Issues: Veterans

“It is the Veterans to whom we owe our thanks for the freedoms and liberties we enjoy today in America.”— Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson

The United States prides itself on having the world’s greatest military. Our nation understands that military men and women are the backbone of our national security so it is imperative to provide them with the tools and resources they need as they defend America.

But our commitment to these brave soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines does not end on battlefields. It is also crucial that we fulfill our promises to those who have served so ably in the past.

That is why Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson works for our military veterans to ensure that they receive the benefits they deserve. As a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee from 2001 through 2004, Nelson worked to enhance and expand veterans’ benefits while collaborating with the Veterans Administration to ensure veterans health care is accessible and available throughout Nebraska.

Working for Veterans

In Nebraska:

  1. Senator Nelson worked to secure top priority funding for a renovation project at the Grand Island VA Nursing Home Care Unit in December 2001. The renovations will allow the Grand Island facility to better assist elderly and disabled veterans. The top priority funding designation ensured that Grand Island would be first on the list to receive funding in the fiscal year 2002 budget.
  2. Senator Nelson supported recommendations to create three new Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) to serve Nebraska veterans in the Holdrege, O’Neill and Bellevue areas. Nelson urged the VA to accept this recommendation after the Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services (CARES) Commission originally rejected the proposal. The Commission subsequently adopted Nelson’s recommendation.

In Washington:

  1. Senator Nelson has consistently urged full funding for veterans programs. Nelson wrote to President Bush in January 2004 in support of full funding and in opposition to higher co-payments and new fees for veteran’s health services.
  2. Senator Nelson co-sponsored the Homeless Veterans Act which aims to end homelessness among the men and women who have served in uniform within the next decade. This bill was passed in 2001.
  3. Senator Nelson cosponsored the Retired Pay Restoration Act (S. 170) that will allow disabled veterans to receive compensation without having to sacrifice part of their retirement pay.
  4. Senator Nelson is a strong supporter and co-sponsor of legislation that will assist veterans coping with the high cost of prescription drugs. The Veterans' Co-payment Adjustment Act (S. 1408) will exempt low-income veterans from paying a prescription drug co-payment.
  5. Senator Nelson supports to designating veterans' healthcare funding as mandatory spending just as veterans' compensation and pension payments are mandatory.