{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://fulcher.house.gov/2020/10/21/id-43544827-8d96-4b71-9692-ee1cfafade00/", "Congressman Fulcher Returns $2.5 Million to First District Constituents", "2020-10-21", "2020", "2020-10", "Republican", "House", "ID", "Russ Fulcher", "F000469", "fulcher.house.gov", "fulcher", "https://fulcher.house.gov/category/press-releases/", "scraper", "Contact:\n\nAlexah Rogge\n\n202-225-6611\n\nalexah.rogge@mail.house.gov\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 Congressman Russ Fulcher\u2019s office announced that it has been instrumental in returning over $2.5 Million back to constituents in Idaho\u2019s First District. This is a notable milestone to reach before the end of Congressman Fulcher\u2019s first term in Congress.\n\n\u201cI am so proud of our dedicated district staff and casework team who have worked persistently to ensure First District Idahoans are treated fairly and their issues are resolved expediently,\u201d commented Congressman Fulcher. \u201cThe bureaucracy of federal agencies can be extremely intimidating and difficult to navigate alone, particularly in times of emergencies or after years of trying to resolve an issue. This is why one of my main priorities in my congressional office is to provide the highest quality casework services to our district.\u201d\n\nEach of Congressman Fulcher\u2019s three district offices are staffed and open to constituents who need help navigating various issues with federal agencies. The details of these situations range widely, but include:\n\nHelp with the IRS and tax complications\n\nExpedited passport requests\n\nSupport to constituents experiencing problems while abroad\n\nAssistance for veterans and their families with VA claims\n\nServices regarding Social Security or Medicare issues\n\nTrack down COVID-19 individual assistance payments\n\nAid with unemployment claims\n\nTestimonials from past cases solved by Congressman Fulcher\u2019s Office\n\n(Identifying information approved by relevant parties, or changed)\n\nDanica, the daughter and POA for her mother, Nancy, reached out to my office after trying for over a year to get her mother qualified for the VA\u2019s Aid and Attendance pension for spouses of deceased veterans who fall below a financial means test. My office intervened and sent the appropriate paperwork to the VA\u2019s Pension Management Center to clear up some questions in order to resolve the case expeditiously. Nancy was about to run out of money to pay for the facility that she lives in due to crippling dementia. My team worked to resolve this case in a little over a month, saving her $14,736.\n\nA constituent contacted our office at the end of January frustrated that she was unable to get the Department of Veterans Affairs to pay some lingering medical bills resulting from the death of her father. She had worked for almost a year and was given the runaround by all of the veteran representatives she spoke with. She felt that she was unable to grieve the loss of her father and this was a wound that wouldn\u2019t heal. After working with the VA, our team received notice that the VA was paying her father\u2019s bills and they apologized for the length of time it took to do so. We were able to save her over $5,000 in medical bills.\n\nRetired veteran, Karl from Bayview, ID, first visited first district caseworkers looking for assistance garnering VA disability. He was close to 70 years old, and although his expenses were not high, he did not receive much from social security. Karl had lost almost all of his hearing while serving in the Army as a gunner\u2019s mate and explosives technician. The only thing he wanted from the VA was a set of hearing aids. Hearing aids are thousands of dollars and Karl didn\u2019t have that kind of money. It took 5 years of wrangling with the VA with appeals and exams, but finally Karl was awarded 10% disability which would give him entitlement to hearing aids through the VA. On another instance, Karl reached out to our office in February regarding some bills for co-payments on his medications through the VA. Every January, he completes a Financial Status Report showing that he is below poverty and the VA waives his co-pays for the year. This year, his form was sent in, but apparently never got updated in the computer system and he was receiving bills for over $250. On such a limited income this would completely cripple Karl\u2019s ability to pay for gas in his car and heat for his trailer. My casework team worked with the VA to clear up this error and received notice that Karl\u2019s co-pays were waived.\n\nIris was waiting for her federal tax refund for months after her Idaho return came through. Our office was able to get her the documents she needed for the IRS to release her refund. She had the following to say: \u201cI never knew public officials were so accessible to the average person. This has opened my eyes. Thank you for all your hard work.\u201c", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:34:36Z"]], "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://fulcher.house.gov/2020/10/21/id-43544827-8d96-4b71-9692-ee1cfafade00/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8563902229070663, "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"}