PATERSON—With 1.7 million veterans having recently returned home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-08) was proud to receive an A+ in a scorecard released by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA).
"America's troops and veterans are the ones who really deserve the A+," stated Pascrell. "Congress has accomplished a great deal to improve the lives of our veterans, but our work is no match for the service and sacrifice they have made for America."
IAVA's scorecard evaluated 13 votes in the House of Representatives which gave each member an opportunity to prioritize health care, housing, education, jobs, compensation and other issues facing America's newest veterans. Pascrell voted in line with America’s newest veterans on each of the 13 key votes.
As the co-founder and co-chairman of the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force, Pascrell was pleased by the emphasis IAVA placed on evaluating the work Congress has completed to improve care for traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients and their families.
"Whether it was reauthorizing the TBI Act, opening the new Defense Center for Excellence on Psychological Health and TBI, or pushing the VA to dramatically expand compensation for thousands of TBI patients, this Congress has accomplished an incredible amount on behalf of our brain injured veterans," stated Pascrell. "Still, much more needs to be done. With strong advocacy from groups like IAVA, and the proven will of this Congress, I am confident we will continue building upon the historic achievements of the last two years."
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America is the nation's first and largest group dedicated to the troops and veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the civilian supporters of those Troops and Veterans. IAVA is an independent nonprofit organization.
The complete IAVA scorecard can be viewed at http://www.iava.org/.
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