Gregorio Sablan: “I thank my good friend, the ranking member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, Mr. Walz, for allowing me to speak in…”

“I thank my good friend, the ranking member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, Mr. Walz, for allowing me to speak in support of H.R. 512, the WINGMAN Act. I rise today in support of H.R. 512, the WINGMAN Act, introduced by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Yoho), my colleague, which would allow veterans to grant designated congressional office staff read-only access to their claim records within the VBA, Veterans Benefits Administration. Mr. Speaker, there are no Veterans Benefits Administration personnel in the Northern Marianas. The veterans in my district have no one to meet with, but for the very occasional, usually one 6-hour visit to the Marianas from a VBA staff based in Guam or Hawaii. It usually comes once every 6 months if we are lucky. Staffs' request for information on behalf of veterans sometimes takes months to receive a reply. This bipartisan bill would eliminate the delay by enabling permitted staff to obtain the information directly from VBA databases. This would be especially meaningful to veterans in my district who face additional challenges for disability claims due to the lack of VA presence. Mr. Speaker, I represent three islands. I work with Social Security and Selective Service, of course, like other Members.…”