Veterans
Across America, millions of brave men and women have served in our nation's armed services.
They have left behind their families, friends, and jobs to fight for our way of life around the world. These veterans deserve the best we have to offer when they decide to take off their uniforms and return to civilian life. I consider it one of my top priorities to work for our patriotic veterans to ensure they receive the health care, housing, and educational benefits that they and their families deserve.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has developed a tool to help veterans access official information about their health records, military training, and experience. This tool allows veterans to manage their VA health care online and compile critical service records that can help them in job searches or their careers. For more information, please click here.
Helping Veterans Achieve Financial Stability
Every year, thousands of troops return home from deployments overseas, prepared to separate from military service and begin their civilian lives. Many of these service members have spent their brief military service in the structured atmosphere of a military base and have never had an opportunity to find reasonably priced housing, manage day-to-day bills associated with living on a civilian income, or have yet to start saving for their futures. This inexperience in managing basic financial responsibilities puts both veterans and their families at significant risk of foreclosure and unmanageable debt.
I authored the Military Families Financial Preparedness Act to help military families achieve long-term financial stability upon returning to civilian life. This bill added a financial counseling component to the Department of Defense's successful pre-separation counseling program, which has helped veterans and their spouses become familiar with important VA programs and better prepare them to seek an education and start a civilian career. Under this legislation, pre-separation counseling sessions include information on budgets, saving, credit, and mortgages and will help veterans and their spouses create a long-term financial plan. This legislation passed the House as an amendment to the FY 2012 National Defense Authorization Act and was signed into law by President Obama.
Improving Mental Health Treatment
Today, our Armed Services continue to struggle with the stigma associated with mental illness despite ongoing efforts at the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs to increase screening, counseling, and awareness. Too often, service members resist treatment and hide warning signs, attributing underperformance in combat and difficulty readjusting to civilian life to less serious causes. In many tragic cases, undiagnosed mental illness and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) have resulted in domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and suicide.
In an effort to improve mental health screenings and treatment, I authored the Service Members Mental Health Screening Act and the Military Suicide Reduction Act. Together, these bills ensure that service members receive mandatory pre-, mid-, and post-deployment screenings that holistically address past diagnoses and treatments and initiate treatment in combat, where many mental health challenges are likely to originate. I also authored the Military Mental Health Improvement Act, which ensures that service members are aware of their privacy rights when pursuing mental health treatment. This aims to avoid the common misperception that treatment will negatively impact career progression, dissuading service members from pursuing the help they need.
These bills passed the House and were signed into law by President Obama as amendments to the FY 2012 and FY 2014 National Defense Authorization Acts.
Improving VA Services
Our veterans have sacrificed to protect this nation in times of great need, and we have an obligation to provide them with the benefits they were promised. That is why the 2014 revelation that at least forty veterans died waiting for care at the Phoenix VA Medical Center was so disturbing. Veterans deserve better than this, and there is no reason that we cannot successfully provide it to them.
Since initial details first emerged, I have been strongly supportive of the investigation into inappropriate and dishonest scheduling practices at VA facilities across the country. I raised questions with the Secretary of the VA about the Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis, not out of suspicion, but because I wanted to ensure that Hoosier veterans were receiving the care they need. While I supported legislation to enable veterans to pursue care outside of the VA when faced with long wait times, I believe it warrants strong oversight to ensure that veterans receive the level of care they deserve.
Supporting the PACT Act
I am proud to have supported the PACT Act (Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act), which ensures that veterans who have been exposed to toxic burn pits and other hazardous substances during their service receive the health care and benefits they deserve. This landmark legislation expands access to care and benefits for veterans suffering from the effects of toxic exposure. It is crucial that we do everything in our power to support our veterans as they deal with the long-term effects of their service, and the PACT Act is a vital step in ensuring they receive the medical care and compensation they need.
Assisting Unemployed Veterans
Over the last several years, veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have demonstrated the wide array of unique qualifications they bring to the workplace, resulting in a significant drop in unemployment. Despite this progress, the veterans' unemployment rate remains far too high. More needs to be done to help veterans translate the skills and leadership experience gained in the military into civilian jobs.
The Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Labor are working together with employers across the country to promote veterans' hiring initiatives and job training. To complement their efforts, I voted for legislation to establish job training programs for veterans. Those who have served bravely in our nation's military deserve our help retraining for the modern American workforce.
Improving G.I. Benefits
Immediately following WWII, over 7.8 million veterans were able to obtain college and post-secondary educations free of charge. Today, these benefits only cover 70% of public and 30% of private post-secondary educational expenses, making it difficult for many veterans to afford a college education.
To ensure that veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan receive full educational benefits, I proudly voted to pass the 21st Century G.I. Bill, which will provide full, four-year scholarships to all who have served in our nation's Armed Forces since September 11, 2001. This drastic and long-overdue increase in educational benefits will help our newest generation of veterans receive the tools they need to build productive and successful lives for themselves and their families after leaving the military.
Providing Veterans with Adequate Housing
Disability and unemployment resulting from extended deployments have caused an unacceptably high number of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans to fall into foreclosure and homelessness. In order to support our veterans returning from combat, I voted for legislation that increases the number of homeownership loans available to veterans and boosts funding for counseling services and other resources to help our nation's homeless veterans.