June 13, 2014 Newsletter
June 17, 2014
Our veterans have sacrificed so much for America, and the scandal revealed at VA facilities across the country is an outrage. It’s just the latest demonstration of a bureaucracy badly in need of reform, and I will continue working with Democrats and Republicans to ensure America’s veterans and wounded warriors get the timely, professional medical care they have earned.
Below is an overview of some of the work I’m doing on your behalf. To learn more about what I have been working on, please visit my website, my Facebook page, and follow me on Twitter.
Sincerely,
Congressman Pat Meehan
Accountability at the V.A.
Last week Congress took action to address the revelations of misconduct and poor quality care at the VA.
Across the country 57,000 newly enrolled veterans have waited more than three months for an appointment at a VA hospital, and 64,000 who were previously enrolled have never once been seen by a doctor. VA facilities in our area -- the VA Hospitals in Philadelphia and Wilmington, and the clinic in Horsham – have been identified for further review.
Last week, the House has passed a number of bills, including the Demanding Accountability for Veterans Act and the Veterans Access to Care Act, to ensure that veterans facing long waits can receive care at a private hospital and that leaders at the VA who aren’t getting the job done can be removed. It's the latest in a series of bills passed with bipartisan support that address the crisis at the VA.
Putting an end to Human Trafficking
Congressman Meehan meets with Montgomery County DA Risa Rerman and other experts to discuss human trafficking on May 27, 2014.
Human trafficking is a $32 billion a year industry, second only to drug trafficking as the most profitable form of transnational crime. Both in Washington and in Pennsylvania, I have been working with my colleagues to pass legislation and develop strategies to combat human trafficking and protect those who fall victim to it.
Recently, I held a roundtable discussion about human trafficking with Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Ferman, along with members of local and federal law enforcement as well as trafficking victims’ advocates in the Philadelphia region. Last month, the House passed several pieces of legislation aimed to address the crisis of human trafficking in this country and around the world. An outline of the bills that were passed with bipartisan support can be found here. This will be a topic that Congress will likely revisit later this year.
Commerce-Science-Justice Appropriations Bills
Congress recently passed a Justice Department funding bill that includes new investment for a number of programs important to our region, even as the overall bill cuts $400 million in wasteful spending compared to last year. I successfully fought for more investment in veterans’ treatment courts and programs that support victims of sexual violence.
The recently passed legislation included:
-$426 million for the Office on Violence Against Women. Last year, I led the effort in the House to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.
-$14 million for Veterans’ Treatment Courts, an increase of $10 million over last year. In the 111th Congress, I was instrumental in securing the first federal funding for veterans’ courts.
-$45 million to enable the Department of Justice to create federal human trafficking task forces across the nation.
To read more about this legislation, click here.