Veterans Issues

We, as Americans, must remember those who have sacrificed in honor of our American principles.  These are the veterans of our wars, past, present and future -- they are the ones who have stood guard over the principles that have created this great nation.  And it is in their memory and names that we must commit to ourselves that we will never forget their sacrifices, that we will not allow their blood to have been shed in vain and that we will, every day, act in accordance with those principles that they fought for.  We must always pay tribute to those who have made our nation great, strong, and most importantly – free.

Actions

• I am a Member of the Congressional Veterans Jobs Caucus.

• I have cosponsored H.R. 3474, the Hire More Heroes Act, which would allow employers to exempt employees with health coverage under TRICARE or the VA from being counted as part of the 50 full-time employee threshold under the Obamacare employer mandate. This legislation was approved by a bipartisan vote of 406-1 in the U.S. House of Representatives on March 11, 2014 and awaits Senate action.

• I am a cosponsor of H.R. 303, the Retired Pay Restoration Act, which enacts full concurrent receipt for America’s disabled military retirees. I am also a cosponsor of H.R. 32, the Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act, which would end the so-called “widow’s tax”, a dollar-for-dollar offset of payments between the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) and the Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) Program.

• I voted in support of H.R.3230, the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014, which seeks to address the substantial delay in service experienced by veterans across the nation. Under the legislation, if a veteran cannot get an appointment at their local VA facility in a timely manner, or lives more than 40 miles away from the nearest VA medical facility, they can seek private health care. H.R. 3230 would allow the VA to fire senior employees for poor performance or misconduct and would prohibit these individuals from receiving pay or bonuses during the appeals process. It also establishes a Commission on Access to Care to examine veteran's access to care and how to best deliver care over the next 20 years. This bipartisan legislation was signed into law on August 7, 2014.