[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 199 (Wednesday, December 21, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S9761]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


     
     
                    RECOGNIZING VERMONT'S CARING FOR VETERANS
     
       Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, Vermonters have a long history of 
     distinguished service to the Nation of which I am proud. I am also 
     proud that Vermonters have a reputation for distinguished service to 
     those veterans when they come home. I have been grateful in my 48 years 
     to know so many Vermonters willing to help others and to be able to 
     support their efforts from the U.S. Senate.
       First and foremost, I am proud to represent the men and women of the 
     White River Junction VA Medical Center and its associated community 
     based outpatient clinics. Across Vermont, it is known that the best 
     care veterans can get in the State comes from our dedicated VA 
     employees. Earlier in my career, when a 25-percent funding cut was 
     proposed which would have shuttered the White River Junction VA surgery 
     units, I was proud to join Vermont veterans to fight to reinstate the 
     funding. Today, my faith in our VA has proven right time and again, as 
     it has become a model for the Nation. While national stories may swirl, 
     Vermonters regularly tell me their preferred healthcare provider is the 
     VA.
       Right across the parking lot from the medical center is the National 
     Center for PTSD, a world-class hub for research on the condition of and 
     the treatment of PTSD. In 1984, I was happy to help establish by law 
     such a center in the VA system and, in 1989, proud that White River 
     Junction was selected to be the headquarters. It may seem hard to 
     believe, but we had to fight for many years to preserve its funding so 
     that researchers and clinicians alike could make use of its expertise 
     to help veterans. We took a huge leap forward in 2013 in our ability to 
     help when Dr. Matt Friedman came to me with the idea to establish a 
     brain bank, so new, cutting-edge techniques could reveal more about how 
     brain physiology affects and is affected by PTSD. I found the funds, 
     and the research findings have already changed the perspective on PTSD.
       It is not just Vermonters working for the Federal Government that 
     care for our veterans, but a host of veterans themselves. The veterans 
     service organizations in Vermont have been tireless advocates for 
     veterans and worked in partnership with my dedicated staff when 
     veterans had trouble accessing their benefits. Organizations like the 
     Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, the American 
     Legion, Vietnam Veterans of America, and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans 
     Association have shown the importance of veterans helping other 
     veterans, and I have always encouraged it. In fact, in my first term, I 
     helped establish the first vet center in Vermont in 1979, to provide 
     readjustment counseling to veterans returning from Vietnam, often from 
     other veterans, and I have been proud to support funding for the 
     Vermont National Guard's successful Veterans and Family Outreach 
     Program and Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Programs, which have become 
     national models for reintegration of National Guard members returning 
     home from deployment.
       Along with healthcare, veterans in Vermont and across the Nation 
     receive compensation for injuries and illnesses associated with their 
     military service. It has always been important to me that claims made 
     by veterans are adjudicated fairly and timely. That is why I partnered 
     with the Veterans Benefits Administration to ensure that the VA 
     maintained and staffed veterans service center on the White River 
     Junction Medical Center campus, and I was proud to cut the ribbon on 
     that office in 2015.
       Compensation and healthcare for veterans affected by toxic exposure 
     has been a priority of mine for decades. This last year, Vermont 
     veterans and their families led local and national movements to support 
     the PACT Act and change the way that the VA deals with presumption of 
     toxic exposure, which I am proud that the omnibus appropriations funds 
     appropriately. From Atomic veterans to Agent Orange to Camp Lejeune, I 
     have been proud to stand alongside generations of veterans demanding 
     the Nation keep its promises, and I am grateful that this year we have 
     made structural changes that should make a future fight for benefits 
     easier.
       As I leave office, it is because of veterans themselves that I am 
     reassured. Whether working at the VA or National Center for PTSD, for 
     an organization dedicated to veterans, or in the community as 
     volunteers, veterans--especially Vermont veterans--are the key to 
     caring for each other, and I have been proud to have done what I can 
     from the floor of the Senate for the last 48 years.
     
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