Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–June 5, 2013. Yesterday, Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth voted for the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which funds a 3.5% increase for Veterans programs. The bipartisan legislation provides $6.2 billion for homeless Veterans treatment, services, housing, and job training. It also takes significant steps in dealing with the current backlog of Veterans disability claims. The bill funds an increase of 94 claims processors who will work on disability claims and requires the VA to report monthly to Congress on several claims backlog reduction metrics.
The Military Construction-VA Appropriations Act takes strong steps to improve services for female Veterans, including those who experienced sexual assault during their service. It mandates tangible results from the Department of Veterans Affairs on efforts to improve physical and mental health care, disability claims processing, and prosthetic research for women who served in uniform.
“Our Veterans deserve every opportunity to achieve the American Dream that they fought for,” said Duckworth. “This legislation allows the VA to process Veterans disability claims more quickly and demands accountability to make sure that we are dealing with the current backlog of claims.”
“The Military Construction-VA Appropriations Act also stands up for women who have worn the uniform. It will now be easier for women who were victims of sexual assault to receive treatment for PTSD and it orders the Department of Veterans Affairs to review whether it is adequately serving female Veterans in need of prosthetics.”
“I want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for working together to pass this vital legislation for our nation’s Veterans.”
Source: duckworth.house.gov
