Woodbridge, Va. — Congressman Eugene Vindman (Va.-07), member of the House Armed Services Committee, today hosted a listening session for veterans and military families at his VFW Post 1503 in the Seventh District of Virginia.
“As a 25-year Army veteran, I work everyday to deliver real results for our military veterans and their families,” said Vindman. “We have a solemn oath to care for them, which is why I’m concerned by the stories I heard today about challenges accessing VA medical care, cuts to public education, and culture wars getting in the way of lower costs for families. My team and I will fight for these veterans everyday because we must deliver on the promises we’ve made to those who serve.”
At the Veterans and Military Families Listening Session, over 30 constituents joined Vindman at the VFW to discuss pressing issues facing the military community today. Post 1503 Commander Ben Guinan and Supervisors Victor Angry, Andrea Bailey, and Kenny Boddye also joined the conversation.
Multiple veterans in attendance shared their frustrations with long call wait times when attempting to ask questions about benefits or schedule medical appointments. When folks finally got ahold of someone, their appointment availability was often 3 months out. This is unacceptable.
Further, military spouses are concerned with federal funding cuts to public or military education options. In addition to worries about cutting resources for kids, many military spouses choose to become educators and give back to their communities. They asked, how can our families thrive when our schools are not? As a father himself, Vindman vowed to continue fighting to restore quality education and bolster programs that make a difference in our children’s lives and our family’s jobs.
Finally, Vindman and many present committed to standing up for our base names in Virginia. With three military installations in the Seventh District, Vindman appreciates that this is an important issue across communities.
Vindman closed by sharing that there will be tough times ahead, but that we will weather this storm together, fighting for better benefits, lower costs, and shorter wait times for every military family.
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