{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/king-bill-signed-into-law-veteran-customer-service-office-becomes-permanent", "King Bill Signed into Law, Veteran Customer Service Office Becomes Permanent", "2025-09-05", "2025", "2025-09", "Independent", "Senate", "ME", "Angus S. King, Jr.", "K000383", "www.king.senate.gov", "angusking", "https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/table", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME), a member of the Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee (SVAC), today applauded the signing into law of his bipartisan Improving Veteran Experience Act by President Donald Trump. Under the new law, the Veterans Experience Office (VEO) will become a permanent part of the Department of Veterans\u2019 Affairs (VA), ensuring it can continue to provide consistent and quality care for the veteran community. Established in 2015 the VEO collects veterans\u2019 feedback through surveys and uses that data to continuously improve the VA\u2019s website and other resources used by veterans interacting with the VA. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) was an original cosponsor of the legislation.\n\n\u201cVeterans across Maine and our nation consistently and courageously answer the call of duty when serving, and we owe it to them to deliver the very best care,\u201d said Senator King. \u201cSupporting our veterans should never be partisan, and customer service should not be reserved just for the private sector. The signing into law of the Improving Veteran Experience Act is a perfect example of government providing a necessary public service. I want to extend my sincerest appreciation to Senator John Cornyn for his work helping get this important legislation over the finish line. Today, we celebrate codifying a long-awaited and much-needed office that is laser focused on improving veterans\u2019 ability to access their hard-earned benefits.\u201d\n\nRepresenting one of the states with the highest rates of military families and veterans per capita, Senator King is a staunch advocate for America\u2019s servicemembers and veterans. A member of the Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee (SVAC), he works to ensure American veterans receive their earned benefits and that the VA is properly implementing various programs such as the PACT Act, the State Veterans Homes Domiciliary Care Flexibility Act, and the John Scott Hannon Act. Recently, in a letter to VA Secretary Doug Collins, Senator King joined his colleagues in urging for immediate action to secure veterans\u2019 personal information provided by VA or other agencies to Elon Musk and his \u201cDepartment of Government Efficiency\u201d (DOGE), a measure that would protect millions of veterans\u2019 medical records stored in VA\u2019s computer systems. In addition, he helped pass the Veterans COLA Act, which increased benefits for 30,000 Maine veterans and their families.\n\nRecently, Senator King introduced bipartisan legislation alongside SVAC Chairman Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) to improve care coordination for veterans who rely on both VA health care and Medicare. In February, Senator King was honored by the Disabled American Veterans as its 2025 Legislator of the Year. Last year, he was recognized by the Wounded Warrior Project as the 2024 Legislator of the Year for his \u201coutstanding legislative effort and achievement to improve the lives of the wounded, ill, and injured veterans.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:10:29Z"]], "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://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/king-bill-signed-into-law-veteran-customer-service-office-becomes-permanent"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4405010733753443, "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"}