Standing up For San Diego Veterans

Statement

Dear Friend,

San Diego is proud of its military history. We are home to the largest concentration of military forces in the world and the third largest population of veterans in the country. One of my most important roles is making sure that our active-duty service members, their families, and our veterans are receiving the benefits that we promised them. Keep reading to see some of the work I've been doing on that front in Congress.

Stopping Predatory Lending

Recently, I successfully led a bipartisan effort in the House to stop predatory lenders from preying on active-duty service members. Predatory lenders targeting our brave men and women in uniform are an acute problem in San Diego given the scale of military personnel in our region. When our service members return from deployment overseas they shouldn't have to worry about being scammed or preyed upon by those trying to exploit their service to our country.

Legislation to Stop Veterans Suicide Signed Into Law

Clay Hunt was a decorated serviceman who was a strong advocate for veterans' programs, but sadly lost his battle with Post-Traumatic Stress. It was my honor to stand with Clay's parents, veterans, and a bipartisan group of colleagues as the President signed the "Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans (SAV) Act" into law. This will make a real difference in the lives of San Diego veterans and their families by increasing programs and outreach to end the tragedy of suicide in the veterans' community. It would not have been possible without the help of veterans and advocates across the country, including Dr. Howard and Jean Somers from Coronado, who have been tireless in their commitment to making reforms at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Continuing the Fight to End Homelessness

Following the recent WeALLCount census of homeless individuals living in our region, I had a productive call with officials from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs about ways to fix the federal homelessness funding formula to ensure San Diego gets its fair share of federal funds to fight homelessness. Fixing this flawed formula will continue to be a priority for me as San Diego works to ending homelessness, particularly among the veterans population.

Scott talking on the phone with officials at the Department of Housing and Urban Development
Bringing San Diego's Defense Expertise to DC

Recently, local leaders including Councilmembers Todd Gloria and David Alvarez and Former-Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher joined me on the USS Midway Museum to speak at the launch of the San Diego chapter of the Truman Project. Some of the brightest national security minds in the country call San Diego home and this group will allow them to be better represented in crucial national security debates.

Scott speaks about San Diego's role in national security debates and presents a proclamation to the San Diego chapter of the Truman Project
Stay in Touch & Feel Free to Tell a Friend

I hope you will stay connected with what I am working on and tell me what is important to you: like my Facebook page, follow me on Twitter, add my Google + page to your circles, or visit my website for more information. If you have a friend you think would also like to receive regular updates, feel free to forward this email or link. As always you can email me or call my offices at 202-225-0508 (DC) or 858-455-5550 (San Diego)

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