Issue Position: Veterans

Issue Position

Our commitment to the men and women who serve in our armed forces must not end when they return home from the battlefield. With thousands of new Veterans returning from service in Iraq and Afghanistan, many coming home to Michigan's 7th District, and I am dedicated to providing our heroes with:

Unrivaled Care
Congress has an obligation to care for America's wounded heroes when they return home from the battlefield. It is the least we can do to provide the highest quality medical care to the brave men and women of our armed forces when they are injured defending the freedoms we enjoy. I am fighting in Congress to improve Veterans care and make sure our heroes receive medical care that is thorough, meets world-class standards and is patient-centered. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs operates the largest integrated healthcare system in the United States, and I believe we must maximize and improve this great resource.

Dedicated Resources
With the conflict in Iraq coming to an end, it is important that Congress assist veterans as they transition intothe job market. For this reason, I co-sponsored H.R. 2433, the Veterans Opportunity to Work Act of 2011 (VOW Act), which created retraining assistance programs for veterans 35-60 years old. In October 2011, H.R. 2433 passed the House, and in November, a revised version passed the Congress as part of a larger tax relief measure which has now become law.

In May 2011 the House passed H.R. 1407, the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act. H.R. 1407 increases the cost of living adjustment allotted to disabled veterans to reflect the increasing burden of health care and living costs our veterans face. The bill now awaits further consideration in the Senate.

In July 2011, the House passed H.R. 1383, the Restoring GI Bill Fairness Act of 2011, which ensures the higher-payment rates for veterans attending private colleges enacted in the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance Program. H.R. 1383 provides for the necessary funds to prepare our veterans for their future civilian employment and was signed into law in August 2011.

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