for our veterans, we can do more

Our community is home to nearly 57,000 veterans. Today, on the anniversary of the initial signing of the G.I. Bill in 1944, I am thinking about how we can do more.

I am committed to ensuring that the women and men who have served our country in uniform get the resources and services they need.

Some of the veterans in our community struggle with transportation to get to and from health care appointments. That's why I worked to successfully pass a bipartisan measure that extends a popular transportation program to helps veterans travel to see their doctors. But we can do more.

I worked with the Department of Veterans Affairs to improve access to care for veterans in Northwest Washington who face geographical barriers because of the region's unique environment, including veterans living in South and Central Whidbey Island, who must drive across Deception Pass to Mount Vernon or take a ferry to Seattle before they reach a doctor. But there is always more to do.

I am committed to helping veterans who sustained injuries during their military service that prevent them from conceiving children to get access to advanced fertility treatments and adoption services. We can still do more.

We must help smooth the transition to civilian life for our veterans through education, job training, housing and health care.

I push bills that provide veterans and departing service members with job-skills training, and provide business owners a tax credit to hire veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

To help veterans who experience homelessness, I worked with organizations serving veterans in all five of the counties of the 2nd District receive funding last year to help more veterans get permanent housing and on the path to independence.

Let's do more. They've done so much.

Rick