Veterans
Our veterans and their families have made tremendous sacrifices in service to our great nation, and we owe them nothing less than the same commitment that they have showed us. With more than 100,000 veterans in Hawai‘i, Senator Brian Schatz is committed to honoring our veterans and their families, and empowering them to seize new opportunities as they transition back to civilian life.
Senator Schatz believes we have a responsibility to invest in our veterans’ futures. He is committed to ensuring that they have access to transition assistance programs, including career training services and higher education that will better position them to compete for civilian careers. He is dedicated to working with the private sector to showcase important skills that America’s veterans have to offer businesses, such as dependability, initiative and self-direction. And he is devoted to making sure that none of Hawai‘i’s veterans sleep without a roof over their heads.
To expand care and services to veterans across the neighbor islands, Senator Schatz is working to leverage community organizations, including local health clinics, to provide quality health care to veterans in their communities. These community organizations often provide the most common outpatient care, such as health and wellness visits, without the need to travel long distances or to other islands. That is why Senator Schatz is committed to working with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to ensure that resources are available to support VA community-based outpatient clinics in Hilo, Kailua-Kona, Kahului, and Lihue. These clinics are important to providing our veterans with more options to access the care they need.
Senator Schatz is working to grant Filipino veterans the benefits they were promised for their service during the Second World War when more than 250,000 Filipinos served under the U.S. flag in the Pacific. Many of these soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice to preserve freedom. But many others have lived on quietly, under-recognized and denied the basic veterans’ benefits they earned for their service. The Filipino Veterans Fairness Act that Senator Schatz introduced would right this wrong and make all surviving Filipino veterans eligible to the benefits they earned.
Providing our veterans with the best health care, education, transitional programs and memorials are top priorities for Senator Schatz. He is working to ensure all these vital programs have the resources to care for our veterans.
- Schatz, Hirono Announce $3 Million for Veteran Homelessness Relief Posted on 09/30/14
- Senate Advances Bill that will Make Way for New VA Medical Facility on Oahu, Double Clinical Services for Hawaii Veterans Posted on 02/25/14
- Senate Advances Schatz Co-Sponsored Bill to Restore Military Retiree Benefits Posted on 02/10/14
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Schatz Asks VA, FHA to Consider O’ahu's High Cost of Living to Help Hawai’i Veterans Afford Housing Posted on 01/06/14
After the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) made changes to its loan guarantee program resulting in a $125,000 drop in the maximum loan guarantee for Honolulu, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai`i) is requesting that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and the VA take O‘ahu’s high cost of living into consideration and increase the loan guarantee limit for the City and County of Honolulu.
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Schatz Working to Safeguard Military Retiree Benefits in Budget Posted on 12/17/13
U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) is helping introduce legislation today to safeguard military retirees from changes in cost of living adjustments (COLA) in the bipartisan budget agreement. The proposal would be fully-paid for by eliminating a corporate tax loophole for companies that use offshore tax havens to avoid paying U.S. taxes.
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Schatz Statement on Veterans Day Posted on 11/11/13
Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz released the following statement:
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VA Awards $1 Million Grant to Improve Maui Veterans Cemetery Posted on 09/24/13
Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that it will award a grant in the amount of $1,092,739 to improve the Maui Veterans Cemetery in Makawao.
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