Rep. Ron Kind Votes in Support of Soldiers and Veterans

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) voted in favor of the 2015 Military Construction-VA Appropriations Act to honor our nation’s commitment to veterans and strengthen our military.

“This bipartisan bill provides necessary funding to meet the needs of servicemen and women and continue to support our veterans,” said Rep. Kind. “Of particular importance to me, the bill takes several steps to reduce the veterans’ claims backlog. Our wounded warriors deserve a robust and efficient VA medical system that meets their needs in a timely fashion. This bill is a positive step toward meeting that goal, but more work remains to be done.”

The bill, H.R. 4486, provides $173.3 million for the Veterans Benefit Management System and an additional $20 million to the Veterans Benefit Administration for digital scanning of old paper files, the centralized mail initiative, and staff overtime. It also requires the VA to continue to provide monthly reports on claims processing and remediation efforts for underperforming regional offices.

Additionally, the bill supports investments in military infrastructure, housing, and services for men and women in our armed forces and their families.