Right now, about 360,000 veterans going to school aren’t being paid their full GI Bill benefits– all because the VA has outdated IT systems and a lack of resources.
Every dime counts to many of these students. So the Senate just passed legislation to make sure theses veterans are paid in full. I’m glad that my colleagues saw how important this issue is, and I hope this bill stays on the fast track to becoming law, so we can make this right for our nation’s heroes.
The false missile alert in January exposed some real flaws in the way people receive emergency alerts. Some people never got the message on their phones, while others missed it on their TVs and radios. My bill, which passed the Senate this week, will help make sure more people have the right information when they need it.
Right now, most U.S. territories, including Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Marianas Islands, aren’t given the resources to operate AMBER Alerts. These alerts have helped save hundreds of children, and there’s no good reason for these territories to be excluded from the system. The good news is my bill to expand AMBER Alerts to the territories just passed the Senate. We are now one step closer to helping more children and their families quickly end the nightmare that is child abduction.
Too many people who are eligible for compassionate release die in prison because the decision takes so long. And many others wait for months just to get a response. Clearly, the system is broken. Our legislation, which is now one step closer to becoming law, will create clear guidelines in the approval process so that we have more accountability in the system and the sick and elderly who qualify for compassionate release get it.
Hawaii was the first state in the nation to ban chlorpyrifos, a pesticide that’s hazardous to people, particularly kids. This dangerous chemical has no place anywhere near our schools. That’s why I introduced a bill to take Hawaii’s state ban nationwide, so all of our children are protected no matter where they live or go to school.
