[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 96 (Monday, June 10, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E734]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            ACKNOWLEDGING 40 YEARS OF THE BUFFALO VET CENTER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BRIAN HIGGINS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 10, 2019

  Mr. HIGGINS of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
Buffalo Vet Center, which, for the last forty years, has helped the 
veterans of Western New Y ark readjust to life as civilians after 
returning home from a combat zone. The Vet Center provides our brave 
servicemen and women with much needed services outside of the 
traditional VA network.
  Established by Congress in 1979, Vet Centers aimed to provide 
counseling and other health services to military veterans who returned 
home from Vietnam who were reluctant to access VA services. 
Readjustment counseling, a non-medical, community-based approach, was 
included in the official services offered to combat veterans. The 
centers immediately broke down barriers that exist in traditional 
healthcare by hiring other veterans as counselors to build a bond over 
shared experiences.
  Following the high utilization of Vet Centers around the country, 
Congress acted to establish permanent centers in 1983 and made 
readjustment counseling a lifetime entitlement for combat veterans who 
qualify. Eligibility and services provided have continually expanded 
since the 1990s and the constant military involvement in the Middle 
East created a new generation of veterans who needed and continue to 
depend on the services provided by the Vet Center.
  In 2003, Vet Centers were authorized to provide bereavement 
counseling services to spouses, children, parents, and siblings of 
service members who died while on active duty. Today, there are over 
300 permanent Vet Centers, 80 mobile Vet Centers, a 24/7 Vet Center 
call line, and more than 2,000 on staff who help veterans, active duty, 
and family members of those in the armed forces.
  I thank the Buffalo Vet Center for its 40 years of serving the 
veterans of WNY and I hope they continue to provide exceptional service 
to the Veterans in WNY far into the future.

                          ____________________