Washington Post - Keeping Our Promises to Vets

Op-Ed

By Bill Flores

Every day, our nation's service members continue to do whatever their country asks of them, enduring hardships that few of us could fathom. On Veterans Day, Americans pause to honor those brave men and women who have risked their lives in service to our nation and pay tribute to their dedication to America.

There is perhaps no greater sacrifice that an American can make than serving our country during a time of war. We are eternally indebted to all of the men and women across the world who have served or who are currently serving to ensure our generation preserves liberty and freedom to pass on to our children and grandchildren.

The demands placed on those serving in our Armed Forces multiple deployments, the stress of extended separation from loved ones, the physical and psychological wounds of war and the sometimes difficult transition back to civilian life due to our current economic uncertainty have never been greater.

As a Representative in Congress, I am always mindful of our obligations to our military men and women who defend America against her enemies today and to our veterans who defended us in the past.

As a member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee and as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, I am working to ensure our veterans receive the best health care possible, have the ability to obtain the benefits that they have earned, have a successful transition from military to civilian life and enjoy the career opportunities that come from a healthy American economy.

In Congress, there is a lot of partisan politics, but when it comes to our veterans, Congress usually works together in a bi-partisan matter to help our nation fulfill its promises for their service.

The House Veterans' Affairs Committee is working hard on proposed legislation to help assist our veterans and providing much needed over sight of the Veterans Administration.

Just two weeks ago, the House passed the Veterans Economic Opportunity Act, which I introduced. This legislation helps reform, simplify and enhance important VA programs that provide the tools to help veterans reach economic success.

In September, Congress passed, and the president signed into law, the Improving Job Opportunities for Veterans Act. This law extended several economic opportunities initiatives that include homeless veterans programs, grant extensions to assist disabled veterans with home modifications and the adaptive athletic program for disabled veterans.

To address the growing concern with the nationwide VA disability claims backlog, the Veterans' Affairs Committee passed legislation, which would establish a commission to investigate the backlog. The commission will provide recommendations for improving VA's claims processing and will continue to advise until the backlog is eliminated.

Earlier this year, the House passed the Ruth Moore Act, which reforms the standards of evidence for survivors of military sexual trauma who file claims for mental health conditions. This legislation would make it easier for veteran sexual-assault victims to receive service-connected benefits and treatment for mental-health conditions linked to military sexual trauma.

Even though federal government faces acute fiscal challenges, these difficulties should not cause us to avoid fulfilling our commitments to our military and to our veterans. I firmly believe that Washington should never think about playing political games on the backs of our veterans and military.

One of the most important things that Washington can do for our military and veterans is to adopt policies to facilitate private sector job creation and economic growth. Fiscal responsibility and national security are directly proportional. In order to keep a strong military and maintain our national security, we must first have a strong and growing economy. This can be accomplished through tax reform, regulatory reforms, deficit reduction and American energy security initiatives.

I remain committed to standing up for our veterans and their benefits which they earned through service and sacrifice. We must continue our work to keep our promises to these brave men and women.

It is imperative that we give our military men and women the proper care and tools to be successful when they return home. Our military and our veterans "have our back" and Congress should always "have their back."

On Veterans Day, we pay tribute to Americans from every generation who has served for our freedom. Because of their sacrifice, millions here and around the world enjoy the blessings of liberty. May God bless our veterans, our troops and the United States of America.

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