Honoring our Veterans - Important Veterans issues in the 111th Congress:

The first piece of legislation Congresswoman Halvorson introduced in Congress was H.R. 1335, to alleviate the financial burdens of healthcare costs to catastrophically disabled veterans. That legislation passed in the House, along with two other important bills introduced for veterans, the Wounded Warrior Caregiver Assistance Act, H.R. 2898, and the Families of Veterans Financial Security Act, H.R. 2774.

The Wounded Warrior Caregiver Assistance Act provides support services for the family caregivers that dedicate their lives providing home care for their severely wounded loved one. She believes an injured veteran and his or her family need to worry about recovery, not about medical bills. This is why she also introduced the Families of Veterans Financial Security Act, to protect the financial security and life insurance for veterans and their families while they work towards recovery.

In April of 2010, both H.R. 1335, the catastrophically disabled veterans co-payment elimination bill, and H.R. 2898, the Wounded Warrior Caregiver Assistance Act, were passed unanimously by the House and Senate in S. 1963, the Caregivers and Veterans Health Services Omnibus Act of 2009.

Additionally, the Congresswoman has fought to protect funding for veterans health care by co-sponsoring legislation that streamlines the existing bureaucratic funding process through advanced funding for the VA. This legislation, H.R. 1016, the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act, removes Washington politics from deciding how to best care for our veterans, so that agencies can better plan for future care. This legislation was signed by the President in 2009.

House Veterans' Affairs Committee:

As a member of the subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs the Congresswoman has worked to decrease the claims backlog, eliminate document tampering at the VA, and help our veterans deal with the challenges of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

On the Health subcommittee the Congresswoman has to ensure the needs of our growing women veterans' population are met, that family caregivers of our wounded warriors have the training and resources they need, and that veterans in rural areas have access to quality healthcare.

The Congresswoman is also a staunch advocate for expanded veterans services in her district. She has spearheaded the effort in Congress to convert Silver Cross Hospital's Joliet facility into a VA facility to care for our veterans with expanded services, shortening their commute times to the Chicago hospital and giving a local option for care.

Veterans Advisory Committee:

Congresswoman Halvorson also created the 11th Congressional District of Illinois Veterans Advisory Committee that consists of veteran representatives from every region in the district. This group holds quarterly meetings with the Congresswoman to keep her informed and educated about what veterans in her district are experiencing and concerned about.