Issue Position: Veterans
Issue Position
Our veterans have sacrificed so much in their service to this country. I am privileged to represent approximately 90,000 veterans that now reside in our area of southwest Florida.
The VFW Honors Congressman Buchanan
I was honored to receive the Veterans of Foreign Wars' (VFW) legislative achievement award by the Florida VFW in 2009. But Congress must continue to do more to ensure our nation's veterans get the health care and benefits they have so rightly earned.
New Local VA Facilities
I had the pleasure of helping open a new VA outpatient facility in Manatee County. This facility will allow our veteran population to receive services without traveling to Ellenton or Bay Pines centers.
Quicker VA Claims Processing
The disability claims backlog is the most critical challenge VA faces. Despite enormous increases in resources the problem continues to grow worse. As a member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, I have helped pass several pieces of legislation to provide better, more timely claims processing through several initiatives:
* 2,700 new claims officials have been added to VA staff.
* Internet technology and online claims submission has removed large gaps in benefit approval times.
* Electronic Medical Records have reduced claims verification time significantly.
Agent Orange
For decades, many veterans of the Vietnam War that were exposed to Agent Orange have been denied care from the VA. I supported legislation to fix this injustice and provide over $13 billion in compensation to compensate those with illnesses related to exposure to Agent Orange.
Advance Funding To Prevent Medical Program And Benefit Interruptions
In order for the VA to address the issues at hand Congress has passed the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act (H.R. 1016). The bill authorizes Congress to approve VA medical care appropriations one year in advance of the start of each fiscal year. An advance appropriation would provide VA with up to one year in which to plan how to deliver the most efficient and effective care to an increasing number of veterans with increasingly complex medical conditions.
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