The men and women who put on the uniform to defend our nation made the decision to put country before self. We will never be able to repay them for their sacrifice, but ensuring those who served have access to the benefits they earned is the least we can do.

That’s why I helped write a piece of legislation called the Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act to extend benefits and provide additional assistance for veterans. Specifically, I helped write provisions to:

• Extend wartime veterans benefits, including pension and health care, to more than 3,000 Vietnam veterans who found themselves ineligible for many veterans benefits;
• Help veterans rebuild and recover in the wake of natural disasters by enabling them to qualify for a second VA home loan if their first home is destroyed by a natural disaster;
• Assist with the legal services of homeless veterans and veterans at risk for homelessness; and
• Ensure that the surviving spouses of the Medal of Honor recipients are eligible to receive the pension that their spouse was awarded.

This legislation just passed the House of Representatives, and it is now on its way to the President's desk to be signed into law! This is a big victory for those who served our nation, and I’m glad we were able to come together to get this done.