House Passes Crist-Backed Bill to Improve Veterans Services

Press Release

Congressman Charlie Crist (D-St. Petersburg) applauded House passage of the Working to Integrate Networks Guaranteeing Member Access Now (WINGMAN) Act, which removes barriers at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) preventing veterans from being updated on their claims more quickly.

With the St. Petersburg Regional Benefit Office located within Florida's 13th district and as the representative of over 70,000 veterans, Crist was proud to be an original cosponsor of this common-sense measure put forward by fellow Florida Congressman Ted Yoho (FL-03) with the support of 168 other bipartisan cosponsors.

"We owe our veterans the very best service. By making this important change to the claims process, we can empower Congressional offices to better assist veteran constituents," said Crist. "After receiving unanimous support in the House, I hope the Senate takes up the WINGMAN Act without delay to better serve our nation's heroes."

The WINGMAN Act would allow certified Congressional caseworkers to view the status of a VA appeal claim and update the veteran more quickly. This would alleviate the workload on VA staff currently serving as a "middle man" to Congressional offices so they can instead focus on tackling the claims backlog.
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