Fighting for America’s Veterans

Representative Derek Kilmer strongly believes that our nation owes a debt of gratitude to those who put their lives on the line to defend our freedom. He believes that if you serve our country, we should have your back.  Since coming to Congress, Representative Kilmer has made it a priority to support our local heroes and their families.

• Representative Kilmer believes that the Department of Veterans Affairs needs true reform.  He voted for the Access, Choice, and Accountability of 2014 that provides additional facilities and healthcare professionals to treat our nation’s veterans. The bill also makes it easier to fire those that risked the health of our veterans and makes it easier for rural veterans to seek care.
   
• Leading by example, Representative Kilmer has formed a Veterans Advisory Group to identify the challenges that veterans face. With their feedback, he was focused on educational barriers, discriminatory practices against veterans, veterans’ homelessness, and access to medical care. 
   
• Representative Kilmer believes that Congress should identify ways to create career pathways for servicemembers whose experience and training may not be fully recognized in the private sector. When the House Armed Services Committee considered the Fiscal Year 2014 National Defense Authorization Act, Representative Kilmer strongly supported provisions that encourage the military to better align their training to similar trainings and certification programs found in the civilian sector. He has cosponsored several bills such as the Veteran Employment Transition Act to make tax credits available for veterans who require job training, and the Troop Talent Act of 2013 to make information in civilian credentialing available to members of the military.
   
• The transition to civilian life can be daunting given the difficulties involved in obtaining decent work and affordable housing. Unfortunately, some veterans have experienced discrimination on both fronts related to their service. To address this issue, Representative Kilmer introduced the Veterans and Servicemembers Employment Rights and Housing Act of 2013, which would further protect veterans trying to get a job or find housing from discriminatory practices. This bill has become a priority for several veterans’ service organizations.
   
• Representative Kilmer strongly supports programs designed to help end veteran homelessness and believes that these programs should be accessible to all veteran populations. Many Native American veterans, however, are unable to access successful programs such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program - even though the Native veteran population is disproportionately higher than that of all veterans. Representative Kilmer introduced the Housing Native Heroes Act to ensure that the brave Native American veterans who served our nation can also access the vital rental assistance, case management, and clinical services through the HUD-VASH program.
   
• Representative Kilmer introduced the Veterans Health Administration Management Improvement Act, a bill focused on addressing leadership failures by management and making it easier for employees to report mismanagement.  The bill establishes a VHA Management and Accountability Ombudsman to provide a safe avenue for employees to report the issues they observe and ensure that VHA management can never claim they don’t know about problems and can be more accountable.  The bill also establishes a Veterans Health Administration patients’ bill of rights to create basic rights for VHA beneficiaries, so that veterans have a clear sense of what they are entitled to in their healthcare.