Veterans
1/1/2008
Veterans
Congressman Reyes' views on veterans issues.
The issues and concerns affecting nearly 60,000 veterans in the El Paso area is one of my top priorities in Congress.
In early 2005, a new $12-million State Veteran Nursing Home opened in El Paso to serve short-term care needs of up to 160 veterans and Gold Star parents. Constructed jointly through the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Texas Veterans Land Board, this facility was built on land donated by Fort Bliss, resulting from legislation I authored. Although administered by the State of Texas, the new nursing home was built from 65-percent federal funds and is expected to add up to 120 new jobs with a $3-million annual payroll. My office worked closely with a committee of El Paso veterans, along with city, county and state leaders, to see this project succeed. An El Paso firm successfully bid to receive the general contractor award.
When elected to Congress in 1996, one of my first actions was to establish the Veterans Citizen Advisory Panel (VetCAP), which consists of representatives from numerous El Paso veterans organization chapters and posts. The VetCAP is an important tool in making recommendations on legislation involving veterans and other issues. Under Co-Chairs Ron Holmes and John McKinney, the VetCAP meets every month and plays an active role in our Annual Veterans Town Hall meetings. Featured as main speakers at recent town hall meetings were Secretaries of Veterans Affairs, James Nicholson and Anthony Principi, and Under Secretary for Benefits for the Department of Veteran Affairs, Daniel Cooper.
In the 107th Congress, partial success was obtained in winning passage of concurrent receipt for military retirement and disability benefits that applies to some veterans. Though short of obtaining this right for all veterans, it was certainly a step in that direction. Our goal remains to secure the concurrent pay of military retiree benefits and VA disability for all veterans, and the fight will be stepped up until this injustice is resolved.
Reducing backlogs in pending claims and appeals for veterans remains an ongoing priority, as does the ongoing expansion and improvement of outpatient care and services at the El Paso VA Clinic which continues its successful joint-venture with William Beaumont Army Medical Center.
Some of the numerous significant efforts for our veterans include:
● Establishment of a VA regional field office in El Paso to speed up handling of claims
● A Congressional oversight hearing in El Paso to discuss benefits claims administered by the VA. Among the witnesses testifying were Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi and Mr. Carl Lowe, director of Waco Regional Office
● Assisted in the establishment of a program to partially provide concurrent receipt of Military retirement and disability compensation
I am a Life Member of AMVETS, Disabled America Veterans (DAV), Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), and Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), the Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) and the American Legion.
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