Issue Position: Veterans

Issue Position

I'm honored to represent some of the nearly 130,000 veterans living in New Hampshire, and I strongly believe that those who have served our country deserve the benefits they have earned. To that end, I have been a supporter of legislation that upholds our nation's commitment to America's veterans.

Among the issues I support to improve care for veterans include:

-- Concurrent Receipt: We owe it to our nation's veterans to ensure they have access to the best care and financial support after their service. For those brave men and women with a service-related disability, we have an additional responsibility to provide for their needs. I support measures to allow veterans to receive both their military retirement pay and their disability compensation.

-- Preserving Dignity at Military Funerals: The brave men and women who have fought and died for our country deserve the greatest dignity and respect, and their families deserve to be able to grieve in peace. In April 2011, I introduced legislation, the Sanctity of Eternal Rest for Veterans (SERVE) Act (H.R. 1591), that will amend existing law to protect military funerals by limiting disruptions and increasing the buffer zone around services.

-- Fighting for a Full-Service VA Hospital in NH: New Hampshire is the only state in the country without a full-service VA hospital (instead, New Hampshire has the Manchester VA Medical Center and five outpatient clinics). This is unacceptable and the 130,000 veterans living in the Granite State deserve to have full hospital services available to them without having to drive to Boston or White River Junction to receive the care and services they need and deserve. I am proud to be an original cosponsor of First District Congressman Frank Guinta's legislation, H.R. 1863, which would rectify this by establishing a full-service VA hospital in New Hampshire or make sure that comparable services are provided by contracting with in-state hospitals.

-- National Guard and Reserve: I am the proud cosponsor of bipartisan legislation, H.R. 1025, the Honor America's Guard-Reserve Retirees Act, that recognizes the service of members of the National Guard and Reserve by granting them status as veterans under federal law. The brave men and women of the Guard and Reserve deserve fair compensation and the same honor bestowed upon their full-time counterparts.

-- POW/MIA: I am a proud cosponsor of legislation (H.Res. 111) to establish a House Select Committee on POW and MIA Affairs.

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