This week, the U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee passed without opposition a proposal from two Florida congressmen to increase access for congressional staffers to have access to help clear the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs’ (VA) backlog.
U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., and U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Fla., have been pushing the “Working to Integrate Networks Guaranteeing Member Access Now Act” (WINGMAN) the past several months. Back in February, the two Floridia congressmen and U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill., sent a letter to U.S. VA Sec. Robert McDonald, urging him to give congressional staffers’ read only access for VA benefit matters. The congressmen insist this would give congressional staffers more information and would help ease frustrations from constituents.
After the Veterans Affairs Committee passed the bill on Wednesday, Yoho and Murphy offered their takes on why it was needed.
“Our veterans have put their lives on the line for our nation and they deserve the very best,” Yoho said. “Today we are one step closer in improving their benefits claims process. It is unacceptable that the brave men and women, who stepped up to serve and protect our freedoms, should wait extended periods of time to receive the care and benefits they so rightly deserve. WINGMAN will increase transparency within the claims process and get answers to our veterans in a timely manner.”
"As members of Congress, we have a responsibility to provide our veterans with the best care and service. The brave men and women who served our country should not face unnecessary bureaucratic delays in receiving the benefits they have earned," said Murphy. "It has been great to see such strong bipartisan support for our efforts to make this common-sense change. Having cleared this key hurdle in committee, I look forward to seeing continued support for this bipartisan bill in the full House and Senate."
More than 130 co-sponsors have lined up in the House including members of the Florida delegation: Republican U.S. Reps. Vern Buchanan, Ander Crenshaw, Carlos Curbelo, Ron DeSantis, Rich Nugent and Tom Rooney and Democratic U.S. Reps. Gwen Graham and Alan Grayson.
The bill is being sponsored in the Senate by Republican U.S. Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Mark Kirk of Illinois and Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.
