Plattsburgh, NY– Today, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21) held a roundtable with Plattsburgh area veterans at the American Legion, Post 20. This roundtable was an opportunity to discuss the challenges facing our veterans and some of the issues Congresswoman Stefanik has been working on in Congress. The roundtable was moderated by Barrie Finnegan, the Executive Director of North Country Honor Flight.
“I thank the American Legion and Barrie Finnegan of North Country Honor Flight for helping us put together this important veterans event today,” said Congresswoman Stefanik. “Our district is the proud home of more veterans than any other district in New York State – over 50,000 of these brave men and women. Today’s roundtable was an opportunity to discuss the ongoing challenges they face, including access to healthcare. My offices have been pleased to help our North Country heroes recover over $2.5 million in earned VA benefits, and in Congress I have been pleased to lead on several issues to improve the lives of those who have risked it all for our nation. I will continue to prioritize the needs of our veterans and thank everyone who participated in today’s discussion.”
Some of the legislative initiatives Rep. Stefanik has championed include:
Supporting passage of the Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act: This legislation provides the Secretary of Veterans Affairs flexibility to remove VA employees for performance or misconduct, adds protections for whistleblowers, and increases accountability and performance measures for VA Senior Executive Service employees. This was signed into law by President Trump.
Author of Support Our Military Caregivers Act: Legislation to reform the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Family Caregiver Program to help better support family members caring for seriously wounded veterans.
Introduced a resolution to support of our Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans: This bill includes the territorial seas around Vietnam for purposes of the presumption of service connection for diseases associated with exposure by veterans to certain herbicide agents while in Vietnam.
Co-introduced the Keeping Our Commitment to Ending Veteran Homelessness Act of 2018: This bipartisan legislation would reauthorize several key programs that provide outreach and services to homeless veterans across the country. The bill would renew eight U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of Labor programs that will begin to expire on September 30, 2018 without Congressional action.
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