Veterans

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Our veterans have sacrificed so much in their service to this country. I am privileged to represent approximately 90,000 veterans that now reside in our area of southwest Florida.

The VFW Honors Congressman Buchanan

I was honored to receive the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ (VFW) legislative achievement award by the Florida VFW in 2009. But Congress must continue to do more to ensure our nation’s veterans get the health care and benefits they have so rightly earned.

Standing Up for Disabled Veterans

I was proud to support H.R. 1407, the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act, which increases compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and provides assistance for adapting housing to accommodate disabilities (such as adding wheelchair ramps, etc.). Our disabled Veterans have made unimaginable sacrifices for our country, and we owe it to them to make sure they have the tools and resources they need to recover and adapt.

Securing Veterans' Access to Education

The House passed the “Restoring G.I. Fairness Act,” H.R. 1383, with my support. This legislation increases the amount of non-public university tuition and fees paid under the Post-9/11 G.I. bill to certain veterans enrolled prior to 2011.

New Local VA Facilities

I had the pleasure of helping open a new VA outpatient facility in Manatee County. This facility will allow our veteran population to receive services without traveling to Ellenton or Bay Pines centers.

Quicker VA Claims Processing

The disability claims backlog is the most critical challenge VA faces. Despite enormous increases in resources the problem continues to grow worse. As a member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, I have helped pass several pieces of legislation to provide better, more timely claims processing through several initiatives:

• 2,700 new claims officials have been added to VA staff.

• Internet technology and online claims submission has removed large gaps in benefit approval times.

• Electronic Medical Records have reduced claims verification time significantly.

Agent Orange

For decades, many veterans of the Vietnam War that were exposed to Agent Orange have been denied care from the VA. I supported legislation to fix this injustice and provide over $13 billion in compensation to compensate those with illnesses related to exposure to Agent Orange.