Kash on Veterans Issues

Daily we see evidence of sacrifice by the men and women of the American military and their families, as they support and defend the United States. It’s not enough to say, “Thanks for your service.” When we ask service members to put their lives on the line for America we must keep our promise to provide them with the care they need to recover from visible and invisible combat injuries, physical handicaps, psychological issues, and substance abuse.

I will work with the Department of Veterans Affairs, Disabled American Veterans, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the American Legion to see that our veterans get the support they need as they return to civilian life, find a new career path, locate a new home, and re-establish relationships with family and friends.

I will push for more educational benefits and job training. Nearly 7 percent of the U.S. labor force is made up of military veterans. One of the challenges facing veterans and employers is translating military experience into the civilian job market. I will encourage the Department of Defense to expand civilian cross-training and internship programs, and to provide on-base access for private-sector recruiting.

Currently there are four agencies which support the 5.5 million Americans caring for ill or wounded service members and veterans – the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor, the Department of Veteran’s Affairs, and the Department of Defense. I will work to facilitate interagency cooperation to enhance the alignment and quality of services support to military caregivers, and will stand with my Democratic colleagues to support legislation such as the proposed Military and Veteran Caregiver Services Improvement Act of 2017.

I will fight for every veteran to have timely access to high quality health care and timely processing of claims and appeals by cutting time-to-hire periods and increasing clinical pay.