The Sun - Addressing Needs, Concerns of Local Veterans

Op-Ed

By Pete Aguilar

When our veterans come home, we owe them the very best we can provide, from health care to job opportunities to affordable housing. Unfortunately, we've seen too many times how our system has failed our veterans, leaving them without access to the resources they deserve and need to live healthy lives here in the Inland Empire and across the nation.

In May, USA Today reported that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) identified over a dozen VA medical centers that scored just one out of five stars on the VA's own internal rating system, providing considerably lower quality care than neighboring private-sector hospitals. The Loma Linda VA was among these low-performing medical facilities. This is appalling and unacceptable.

To help address the needs and concerns of local veterans, I established a Veterans Advisory Board to advise me on our local veteran community and their needs. The board meets regularly to discuss specific problems confronting Inland Empire veterans. My advisory board includes local veterans, veteran advocacy organization representatives, and other San Bernardino County stakeholders in the housing, health care and employment sectors. I'm grateful for their input and continued activism on behalf of our brave service members.

The input of my advisory board has led to meaningful action, including the implementation of a new survey I'm conducting to hear from Inland Empire veterans about their experiences at the Loma Linda VA facility. The survey can be found on my website at Aguilar.house.gov, and I encourage veterans in our community to please share their experiences with me so together we can work to improve access and quality of health care.

My advisory board has also been instrumental in helping me identify useful resources and local organizations that provide veterans with necessary information about food and housing programs, support groups and employment opportunities throughout our region.

To improve communication and access between veterans and these organizations, I'm hosting a Veterans Resource Fair at the Frank A. Gonzales Community Center in Colton on Friday, Aug. 18, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for residents of California's 31st Congressional District. Lunch will be provided for veterans and no RSVP is required. I believe constituent service events like this are critical to providing direct assistance for those who need it most.

Helping our veterans is not a Republican or Democratic idea -- it is a common goal we share as Americans. My bill, the Active Duty Voluntary Acquisition of Necessary Credentials for Employment (ADVANCE) Act, closes a loophole in previous legislation to allow active-duty service members, reservists and members of the National Guard, in addition to veterans, to translate the skills they acquired in the military to jobs here at home by expediting the process for obtaining a commercial driver's license. By cutting through burdensome regulations and connecting our service members with jobs that match their skill sets, we can help improve employment opportunities for both service members and veterans in the Inland Empire. I am proud to share that the bill passed the House of Representatives in June with unanimous bipartisan support.

We have a lot of work to do, from the halls of Congress to our local communities, to make sure Inland Empire veterans and service members have the leadership and advocacy that they deserve. That's why I will always be here to listen and learn from our veterans so we can ensure they have the voice and the leadership that they need.

If you or someone you know needs veterans benefits assistance and cannot attend my Veterans Resource Fair, please call my office at 909-890-4445.

Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-San Bernardino, represents the 31st Congressional District.

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