Amata and HVAC Host Roundtable with VSO’s
Washington, D.C. –Thursday, Congresswoman Aumua Amata, and her fellow colleagues on the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Health hosted a roundtable meeting with the national veterans' service organizations (VSO's) on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning to discuss the legislative goals and priorities for our nation's veterans in the 115th Congress.
Congresswoman Amata at the World War II Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
"My colleagues and I are always interested to hear about the priorities of those national groups such as the VFW , American Legion and the other VSO's who do such a good job advocating on behalf of our veterans," stated Amata. "Their input is crucial to the committee, as it is one of the main avenues for us to hear exactly what our veterans need on the national level. The VSO's have a longstanding tradition of coming to Capitol Hill and informing the Members of Congress about our veterans, their needs, as well as their legislative goals. My colleagues on the committee and I look forward to working with the them in the 115th Congress to ensure that we meet as many of those goals as we can," continued Amata.
Among the many topics discussed was the need for reform at the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), as well as providing much needed upgrades to the VA's information technology (IT) infrastructure. Other areas of discussion included the need for further examination of possible toxic exposures to our veterans during their service to the nation, and improving the resources and services for our veterans in rural areas including the U.S. territories.
"Every time I am with my colleagues on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, I always make sure to mention our veterans in the territories and what we can do to improve the services available to them. Following these conversations and policy meetings, I am confident that the 115th Congress will prove to be very productive for our veterans in American Samoa and the other U.S. territories. I look forward to bringing about some real positive and impactful improvements for our local veterans very soon," concluded the Congresswoman.
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