Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 512, as amended, the WINGMAN Act. I, too, would like to thank the gentleman from Florida for trying to do all they can to speed constituent services to their folks. This legislation gives certain designated congressional office caseworkers access to veterans' electronic disability claim records at the Veterans Benefits Administration, or VBA. It has broad support in this House, both Democrat and Republican. This bill would allow designated congressional employees to have read-only access to the Veterans Benefits Administration database to look at veterans' records. Congressional staff would not be able to add or remove anything from a record, but simply check on the status of a veteran's claim and check that evidence and documentation are submitted. The reason this is so important is that a veteran will, at times, wait months, only to be told a piece of document has been missing that could have been added months before. It makes sense. It tracks the system. It ensures that the veteran is getting the fastest, best possible claim adjudication. The purpose is to provide that faster status and let them know. There are privacy safeguards in the bill, which reinforce the necessity for getting prior consent from the veteran. Also, the bill clearly requires that congressional employees designated for this access must be full- time employees who provide constituent services.…”