Newsletter - Helping Veterans this Memorial Day

Statement

Dear Friends,

With Memorial Day around the corner, I wanted to tell you about my recent efforts to help veterans, with a focus on reducing the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) claims backlog.

The best way we can honor our active and retired service men and women -- for Memorial Day and every day of the year -- is by helping them cut through the red tape of government so they can transition to civilian life in the quickest, safest and healthiest ways possible.

My caseworkers are helping veterans from my district who ask for it and I'm taking steps in Washington to get the VA to cut down on its backlog and help our troops as well.

I'm cosponsoring a package of bills aimed to help reduce the VA claims backlog by transitioning from a largely paper-based claims process to a more digital one; they include the Veterans Claims Efficiency Through Automation Act (H.R. 1805).

I'm also cosponsoring the Disabled Veterans Red Tape Reduction Act (H.R. 1521), to speed up the disabilities examination process by extending our use of contracted medical professionals in the private sector outside traditional VA facilities.

I'm also signing on to a letter imploring President Barack Obama to get directly involved in reducing the VA claims backlog.

But the backlog isn't the only issue being faced by our returning troops today. I'm also cosponsoring legislation to ensure proper health care for veterans, including a focus on women in the service.

One upcoming bill will require the VA to pay for medical conditions while they are still being adjudicated in an electronic system.

I'm also a cosponsor of the Women Veterans and Other Health Care Improvements Act (H.R. 958), which would give veterans with service-connected disabilities access to advanced fertility counseling and treatments, end the VA's ban on in vitro fertilization, provide adoption assistance for severely injured veterans, and expand child care programs at VA health facilities.

If you're a veteran in my district who needs help with the VA or any other federal agency, feel free to call my district office at (516) 739-3008 or email me through the form on my website.

If you know a veteran or a veteran's family member who might not be on my email list, please forward this email or post it to your social media using the links below.

I'm grateful for all the brave men and women who serve our nation in uniform. Thank you, and have a good Memorial Day.

Sincerely,

Carolyn McCarthy
Member of Congress

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