Issue Position: Veterans Issues

Issue Position

As a member of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I am honored and privileged to represent over 50,000 veterans in Indiana's Second District. For every Hoosier veteran, and every veteran in this country, I am grateful for their selfless response to the call to serve our country. As the daughter of an Air Force veteran, I understand the sacrifices veterans and their families make. This is why sitting on the Veterans' Affairs Committee is so important to me.

While in Congress I have worked with my colleagues on a number of initiatives to provide veterans with better access to the services and benefits they have earned. I am proud to have cosponsored the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2013, H.R. 569, which provides a cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) to VA beneficiaries at the same rate as the Social Security COLA for 2014. I am also proud to have cosponsored the GI Bill Tuition Fairness Act of 2013, H.R. 357, which requires that as a condition of approval for GI Bill education benefits, any public institution in a state must give all veterans in-state tuition rates.

In addition to cosponsoring legislation, I have also drafted a number of letters addressing significant issues affecting veterans. I sent a letter to the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs asking how the medical device tax will impact the VA and what plans the VA has in the future for ensuring veterans will continue to receive quality medical devices. I also joined my colleagues on a number of occasions in sending a letter to the President and Secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs asking for greater collaboration between the agencies and a commitment to ending the backlog.

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