[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 71 (Thursday, April 27, 2023)] [House] [Pages H2072-H2077] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-27
Chamber: HOUSE
Mr. MIKE GARCIA : I rise today to share my appreciation for all the brave men and women who have selflessly served the Nation in the United States Armed Forces.  America is the greatest Nation on Earth because of the many generations that have fought to preserve the freedoms and liberties that we enjoy as Americans. As a former U.S. Navy aviator, I flew over 30 combat missions during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and I understand the service and sacrifice that our Nation's veterans and their families make. For generations, young men and women have answered our Nation's call to serve. From the shores of Normandy to the jungles of Vietnam and the mountains of Afghanistan, our U.S. servicemembers have protected the beacon of democracy and her allies throughout the world. This is a debt that we cannot repay well enough. Over the past year, we have lost members of the Greatest Generation in my district, including a gentleman by the name of Lou Moore and another by the name of Richard Manning. I had the honor of meeting these World War II heroes, these patriots who lived a life of service to our Nation. May God bless these American heroes. To all of our Vietnam veterans, thank you and welcome home. With all that said, we must ensure that we are actually taking better care of our heroes and our veterans. As a Member of Congress, my top priority will always be constituent services, and one of the greatest honors my staff and I have is to have the ability to assist veterans with Federal agency casework, most often with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Since just last year, we have assisted over 200 veterans and stand ready to assist many more. I especially thank two of my staffers, incredible caseworkers, a lady by the name of Chris Ward and another by the name of Frances Brown. They are the best constituent caseworkers in the Nation. Chris and Frances have processed hundreds of incoming requests from our veterans and participate in various outreach programs throughout our communities every week so that our office can be as helpful and as accessible to our veterans as possible. I am proud of all the work that Chris and Frances have done and continue to do to fight for our veterans. Chris and Frances have helped veterans get wrongly accumulated debt canceled to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt. We have ensured that veterans are receiving their benefits, and assisted veterans in changing their disability rating to match the reality of their current conditions. Veterans that have served our Nation should never have to worry about having their basic needs met or their privileges and rights honored. A veteran in our community was trying to obtain his 100 percent service-connected disability for years. After contacting our office, one of our caseworkers worked with the VA and got the VA to recognize his unemployability. This deems the veteran 100 percent disabled due to being unemployable, and therefore pays him as if he is 100 percent service-connected disabled.  {time}  1715  This veteran was swiftly approved, received a back payment of $6,000, and now receives his annual stipend of $3,600 per month. This veteran's casework success story is just one of many that come from our office, and I am super proud of all the work that my team does. I say this not to brag about my team, although I am very proud of them, but instead, I say this to encourage more veterans to reach out. If it is taking you more than a couple of days, please reach out, and we can help you accelerate that process, especially with the VA. Since being elected to Congress, I've cosponsored numerous pieces of legislation to assist our military families and veterans, including bipartisan bills to improve VA healthcare accessibility and benefits to veterans suffering from disabilities related to toxic chemical exposure, provide veterans with PTSD access to therapy dogs, and create a global war on terror memorial on the National Mall. I will continue to work on behalf of our Nation's veterans, through bothcasework and legislation, to help bring needed assistance and honor to those that served our country. God bless all those who have served. You shouldn't have to call your Member of Congress to get help, but we are honored to help you and serve you, and we encourage all veterans to reach out if they need the help. Mr. Speaker, the VA needs to do better for our veterans. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx), a fellow conservative, someone who has been a mentor and a leader not only in this body but in the classrooms herself, and she is the chair of the Committee on Education and the Workforce.