05.22.19 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Chairman Mark Takano (CA-41) spoke at a press conference highlighting Representative Elaine Luria's bill, the Gold Star Family Tax Relief Act, which would fix the "kiddie tax" loophole that forces Gold Star families to pay extra taxes on their survivors benefits. Below is a link to the video of the Chairman's speech and his remarks as prepared:
Thank you to Speaker Pelosi, Representative Luria, and my colleagues who have been
… Read More
05.22.19 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs held its first Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing entitled, “Improving the Department of Veterans Affairs Effectiveness: Responding to Recommendations from Oversight Agencies” to address VA’s plan to remove itself from the GAO High Risk List.
But, in unprecedented and unacceptable fashion, VA refused to participate in the hearing.
“By not appearing today, VA is ignoring an opportunity to show that it cares
… Read More
05.21.19 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the House of Representatives passed all 9 bills brought to the floor from the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs getting clear results for veterans on suicide prevention, transition assistance, and homelessness. In the wake of the national public health crisis of veteran suicide, five of these bills focus specifically on suicide prevention and mental healthcare. A full list of the 9 bills passed can be found below:
Full list of passed legislation:
H.R.
… Read More
05.14.19 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. - - Today, Chairman Mark Takano (D-Cali.) and Ranking Member Dr. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.) released the following statements after the House passed the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019, H.R. 299. The bill unanimously passed the House, 410 - 0.
“I am so proud to say the House has finally passed the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act," said Chairman Takano. "For more than forty years, tens of thousands of veterans, their families, and survivors have been denied the
… Read More
05.14.19 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Chairman Mark Takano praised bipartisan action on H.R. 299, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019, ahead of a historic vote on the floor of the House of Representatives.
Chairman Mark Takano's remarks as delivered can be viewed here and found below:
Watch Video From Chairman Takano's Remarks Here.
We're here today to right an incredible wrong-- Congress has failed our Blue Water Navy veterans. But when we go to
… Read More
05.14.19 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a letter to House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mark Takano and Ranking Member Dr. Phil Roe, leaders from Disabled American Veterans, the American Legion, Vietnam Veterans of America, Military Officers Association of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, Paralyzed Veterans of America, AMVETS, and the Military Order of the Purple Heart signaled their strong support of H.R. 299, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 ahead of its
… Read More
05.14.19 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. - House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mark Takano (CA-41) led a letter, released today, signed by Ranking Member Dr. Phil Roe, Representative Julia Brownley, Representative Neal Dunn, Representative Chris Pappas, and Representative Jack Bergman calling on Secretary Wilkie to share information from the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs’ progress implementing their “End Harassment” campaign.
While “We applaud VA for funding research that systematically studied
… Read More
05.13.19 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Chairman Mark Takano visited the Atlanta VA Medical Center along with Representative Lucy McBath (GA-06) and met with key members of the facility's leadership team to discuss staffing and efforts to prevent veteran suicide.
Chairman Mark Takano's remarks as delivered at a press conference following the event can be found below:
Thank you everyone for joining us today to address the critical issues facing the Atlanta
… Read More
05.08.19 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs held its first full committee markup passing all of the 18 bills on the agenda and continuing its work to deliver clear results for veterans on suicide prevention, homelessness, and finally delivering justice for our Blue Water Navy veterans. Chairman Mark Takano's opening remarks and a full list of the 18 bills passed can be found below:
I would like to thank everyone here this morning. The 18 bills we have before us
… Read More
05.02.19 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mark Takano (CA-41) responded to the Department of Veterans Affairs office of the Inspector General new report, Expendable Inventory Management System: Oversight of Migration from Catamaran to the Generic Inventory Package, which revealed alarming problems with VA’s management of medical supply inventories at its hospitals nationwide.
After initially identifying concerns at the VA medical center in Washington, DC, last
… Read More
05.02.19 • Press Release
Washington, D.C. - Today, the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs launched a new bipartisan Women Veterans Task Force to increase the visibility of the two million women veterans living in the United States and to promote inclusivity and equitable access to resources, benefits, and healthcare for women veterans.
The Task Force will be chaired by Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA), who is also the Chairwoman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Health Subcommittee. This announcement
… Read More
05.01.19 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Chairman Mark Takano (CA-41) delivered remarks and presented an updated version of H.R. 299, before the first Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs legislative hearing. Below is a link to the video of the Chairman's statement and his remarks as prepared:
Thank you Madam Chair.
First, I want to thank you for including H.R. 299, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019, in this legislative
… Read More
04.29.19 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Chairman Mark Takano (CA-41) penned an op ed to address the national public health crisis of veteran suicide. This comes before the Committee's press conference this afternoon and the first hearing on veteran suicide this Congress tonight at 7pm:
The Hill: The nation needs to do more to reduce veteran suicide
America is facing a national public health crisis-- this is not hyperbole. It's a somber reality.
Each day 20 veterans,
… Read More
04.29.19 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Chairman Mark Takano (CA-41) delivered opening remarks before the full committee oversight hearing entitled "Tragic Trends: Suicide Prevention Among Veterans." Below is a link to the video of the Chairman's opening statement and his remarks as prepared:
Good evening. I call this hearing to order.
First I would like to welcome our witnesses this evening: Dr. Stone, from the Veterans Health Administration,
… Read More
04.10.19 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mark Takano (CA-41) released the statement below following several concerning reports of veteran suicides in the past week:
“My sincere condolences to the family and friends of the veteran who died by suicide last night outside the Austin VA facility. This is a national crisis that we all need to address. Every new instance of veteran suicide showcases a barrier to access, but with three incidents on VA property in just
… Read More
04.03.19 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Chairman Mark Takano (CA-41) delivered opening remarks before the full committee oversight hearing entitled "U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2020." Below is a link to the video of the Chairman's opening statement and his remarks as prepared:
Good Afternoon. I call this hearing to order.
First I would like to welcome Secretary Wilkie, and our Veteran Service Organizations: The American
… Read More
04.02.19 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Chairman Mark Takano (CA-41) delivered opening remarks before the full committee oversight hearing entitled "MISSION Critical: Assessing the Technology to Support Community Care." Below is a link to the video of the Chairman's opening statement and his remarks as prepared:
Good afternoon. I call this hearing to order.
Today, the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs is gathered to assess the implementation status of the
… Read More
03.25.19 • Press Release
Washington D.C. - Chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Congressman Mark Takano and Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Senator Jon Tester today led a group of 55 members of Congress to voice their concerns about the VA’s proposed VA MISSION Act access standards that could trigger a massive shift of care from VA facilities to the private sector.
In a letter to the VA, the Members share their disappointments that the VA’s proposed access standards don’t live
… Read More
03.18.19 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC - Today, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mark Takano (CA-41) issued the following statement regarding the serious concerns raised about VA’s IT solutions in the latest Pro Publica story:
“The recent U.S. Digital Service (USDS) report on implementation of technology systems to support the Community Care components of the MISSION Act is incredibly alarming. By suggesting that VA’s planned IT solutions are inadequate, and that VA has not given itself enough time to
… Read More
03.14.19 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC - Today, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mark Takano (CA-41) sent the following letter notifying the Secretary of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs that the Committee is expanding the scope of its investigation into potential undue influence on VA beyond the Mar-a-Lago “three”:
Citing a recent Pro Publica report Chairman Takano stated, “Until now, this investigation was limited in scope on the influence of Mr. Ike Perlmutter, Dr. Bruce Moskowitz, and Mr. Marc
… Read More
