Spanberger, guests address veterans' issues during town hall
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U.S. Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger (D-Henrico) hosted a virtual town hall Sept. 9 to discuss veteran issues alongside Jose Vasquez, the executive director of the veterans’ organization Common Defense; former Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Schulkin; and House Armed Services Committee Vice-Chair Rep. Anthony Brown (D-MD)
“We need to get serious about our mission of serving, in particular, those who have served our country,” said Spanberger. “The list of challenges facing our military veterans is long,” The COVID-19 pandemic has exasperated those challenges for veterans, she said, including the 725,000 who live in Virginia.
Schulkin noted that recent comments in the media have made it a tough week for members of the military community. “It is painful to see the politicization,” said Shulkin.
Modernization and increased staffing – but not privatizing the system – should be the priorities for the VA right now, said Shulkin, who served as secretary of the agency from 2015 to 2018 before President Trump fired him for what Shulkin said was his resistance to such privatization.
Shulkin noted that he had implemented a hybrid system that allowed veterans to access certain services on the private market while working to improve the services that the VA offered.
Veterans often struggle with mental health issues as a result of their service. A recent investigation found that one veteran in Memphis seeking help for mental health issues was inadequately processed in the hours before he committed suicide.
When asked how to improve the behavioral healthcare system at the VA, noting there is currently a month wait for appointments, Shulkin said the ability to use the advanced practices and technology to help veterans connect with qualified professionals would be an important step.
Responding to a citizen’s question about women in the military who have been victims of sexual assault, Spanberger emphasized that officials need to determine how allegations of such assaults can best be made. She also said she wants to ensure that Congress holds hearings to determine the appropriate process to protect victims.
“We need to make sure the VA is responsive to some of the particular needs female veterans have” she said last year, when she and other members of Congress were pushing for the VA to improve healthcare for women in the military.
Postal Service concerns
Spanberger’s office has received a tremendous amount of input from veterans with concerns of delays in receiving medication by mail, according to Spanberger. In total, her office received 1,200 messages of concern in just one weekend about the directives from Postmaster General Louis DeJoy,
DeJoy has fixed some of the issues in recent weeks that were causing the delays and said he will not make any more changes prior to the November election. But Spanberger said that she and her colleagues are paying close attention. Both Spanberger and Brown were emphatic that they want to see the reversal actions from the Post Office that have slowed the mail.
The panel was consistent in recognizing that improvements need to be made in government to take care of veterans.
“Every issue is a veterans issue,” said Spanberger. “But there are some unique and specific issues that do impact our veterans.”
Spanberger said she wants Congress to get serious about fighting for homeless veterans.
The bipartisan Computers for Veterans and Students Act – bill introduced by Spanberger and three fellow Virginia representatives (Republicans Rob Wittman and Denver Riggleman, and Democrat Elaine Luria) would help funnel refurbished surplus government computers to veterans thorough nonprofits like Tech for Troops, which vets in how to use the technology as well.
