“As a Navy veteran and a member of the Congress who represents over 50,000 veterans, I know our country has asked its servicemen and women to do extraordinary things all over the world for many years. Time after time, our volunteers have courageously served our nation and in doing so have made their family, friends, and fellow countrymen and women proud. The veterans of this country have made great sacrifices and they deserve nothing less than the best we have to offer. Our country made a commitment to those who served, and I believe that we must honor that obligation by providing the best benefits and health care possible to every veteran. This is the least that our country owes veterans for the sacrifices they have made.” - Maurice

• Funding Veterans’ Benefits: Last year, Maurice, as a member of the House Appropriations Committee, helped secure the largest investment for the Department of Veterans Affairs in 30 years. Those resources provide a path to restoring and revitalizing the services provided to veterans by adding $14.5 billion above fiscal year 2009. Under the Democratic leadership, Congress has provided a 70% increase for VA medical care funding over the past three years.
• Restoring Education for Veterans: Maurice helped pass the post-9/11 GI bill, which restores the promise of a full, four-year college education for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan with money for tuition and housing while in school. Since the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill went into effect in August 2009, $1.2 billion worth of education benefits have been paid to veteran students. More than 475,000 veterans have been certified as eligible to use this new program and 209,834 veteran students are enrolled for the 2010 spring semester using their Post-9/11 G.I. Bill benefits.
• Assisting Wounded and Women Veterans: The Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act will provide support to families who care for disabled, ill or injured veterans, and enhances health services for 1.8 million women veterans. The bill also includes an expansion of mental health services and improves access to health care for veterans in rural areas.
• Working to Stop Negligent Health Care at Military Medical Facilities: Maurice is the author of the Carmelo Rodriguez Military Medical Accountability Act which would reverse current law and permit armed service members and their families to hold the military accountable for negligent health care. The bill is named after the late Sgt. Carmelo Rodriguez of Ellenville, New York, who died of skin cancer last year after a series of extraordinary mistakes made by military medical personnel.