Rep. Josh Gottheimer is pushing through bills to fill staffing holes and hire more mental health professionals at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“Right now, here in the greatest country in the world, whether it’s at the VA or in the workplace, too many veterans here in North Jersey and around the country are simply not receiving the support they deserve,” Gottheimer said. “I’m glad that both my bipartisan pieces of legislation are included in the larger military and veterans affairs bill that the House will be voting on as soon as we get back to Washington this week.”
The bills, which passed the House last week, seek to fill the nearly 49,000 vacant positions at the VA.
Those bills will be rolled into a larger appropriations bill the House will vote on later this week.
“This vacancy crisis has unfortunately hit home here in the Fifth District, where, for more than a year now, an 89-year-old District resident has been waiting on the adjudication of his appeal to the VA,” Gottheimer told veterans at the Lodi VFW Monday. “More than a year’s wait for a veteran who is 89 years old is absolutely absurd. When my office called the VA to inquire about the long wait times, we were told ‘this is just how long it takes.’”