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Source: Congress.gov
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This is my second term as chairman, and it's an honor to serve you. The mission of the VA committee has always been personal to me. Many of you have heard my story of how I grew up around veterans, how my father, Army veteran and his brothers, my grandfather, one Navy, one Marine, An uncle, a Marine in Vietnam that was victim of the ultimate oxymoron, friendly fire, but was very successful in life and still alive and doing well, and that has a whole lot to do to the VA and his services he received there. Myself as a Marine, my son as a Marine, my grandson as a Marine. Good job. So you know how personal this is to me, and every time I sit at this dais, I'm reminded of how important this is. And the debating, whether it's debating with the agency or the other side of the aisle, it's always my focus is on the veteran. Many of you have watched me and known me around here, and you see this dirty bracelet cord right here? I've wore that ever since coming to Congress, and I'm gonna tell you the story on that because about a year and a half ago, the guy who gave me that, we lost him. We just knew him as Lieutenant Dan. And he's a Vietnam veteran, and he made these cords, and he came to me just after I was elected to Congress, and he said, I'm gonna give you a couple of these, and I want you to wear them on a regular basis. He says, because every time you look down, I want you to remember who you serve. And that helps tremendously. Now for me, it's always been about the veterans. It's not about protecting government bureaucracy. I know the sacrifices each of you have made, especially our disabled veterans community.
Each of you has fought to protect our constitutional rights. I'm particularly proud of the work DAV has done to help disabled veterans and their spouses find meaningful employment. You know, in testimony that is given by you today, that recovery from an injury is not complete until the veterans are able to find meeting and purpose. I look forward to hearing more about what the DAV is doing to help disabled veterans and spouses reach their professional goals and how Congress can help. DAV plays a vitally important role in making sure we advance common sense proposals and conduct oversight to meet the needs of the entire veteran community, no matter where they live or where they want to work. Veterans should have the freedom to use the benefits of VA and that VA offers in exchange for their service to meet their individual needs. and they shouldn't spend hours driving in a car to get them, or combing through wonky paperwork for months on end, or needless waiting for a phone call to get a simple answer. You know where VA is falling short, and you know where we need to push the agency to bring it out of the Stone Age and into the New Age. You have my commitment that as long as I'm in charge, we will continue to fight for you, the hundreds and thousands of veterans outside the DCA Beltway who just want their healthcare on time and their benefits when they need them.
You know, this old corporal takes this mission seriously. And I know our new VA secretary and my friend Doug Collins does too. Under President Trump's leadership, I know we're going to put you, the veteran, and the VA service back at the center of VA mission. And when the bureaucracy tries to get in the way, I will continue to be the first to hold them accountable and get the answers for you. We made great progress through the Dole Act last Congress. And I appreciate DAV's support for this legislation. By working together, we can accomplish some tremendous wins. Because of the Dole Act, we have a law that will help streamline the disability claims process, reduce veterans' homelessness, strengthen mental health care, and improve access to at-home care and much more. The Dole Act was a great victory for our veterans. But there's much more that we can do and will do with your help. Now, my door has always and will continue to be open to you. We must deliver for our veterans to protect their health care choice, expand economic and educational opportunities, streamline benefits, and get it done. I promise to keep up the fight. We all are in together. Now is not the time to take our foot off the gas. I look forward to completing our mission alongside of you. Thank you again for being here today. And with that, I now recognize Chairman Moran for his opening comments. Chairman Boss, thank you. Thank you for hosting this joint hearing, and we look forward to this continuing. The Senate will host in a few weeks, and we'll see you on our side of the building.
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