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Amata discusses health care with visiting VFW group

Amata and VFW representatives met to discuss VA services and health care [photo: courtesy]Congresswoman Aumua Amata listening to veterans’ ideas and concerns [photo: courtesy]
Welcomes joint House/Senate hearings on VA services
Source: Office of the Congresswoman

Washington, D.C.— Congresswoman Aumua Amata welcomed the latest in an ongoing series of House/Senate Joint Hearings on veterans’ issues, this one a Veterans Service Organization presentation, and on Tuesday discussed health care and VA services with a visiting group representing the VFW of Hawai’i.

“It was a pleasure to host these VFW representatives as they visited Washington, D.C. to discuss their concerns,” said Aumua Amata. “Veterans everywhere deserve the best in services from the VA, and it’s a major priority. Thank you to these VFW representatives for all they do, and thank you also to others who reached out to our office this week on behalf of our veterans, including the Wounded Warrior Project, Disabled American Veterans, and High Chief Igafo Maria Brown Va'a of our own VFW in American Samoa.”

The VFW group discussed access to health services in the Pacific with the Congresswoman and her staff. Among those attending the meeting were Robert Toelupe, George Bartlett, Jonathon Hoomanawani, Norbert Enos, Stanley Fernandez and Nickolas Young. At the Congresswoman’s request, plans are proceeding for a Committee hearing this year directed at examining the accessibility of services in American Samoa and the Pacific.

Congress continues to set the stage for ongoing upgrades, reforms and funding priorities for veterans, building on a series of veterans’ bills passed into law in the summer and fall of 2017. The latest Senate/House Joint Hearings serve as effective listening sessions as Congress gathers facts for the next steps forward.

“Our veterans in American Samoa often make the long flight to Honolulu for services, and veterans all over the Pacific have challenges in getting accessible care,” continued Congresswoman Amata. “I’m pleased that last week and this week, our House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees were able to combine for joint hearings on these matters. We continue to seek out better ways to give our veterans more options and access to services, and I’m encouraged by the attention Congress is paying to this important issue.”