Bob Filner: “This bill comes to us from the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McIntyre), and we thank him for his leadership on…”

“This bill comes to us from the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McIntyre), and we thank him for his leadership on veterans outreach. If I had to sum up this bill in one phrase, I would say that it allows local organizations to provide more bang for the buck by having greater resources at the local level. This bill requires the VA to partner with State and local governments, through grant opportunities, to reach out to veterans and their families to ensure receipt of benefit for which they are eligible and assist them in completing their benefits claims. As we have seen from recent news reports all over the country, we still have veterans slipping through the cracks of this system. They are either unaware of their veterans benefits or are having difficulty getting those benefits processed. This bill establishes a grant program for the VA to provide to States' outreach activities, cooperative relationships and benefit claims development. The grant program allows State veterans agencies to award a portion of the grants to local governments for outreach purposes. In addition, the grant allows funding for education and training of State and local government employees for accreditation to provide outreach services.”