3 Reasons We Need More Veterans Serving in Congress, Part 3

Press Release

Senator-Soldier Lee Zeldin, Republican and Conservative Party candidate for Congress in New York's First Congressional District, today released the third of a three part series of statements this week on three reasons we need more veterans serving in Congress. Zeldin, who served in Iraq in the Army's elite 82nd Airborne Division and continues to serve as an Army Major in the reserves, released the following statement:

"When our troops return home from combat, there are many ways to say thank you. For those service members who bring home the mental wounds of war, it is a very difficult adjustment. Unfortunately, too many of our veterans don't receive the help they so desperately need and deserve.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) present physical, mental and emotional challenges that make our veterans feel isolated and alone. Stresses result on families, friendships and employment that can worsen these challenges. These military veterans may not know who or what to turn to for an escape from their struggles.

The federal government's effort to help veterans cope with PTSD and TBI has been unimpressive at best. We need more veterans fighting for veterans in Congress; we need those who actually understand and can relate to the difficulties those returning from deployment are struggling to overcome.

As a State Senator and a veteran, I have dedicated my time in Albany to fighting for those who fought for us. Protecting veterans has always remained one of my highest priorities. One of the accomplishments that I am most proud of was launching the successful PFC Joseph Dwyer Program here in Suffolk County, which we have since expanded to eleven other counties. This program is unlike any other, because it is a peer-to-peer model of support for veterans. Through this program, our brave men and women who are our neighbors are learning to cope with PTSD and TBI, with the realization that they aren't alone. They have brothers and sisters in their home communities, going through very similar challenges. In Washington, I will do everything in my power to fill the void of leadership on this issue just as I did in Albany."

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