{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://kuster.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/kuster-welcomes-announcement-that-coos-county-family-health-services-in", "Kuster Welcomes Announcement that Coos County Family Health Services in Berlin Will Join Veterans Choice Card Program", "2015-06-29", "2015", "2015-06", "Democrat", "House", "NH", "Ann Kuster", "K000382", "kuster.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Berlin, NH  Today, Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02) welcomed the announcement that Coos County Family Health Services (CCFHS) will join the Veterans Choice Card Program to better serve North Country veterans. The Veterans Choice Card Program was established by the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act, which was passed in response to mismanagement scandals at the VA last year. The program is designed to improve access by allowing veterans who live a certain distance from a full-service VA facility to receive care at non-VA health care providers.\nOur veterans courageously served to protect our freedom and way of life, and it is our responsibility to provide them the services they need when they return home, said Congresswoman Annie Kuster. While the Veterans Choice Card Program must be improved to better serve our veterans, I applaud Coos County Family Health Services for its commitment to providing high quality health care to veterans in the North Country. I look forward to continuing to work with CCFHS and the VA to ensure all Granite State veterans get the services they deserve.\nA member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee since taking office, Congresswoman Kuster helped lead the investigation into mismanagement scandals at the VA last summer, and she pushed for inclusion of the Veterans Choice Card program in comprehensive VA reform legislation that was introduced as a result of the scandals in order to increase access to care for veterans across the nation. Since then, Kuster has been named Ranking Member of the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.\nKuster has continuously fought for full funding of, and improvements to, the Choice Card Program. This program is particularly valuable in New Hampshires North Country, where many veterans have been forced to drive over 100 miles in order to receive care at the closest VA clinic. Kuster has also advocated for the timely opening of VA Community Based Outpatient Clinics in Colebrook and Berlin to further improve access for North Country veterans.\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-welcomes-announcement-that-coos-county-family-health-services-in"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8082708809524775, "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"}