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Amata and HVAC hold joint hearings with Senate

Congresswoman Amata and the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees conduct a joint hearing for the VSO’s legislative priorities [courtesy photo]
Source: Media release, office of Congresswoman Aumua Amata

Washington, D.C. — Congresswoman Aumua Amata and the House Veterans Affairs Committee (HVAC), in conjunction with the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, held a series of joint hearings this week, regarding the budget requests of several major Veterans Service Organizations (VSO’s) including, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), the Disabled Veterans of America (DVA), and the American Legion.

“It is always informative when the various VSO’s conduct their annual budget hearings with Congress,” said Amata.  “It allows us the opportunity to hear directly from our veterans on how we can improve the services and care being delivered to those who have sacrificed so much for our nation. Post 3391 in my home district of American Samoa plays a central role in our local veteran’s lives. Lead by Post Commander Maria B. Vaa-Igafo, their advocacy is critical to ensuring our veterans are being given the same benefits as their counterparts in the states, so I want to thank them back home in Pago Pago for the work they do.”

The hearings, which took place over a week, were all filled to capacity with VSO members and their families in the audience, while National Leadership from each organization presented their statement.

During the hearings, the VSO’s presented their budget requests, and spoke on some of the improvements that can be made at the VA, in order to ensure that veterans are receiving the benefits they have earned.  Members from each VSO stated their strong belief that the VA should not be privatized, and each VSO also stated their strong support for increased and improved services for our rural veterans to name just a few of the topics discussed.

Amata concluded, “I want to thank our veterans and their organizational leadership for their presentations which do a tremendous amount in helping Congress formulate policies and legislation that better serve them. It is my goal to make sure that our veterans in American Samoa are afforded the same care and benefits as their counterparts in the states, and I won’t stop until that is a reality.  In fact, following the recent CODEL, I expect some real positive changes for our veterans coming very soon.”