Political Quotes

“Madam Chair, as a daughter of a veteran, the wife of a veteran, as a veteran myself, it is particularly important to me that our country keeps its promises to those who served. Virginia's Second District is home to one of the highest populations of veterans in the country. An estimated 90,000 veterans live not within our borders but across the ocean in U.S. territories and Freely Associated States such as Puerto Rico, Guam, and other islands across the Pacific. We are responsible for providing care to all veterans, including those that reside within U.S. territories and Freely Associated States. However, there is evidence that VA's estimate of the number of veterans living in these areas is far too low, and the Government Accountability Office has consistently criticized the model used by the VA to make these estimates. This prevents the VA from allocating sufficient resources to serve those veterans, leading to gaps in care. In addition, the VA does not have community care network providers in the Freely Associated States and limited local options for medical care, and healthcare is often only available after traveling by plane. Most veterans who live in one of the Freely Associated States do not qualify for the VA travel benefits program, even though the closest VA clinic is sometimes thousands of miles away on another island. VA care in these areas does not live up to its promise.…”