Political Quotes

“I thank the chairman and ranking member for their support and their kind words. Mr. Speaker, I do rise today in support of H.R. 2123, the Veterans E- Health and Telemedicine Support Act, also known as the VETS Act. Years ago, a constituent approached me to discuss the barriers to care that his fellow veterans were experiencing through the VA system. As an Active-Duty soldier, he told me stories of his friends coming home from deployment and falling through the cracks of the system. Some were suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, TBIs, and depression and required the care of specialists. Others had difficulty traveling from their rural communities to VA medical centers because of injuries sustained during combat. Too many of those wound up taking their own lives. It broke my heart to hear the stories of this soldier's friends and comrades not receiving the care that they deserve. What made it more difficult was the fact that this constituent soldier was my son. After numerous conversations trying to figure out how we can help our servicemembers when they return home, we determined that expanding access to telehealth would be a great start. Many of our veterans live in rural areas and are unable to travel far distances. Allowing them to see their healthcare provider in the comfort of their home would increase their access to care. This is why Representative Julia Brownley and I introduced the VETS Act.…”