Issue Position: Veterans

Issue Position

Senator Jeanne Shaheen: Working For Our Nation's Veterans

From a family with a strong tradition of military service, Jeanne is a tireless advocate for keeping our commitment to veterans. Jeanne has introduced legislation to encourage companies to hire vets and supported 2011 legislation that provided tax
credits to businesses that hired unemployed veterans. Jeanne has been a vocal critic of the Obama administration's inability to end the VA backlog and was one of the first Senators to call for new leadership and accountability at the VA. Jeanne continues to
fight for a full-service VA hospital in New Hampshire and fought for new veterans clinics in the North Country and Keene. She cut through the government bureaucracy that was preventing a badly needed Manchester veterans center from opening and she successfully advocated for grant funding for critical New Hampshire programs that help homeless veterans find housing.

Health Care

* VA Hospital: Jeanne's first act in the U.S. Senate was to introduce the bipartisan Veterans Health Equity Act of 2009, which would require the VA to open a full-service medical center in New Hampshire. She continued that fight and has urged the VA to approve a plan that would fill the healthcare gap for New Hampshire veterans.

* Access To Care -- While fighting for a full-service VA hospital, Jeanne successfully fought to get a veterans clinic in Keene open after delays and successfully advocated for two new veterans clinics for in Berlin and Colebrook.

* Mental Health & Suicide Prevention: In 2009, Jeanne-sponsored legislation to expand mental healthcare and suicide prevention efforts for members of the National Guard, Reserves, and their families was signed into law.

* Deployment Cycle Support Program: Jeanne has secured millions for the New Hampshire National Guard's Deployment Cycle Support Program (DCSP) that supports deploying servicemembers and their families during deployment and reintegration.

* Homelessness: In the Senate, Jeanne has voted to increase funding to help homeless veterans and has helped New Hampshire organizations obtain federal funding to help homeless veterans.

Veterans Benefits

* VA Backlog: Jeanne has been a vocal critic of the Obama administration's inability to end the VA backlog and was one of the first Senators to call for new leadership and accountability at the VA. Jeanne has introduced legislation to hire additional local VA staff to work to eliminate the backlog and to fund legal clinics that would help veterans escape the backlog.

* Expanding Benefits: In 2014, Jeanne cosponsored comprehensive veterans benefits legislation that would greatly expand VA healthcare access, tuition assistance and job training.

* COLA: Jeanne led efforts in the Senate to repeal cuts to retirement benefits; she was the first to introduce repeal legislation and supported passage of bipartisan repeal legislation.

Jobs

* Hiring Veterans: Jeanne has recently introduced the Veterans Hiring Act that would provide a payroll tax cut for business that hire veterans. In 2011, Jeanne cosponsored the VOW to Hire Heroes Act and supported providing businesses with tax credits to encourage them to hire veterans.

* Job Skills: In 2012, Jeanne voted to require states to issue certain professional license to veterans without prerequisite training or apprenticeships if they had relevant experience from the military.

* Small Business: Jeanne has introduced legislation to provide lower cost small business loans to help veterans start their own businesses.

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