Office of Rep. David B. McKinley Reaches Major Constituent Service Benchmark

Press Release

The office of Congressman David B. McKinley, P.E., (WV-1) recently completed its' 6,000th constituent case. When a constituent needs help with a federal agency, whether it's securing hearing aids from Medicare, receiving back payments from social security, or receiving benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs, McKinley's staff has stepped in to help them find a resolution to their issue.

"Reaching a milestone this big is no easy task, and I want to take a moment and thank our dedicated Caseworkers: Linda Wooldridge in Morgantown, Robert "Bob" Villers in Parkersburg, and Chantel Young in Wheeling. From the time a call comes in from a constituent who needs help, they're on the ball. They're vigilant and they don't take "no" for an answer from a federal agency. They've been so successful in their constituent advocacy that they often have people from outside of the district calling them for help," said McKinley.

"Whether it was the senior citizen whose power chair purchase we helped get approved by Medicare or the veteran's widow who we helped get thousands more per month in her survivor benefits and a significant back payment; Linda, Bob, and Chantel have been quietly working behind the scenes to ensure that our office keeps its' commitment to public service. To date, they have helped First District citizens claim nearly $4 million dollars that they were entitled to," McKinley said.

"Our office is here to serve the First District, and we look forward to the next 6,000 cases we can help resolve," McKinley added.

Background
Since taking office, McKinley has helped 6,043 First District residents resolve their issues with the federal government. Some highlights of these resolved cases are:
* A constituent who was pursuing disability benefits needed a lung transplant. The Social Security Administration hadn't made a decision on his claim for benefits, and the judge was delaying the decision until after the surgery was completed. Our office pushed for a decision to be made, and the judge approved the claim.
* A veteran had been homeless and was waiting on backpay from the Veterans Affairs Administration. McKinley worked with the Administration to get the pay released to the constituent in full, and helped him secure affordable housing, getting him off the streets.
* A constituent whose had been receiving her deceased husband's pension benefits found it inexplicably cut from $1,149 a month down to just $25. Our office was able to help her increase the benefit up to $1,176 a month and secure a $22,000 back payment.
* A constituent was pursuing her US Citizenship, and wanted to take the Oath in time for her to vote in her first election. We made arrangements for her to take the Oath in Pittsburgh two days prior to the election, and she was declared a U.S. citizen in time to vote in her first election.
* Our office worked with Medicare to get a county in the Northern Panhandle's ambulance service authorization renewed. Without this renewal, residents would've been without ambulatory services.

In addition to resolving over 6,000 constituent cases, McKinley has:
* Held 1,746 constituent meetings in the district.
* Secured 1,104 books for schools and non-profits from the Library of Congress Surplus Book Program.
* Helped secure grants for disaster relief, Brownfields sites, sheriff offices and fire stations.
* Held nine summits in the district to educate the public on issues like cybersecurity, energy research, healthcare, efforts to combat the opioid epidemic and driverless vehicles.
* Hosted four job fairs to help connect constituents with the district's largest employers.
* Made 111 U.S. Service Academy nominations and secured 46 appointments.

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