Washington, DC – Hampton Roads veterans have an influential new voice in Congress. After securing a seat on the Armed Services Committee, Congressman Glenn Nye has been named to the House Veterans Affairs Committee – which met this morning for the first time in the 111th Congress.
“This is a critically important assignment for the 105,000 veterans who live in the 2nd District, and for veterans all across Virginia,” said Congressman Glenn Nye. “During my time in the Foreign Service, I had the privilege to serve alongside many of our brave men and women in uniform. I’m honored to be able to fight for our military personnel and veterans here in Congress, as a member of the Armed Services and Veterans Affairs committees.”
With a veterans population of 105,000, Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District has the second-most veterans in the nation. And while Virginia is home to more than 800,000 veterans statewide, the Commonwealth has not had a representative on the House Veterans Affairs Committee in recent years.
Nye will serve on the Health Subcommittee, which has primary responsibility for overseeing Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities. In 2007 alone, over 4,400 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan sought treatment at a VA facility in the state of Virginia.
During the first committee meeting, Chairman Bob Filner (D-CA) announced an aggressive oversight plan for the 111th Congress. The Health Subcommittee will be addressing ways to improve VA health care, reduce homelessness among veterans, and improve care for PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury, among other top issues. Congressman Nye is also a member of the Congressional Task Force on Brain Injury.
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