(Washington, DC) -- Congresswoman Cathy McMorris (WA-05) showed her continued commitment to American’s veterans by taking key steps to guarantee they are receiving the best care possible. Recent actions include passage of the Veteran’s Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act, voting to provide additional funds for veteran health care programs, and sending a letter to Veteran Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson regarding the Veterans health care budget shortfalls.

“Now more then ever, our veterans need to know that their government stands behind them because they give so much,” said McMorris. “We have an obligation to ensure that they have the highest quality of life possible when they come home; they deserve nothing less.”

McMorris voted in favor of H.R. 1220, the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2005. The legislation provides a cost-of-living adjustment to disability compensation rates for veterans, authorizes a two-year project for improvement of business practices in the Veterans Health Administration, and permanently authorizes six Parkinson’s disease Research Educational and Clinical Centers.

On June 30th McMorris and fellow Congressional members voted unanimously to provide $975 million in additional funds for veteran health care programs to make up for the projected $1 billion shortfall recently announced by the Veterans Affairs Department.

“Veterans have provided a great service to our country and we have an obligation to see that they are getting proper care. With more and more of our service men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, we need to make sure they have access to quality health care.”

This past week McMorris, along with members of the Washington delegation, sent a letter to Secretary Nicholson concerning the Veterans health care budget shortfall. In the letter the members offer to work with the Department of Veterans Affairs to examine the situation and install better practices to prevent this from happening in the future.