear the uniform of one of the branches of United States Armed Forces - past and present.

During five years serving in the U.S. House of Representatives I have visited with the brave members of the U.S. military serving active duty in Afghanistan, the Balkan states, Iraq, and else where throughout the world. I have met with veterans whose service dates back to World War II, both in Washington D.C. and at home in the District, including at the Dayton Veterans Center.

U.S. service members and veterans as well as their families, have made tremendous sacrifices in defense of our freedom and liberty. Just prior to Memorial Day this year, I was proud to support passage of several bills on the floor of the House of Representatives, as part of my work on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee. Each of these bills is designed to give America's veterans and returning service members improved access to the services and benefits they need and desire.

Some of the bills I was please to support include:

- The Veterans Outreach Improvement Act (HR 67) establishes a program within the VA to help state and local governments reach out to veterans and their families to inform them about services and benefits for which they are eligible, and how to apply for them.
- The Returning Service Member VA Healthcare Insurance Act (HR 612) extends from two years to five years the eligibility period for VA medical services for combat veterans who served during or after the Persian Gulf War. This change is intended to help veterans who may have a service-related injury, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, whose symptoms do not emerge until well after the service member has been discharged from the military.
- The Chiropractic Care Available to All Veterans Act (HR 1470) expands chiropractic care for veterans to at least 75 medical centers by 2009 and to all VA facilities nationwide by 2011.
- The Traumatic Brain Injury Health Enhancement and Long-Term Support Act (HR 2199) creates a comprehensive program to improve the VA's tracking, screening, and treatment of veterans suffering from traumatic brain injuries. It requires the VA to screen veterans for traumatic brain injury, authorizes five new traumatic brain-injury research centers, and creates a pilot program of mobile veterans' centers in rural communities to provide returning veterans access to readjustment counseling and other mental health services.
- The Early Access to Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Benefits Act (HR 2239) allows members of the armed forces who are injured in the line of duty to receive vocational rehabilitation and employment benefits before they have completed their service. Under current law, service members must wait until they are discharged from the military to receive these benefits from the VA. This legislation will enable veterans to seek employment and help them make a successful transition back to civilian life.
- The Wounded Warrior Assistance Act (HR 1538) aims to improve the care and treatment of wounded soldiers and veterans, so that patients at Walter Reed Medical Center or VA health care facilities have access to the best care and treatment available. It creates a system of patient advocates and counselors who help ensure that service members get the health care they need, and it provides a toll-free hotline for patients and their families to report problems with health care facilities or services.

As a member of the House Veterans' Affairs and House Armed Services Committees, I will continue to be a strong advocate for our nation's veterans and service members. I will work to ensure that veterans throughout Ohio's Third District are provided the benefits and services they have earned.

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