PHOENIX – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema hosted a roundtable with Arizona Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) and members of her Veterans Advisory Council to discuss supporting Arizona’s veteran community, identify issues with services, and detail how recent legislative wins benefit the community.
“Coming from a military family, I take seriously my responsibility to deliver real results for those who have sacrificed so much in service to our country. I’ll keep listening directly to our veteran community to continue advocating on their behalf and ensuring their access to the care and benefits they’ve earned,” said Sinema, a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
During the meeting, Sinema discussed with the VSOs multiple key priorities for Arizona’s veteran community – including the enhanced health care benefits provided to them and their families in the Senator’s bipartisan PACT Act law, addressing challenges relating to veteran homelessness, timely health care access, and expanding economic opportunities for the community.
Organizations participating in Sinema’s roundtable included the Military Order of the Purple Heart, American Legion, VFW, Arizona Coalition for Military Families, Veterans 5-9, Veterans Affinity, Jerry Ambrose Veterans Council, Concerned Veterans for America, Mesa Veteran Center, and more.
Members of Sinema’s Veterans Advisory Council – a group formed to seek feedback from Arizona veterans and strengthen relationships between servicemembers, veterans, their families, and the communities that support them – were also in attendance. Sinema’s advisory council includes members with backgrounds in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines.
Last week, Sinema discussed the need to strengthen Arizona veterans’ access to care in a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing, highlighting two of her bipartisan bills that would deliver lasting solutions ensuring veterans receive the quality, affordable care they’ve earned.
Sinema’s Removing Extraneous Loopholes Insuring Every Veteran Emergency (RELIEVE) Act improves the reimbursement process for veterans receiving emergency treatment in non-VA facilities, expanding services to ensure veterans can access close-by care in emergency situations.
The Senator’s bipartisan Veterans Health Empowerment, Access, Leadership, and Transparency for our Heroes (HEALTH) Act ensures veterans retain the ability to make their own health care decisions by making necessary improvements to the VA Community Care program that provide predictability, stability, and certainty to Arizona veterans in need of care.
