Veterans Issues

Congressman DeFazio firmly believes the federal government is obligated to properly care for the men and women who serve in our nation’s Armed Forces. Throughout his time in Congress, he has fought to ensure that the United States makes good on that promise. In recent years Congress has passed long overdue structural changes as well as funding increases for the VA, and Congressman DeFazio has insisted that these changes translate into better service for Oregon veterans. 

Part of Congressman DeFazio’s commitment to Oregon veterans is one-on-one assistance with their benefits. Congressman DeFazio has two full-time staff members in his Eugene district office devoted to helping veterans navigate the VA system. He urges veterans to call his Eugene office at 1-800-944-9603 if they need assistance. 

Congressman DeFazio served in the United States Air Force Reserve from June 1967 until his honorable discharge with the rank of 2nd Lt. on March 30, 1971. 

Roseburg VA Health Care System 

In 2017, Congressman DeFazio pushed for a VA Central Office investigation into patient safety and mismanagement at the Roseburg and Eugene VA healthcare clinics in response to dozens of messages from RVAHCS employees expressing concerns about working conditions, substandard patient care, and retaliatory management practices. The investigation resulted in the replacement of the entire RVAHCS senior leadership team as well as changes to regional and national protocols that resulted in the improvement of care to veterans across the country.  

Earlier in the decade when service cuts were proposed at the Roseburg VA Medical Center, Congressman DeFazio stood up and demanded that no changes be made without the input of local veterans. Congressman DeFazio understands that VA bureaucrats do not always know what is best for Oregon veterans, and has worked to make sure that veterans in Southwest Oregon have a say in the healthcare they receive.  

More recently, he has led efforts to urge the Secretary of the VA and the Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to be better partners in the effort to recruit and retain quality healthcare workers for the Roseburg VA, where staffing shortfalls forced the Roseburg Emergency Department to convert to an Urgent Care facility. 

Eugene and Springfield Community Based Outpatient Clinic 

Congressman DeFazio was instrumental in securing $80 million in funding for a new veterans clinic in the Eugene and Springfield area after it became apparent the existing clinic was too small to adequately serve the growing veteran population. The VA Health Center in Eugene opened in January 2016. 

Serving Veterans in Rural Areas 

Congressman DeFazio also played a key role in securing funding for VA clinics in North Bend and Brookings.  This has helped to ensure that veterans on the Oregon coast are able to access basic medical services that they need without having to travel to Roseburg or Portland. However, this has not solved all of the issues for veterans living outside of urban areas. 

That’s why Congressman DeFazio fought tirelessly to give veterans greater flexibility to choose where they receive care. In 2014, Congress passed – with Rep. DeFazio’s support – a major overhaul to allow veterans this flexibility. When it became clear that this change was too bureaucratic and didn’t deliver the appropriate changes, Congressman DeFazio worked across party lines to help secure passage of the VA MISSION Act. This legislation has dramatically changed the way veterans can access care in their communities, while continuing to support the VA’s internal health care system.  

Congressman DeFazio will continually be monitoring the VA to ensure its acting in the best interests of all veterans, no matter where they reside. 

Getting Veterans the Medals They Deserve 

Congressman DeFazio has been honored to present dozens of World War II veterans in Southwestern Oregon with the Bronze Star medals they earned during their service to this country. All U.S. Army veterans who received either the Combat Infantry Badge (CIB) or Combat Medic Badge (CMB) during the war are eligible for the Bronze Star medal for meritorious combat service. 

Many veterans of all eras are not aware that they are eligible for the honors they earned.  Whether it is a campaign medal from Korea, or a Purple Heart earned in Afghanistan, the Congressman’s staff can help veterans or their family members initiate a request as well as help locate the official documents required to prove medal eligibility. Please call Congressman DeFazio’s Eugene office at 541-465-6732 or 1-800-944-9603 for information and/or assistance. 

Fighting for Veterans’ Benefits 
Agent Orange & Burn Pits 

Congressman DeFazio was incredibly proud to vote for the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act to finally deliver benefits to veterans afflicted by Agent Orange. The bill was signed into law last year, and since then, hundreds-of-thousands of veterans have started getting the benefits they deserve.  

Tens-of-thousands of veterans suffering from Agent Orange diseases not currently recognized by the VA still need to be able to access these benefits. That’s why Congressman DeFazio is a cosponsor of legislation to add diseases to the VA’s presumptive list and is pushing to include these changes in a year end package.  

Unfortunately, too many veterans from the wars in the Middle East are suffering from serious medical complications linked to burn pits. Burn pits were used near American military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan to dispose of waste, chemicals, and trash.  

The Congressman has also cosponsored legislation that would ensure veterans who were exposed to burn pits near American military bases and suffer from serious medical complications are eligible to enroll in Priority Group 6.  

Working for Disabled Veterans 

The last thing that a disabled veteran should be forced to deal with is a bureaucratic battle between the Pentagon and the VA regarding their pay. Congressman DeFazio has cosponsored legislation that would finally allow all disabled veterans to receive both their VA and Department of Defense (DoD) retirement pay. 

Currently, veterans who receive DoD retirement pay and less than 50 percent VA Service-connected disability compensation are not eligible for both payments under the concurrent receipt laws. New legislation would allow veterans to receive both types of benefits. It would also eliminate phasing in requirements of concurrent receipt, which stalls veterans from the benefits that they’ve already earned.  

Military Surviving Spouses 

Congressman DeFazio cosponsored the Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act, which became law, to ensure veterans who elected to use a portion of their retirement pay for a survivors benefit annuity account, or “Survivor Benefit Plan,” would ensure financial security for their loved ones if they pass away. Before this law even if a veteran elected a Survivor Benefit Plan passes away under certain VA qualifying criteria, current laws disqualify them from receiving the full DoD and VA compensation they have been promised. This is unacceptable. This law ensures that military spouses receive the money set aside by the veteran and the full benefits they were promised by repealing this bureaucratic rule. 

Improving Mental Health Benefits 

Congressman DeFazio has long fought for improved mental health resources for our nation’s veterans. Over the years, he has supported various legislation to help veterans suffering from conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and traumatic brain injury. He supported the COMBAT PTSD Act which establishes military service in a combat zone as the standard for a presumptive stressor for the incurrence of PTSD and was pleased that the VA adopted similar standards. This lowered the bureaucracy that prevented many veterans from receiving compensation and care for PTSD.  

Congressman DeFazio also supports legislation that would extend those same benefits to veterans who have PTSD as a result of military sexual trauma. 

Improving VA Efficiency and Care 

For decades, the VA has struggled to seamlessly share veterans’ patient records, placing an unfair burden on our veterans and their families to produce medical records. In order to improve veteran patient care and support, Congressman DeFazio has supported legislation that authorized robust funding to develop and implement the VA’s Electronic Health Record Modernization Initiative. Veteran Integrated Service Network (VISN) 20, which oversees the Roseburg VA Healthcare System (RVAHCS), has been selected as the first region to manage deployment of the new EHR system. 

Given the more than 78 billion records that the VA must coordinate as part of the EHRM initiative, the VA has said that full implementation will be staggered over the next ten years, in order to integrate every possible efficiency into the system.