House Passes Two Delgado Amendments in Bill to Improve Veteran Access to VA Services
Press Release
Today, the House passed the EVEST Act which included two amendments led by U.S. Representative Antonio Delgado (NY-19) to improve communication between the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and veterans in rural communities. The EVEST Act creates a process to automatically enroll veterans who are eligible into the VA for medical care, with an opportunity to opt out. The first Delgado amendment allows the VA Secretary to consider texting as a method to notify veterans about VA services. The second Delgado amendment directs the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to submit a report to Congress determining the best methods for the VA to provide notice of the automatic enrollment in the patient enrollment system.
"I hear all the time from upstate veterans, including my in-district Veterans Advisory Committee, about folks struggling to access their earned care and benefits due to ineffective communication from the VA," said Rep. Delgado. "By updating outreach methods and facilitating enrollment in critical VA services, my amendments and the EVEST Act cuts through bureaucratic red tape and makes it easier for veterans to access their benefits. I am proud to see the House come together on a bipartisan basis to pass this commonsense bill and I will continue fighting to improve the lives of veterans upstate and around the country."
Congressman Delgado has been a strong advocate for upstate veterans and their families throughout his time in office. Rep. Delgado introduced the bipartisan Revising and Expediting Actions for the Crisis Hotline (REACH) for Veterans Act to improve the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL). Rep. Delgado's first bill in Congress -- now law -- extends benefits to surviving spouses of deceased veterans with a service-related disability. The Congressman also authored and successfully passed legislation making local veteran cemeteries eligible for federal funding for operation and maintenance.
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