{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://donovan.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/donovan-host-va-reps-his-district-offices", "Donovan To Host VA Reps In His District Offices", "2016-12-09", "2016", "2016-12", "Republican", "House", "NY", "Daniel Donovan", "D000625", "donovan.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Staten Island, NY\u2014December 8, 2016\u2026.Congressman Dan Donovan (NY-11) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today announced a new outreach initiative intended to deliver better casework services to the local veteran population. Starting in December, the VA will station a representative one day per month at Donovan\u2019s Staten Island and Brooklyn District Offices. The representative will meet with local veterans at scheduled times to resolve outstanding issues related to VA benefits and services, help file claims, answer questions, and provide case and appeals updates.\nCongressman Donovan said, \u201cThis is a step in the right direction for the VA. Complaints about customer service and delays have persisted for years, and the men and women who served our country deserve quality, efficient treatment. Hopefully, this new outreach initiative marks a new responsiveness from the VA. I encourage all veterans and their loved ones who need help accessing benefits to reach out to my office.\u201d\n\"This new initiative is an effort to reach more Veterans out in the communities around the greatest city in the world and improve their access to VA benefits.\u00a0 We appreciate the support of Representative Donovan and his staff in this endeavor,\u201d said Sue Malley, regional director of VA\u2019s New York regional office.\nStaten Island and South Brooklyn veterans who would like to meet with the VA to discuss a pending case or open a new case may contact Donovan\u2019s office to schedule an appointment. Each veteran will be allotted a one hour time slot for a personal meeting, and appointments are currently available on December 9th (Brooklyn) and December 16th (Staten Island). Donovan\u2019s Brooklyn District Office telephone number is (718) 630-5277.\u00a0 His Staten Island District Office telephone number is (718) 351-1062.\nDonovan has made veterans issues a focus of his time in Congress. Earlier this month, Donovan hosted a veterans roundtable in Brooklyn to discuss issues facing the veteran community and gather insight to shape future proposals. Another veterans roundtable will be held on Staten Island in 2017. In September, Donovan voted to support the VA Accountability First and Appeals Modernization Act of 2016, bi-partisan legislation that streamlines the VA\u2019s disability benefits appeals process and provides additional authority to reprimand VA employees for bad performance and misconduct. Donovan also voted to support legislation that provides additional resources to treat veterans with Hepatitis C, a disease that has struck the veteran population particularly hard.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://donovan.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/donovan-host-va-reps-his-district-offices"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5594679862260818, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}