Issue Position: Supporting Our Veterans and First Responders

Issue Position

Secured passage of his bill to provide Adult Day Health Care to disabled veterans at no cost to the veteran (H.R.1005/S.324), which was then signed into law by President Trump. Also secured an East End veterans clinic in Manorville.

Vocal believer as a veteran himself that our veterans and first responders deserve the highest possible amount of love, care and respect for their incredible sacrifices to keep our country safe, secure and free.

Created while a State Senator the PFC Joseph Dwyer Veteran Peer Support Program as part of the 2012-2013 state budget to help our veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Now proposing to expand the Dwyer Program with H.R. 897, to take national this initiative which has been so successful in New York, and Suffolk County especially.

Introduced important legislation to help our nation's veterans, including the Flexible VA Loan Guarantee Act (H.R. 815), which would eliminate the loan limit or the "maximum guarantee amount" of a loan that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) can guarantee for a veteran, and the Veterans Estate Transfer to Survivors Act, or VETS Act (H.R. 814), which would require the VA to pay accrued benefits to the estate of a deceased veteran.

Standing for our Vietnam veterans who are suffering from exposure to liver fluke. Cosponsor of H.R. 299, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act, to improve treatment for veterans suffering from exposure to Agent Orange.

Helped lead the successful effort to permanently reauthorize the Zadroga Act, which provides necessary healthcare for our 9/11 first responders.

Co-sponsored and voted for H.R. 931, the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act, and supported the Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act (H.R. 2658), a bill to prevent damaging Obamacare mandates from putting volunteer firefighters and EMS departments out of business.

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