Tillis: We Must Provide Veterans And Their Families With The Resources They Need And Deserve | Eastern North Carolina Now

News Release:

    CHARLOTTE, N.C     Today, Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) stressed the need to provide resources for veterans and military families during a keynote address at the annual Charlotte Heroes Lunch in Charlotte. The event was sponsored by The North Carolina Heroes' Fund, a non-profit organization that helps improve the quality of life for veterans and their families who are facing financial difficulties as a direct result of their service.

    "Our brave men and women in uniform make tremendous sacrifices to keep America safe, and we have an obligation to provide veterans and their families with the tools, resources, and support they need and deserve," said Senator Tillis following the event. "We are blessed to have outstanding organizations in North Carolina and across the nation that truly make a difference when it comes to assisting veterans during their transition to civilian life, and helping military families that face hardship while their loved ones are deployed. Washington must continue to do more to support our veterans and their families, including expanding educational and job opportunities and holding the VA accountable to provide more efficient and quality care."

    During his time in the Senate, Tillis, a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, has worked across party lines to help provide veterans with improved health care and benefits.

    Tillis has joined Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) in introducing two bills aimed to provide educational benefits for veterans and their families. The Veterans Priority Enrollment Act of 2015 allows veterans using their GI benefits to attain priority enrollment at four-year institutions so that they can finish their degrees before their benefits expire. The Fry Scholarship Enhancement Act of 2015 expands eligibility for the VA Yellow Ribbon Program, ensuring that surviving spouses and children of servicemembers who have died in the line of duty receive the same educational benefits as the family members of servicemembers who elect to transfer their benefits.

    Last month, Tillis visited VA facilities in Fayetteville, Durham and Salisbury, where he received updates on wait times and the challenges facing veterans and health care providers. Shortly following his visits, Tillis sent VA Secretary Robert McDonald a preliminary series of specific recommendations to help ensure that veterans are receiving timely and quality care at VA facilities. The recommendations include overhauling the VA's unnecessary layers of bureaucracy, keeping VA clinics open longer, getting new healthcare providers into the VA system faster, and expanding the use of sharing agreements with academic institutions.

    Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Johnny Isakson recently asked Tillis to spearhead a bipartisan effort to assist the VA Department with the development of a long-term transformation strategy that produces significant and sustainable improvements at VA facilities across the nation.

    Contact: Meghan Burris
        Press Secretary

    Contact: Daniel Keylin
        Communications Director

          Daniel_Keylin@tillis.senate.gov  •  (202) 224-6342