FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Monday, March 23, 2015
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***In Case You Missed It***
Chairman Isakson on Top Priorities for Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
‘Dedicated to veterans, for greater good’
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, authored the following
op-ed on his priorities for the committee this Congress:
Dedicated to veterans, for greater good
By U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson
“Freedom is the greatest gift that
we, the United States, have been granted and as such it is our
responsibility to spread it. For it to become a permanent fixture in our
future and our children’s
future, we must give our all to those that desire it.”
In May 2005, a young man wrote this to
me in an email sent while deployed in Baghdad, Iraq. I was deeply
touched by the words of 1st Lt. Noah Harris of Ellijay, who became my
pen pal while he bravely
served our country in defense of the freedom he so deeply believed in.
1st Lt. Harris died at an Army medical
center less than a month after sending this email, but his memory and
the words he wrote have stayed with me all these years. Noah made the
ultimate sacrifice
in service of his country, and I am forever indebted to Noah for his
sacrifice and inspiration.
I have been blessed to represent the
great state of Georgia in the U.S. Senate since 2005. Now, I have the
honor of serving as chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’
Affairs. I take very seriously
the challenges that lie ahead, and I intend to dedicate my service and
leadership as chairman to Noah Harris in tribute to the life that he
gave – and the lives so many others have given – on behalf of the
greater good.
Noah was committed to serving his
country and his fellow man, and he would sign every email with the
phrase, “I do what I can.” During my tenure as chairman, I will carry on
Noah’s motto, and I make
the solemn pledge to our nation’s veterans: I will do what I can.
As chairman, I have laid out five broad goals the committee will pursue over the next two years.
In Congress, we are responsible for
providing critical oversight of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Last
year, Congress passed sweeping reforms to address serious and systemic
problems and give
the VA the tools required to help improve the quality and timeliness of
care by giving veterans a choice.
My first and ongoing priority as
chairman will be overseeing the implementation of the Veterans’ Access
to Care through Choice, Accountability and Transparency Act to ensure
the VA fully and efficiently
utilizes the Veterans’ Choice program to improve the quality and
timeliness of care.
Second, we must act as a committee to
drastically improve the experience service members and their families
face while transitioning from active duty to veteran status. There needs
to be direct inter-agency
collaboration between the Department of Defense and the VA to make sure
this transition process is seamless and efficient in all respects.
A third goal for the Senate VA committee
will be to make certain we are doing what we can to protect victims,
male and female, of military sexual trauma. We will not overlook this
serious issue affecting
both men and women any longer. We are committed to reducing the stigma
associated with military sexual trauma and to providing access to care
and support for veterans who are victims of this terrible trauma.
Fourth, we will work with the VA to
achieve its goal of eradicating and preventing veteran homelessness. It
is an insult this problem even exists. I will do what I can to see that
veterans have access
to adequate housing, food and support.
Finally, we must work to ensure the VA
provides access to adequate and timely mental health care and services.
This problem deserves our immediate attention. That is exactly why the
first item of business
when I took over as chairman earlier this year was to pass bipartisan
legislation – the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act
— to help our veterans.
In Congress, we are responsible for
sending our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines to the battlefield. We
owe our veterans nothing less than everything to ensure their
well-being when they return
home. I will be fiercely committed as chairman of the Senate VA
committee to making sure the Department of Veterans Affairs rises to
meet the challenge of implementing necessary reforms on behalf of Noah
Harris and all of America’s veterans.
U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., is chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
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The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is chaired by U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., in the 114th Congress.
Isakson is a veteran himself – having
served in the Georgia Air National Guard from 1966-1972 – and has been a
member of the Senate VA Committee since he joined the Senate in 2005.
Isakson’s home
state of Georgia is home to more than a dozen military installations
representing each branch of the military as well as more than 750,000
veterans.
veterans
