Pelosi and Walz Hear from Local Minnesota Veterans

Press Release

On the heels of a series of public veterans' forums, Congressman Tim Walz today held a roundtable with southern Minnesota veterans and the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi. The purpose of the roundtable was for veterans to share their experiences and their ideas about how Congress can do more to honor our sacred contract with the men and women who served our country.

Congressman Walz and Speaker Pelosi heard from veterans about access to health care and challenges faced by rural veterans and the new generation of veterans returning from overseas. Clark Dyrud, Governor Pawlenty's Commissioner of Veterans Affairs and Larry Shellito, the Adjutant General of the Minnesota National Guard also participated in the roundtable. Pelosi visited Minnesota at the invitation of Congressman Walz, who served for 24 years in the Army National Guard before retiring as a Command Sergeant Major and is now the highest ranking enlisted soldier ever to serve in Congress.

"I'm honored that Speaker Pelosi accepted my invitation to sit down with veterans from my district to hear first-hand about their experiences and ideas," said Congressman Tim Walz. "I have been meeting with veterans across my district this year learning more about the issues that matter most to them. I wanted to make sure that representatives from our veterans' community had the opportunity to meet directly with the Speaker of the House today."

"The number one issue for veterans in my district is health care," Walz said. "The VA hospital here in Minneapolis is doing fantastic work, but the challenge for the veterans in rural Minnesota is the long, expensive drive they have to make to get to this great institution. Speaker Pelosi is providing strong leadership when it comes to doing right by our veterans and I'm pleased that veterans were able to share their ideas about mileage reimbursements and community based services."

Speaker Pelosi said: "As the New Direction Congress continues to fulfill our commitment to care for our veterans when they return home, it is critical that we hear firsthand the challenges facing America's veterans. That is why I thank Congressman Walz for inviting me to the Minneapolis VA Medical Center and providing me with the opportunity to meet with the brave men and women who have honorably served and sacrificed for our nation. As a leading research center and home to a renowned polytrauma center, the VAMC serves as a model for the care and treatment our veterans deserve."

During the roundtable, Walz called for several key policy changes:

- Increasing the mileage reimbursement rate for veterans driving long distances to access health care. Walz also supports repealing the law that requires the VA Secretary to increase health care deductibles when the mileage rate is increased.

-Expanding Minnesota's innovative Beyond the Yellow Ribbon reintegration program.

- Improving cooperation between the federal Department of Defense and state and local government units so that County Veterans Service Officers are notified when a soldier is discharged from the service. Providing this notification would give local CVSOs the ability to reach out to newly discharged veterans to educate them about various services that are available to help them transition to civilian life.

- Enacting a 21st Century GI Bill which modernizes educational benefits for those who have served.

"The Minneapolis VA is a wonderful place where America's brave men and women go to heal," Walz concluded. "We owe a debt of gratitude both to the soldiers and to the men and women of the VA who provide care ranging from comprehensive rehabilitative services in the world-class polytrauma center to out-patient preventative care throughout a veterans life.".

The New Direction Congress has championed veterans' issues by passing the largest budgetary increase for the VA in the department's 77-year history. The Congress also passed a 3.5 percent across the board pay raise for all service members, expanded VA research on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, increased the mileage reimbursement rate for rural veterans traveling to the VA, and passed a law allowing 100 percent disabled veterans to receive both their military retirement benefits and VA disability compensation.

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