06.13.24 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC - House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Mark Takano (CA-39) delivered the following opening remarks, as prepared, at this morning’s Full Committee Oversight Hearing about meeting the needs of veterans with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCID):
“Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I am pleased to be here today to examine how we are meeting the needs of veterans with spinal cord injuries and disorders, sometimes referred to as S-C-I-D.
It is estimated that around a
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06.05.24 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC - House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Mark Takano (CA-39) criticized the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs (MilCon/VA) appropriations bill on the House floor for being partisan and not meeting the goal of helping every veteran.
The Ranking Member said:
“I am disturbed House Republicans have included many of the same partisan riders in this year’s bill that were in this bill last year. These radical riders aim to restrict access to abortion and attack
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06.05.24 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC - House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs (HVAC) Ranking Member Mark Takano (CA-39), House Committee on Financial Services Ranking Member Maxine Waters (CA-43), and HVAC Economic Opportunity Subcommittee Ranking Member Mike Levin (CA-49) have introduced the End Veteran Homelessness Act of 2024 (H.R. 8560). This legislation will help reduce casework bottlenecks and expand eligibility for the HUD-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program, allowing more veterans experiencing or at risk
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06.04.24 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC - House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Mark Takano (CA-39) released the following statement after the Full Committee’s hearing on critical skills incentives:
“It has been less than two years since my Honoring our PACT Act was signed into law, and the implementation has been an overall success. Last month, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that one million veterans and their survivors have been granted PACT Act benefits. And earlier this year
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05.21.24 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC - House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member, and author of the Honoring our PACT Act, Mark Takano (CA-39) released the following statement after the announcement that the one millionth PACT Act disability compensation benefit claim has been granted:
“We passed my historic Honoring our PACT Act less than two years ago, so I am thrilled that one million veterans and their survivors have already been able to receive the benefits they have earned. We have a sacred
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05.15.24 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC -- House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Mark Takano (CA-39) released the following statement after Committee Republicans introduced the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act (H.R. 8371), a package negotiated without House Democrats or Veterans Service Organization (VSO) input, that will pour scarce VA dollars into private care and complicate all future veteran legislative priorities:
“After months of time-wasting and
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04.25.24 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC - Today, House Committee on Veterans Affairs Ranking Member Mark Takano (CA-39) released the following statement after the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced a final rule that will expand healthcare and benefits to more veterans who received other than honorable discharges:
“I applaud VA Secretary Denis McDonough and the Biden Administration for this long overdue expansion of healthcare and benefits for some veterans who received an other than honorable discharge.
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04.11.24 • Press Release
Washington, DC - House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Mark Takano (CA-39) delivered the following opening remarks, as prepared, at the beginning of today’s Full Committee oversight hearing on the Department of Veterans Affairs FY 2025 and 2026 budget request:
“Today, we welcome Secretary McDonough and Veterans Service Organization representatives of the Independent Budget to discuss the Department of Veterans Affairs Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2025. Budgets reflect our
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03.21.24 • Press Release
Washington, DC - House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Mark Takano (CA-39) delivered the following opening remarks, as prepared, at the beginning of today’s Full Committee’s legislative hearing on the Toxic Exposure Act of 2024 that will undermine the Ranking Member’s landmark Honoring our PACT Act:
“Thank you for yielding, Mr. Chairman.
The Cost of War Toxic Exposure Fund, created by my Honoring Our PACT Act, is a vital component of the law and represents our promise to
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03.13.24 • Press Release
Washington - Today, House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Mark Takano (CA-39) and Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Chair Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04), who is also a veteran, led over 135 members of Congress calling on Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough to protect veterans and address some of the problems caused by the Kennedy Amendment. The Kennedy Amendment rolls back 30 years of precedent and makes it easier for veterans who are mentally incompetent to
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03.13.24 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Mark Takano (CA-39) and Committee members concluded the 2024 veterans service organization (VSO) hearings. These yearly hearings are bipartisan and bicameral, to allow all Committee members to hear directly from veterans and VSOs about their priorities in the next year.
The first panel featured witnesses from the American Legion, including National Commander Daniel Seehafer. Ranking Member Takano highlighted the
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03.12.24 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC - Today House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Mark Takano (CA-39) released the following statement after the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) unveiled its Fiscal Year 2025 budget, which includes increased funding for the Toxic Exposure Fund (TEF) created specifically to help toxic-exposed veterans in the Honoring our PACT Act, invests more in services and tools specific to women veterans, and ensures VA facilities are being upgraded to provide world-class
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03.11.24 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC - Today, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Mark Takano (CA-39) and Subcommittee on Health Ranking Member Julia Brownley (CA-26) released the following statement after the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced it will soon expand eligibility for in vitro fertilization (IVF) services:
“This is a step in the right direction to allow eligible unmarried veterans and veterans in same-sex marriages to receive IVF, but we think current law is still too
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03.11.24 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC - House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Economic Opportunity Subcommittee Ranking Member Mike Levin (CA-49) has reintroduced the Guard and Reserve GI Bill Parity Act of 2024 (HR 7543) to ensure National Guard and Reservist servicemembers receive Post-9/11 GI Bill eligibility for every day they spend in uniform.
The Guard and Reserve GI Bill Parity Act was also introduced in the 116th and 117th Congresses and passed the House in 2022 with bipartisan support. It ensures that Guard
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03.07.24 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC - House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Mark Takano (CA-39) released the following statement after President Joe Biden gave his annual State of the Union Address, where he talked about the ongoing success of the Ranking Member’s Honoring our PACT Act, that treats toxic exposure as a cost of war by addressing the full range of issues impacting toxic-exposed veterans including access to earned benefits and healthcare:
“I was very glad but not surprised to hear
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03.06.24 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC - Today, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Mark Takano (CA-39) and Committee members began the 2024 Veterans Service Organization (VSO) hearings. These yearly hearings are bipartisan and bicameral, to allow all Committee members to hear directly from veterans and VSOs about their priorities in the next year.
The first panel featured witnesses from the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), including VFW Commander-in-Chief Duane Sarmiento. Ranking Member Takano
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03.04.24 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC -- House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Mark Takano (CA-39) and Subcommittee on Health Ranking Member Julia Brownley (CA-26) released the following statement after the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) published its final rule on reproductive healthcare for veterans and beneficiaries of the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) today:
“We applaud VA for finalizing this important rule, which was a long overdue step
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02.26.24 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC— House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Mark Takano (CA-39) released the following statement after the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) declined to change its policy on gender-affirming surgery for veterans:
“I think I echo many in the veterans and LGBTQ+ communities that I am extremely disappointed in VA for taking so long and then refusing to change its policy for trans veterans. VA’s mission is to provide comprehensive and high-quality healthcare that
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02.26.24 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC - House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Mark Takano (CA-39) released the following statement after the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) detailed its plans to accelerate healthcare enrollment for veterans made eligible by the PACT Act, as announced by President Joe Biden on Veterans Day last year. An initial open enrollment period created by Ranking Member Takano’s Honoring our PACT Act saw almost 26,000 new veterans enrolled in VA’s healthcare system. Now over
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02.15.24 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC - Today House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Mark Takano (CA-39) released the following statement after the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced their new proposed rule to expand the years and locations veterans will be covered for Agent Orange and other toxic herbicide exposures:
Ranking Member Takano said, “I applaud VA’s new proposed rule that expands the reach of my bill, the Honoring Our Pact Act, and builds upon VA’s work addressing Vietnam-era
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