Issue Position: Honoring our Veterans

Issue Position

"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, is directly proportional to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated."
- George Washington, 1789

As a former Lieutenant Commander and Seabee Combat Warfare Specialist in the U.S. Navy Reserve, I understand the challenges facing our brave troops when they deploy overseas and when they return home.

The men and women who put their lives on the line for our country deserve the same level of commitment in return, and in Congress, I will fight to make sure that every veteran receives the care and benefits they have earned.

Even with the record increases passed by Democrats last year, we are still not fully funding the health care and benefits that our veterans have earned. I will fight to fully-fund veterans health care and provide our veterans with the best care available, and I will work to make sure that no veteran or soldier ever has to endure conditions like those we witnessed at Walter Reed Hospital.

My additional priorities for our veterans are:

Cutting the VA Claims Backlog

Right now, there is a backlog of over half a million benefits claims pending in the VA system. This is completely unacceptable. In Congress, I will make it a top priority to provide the funds, facilities, and resources needed to cut this backlog and give our veterans access to the care they need.

Ending the Penalty on Concurrent Receipts and the Eliminating the "Widow's Tax"

Veterans who receive disability payments, or spouses of deceased veterans who receive survivors' benefits, are currently penalized by having those benefits deducted from their Social Security payments. We need to end this 'hidden tax' on veterans and military families, and we must guarantee that they receive the full benefits they earned.

Expanding VA Health Care and Benefits to the National Guard and Reserve
Over 477,000 National Guard and Reserve members have served in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001 - yet they are still not eligible for the same benefits as regular military troops receive. This is fundamentally unfair, and I will work to extend military health care and education benefits to all military personnel who serve our country in harm's way.

Fix the Broken System at the VA that allows PTSD and TBI to go Undiagnosed and Untreated

Although improvements have been made, many veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan still suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), or other serious psychological injuries - which are just as real as physical wounds. I will work to give the Department of Defense and the VA the resources they need to reach out to - and treat - every soldier and veteran who needs care.

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