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Marty on the Issues |
Click here to view the Congressman's Veteran's Day message. (Windows Media Player, 2.8 MB) Congressman Meehan on Veterans America's Veterans who have served and sacrificed for our country have earned our gratitude and our respect. Unfortunately, we aren’t honoring our commitment to them as we should.
Congressman Meehan presents Paul Whiting of Concord, a veteran of World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, a flag flown in his honor over the U.S. Capitol. I support making adequate funding for veterans’ health care mandatory, so it isn’t pitted against other priorities. I believe that it is wrong to deny our veterans benefits through unfair provisions like the Disabled Veterans Tax, and to allow the widows and widowers of America's Veterans to give up the benefits earned by their spouses. I
will continue to fight in Congress to make sure that we honor
our veterans as they have honored us through their service.
Congressman Meehan meets with members of the the American Legion. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Working to address Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) continues to be one of Congressman Meehan's top priorities in Congress. Congressman Meehan has called on his colleagues to redouble the commitment to soldiers now returning home and those who defended our freedom in past conflicts, ensuring that we provide care not only for the physical wounds, but the emotional scars as well. As
it stands now, the
government
maintains an unacceptably flawed system that neither pays
adequate attention to veterans suffering from mental health
disorders, nor dedicates sufficient resources to diagnosing and
assisting them. This
allows too many veterans suffering from mental health
disorders to fall through the cracks.
The
wave of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan correlates
directly with a steep rise in PTSD sufferers.
A July 2004 New
England Journal of Medicine study indicated that as many as
86% of U.S. soldiers and Marines deployed in Iraq, and 30% of
those in Afghanistan, have engaged in some form of ground
combat. The same
study found that one in five of our troops involved in ground
combat in Iraq suffer from major depression, generalized
anxiety, or PTSD. Congressman
Meehan wrote legislation-- included in the House version of this
year's National Defense Bill-- that would create a Defense
Department mass media campaign to raise awareness about mental
health and substance disorders among service members and their
families. It would
also create peer support programs to support and educate
soldiers about PTSD. This
legislation, which was endorsed by Dr. William Winkenwerder,
Jr., Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs at the
Department of Defense, will help remove the stigma and encourage
people to seek treatment.
Fighting
for the
Bedford VA Hospital Congressman
Marty Meehan worked with other members of the Massachusetts
delegation to protect the Bedford VA Hospital so it could
continue to provide first-class care. Congressman Meehan brought the Secretary of the VA to Bedford to show him what a world-class facility it is – performing research on Alzheimer’s as well as delivering clinical care. The
Secretary recognized the importance of the Alzheimer’s unit at
Bedford, which not only services dozens of Alzheimer’s
patients, but also performs research that helps the 4.5 million
Americans suffering from the disease.
In May 2004, he announced that the facility would remain
open. As
the VA continues its evaluation of facilities throughout the
region, Congressman Meehan continues to work with his colleagues
to ensure that veterans in MA have access to the top-quality
care that they deserve. Concurrent
Receipt: “the Disabled Veterans Tax” Nearly
400,000 military retirees with service-connected disabilities in
this country, and about 4,300 in Massachusetts, lose out on
military retirement benefits due to the Disabled Veterans Tax. As a Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, Congressman Meehan pushed for a complete end to this unfair provision. Congressman
Meehan is a sponsor of the Retired Pay Restoration Act of 2005
(H.R. 303), which would provide full concurrent receipt of both
veterans' disability compensation
and either military retired pay or combat-related special pay to
all individuals who were retired or separated from military
service due to a service-connected disability. Unfortunately,
while this legislation has over 200 bipartisan co-sponsors, the
Republican leadership has not brought this legislation up for a
vote. Survivor
Benefit Plan Over
one million military retirees pay premiums for years and
anticipate that upon their death, their spouse will receive 55
percent of their benefit. Congressman Meehan cosponsored the Military Survivor Benefits Improvement Act to increase the benefit paid to retirees’ spouses to 55 percent over five years. The legislation would also grant a one year open season to retirees currently not enrolled in the SBP. |