Issue Position: Veterans & Military Families

Issue Position

"I made a promise to myself after working at the Seattle veterans hospital during the Vietnam War that I would do everything I could to help those individuals who sacrificed for our country. Now that I'm in a position to really make a difference, I will continue to make sure veterans get the services and benefits they deserve."

-- Senator Patty Murray

Senator Murray is the daughter of a disabled World War II veteran and is proud to be the first woman to serve on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. She is now a senior member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, and she also sits on the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that provides funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Since her first days in the Senate, Senator Murray has been working to fulfill our commitments to the men and women who have sacrificed so much for our nation. She has been tireless in her fight to secure increased funding for benefits for our veterans, including health care, education, housing assistance, and the opening of new VA clinics across Washington state. Senator Murray is committed to fulfilling the promises made to our men and women when they go off to war, by giving them the benefits and care they deserve when they return home.

* Senator Murray led the successful effort in 2003 and 2004 to stop the Bush Administration from closing three VA hospitals in Washington state at American Lake, Vancouver and Walla Walla. Murray conducted a Veterans Affairs Committee Field Hearing in Walla Walla that was instrumental in saving this facility, and she fought to open a new Veterans Nursing Home in Walla Walla. She has also worked to open Community Based Outpatient Clinics across the state to increase access to care -- including new locations in Northwest Washington and Wenatchee, and proposals for a new clinic in the South Puget Sound as well as a vet center in Everett.

* Senator Murray has worked tirelessly to ensure our veterans are receiving adequate mental health care. She has increased funding for conditions such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). She also helped pass the Joshua Omvig Suicide Prevention Act, which improves the VA's suicide prevention measures.

* Senator Murray helped pass the new GI Bill which went into full effect this August. It includes full in-state undergraduate tuition and fees at any public college, as well as tuition and fees at private institutions at the level of the most expensive in-state public university. The bill also allows these benefits to be transferred to a service member's spouse or children.

* Senator Murray is focused on ensuring that our women veterans receive equal care, and she has worked to bring attention to the unique challenges faced by women veterans. She has offered solutions and ideas to address these issues, including the introduction of legislation to make the VA more prepared and attentive to caring for women veterans.

* Senator Murray passed legislation which requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop a plan to provide healthcare to 26,000 underserved veterans in Chelan, Douglas, Ferry, Grant, Kittitas and Okanogan counties. When the VA missed the deadline for the report, Senator Murray blocked the appointment of a key VA official. As a result of her pressure, the VA was forced to release its report and establish a veteran's clinic in North Central Washington by 2006.

* Senator Murray has been honored by many veterans' groups including the Vietnam Veterans of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Ex-Prisoners of War. She was awarded with the Barbed Wire Award by the American Ex-Prisoners of War, which is their highest legislative award, for her work passing the Frank Agnes Prisoners of War Benefits Act in 2003. The Legislation increased health care benefits and access for former prisoners of war. The legislation was named after longtime Everett native and veterans advocate Fran Agnes.

* Senator Murray has provided $75 million in funding for the Housing and Urban Development's Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program, which dramatically increased available housing for homeless veterans. This year, Senator Murray secured hundreds of housing vouchers for homeless veterans across Washington state.

* Senator Murray has challenged both Democratic and Republican Presidents for providing inadequate funding for veterans' healthcare. She used her committee assignments on the Budget, Appropriations and Veterans' Affairs Committees to provide billions of dollars in additional funding to the VA healthcare system. Murray has cosponsored a measure in the Senate to guarantee mandatory funding for veterans' healthcare and fulfill our obligation to our nation's veterans.

* Senator Murray has worked to pass concurrent receipt legislation to allow veterans to receive both their hard-earned retirement pay and any disability pay they are due. Currently, many veterans are penalized for receiving both retirement pay and disability pay.

* Senator Murray cosponsored legislation in 2002 to provide a Korea Defense Service Medal to be issued to members of the Armed Forces who participated in operations in Korea after the end of the Korean War and to grant a Federal Charter to Korean War Veterans Association.

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