Florida Senator Rick Scott hosted a U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging field hearing in Tampa to discuss veterans’ access to care, services, and economic opportunity. The hearing addressed critical issues facing veterans such as scheduling delays, transition from active duty to civilian life and access to facilities and resources for disabled veterans, among other issues.
Joining Senator Scott at the hearing were U.S. Representatives Gus Bilirakis, Laurel Lee, and Anna Paulina Luna, all from Florida.
Witnesses included State Senator Jay Collins; David Harris, Department of Florida Commander Emeritus at Veterans of Foreign Wars; Sharon Silas, Director of Healthcare, Government Accountability Office; Teresa Galgano, Director of Member Relations at the Blinded Veterans Association; and Gregg Laskoski, Communications Director of K9 Partners for Patriots, Inc.
“As your U.S. Senator, I am working hard for all of you to make Washington work for our veterans and service members,” Senator Rick Scott said. “At today’s hearing, we had the opportunity to address and discuss critical issues and I have some ideas on how to fix Washington to work better for our veterans who have sacrificed so much. If you put your life on the line, your government should have your back. I hope my message was clear today: We will always stand with our veterans and fight hard to get them the treatment and benefits they bravely earned.”
“While I’m proud of the progress we have made in ensuring Veterans have access to the care and benefits they deserve, I know we still have a great deal of work to do,” Representative Gus Bilirakis said. “I thank Senator Scott for assembling an esteemed group of expert panelists from throughout the Tampa Bay area and I look forward to hearing from them about the ways Congress can do a better job of serving those who have so faithfully served our great nation.”
“I’m grateful to Senator Scott for setting up this field hearing to highlight the issues our Veterans face off the battlefield,” Representative Anna Paulina Luna added. “There are so many ways we could improve the services and access to resources that our Vets have through the VA, and it’s our duty to ensure they get the care they earned and deserve. I look forward to hearing from the witnesses at today’s hearing and will take this opportunity as a chance to represent their voices in Congress.”
“The commitment and honor of our veterans, and their families, is what keeps this nation free,” Representative Laurel Lee said. “We owe our nation’s heroes an enormous debt of gratitude. Thank you to Senator Rick Scott for your leadership and for hosting this field hearing today as we work together for Florida’s veterans.”
