In the News

During his time as both Commander of the Turlock American Legion and Vice Commander of the city’s Veterans of Foreign Wars post, Wardee “Gunner” Bruce has become all too familiar with the struggles that most veterans in the area face when dealing with the Department of Veterans Affairs, like contradicting directions on how to receive discharge documents or long wait times to hear back about benefit claims.

This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bi-partisan bill sponsored by Congressman Jeff Denham (R-Turlock) which aims to alleviate some of the problems veterans face at the VA, known as the Quicker Veterans Benefits Delivery Act of 2017, or H.R. 1725.

“All veterans run into problems at the VA from time to time. It’s one of those things that you hope to avoid, but never can,” said Bruce. “Most of the time, they aren’t any help.”

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Along with H.R. 1725, a slate of several other Denham-supported bills focused on reforming the VA and proving quality of life for veterans passed the House as well. The package of bills work to hold the VA and its employees accountable, reduce the backlog of disability claims, increase compensation rates for veterans with service-connected disabilities, offer new treatment programs for veterans combating brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder and provide avenues for elderly veterans to receive support through care programs. Next, H.R. 1725 and the other veteran-assisting bills will move on to the U.S. Senate.

For H.R. 1725’s full text, visit www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1725.

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