On the recordJune 4, 2013
As Ranking Member of the House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Health--and an original co- sponsor of the bill--I would like to express my wholehearted support for H.R. 671 and to urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this critical legislation. I would also like to thank my colleague from Maine for introducing this important bill. It is absolutely intolerable for any servicemember to be subjected to sexual assault while serving in our nation's armed forces. It is also unacceptable that veterans are being denied treatment at the VA because they don't have adequate proof that the assault happened. Under existing VA policies, a lack of military documentation and inconsistencies among VA regional offices have resulted in veterans, like Ruth Moore, being denied disability benefits. For 23 years Ruth was told by the VA that she did not provide enough evidence proving the assault happened. Instead of receiving the high quality VA care and benefits she had earned immediately upon separation, she had to fight and wait for over two decades for benefits. Again, I urge my colleagues to vote for H.R. 671 to correct this injustice.
