Political Quotes

“I thank Ranking Member Walz for his leadership, for bringing this bill, and for allowing me to stay involved even though I am no longer on the committee. Likewise, I thank Dr. Roe for all that he has done for veterans. Mr. Speaker, I rise in very strong support of H.R. 2288, the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act. Fixing this outdated system was one of my top priorities while I served as ranking member of the VA Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee. When I assumed that position, much of the focus was on the VA disability claims backlog, which had ballooned, causing many veterans to wait almost 2 years just for their initial claim decision. After that backlog was addressed and reduced, the problem shifted to the appeals process, where today, as you have heard, almost 470,000 veterans are currently waiting in an overburdened and overcomplicated system that was first developed in the 1930s and last updated in the 1980s. I regularly hear from my veteran constituents who are stuck in this appeals process about the need for reform. One veteran we are helping in Las Vegas has been working since August of 2013 to have his appeal adjudicated; and another Nevada veteran who, out of desperation, came to my office, took 4 years to complete his process. So, obviously, the current system is just unacceptable. If we don't act, it is only going to get worse.…”