Veterans
Honoring Our Commitment to Those Who Serve
As a former Army Ranger and company commander, Senator Reed knows what it means to serve, and he understands the dedication of so many men and women who make great sacrifices to defend our nation in uniform.
Reed believes Congress must continue to strengthen and improve the VA health care system so our veterans and their families have access to the quality services they have earned and deserve. That is why he supported the bipartisan Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act to ensure that veterans exposed to toxic chemicals in the line of duty have access to the specialized care they need. The legislation accomplishes this by adding more than 20 new toxic exposure related conditions to the VA’s existing list of service presumptions, strengthening federal research on the effects of burn pit and toxic exposure, and investing in the VA’s workforce and health care facilities. Already, more than 2.4 million VA claims have been approved under the PACT Act, including thousands for veterans in Rhode Island.
As a member of the Appropriations Committee, Reed regularly supports increased funding to help the VA serve our veterans and their families. Reed also consistently supports funding for the Veterans Crisis Line, opioid prevention and treatment programs, and initiatives to reduce veteran homelessness through the annual appropriations bills.
Senator Reed knows that we ask a great deal of those in uniform and their families and he is committed to making sure they are not left behind.
KEY PRIORITIES & ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- Reed wrote and passed the Vet Center Improvement Act to improve staffing at Vet Centers, study Vet Center infrastructure needs, and create a pilot program to combat food insecurity among veterans and their families.
- Senator Reed wrote and passed the HAVEN Act, which authorized a competitive, five-year, $20 million pilot program to help make home repairs and improvements for disabled or low-income veterans.
- Reed successfully co-led and passed the Disabled Veterans Housing Support Act, which prevents veteran disability benefits from being included as income when determining a veteran’s eligibility for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) housing and other CDBG-funded programs.
- Reed helped pass a nearly-$3 billion supplemental funding bill to help cover a VA funding shortfall that threatened veterans’ benefit payments.
- Reed supported the bipartisan Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act to improve access to VA health care, better support veterans and their caregivers, and increase education and employment training opportunities for veterans transitioning to civilian careers.
- Reed worked with the VA to make Providence the first Regional VA office in the nation to install a new Veterans Benefit Management System (VBMS).
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Reed wrote the law to create the Office of Service Member Affairs in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and continues to urge the Department of Defense to strengthen the Military Lending Act to further protect service members and their families against abusive financial practices.