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ask.heather@mail.house.gov

In Washington DC
442 Cannon House
Office Building
Washington, DC
20515
202-225-6316 Phone
202-225-4975 Fax
In Albuquerque
20 First Plaza NW
Suite 603
Albuquerque, NM
87102
505-346-6781 Phone
505-346-6723 Fax

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Congresswoman Heather Wilson, First Congressional District of New Mexico


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A Resting Place May 30, 2001
 
Dear Friends,

The House passed the education bill last week and, on early Saturday morning, we sent the tax relief bill to the President. Most of us slept in our offices Friday night, so it was a pretty bleary-eyed crowd that voted for a bill that will let you keep more of what you earn and try to keep the economy growing. Mary Bono from California said it was kind of like taking the red eye, but there was no movie. That made us laugh.

You can read about the tax bill and the education bill in the Constituent Corner and on our press releases this week. Both of them are pretty big deals that we worked hard on.

There`s something else I want to tell you about that didn`t have a chance of making it into the regular news in a week dominated by Senator Jeffords, Education bills, tax relief, energy and so forth.

On Wednesday I met with Secretary of Veterans Affairs Tony Principe. Shortly after he was confirmed, I wrote to him about the need for a cemetery in New Mexico to replace Santa Fe when it closes for new internments.

Tony Principe is a guy from the Bronx with a sparkle in his eye and a direct manner that I like. He`s a New Yorker who went to the Naval Academy. He married an Army nurse who served in Vietnam. His two boys showed better judgment than their dad: they went to the Air Force Academy. They were both lacrosse players who are on active duty -- one just starting pilot training and the other in Europe.

In one of our notes back and forth setting up our meeting I sent him a "Go Falcons" bumper sticker. He brought me a Naval Academy baseball cap when he came up to visit.

Last year, I was able to get language in the VA funding bill directing that they conduct a survey of cemetery needs this year and that the survey include the Albuquerque area of New Mexico. The survey is now underway. I told the Secretary that, according to the director of the Santa Fe Cemetery, we figure it will close in 2008-2010, not in 2012 as the VA projects. And I told him that a follow-on to Santa Fe is a high priority for New Mexico`s veterans.

We also talked about health care and the waiting times for processing VA claims. He expects to establish a task force on veterans health care to review where we are and where we need to go. I`ll help him with that if I can. I invited him to come to New Mexico, and I hope he will come.

It was a good meeting in a week dominated by other swirling events. I`ll persist.

Good to be home,

Heather
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