Veterans Issues
According to the Veterans Administration, the state of Alabama is home to almost 415,000 veterans, including over 62,000 in Alabama’s First Congressional District. As the Representative for Southwest Alabama, ensuring timely access to quality care for our veterans is a top priority of mine in Washington. With the Veterans Administration’s current backlog affecting the quality and availability of service for our veterans, it’s crucial that I hear directly from these men and women to help ensure they’re receiving the care they have earned.
My office hears daily from veterans across Southwest Alabama who have experienced long wait times and questionable care from the VA. Ultimately the culture of complacency at the VA must change in order for veterans’ care to improve. I believe the VA is fundamentally broken and must be replaced. Instead of the VA system, I support giving every veteran a card so they can seek medical care from the doctor they want, where they want, and when they want it.
If you are a veteran who is having trouble with the VA, my office can help. Click here to contact us.
More on Veterans Issues
What do dehydrated fruits and vegetables, a new workforce training center, six town hall meetings, and the University of Alabama have in common? They were all a part of my busy week on the road in Southwest Alabama.
Some of my most valuable time is spent traveling across the First Congressional District talking directly to the people I represent in Congress. With the House out of session until after the upcoming election, there have been many great opportunities to listen to the ideas and concerns of my constituents.
The House is back in session for the month of September, and there are a number of issues on our plate. I wanted to give you a quick preview of some of the items Congress may tackle this month.
The current government funding bill expires on October 1st, so action must be taken to address funding for the entire federal government. The most likely scenario is that Congress will pass something known as a Continuing Resolution.
I had long heard the complaints about the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) clinic in Mobile. Whether it was at town hall meetings, Memorial Day events, or while shopping at the grocery store, veterans always shared their concerns about the Mobile VA outpatient clinic.
The Mobile VA clinic is critically important. Southwest Alabama is home to over 50,000 veterans, and our area takes great pride and patriotism in supporting our veterans. It has always been a shame the VA clinic did not live up to the same high standard.
Congressman Bradley Byrne (R-AL) today celebrated the announcement of a new VA clinic in Mobile. The announcement comes after Rep. Byrne has made a new VA clinic one of his top priorities in Congress.
The new VA clinic will replace the current, outdated clinic on Spring Hill Avenue in Mobile.
“Here we mark the price of freedom.” Those are the words engraved on the Freedom Wall at the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. The Freedom Wall includes 4,048 gold stars, and each star represents 100 American military deaths during the Second World War.
I recently took time to visit the memorial and pay my respects to those who served our country and the ones who ultimately lost their lives in defense of the freedoms we all hold dear.
“What are you hearing?” That is probably the most common question I get whether I’m visiting a local business or just stopping by the grocery store. People want to know what my constituents and their neighbors are worried about.
One of the best ways I hear the concerns of my constituents is by holding town hall meetings. These meetings aren’t formal events, and they certainly don’t include long speeches. In fact, I don’t even make opening comments. I simply get right into taking questions and listening to concerns from my constituents.
Last week, President Barack Obama came before Congress to deliver his final State of the Union Address. The President outlined a long list of policy ideas, but many of them were simply recycled from his previous State of the Union speeches.
If you are one of the 25% of Americans who like the direction our country is headed, then you probably enjoyed the speech. On the other hand, if you make up the 65% of Americans who think we are headed in the wrong direction then you probably were disappointed. I certainly was.
2015 was packed full of major developments for Southwest Alabama. As the year draws to a close, I thought it would be a good time to review some of the highlights.
One of the first votes the House of Representatives took in 2015 was on my bill to repeal Obamacare in its entirety and instead move forward with patient-centered healthcare reform that isn’t run by the federal government. My bill passed the House by a vote of 296 to 186.
Last week we celebrated Veterans Day, and we honored the men and women who have served in the United States military. These are the individuals who throughout our nation’s history have put country above themselves.
I had the honor of attending a number of Veterans Day ceremonies in Southwest Alabama. One of the events I took part in was a ceremony at Daphne High School. One of the speakers asked anyone who had a veteran in their family to stand. Every single person in the room rose to their feet. It was quite the eye opening moment.
Congressman Bradley Byrne (R-AL) today released a special video in honor of Veterans Day. Click here to download the video.
Congressman Byrne will attend the Veterans Day parade and luncheon today in Mobile. Yesterday, Congressman Byrne spoke during a Veterans Day ceremony at Daphne High School.
A transcript of the video can be found below.
Office Locations
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Washington, DC Office
119 Cannon House Office BuildingWashington, DC 20515phone: (202) 225-4931
fax: (202) 225-0562
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Baldwin County Office
Baldwin County Office502 West Lee AvenueSummerdale, AL 36580Phone: 251-989-2664
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