DeLauro Thanks Patients, Doctors, Nurses at West Haven VA Hospital

NEW HAVEN, CT—Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-3) visited theWest Haven VA hospital today. She thanked patients for their service and stafffor their service and continuing support of our veterans. Last week DeLaurovoted to move forward with legislation funding the Department of VeteransAffairs.

"As a nation, we have an obligation to ensure that the bravemen and women who serve our country have access to the medical care they need.That means mental care as well as physical. Several years ago I authored aprovision--now law--that created a post-deployment mental health screening forall services. Taking care of our veterans inside and out is an essential partof the compact that binds our society together.

"I am proud to have supported legislation supporting ourveterans throughout my career and oppose any measure that seeks to reduce thedeficit on the backs of our veterans. The West Haven hospital in particular hasbeen a concern and it was great to see how well the facility is doing.Secretary Shinseki and I have worked together to make sure Connecticut veteranshave the most up-to-date facilities possible. The renovations underway on theinpatient facility will go a long way towards making it a more welcoming placefor veterans and their families. It is the very least we can do to thank ourbrave service men and women for protecting our country."

The VA funding bill passed by the House AppropriationsCommittee last week provides $155 million for the Veterans Benefit ManagementSystem and $136 million for the Veterans Claims Intake Program. This willsignificantly speed up claims by converting old paper files into digital files.The VA is exempt from the deeply harmful budget cuts known as sequestration thatis affecting other federal agencies.

Earlier this month, DeLauro joined Veterans AffairsSecretary Eric Shinseki for the Connecticut rollout of the VA initiative toclear out the VA's claims backlog. Some veterans have waited a year or more fordecisions, an unacceptably long time.