Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support the Veterans Mobility Safety Act. This legislation will improve veterans' care and ensure the quality of the automobile adaptive equipment and hearing aids disabled veterans depend on. Automotive mobility plays a vital role in helping our disabled veterans live a normal life after being wounded on the battlefield. The VA's Automobile Adaptive Equipment, or AAE, program provides eligible disabled veterans with an automobile or modification, such as wheelchair lifts and reduced-effort steering and braking, to existing vehicles to improve their quality of life. Under the current AAE program, local VA facilities operate based upon their own interpretations of VA procedures that haven't been updated since 2000. It lacks quality standards for providers as well. As you can imagine, this fragmented and outdated system has resulted in cases of improperly installed equipment that caused serious safety issues for both the veteran and the driving public. My legislation requires the VA to develop a comprehensive policy regarding quality standards for providers that participate in the AAE program in close consultation with a host of stakeholders, including veterans service organizations, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, and industry representatives. The result will be a veteran-centric policy that ensures access to safe, quality equipment.…”