Washington, D.C. — This Veterans Day, Congressman Tom Emmer (MN-06) re-emphasized his work to improve veterans’ access to quality care and adequate benefits.

“We have an obligation to the brave men and women who put themselves in harm’s way to protect our freedoms. This means ensuring timely access to mental and primary health care services and financial benefits,” Emmer said.

“Our work to ensure our veterans get the benefits and recognition they have earned is never complete, and we continue to demonstrate our commitment,” Emmer concluded.

Emmer’s recent efforts include:

• Cosponsoring the Major Richard Star Act, which will expand retiree compensation for veterans who were forced to cut their military careers short due to combat-related injuries, allowing them to collect the monthly benefits that they were previously denied;
• Cosponsoring the Veteran Suicide Prevention Act, which requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to complete a five-year review of all deaths of veterans who died by suicide, examining both the mental health concerns these veterans faced and the VA response to this crisis.  

Since coming to Congress, Congressman Emmer has also:

• Led the Restoring Benefits to Defrauded Veterans Act, which will allow veteran families to recoup benefits lost to fraud;
• Introduced the Same-Day Accountability for Veterans Enhancement (SAVE) Act, which will examine the effectiveness of same-day primary and mental health care in the VA health system.
• Cosponsored the Patient Advocate Tracker Act, which will establish a tracking system for VA accountability. This bill was signed into law on September 16.

You can read more about Congressman Emmer’s work for veterans here.

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