08.21.19 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON,
DC
-
Today,
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
Chairman
Mark
Takano
(D-Cali.)
issued
the
following
statement
after
President
Trump
announced
a
memorandum
discharging
the
student
debt
of
totally
and
permanently
disabled
veterans.
"Disabled
veterans
have
given
more
than
their
fair
share
in
service
to
our
country--
they
should
be
recognized
for
their
sacrifice.
While
today's
announcement
is
laudable,
it
is
frustrating
that
the
Administration
and
Secretary
DeVos
have
dragged
their
… Read More
08.12.19 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON,
D.C.
-
Senate
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
Ranking
Member
Jon
Tester
(D-MT),
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
Chairman
Mark
Takano
(D-CA),
Senate
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
Member
Senator
Jerry
Moran
(R-KS),
and
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
Ranking
Member
Dr.
Phil
Roe
led
a
bipartisan,
bicameral
letter
to
VA
today
following
a
damning
report
from
the
Office
of
Inspector
General
(OIG)
outlining
errors
in
VA's
processing
of
non-VA
emergency
care
claims.
The
OIG
found
… Read More
07.24.19 •
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
"True
Transparency?
Assessing
Wait
Times
Five
Years
after
Phoenix"
to
address
VA's
"secret
wait
lists"
on
the
fifth
anniversary
of
an
HVAC
hearing
on
the
Phoenix
VA
wait
time
scandal.
Below
is
a
link
to
the
video
of
the
Chairman's
opening
statement
and
his
remarks
as
prepared:
Good
morning.
I
call
this
hearing
to
… Read More
07.23.19 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON,
D.C.
-
Today,
the
House
of
Representatives
passed
all
three
bills
brought
to
the
floor
by
the
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
to
deliver
clear
results
for
veterans
by
extending
the
Women's
Health
Transition
Training
program,
requiring
VA
to
provide
materials
in
Spanish
and
Tagalog,
and
making
key
improvements
to
the
specially
adapted
housing
(SAH)
grant
program.
Full
list
of
passed
legislation:
1.H.R.
2942,
(Rep.
Cisneros)
To
direct
the
Secretary
of
Veterans
Affairs
to
carry
… Read More
07.23.19 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON,
D.C.
-
Today,
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
Chairman
Mark
Takano
and
many
Democratic
members
of
the
Committee
released
a
letter,
sent
to
VA
Secretary
Robert
Wilkie,
questioning
VA's
decision
not
to
decide
any
claims
for
Blue
Water
Navy
Vietnam
veterans
until
January
2020.
In
their
letter,
Members
wrote
that
while
H.R.
299,
the
Blue
Water
Navy
Vietnam
Veterans
Act
of
2019,
gives
VA
the
ability
to
stay
Blue
Water
claims,
"we
have
questions
about
the
decision
to
stay
all
claims
… Read More
07.22.19 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON,
D.C.
-
Today,
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
Chairman
Mark
Takano
released
the
following
statement
after
the
Committee's
Congressional
Delegation
to
Puerto
Rico
this
past
weekend:
"After
several
reports,
from
both
my
staff
and
the
media,
surfaced
alleging
that
VA
may
not
be
prepared
for
the
next
hurricane,
we
travelled
to
Puerto
Rico
to
learn
from
VA
and
hear
from
some
of
the
90,000
veteran
survivors
of
Hurricane
Maria
first
hand.
Unfortunately,
this
visit
confirmed
many
of
… Read More
07.17.19 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON,
D.C.
-
On
Friday,
July
19,
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
Chairman
Mark
Takano
(D-Cali.)
will
lead
a
Congressional
Delegation
to
the
VA
Medical
Center
in
San
Juan,
Puerto
Rico
to
meet
with
VA
leadership,
VSO
leaders,
and
veterans
themselves
to
see
first
hand
how
well
the
island,
and
VA
specifically,
is
prepared
for
the
next
natural
disaster.
"Despite
San
Juan
VA
leadership
indicating
that
'no
one
is
more
prepared'
to
support
veterans
during
and
after
Hurricane
Maria,
our
… Read More
07.15.19 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON,
D.C.
-
The
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
is
pleased
to
announce
the
launch
of
its
new
website,
veterans.house.gov,
featuring
an
updated
design
that
will
help
veterans
and
their
families
stay
up-to-date
with
the
Committee's
activities,
as
well
as
provide
them
with
valuable
Committee
and
Department
of
Veterans'
Affairs
resources.
The
Committee
is
working
to
serve
the
next
generation
of
veterans,
but
we
know
the
demographic
profile
of
our
nation's
veterans
is
changing
… Read More
07.11.19 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON,
DC
-
Today,
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
Chairman
Mark
Takano
(D-Cali.)
issued
the
following
statement
after
today's
roundtable
on
medicinal
cannabis
research:
"Cannabis
must
be
objectively
researched.
Period.
That's
why
we
came
together
today
with
experts,
researchers,
and
veterans
to
discuss
the
best
bipartisan
path
forward
for
VA
sponsored
medicinal
cannabis
research.
I
want
to
make
sure
any
research
legislation
this
Committee
votes
on
is
not
written
to
achieve
one
… Read More
06.26.19 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON,
D.C.
-
Today,
the
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
Chairman
Mark
Takano
and
Ranking
Member
Dr.
Phil
Roe
issued
the
following
statement
after
the
Blue
Water
Navy
Vietnam
Veterans
Act
of
2019,
H.R.
299,
was
officially
signed
into
law:
"Today,
we
are
proud
to
say
that
the
tens
of
thousands
of
Blue
Water
Navy
veterans
can
rest
easy
tonight
knowing
that
the
benefits
that
they
earned
while
serving
off
the
coasts
of
Vietnam
will
be
guaranteed.
The
Blue
Water
Navy
Vietnam
Veterans
Act
… Read More
06.20.19 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON,
D.C.
-
Today,
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
Chairman
Mark
Takano
(CA-41)
delivered
opening
remarks
before
the
full
committee
legislative
hearing
to
address
pending
legislation
on
educational
and
housing
benefits,
medicinal
cannabis,
and
a
requirement
to
provide
critical
VA
resources
in
Spanish.
Below
is
a
link
to
the
video
of
the
Chairman's
opening
Good
afternoon.
I
call
this
hearing
to
order.
I
would
like
to
start
by
thanking
the
Veteran
Service
Organizations
for
… Read More
06.19.19 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON,
D.C.
– Today,
Chairman
Mark
Takano
(D-Cali.)
and
Ranking
Member
Dr.
Phil
Roe,
M.D.
(R-Tenn.)
of
the
House
Committee
on
Veterans’
Affairs,
along
with
Sen.
Tom
Carper
(D-Del.),
Sen.
Johnny
Isakson
(R-Ga.),
and
Sen.
Jon
Tester
(D-Mont.),
Chairman
and
Ranking
Member
of
the
Senate
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs,
introduced
a
resolution
to
designate
the
week
of
June
17,
2019,
as
“National
G.I.
Bill
Commemoration
Week”
and
celebrate
the
75th
… Read More
06.18.19 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON,
D.C.
-
Today,
Chairman
Mark
Takano
released
the
following
statement
after
reports
from
the
Guardian
and
the
Center
for
Public
Integrity
that
the
depressant
Spravato
has
been
fast-tracked
through
FDA
approval
processes
and
hurried
through
VA's
contracting
process:
"I
am
incredibly
alarmed
by
reporting
today
that
suggests
Spravato,
a
controversial
new
drug,
is
being
rushed
through
critical
reviews
and
may
be
prescribed
to
veterans
before
fully
vetting
the
potential
risks
and
… Read More
06.12.19 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON,
D.C.
-
Today,
Chairman
Mark
Takano
released
the
following
statement
after
the
Senate
unanimously
passed
the
Blue
Water
Navy
Vietnam
Veterans
Act
of
2019,
H.R.
299.
"Tonight,
we
can
finally
tell
the
tens
of
thousands
of
veterans
who
were
exposed
to
Agent
Orange
during
the
Vietnam
War
but
wrongly
denied
benefits
that
justice
is
finally
coming.
By
passing
the
Blue
Water
Navy
Vietnam
Veterans
Act,
Congress
has
proven
to
the
nation,
to
our
veterans
and
their
families,
and
the
… Read More
06.06.19 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON,
D.C.
- Today,
the
House
Committee
on
Veterans’
Affairs
Chairman
Mark
Takano
issued
the
following
statement
in
recognition
of
the
75th
anniversary
of
D-Day.
See
a
video
of
Chairman
Takano’s
floor
speech here and
his
remarks
as
prepared
below:
Madam
Speaker,
I
rise
today
in
gratitude
for
the
bravery
and
sacrifices made
by American
and
Allied
Armed
Forces
on D-Day, June
6,
1944.
This
week
marks
the
75th
anniversary
of that
“Longest
Day”-
a
moment
in
history
when servicemembers
… Read More
06.05.19 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON,
D.C.
-
The
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
Chairman
Mark
Takano
and
Senate
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
Ranking
Member
Jon
Tester
sent
a
letter
yesterday
to
VA
following
a
whistleblower
claim
alleging
VA
has
secret
waitlists
for
veterans
seeking
health
care,
as
reported
by
the
Washington
Post.
In
their
letter,
Chairman
Takano
and
Senator
Tester
expressed
their
shared
concern
about
the
allegations
and
demanded
that
VA
provide
a
more
thorough
explanation
regarding
the
two
sets
… Read More
06.04.19 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON,
D.C.
-
Today,
the
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
Chairman
Mark
Takano
and
Ranking
Member
Dr.
Phil
Roe
issued
the
following
statement
after
the
Department
of
Justice
announced
it
will
not
appeal
the
Procopio
decision:
"We
are
encouraged
by
DOJ's
decision
not
to
appeal
Procopio
and
further
delay
benefits
to
our
Blue
Water
Navy
veterans.
It's
now
up
to
the
Senate
to
finally
right
this
wrong
and
pass
H.R.
… Read More
05.27.19 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON,
D.C.
-
Today,
the
House
Committee
on
Veterans’
Affairs
Chairman
Mark
Takano
issued
the
following
statement
in
recognition
of
Memorial
Day
2019.
“This
Memorial
Day,
we
must
take
a
moment
to
honor
the
sacrifice
of
all
those
who’ve
served
our
country
in
war
and
in
peace--
it
is
our
moment
to
pay
tribute
to
those
who’ve
made
the
ultimate
sacrifice
and
commit
to
remembering
their
stories.
“As
Chairman
of
the
House
Committee
on
Veterans’
Affairs,
it’s
my
privilege
to
advocate
for
… Read More
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
