Issue Position: Veterans

Issue Position

As an appropriator, Congresswoman DeLauro supported the 2008 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill which increased the VA budget by $6.6 billion above the 2007 level, the largest single increase in the 77-year history of the agency. Since then, Congresswoman DeLauro has supported appropriations that build upon that effort continuing to increase VA funding so that that veterans receive the quality of care that they deserve.

Congresswoman DeLauro co-sponsored the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, greatly expanding educational benefits for our post-9/11 veterans. The new law offers the nearly 2 million brave men and women who have served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan educational benefits on par with those provided to veterans of the World War II era. Among other things, the new law provides these veterans, including Guard and Reservists, who served 3 years on active duty, benefits to cover the costs of a four-year education at the most expensive in-state public school, along with a stipend for housing, books and other expenses.

While many of the brave men and women serving our country will take advantage of these benefits, those pursuing a different type of education, namely on the job training and apprenticeships, will not be provided an equal benefit. In order to close this loophole, Congresswoman DeLauro introduced the Post 9/11 Veterans' Job Training Act, which would expand the opportunities under the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill to include a subsidy to help veterans participating in on the job training and apprenticeship programs to help cover housing costs, tutoring, testing and certification fees and relocation and travel expenses. The legislation is endorsed by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

Congresswoman DeLauro is also especially concerned with the quality of mental health care available to service-members and veterans. Accordingly, Congresswoman DeLauro introduced legislation to, among other things, ensure that troops deploying to combat theaters get the mental health screening they need before and after deployment. Congresswoman DeLauro successfully led an effort to amend the Fiscal Year 2010 Defense Authorization Bill to create a post-deployment mental health screening program, and the final bill included language instituting such a screening program across all services.

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