Rep. TJ Cox works with fellow legislators to bring improved services to U.S. veterans

Also, with the assistance of other congressional leaders, Cox is leading the effort on a second bill, working with Reps. Aumua Amata, Susie Lee, and Greg Steube, to give permanent authorization for a VA grant program dealing with the transportation of rural Veterans. Currently, Congress must authorize this vital program that appropriates $3 million in grants each year to aid veterans seeking transportation for medical care.

The records bill, co-introduced with Amata (R-AS) and Steube (R-FL), would treat digitized records as originals concerning claims administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. The bill will ease the process of applying for claims and getting veterans the care that they need.

“The Veterans Administration pioneers state of the art treatments, but parts of their record-keeping systems are stuck in the 20th century,” said Rep. Cox. “This bill will pull the VA into the modern age by allowing veterans to submit digital copies of their medical records, saving time, money, and paper. It’s a long-overdue change that will help get Veterans services more quickly, and I’m glad to work with a bipartisan coalition to get it done.” 

Amata explained that as modern technology improves, there are fewer excuses for inefficiencies in record keeping. Digital records are both convenient and sensible. He said this legislation would help save time and resources so the government can focus on what is most important: caring for veterans. “I want to thank my colleagues for their work on this, and I hope we continue this trend of bipartisan efforts on behalf of our veterans,” said Rep. Aumua Amata.

“As a veteran, I know the struggles many of our nation’s veterans are experiencing when they seek care at Department of Veterans Affairs facilities,” said Rep. Greg Steube. “I am proud to support this bipartisan legislation to modernize certain VA systems and increase access and simplicity for our veterans.”

Chairman JD Bennett, of Sanger Veterans Network, is pleased with the proposal. As a Veterans Service Officer and Representative at hearings, he supports making digitalized records an acceptable document for purposes of clarifying and processing a Veterans claim. This bill is a great way to enhance and reduce the current wait times for claims or appeals to be processed.”
According to Cox’s release, this proposed bill would balance claimants’ ability to dispute genuine inaccuracies in the record while also, streamlining and accelerating the record development process. H.R. 4588 would assist the VA as it modernizes and adapts to technological advancements.

Regarding the transportation of veterans, Cox is leading the effort to make permanent a program that helps veterans get transportation to medical care. Currently, Congress is required to reauthorize this service each year, a program that appropriates $3 million in grants each year to aid in veterans as rural veterans seek ways to get to a doctor.

“If we can’t get our most rural veterans to their medical appointments, we’ve failed the people who sacrificed to keep us safe,” said Cox. “I’m proud my colleagues and I are going to make this vital program permanent and predictable because our veterans earned this care, and it’s our special duty to make sure the veterans in the most rural corners of our country get the same care as any others.”

This program helps provide grantees greater flexibility to employ new approaches when serving veterans, resulting in improved service and health care access for veterans. Because Veteran Service Organizations, SVAs, and county governments already participate in the transportation of veterans, additional grants will encourage them to employ innovative approaches to transportation services for veterans in highly rural areas.

Almost a quarter of all Veterans in the United States, 4.7 million, return from active military careers to reside in rural communities. While Veterans may enjoy the benefits of rural living, they also experience rural health care challenges that are intensified by combat-related injuries and illnesses that make transportation to medical facilities necessary.