GOFFSTOWN, N.H. – U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) on April 21 was joined by U.S. Representative Chris Pappas (D-NH-01) at Saint Anselm College’s New Hampshire Institute of Politics in a field hearing of the U.S. Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee to discuss ways to strengthen support for service members and veterans as they transition out of military service.
In particular, both Hassan and Pappas expressed concern regarding proposed U.S. Veterans Affairs (VA) Department recommendations that could adversely impact New Hampshire’s veterans.
“I am concerned that the recommendations could reduce access to care for veterans in New Hampshire, including rural veterans given the VA’s proposed closure of clinics in Littleton and Conway,” said Hassan. “Furthermore, the proposal to move outpatient surgical care from Manchester to community providers is a top concern of mine. VA services should be bolstered, not moved outside of the VA.”
“Of course, many states like New Hampshire, which have rural and underserved communities in terms of VA health care, present some challenges as well. And we know that our communities have fewer health care practitioners than other states that may have large urban areas. In a state like New Hampshire, there just aren’t enough medical specialists out in the community,” said Pappas. “That’s why it’s important that we continue to work to bolster VA health care, both at the medical center in Manchester and our community-based outpatient clinics that do a tremendous job all across the state. I want to echo what Senator Hasson has said about the recommendations of the AIR Commission. I find them deeply concerning and we’re going to work to make sure that we’re not going backward in terms of the commitment to VA health.”
Pappas also serves as the chair of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
The hearing witnesses included Ryan Lilly, Director of Veterans Integrated Service Network 1 in the VA New England Healthcare System; Kevin Forrest, Director of the Manchester VA Medical Center; Amy Cook, Administrator of the Division of Community Based Military Programs at the New Hampshire Department of Military and Veteran Affairs; Paul Lloyd, Chairman of the New Hampshire State Veterans Advisory Committee and State Adjutant of the Veterans of Foreign Wars; and Cheryl Rawls, Executive Director of Outreach, Transition and Economic Development Service at the Veterans Benefits Administration.
“Pushing veterans out into the community might sound like a good idea, but you know the community care program, we have a veteran, one of our members, he lives in Lancaster, needed a podiatry appointment, and they were going to send him to Albany, New York for an appointment,” said Lloyd. “That’s not an ideal situation at all.”
Throughout the hearing, Hassan also highlighted legislation that she is working to get passed into law to support veterans’ transition to civilian life, including to strengthen the Solid Start program, which was created by the VA during the last administration to contact every veteran three times by phone in the first year after they leave active duty service to check in and help connect them to VA programs and benefits; her bipartisan bill to designate a “Buddy Check Week” to combat veteran suicide; and her bipartisan efforts to strengthen health care for post-9/11 veterans exposed to toxic substances.
The full VA recommendations of the Asset and Infrastructure Review Commission for the North Market (Vermont and NH) is below:
