Visclosky Votes to Support Troops and Veterans

Press Release

Visclosky Votes to Support Troops and Veterans

House Passes Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act

Congressman Pete Visclosky today voted to support the nation's troops and veterans by funding the construction of key facilities for our military and critical veterans' health services. The Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, which passed the House of Representatives by a bipartisan vote of 415 - 3, makes critical investments to better serve men and women in uniform and veterans.

"My commitment to the men and women who serve, or have served, in our armed forces is unwavering," said Visclosky. "Our troops and veterans have put their lives on the line in defense of freedom, and in return we owe them not only our gratitude, but also the resources they need to defend our country and live a healthy and productive life after serving. This bill bolsters our troops and veterans by investing in key resources for the military and vital services for veterans."

The Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act supports our troops by providing funding to construct key facilities for training and housing, addressing the unfunded backlog of barracks for the young men and women entering the service. It also includes funding for the National Guard and Reserves initiatives, to recognize the critical contributions made by personnel to emergency assistance, homeland security, and national defense. It also takes steps to support the military families with military child care centers, military family housing, and additional Vet Centers to provide community-based readjustment counseling for veterans and their families.

For our veterans, the bill makes investments to strengthen quality health care for more than six million veterans, including 419,000 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The legislation supports improvements in electronic health records and paperless benefits processing to make veterans health care more efficient, the hiring of roughly 1,200 claims processors to reduce the backlog of benefits claims, important maintenance at medical facilities, additional oversight and auditing of our veterans health care system, and new practices to improve access to care for veterans in rural areas. The bill also invests in mental health services and critical medical and prosthetic research to serve our wounded warriors returning from battle.

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