Supporting Our Nation’s Heroes

As a member of the United States Senate, I am fighting hard to ensure that our Nation’s 24.5 million veterans receive the world-class health care they have earned. It is crucial that we, as a Nation, repay the immense debt of gratitude owed to America’s heroes.

I would like to share with you several initiatives and events I have recently taken part in to help reaffirm and bolster our government’s commitment to honoring and supporting our veterans.

Reaffirming our Commitment to Rural Vets

It is imperative that we find ways to alleviate the hardships endured by America’s veterans, particularly those living in rural areas. For decades, rural veterans have suffered a major disadvantage when it comes to health care, mainly due to the difficulties associated with visits to medical facilities located, in some instances, hundreds of miles away from their homes. As a result, rural veterans often die younger and suffer from more debilitating illnesses than their urban counterparts – all because our system is not equipped to address their needs and provide care accordingly.

However, our efforts to tackle the unique health-related challenges faced by veterans in rural areas have started to take shape. Just last week, we celebrated the opening of a community-based outreach clinic in Craig, which will offer on-site nursing care and a variety of basic medical services for the 4,200 veterans living in rural Northwestern Colorado. In addition, the 10,000 veterans of eastern Colorado will also receive quality, accessible health care services upon the highly anticipated completion of a similar VA health care clinic on the eastern plains in Burlington.

These are great victories for the thousands of veterans living in these regions. After serving our Nation with honor and distinction, we owe them the respect of providing real access to the health care they were promised.

Ensuring Care for our Aging Heroes

As the needs of our Nation’s veterans begin to grow with age, so too must our willingness to provide support. However, aging veterans suffering from mental health illnesses, lacking appropriate care or living on the streets too often find the VA unable, or unwilling to help.

In recognition of this unacceptable state of affairs, the Senate Special Committee on Aging, of which I am a member, held a hearing this week entitled "Veterans Health: Ensuring Care for our Aging Heroes," which examined how the Veterans Health Care system is addressing, or not addressing the plight of our Nation’s aging veterans.

During the hearing, members of the Committee discussed a number of challenges currently faced by elder veterans throughout the Nation. In particular, we looked at ways to increase access to VA health care, expand supportive housing resources for homeless vets and develop a long-term care plan that provides comprehensive, unremitting support for America’s veterans. The hearing helped to shed light on the unique challenges confronting our Nation’s aging veteran population, and I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress to craft long-term solutions that address these concerns.

As Americans, it is our duty to ensure that our veterans are getting the benefits and care they deserve. In light of the sacrifices they have made for our safety, freedom and well-being, the last thing our Nation’s heroes should have to worry about is whether or not they will be able to get the vital health care they need.

Sincerely,

Ken Salazar
United States Senator

Please e-mail me with any questions or concerns you may have 

Senator Ken Salazar's DC office is located at 702 Hart Senate office building, Washington, DC 20510. He has Colorado regional offices in Denver, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, Ft. Morgan, Pueblo, Durango, Grand Junction and Alamosa. For contact and mailing info, click here.