Congressman Paul Hodes Statement on the Manchester VA Hospital Legislation

Press Release

Congressman Paul Hodes submitted the following statement for the record for the House Veterans Affairs Committee hearing on Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter's legislation to upgrade the Manchester VA to a full service veteran's hospital.

"I strongly support my colleague Carol Shea-Porter's bill, H.R. 6629, the Veterans Health Equity Act. Her bill would ensure that New Hampshire's veterans have access to the health care they have earned. I thank Chairman Michaud for holding this important hearing that highlights the lack of adequate access to health care for New Hampshire's veterans.

New Hampshire is the only state in the continental United States that does not have a full service Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC). In my district alone, there are over 66,000 veterans, making up 13 percent of the population. New Hampshire's many veterans deserve the same access to health care services as veterans in other states across the country.

Seven years ago, the Manchester VAMC suspended various inpatient and outpatient services and was downgraded from a full-service VAMC. Now, veterans in New Hampshire must travel to surrounding states like Maine, Vermont or Massachusetts to receive VA health care services.

This travel causes both physical and financial hardships for our wounded veterans. Without a full service VAMC in state, New Hampshire's veterans are forced to drive across state lines, traveling farther and paying more at the pump with record gas prices to access the health care they earned.

Recently, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Peake visited New Hampshire and announced that the VAMC in Manchester will not return to a full service VAMC. I was extremely disappointed in Secretary Peake's shortsighted remarks. More wounded warriors are returning home from the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as veterans with physical and mental wounds, with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury, stretching our veteran's health care system.

With so many soldiers fighting abroad, we should not be turning our backs on veterans at home when they need it most. New Hampshire is the only state in the continental U.S. without a full service VA. With record high gas prices, we shouldn't ask Granite State veterans to drive long distances just to get the care they have earned. I strongly support H.R. 6629, the Veterans Health Equity Act, which would ensure that veterans across the country will receive the same access to health care that they deserve, no matter which state they live in."

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