In Chesterfield, Kaine Meets With Paralyzed Veterans, Discusses Healthcare

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was in Chesterfield to meet with members of Paralyzed Veterans of America and discuss veterans’ healthcare. In the Senate, Kaine has been a strong advocate for improved healthcare services at the VA.

“My work on the Senate Armed Services Committee keeps me very involved in veterans’ healthcare and service reform issues, so I was glad I had the chance today to hear directly from Virginia’s veterans on how I can best represent their needs in Congress,” Kaine said. “I just co-sponsored a bill that would help speed up the process of determining disability benefits at the VA. It just takes too long and there’s now a backlog of about 450,000 cases. We need to devote more personnel, resources, and technology systems to work on this.”

Last week, Kaine announced his ‎support for a bill to reform the benefits appeals process at the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) and address the significant backlog of appeals at the agency. In September, Kaine and U.S. Senator Mark Warner introduced the Providing Veterans Overdue Care Act, which would authorize leases for medical facilities in 15 states, including an outpatient facility in Hampton Roads. Today kicks off three days of events that Kaine will hold across Virginia focused on issues affecting families and the economy in the Commonwealth.

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