Bill Pascrell: “With this amendment I seek to correct the great neglect, Mr. Chairman, with which the Veterans Administration treats…”

“With this amendment I seek to correct the great neglect, Mr. Chairman, with which the Veterans Administration treats many of our Nation's veterans. The neglect to which I refer is the VA's lack of effort in reaching out to our veterans and informing them what benefits they are entitled to. Too often our Nation's heroes are not adequately informed as to what benefits they are entitled to receive or how to obtain those benefits, and their families are not as well. In fact, a survey conducted by the VA indicated that less than half the veterans contacted were aware of certain benefits they were entitled to receive, including pension benefits for disabled and low-income veterans. My amendment is simple. It mandates that whatever amount has been previously earmarked for outreach to veterans must be increased by $100,000 from the general operating fund. This extra funding is desperately needed. It is time for the VA to take seriously its responsibility for informing the veterans community about available benefits. To further achieve this goal, I have introduced legislation, the Veterans Right to Know Act.”