FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, December 23, 2019
Contact: Amanda Maddox, 202-224-7777
Marie Gordon, 770-661-0999
Isakson Reflects on Senate Veterans’ Committee Accomplishments
Thanks colleagues for their partnership during his time as chairman
ATLANTA – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, today reflected on the committee’s accomplishments over the past five years while he has served as chairman. A video was released last month featuring Isakson’s colleagues discussing his efforts to improve the lives of veterans across the country through his tireless efforts to reform the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
“It has been an honor of a lifetime to represent our veterans in the United States Senate over the past five years,” said Isakson. “During this time, we have fundamentally changed the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to be more responsive to the veterans it serves. I am proud of how far we have come, and I hope the committee will continue this progress to ensure veterans continue to receive the care and benefits they deserve.”
Since 2015, the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs has passed 63 pieces of legislation to improve accountability at the VA, expand VA education benefits, modernize the process for veterans’ appeals of benefit determinations, and overhaul the VA’s community care programs. Of these measures, 57 have been signed into law. The most significant reforms include the:
· The VA MISSION Act – Isakson’s landmark legislation to dramatically improve the way the VA delivers health care, signed into law in 2018. Since its enactment, the choice of care has been put in the hands of veterans and their doctors instead of bureaucrats.
· The Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act – to improve accountability and significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to remove, demote or suspend VA employees at all levels based on performance or misconduct, signed into law in 2017. VA medical center directors are now able to improve the quality of care they provide veterans through transparency and accountability.
· The Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act – to update the benefits claims appeals process for the first time in more than 20 years, signed into law in 2017. Since its implementation, this reform has already reduced the backlog of pending appeals cases by roughly 175,000 cases as of July 31.
· The Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act – to help service members transition to civilian life by making lasting reforms to the post-9/11 G.I. Bill, signed into law in 2017. Veterans can now use their G.I. Bill education benefits for life.
In addition to legislation, the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs also:
· Held 85 hearings, including oversight hearings on topics such as VA MISSION Act implementation, veteran suicide prevention and modernizing information technology at the VA;
· Held 25 joint hearings with the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs to hear from veterans service organizations;
· Conducted more than 83 oversight visits to VA health care facilities, VA regional offices, VA construction sites, homeless program facilities, educational institutions, military facilities, employment program facilities and other entities that coordinate with the VA in serving veterans;
· Confirmed 22 presidential nominations to various positions at the VA, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and the U.S. Department of Labor.
“While my time in the Senate is coming to a close, I want to thank every single one of my colleagues on the VA Committee for working together in a bipartisan manner to ensure veterans receive the benefits they rightfully deserve. I hope the committee will carry on this tradition of bipartisanship to continue transforming the VA into a department worthy of our veterans.”
For a full list of Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee accomplishments during Isakson’s time as chairman, click here.
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The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is chaired by U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., in the 116th 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 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 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 armed services as well as nearly 700,000 veterans.
Marie Hodge Gordon
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Press Secretary
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OFFICE OF UNITED STATES SENATOR JOHNNY ISAKSON
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3625 Cumberland Boulevard | Suite 970 | Atlanta, GA 30339
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phone: 770.661.0999 | fax: 770.661.0768
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Visit Johnny’s website to learn more about his work in the Senate and to sign up for his newsletter.
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