{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://kuster.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/kuster-helps-advance-legislation-to-improve-veteran-care-va", "Kuster Helps Advance Legislation to Improve Veteran Care, VA Accountability", "2014-09-10", "2014", "2014-09", "Democrat", "House", "NH", "Ann Kuster", "K000382", "kuster.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 This morning during a House Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee hearing, Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02) helped advance a series of bills to improve veteran services and enhance accountability at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), including legislation to improve VA\u2019s performance system for senior executives, extend VA\u2019s pilot program to provide quality care to veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI), and expand mental health care services to veterans who participated in classified missions while on active duty.\u00a0 Among the bills approved by the Committee today was a bill cosponsored by Kuster, the Ask Veterans Act, which would require an annual, independent survey of veterans in each of the 151 VA Medical Center service areas examining wait times, access, and quality of care, among other issues. This legislation would provide a more accurate assessment of veterans\u2019 actual experiences with the VA, an essential tool to ensuring veterans are receiving the quality care they deserve.\n\u201cOur veterans have risked their lives to protect the freedom and democracy that are at the core of our state and nation. We owe every one of our veterans a debt of gratitude, and they should always have access to the top-quality care and receive the benefits they deserve,\u201d said Congresswoman Kuster. \u201cThe Ask Veterans Act will give us a more accurate picture of care and services at the VA, and will help ensure that our nation\u2019s veterans all have access to excellent, high quality physical and mental health care services.\u201d\nAmong other bills considered during today\u2019s hearing, bipartisan legislation to ensure eligibility for federal VA benefits to all married veterans and their families failed to pass the Committee by one vote. Under current law, veterans in same-sex marriages who live in states where same-sex marriage is prohibited are not eligible to receive federal VA benefits.\n\u201cIt is long-past time that all married veterans and their families should be eligible for the benefits they have earned, and I am deeply disappointed that this legislation failed to pass the Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee,\u201d said Kuster. \u201cThese courageous men and women who have bravely served our country should not be penalized because of who they love, and I will continue the fight to make sure they get the benefits they deserve.\u201d\nSince allegations of long wait times at the Phoenix VA were first discovered by the House Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee, Congresswoman Kuster has joined her fellow Committee members in leading an investigation into any and all allegations of mismanagement at VA centers across the nation. She has repeatedly called for increased oversight and immediate action at the VA to prevent any further mismanagement, and was one of the first members to call for a thorough, nationwide audit to uncover any other instances of abuse. Congresswoman Kuster recently held a roundtable discussion with local veterans and advocates in Keene to hear about their experiences at the VA medical centers and with receiving mental health services.\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": ["http://kuster.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/kuster-helps-advance-legislation-to-improve-veteran-care-va"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.696829916909337, "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"}