Q: Is there federal legislation being proposed to help veterans?
A: On December 7, 1941, our country was stripped of peace when the naval base at Pearl Harbor was attacked. We were immediately drawn into the second World War and brave soldiers from across the United States answered the call to arms. Those who put their country before self either at home or abroad came to define what we now call the Greatest Generation. Veterans of armed conflicts since World War II have also acted courageously and left footprints for their respective generations. The least we can do for the men and women who fight underneath our flag is provide them with the services they deserve. As the senior senator from Iowa, I have a special interest in making sure veterans living in rural areas receive their benefits. These veterans may be a good distance from a VA facility, including critical access hospitals and community health centers. All veterans are entitled to the benefits they earned through service, regardless of where they live. To make sure these services are available, I have co-sponsored two different pieces of legislation this year that will help aid veterans living in rural communities.
Q: How does your legislation improve access for rural veterans?
A: As more and more veterans return home, we need to make sure those in rural areas can access the services they need. To help make this a reality, earlier this year I was an original co-sponsor of legislation that would help ease the transportation costs for veterans by increasing the mileage reimbursement rate for veterans who must travel to seek medical care to the same rate paid to federal employees. Veteran’s groups who provide transportation to medical facilities will be eligible for grants to ease their financial burden, as well. This legislation also commissions the Director of the Office of Rural Health to develop demonstration projects, centers of excellence, and other initiatives to improve access and care for veterans living in rural areas. In November I also sponsored a second piece of legislation with Senator Klobuchar from Minnesota that would literally mobilize the resources of the VA. The bill would create a pilot program to test the concept of a mobile system that would bring the benefits of the VA to veterans in rural communities. This portable VA would offer several health care related services. It would have the ability to fill prescriptions and deliver medication and would offer regular mental health screening with emphasis on soldiers who recently returned from combat. Beyond bringing health care to veterans, this mobile unit would provide counseling and education on accessing VA health care, job-placement assistance, bereavement counseling to families of service members killed in action and other benefits for which veterans are eligible. With this legislation, I am hopeful that the VA will be better equipped to provide the services promised to our veterans who so valiantly earned them.