Julia Brownley: “I thank the chairman of the committee and the ranking member for being so supportive of this bill. I also thank Speaker…”

“I thank the chairman of the committee and the ranking member for being so supportive of this bill. I also thank Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer, and every member of the California delegation, for their support. As the chair and ranking member mentioned, my bill, H.R. 7698, will name the new VA outpatient clinic in Ventura County after Captain Rosemary Bryant Mariner. This new VA clinic has been a long time in the making. Since I was elected to Congress, I have been working to expand VA services in Ventura County to ensure that our veterans have access to the timely and quality care that they have earned and deserve. When I first came to Congress, it was clear that Ventura County veterans were being deeply underserved by the undersized and understaffed local VA clinic, so I immediately set out to work to correct the situation. While I was able to secure improvements to the facility that existed, it was clear that the large veteran population in our region needed a much larger facility and one run by VA personnel, personnel that understood them and understood their experiences. That was critically important. Although the road to passing legislation to authorize a new facility was long, in 2017, my legislation was signed into law. This new clinic will be better equipped to deliver high-quality healthcare to a growing community of veterans living in Ventura County and in the area.…”