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Sen. Patty Murray Now Chairs The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee

February 3, 2011 - Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash) has been on the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee since 1995. She has a history of advocating for less bureaucracy and a has been a stern opponent of making it more difficult for veterans and their families to get their earned benefits, receive medical treatments at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers, or otherwise get aid from the VA. Sen. Murray is new Senate Veterans' Affairs Chairwoman and when she talks about helping veterans, she uses the word "need," and not "want."

Sen. Murray's focus is having the Senate VA Committee serve as an advocate for veterans. Although she acknowledges the VA has made efforts to become easier for the veterans to work with, that is not always the case. Sen. Murray believes the VA must offer more and better services and that is why she will use the committee as a voice for veterans.

Regardless of the VA's intentions, an astonishing amount of bureaucracy coupled with poor employee attitudes make many veterans feel as if they receive poor service. Returning veterans should not feel as if they have to fight for the benefits they earned through their service to this country.

Sen. Murray plans on putting more focus on the needs of severely disabled Iraq and Afghanistan veterans over the long term. Inherent in this goal is eliminating the disability claims backlog that seems to have defeated every attempted "fix" to date. Returning veterans unable to work due to their newly acquired disability should not have to wait months or years to begin drawing disability checks. These checks may make the difference in holding a veteran's family together.

Sen. Murray has many goals for the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee. Based on what she is already envisioning, if only half of her ideas come to fruition, veterans in this country will have a better existence and relationship with the VA.