Issue Position: Veterans

Issue Position

One of my biggest priorities in Congress is making sure we provide our veterans, reserve, Guard and active duty military with the care and resources they earned when they return home.

A key component in this is ensuring the new state-of-the-art VA Medical Center at the Fitsimmons campus in Aurora is finished. I have worked tirelessly with current and past members of the Colorado Congressional Delegation, Veterans Service Organizations and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), to secure funding for the new hospital, and when construction contract negotiations were stalled, I stepped in and got the VA and the contractor to finalize the contract. Now, I'm proud dirt is being turned, construction is underway, and soon veterans from across the Rocky Mountain region will have access to modern, efficient heath care and benefits. The new VA Medical Center will provide improved mental health, PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and spinal cord injury care for soldiers and veterans. I look forward to continuing to work to provide these brave men and women with everything they need both at home and abroad.

In addition to health care, we have a responsibility to help put our veterans back to work when they return. I am committed to making sure our veterans and all Americans have good jobs here at home. I'm holding regular job fairs for our veterans and others to help make connections with employers who are hiring right here in our area. We've had success with companies hiring folks from the job fair, and I will continue providing this important service.

Ensuring access to higher education and housing is another area where we should be supporting our veterans. That is why I proudly voted for a new post-9/11 GI Bill to provide full college scholarships to four-year institutions, ensuring our veterans more access to the education they deserve. Additionally, I supported a measure to extend the home buyer tax credit for any active duty military personnel who served overseas for more than 90 days between December 1, 2008 and May 1, 2010, helping provide them with the opportunity to purchase their first home.

I am both humbled and inspired by the men and women of the United States military whose service and sacrifice work to preserve freedom and ensure our national security. I believe we must honor their service by providing our soldiers the best medical care possible and securing their hard earned benefits upon returning home.

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