This week, I was proud to cast my vote in support of the “Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act,” a bill that improves health services for our nation’s veterans and their families. The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed this legislation that increases support for wounded and female veterans, improves mental health care, and enables better access to health care for veterans who live in rural areas, like much of Western North Carolina.
The brave men and women who serve our country deserve the best care and support we can offer, while in uniform and throughout their lives. I always strive to improve veterans’ access to health care, and to supply our VA medical centers with sufficient resources to ensure they have the best available staff and equipment to treat America’s veterans.
With the passage of this legislation, babies of female veterans will be cared for, for the first time in history, by the Veterans Administration. The bill provides health care and stipends for those who live with and provide care to severely injured veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. It will help veterans in rural areas by strengthening grants offered to local Veterans Service Organizations to expand transportation services to local VA hospitals and clinics. This bill was passed by the Senate in November, also with unanimous support.
The American Legion, who supported this bill along with the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, AMVETS, Paralyzed Veterans of America, the Wounded Warriors Project and the National Military Family Association, said this legislation “offers bold solutions to major challenges facing service members, veterans, and their families.” I firmly believe that veterans’ health care is a cost of war and a moral obligation. Our veterans deserve health care that is prompt, effective, and efficient. I will continue fighting in Congress to make certain that our veterans are receiving all the benefits they earned and are being cared for properly through the VA system.
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