Dear Friend, Every day is Veterans Day in our patriotic Tampa Bay community! Our veterans served us valiantly and deserve the best of what our community has to offer once they’re home. It is our duty to serve our military members and their families as well as they have served us, whether it is by supporting a veteran-owned small business; hiring a veteran; or even simply asking a veteran how they are doing. We should all work together to better care for our neighbors who have defended and served our nation.
|
My office has recently mailed out a resource guide for our neighbors to know how we serve our large veteran and active military community across Tampa Bay. My team and I are here to advocate and support you and this resource guide provides important information and updates on federal issues that impact military families and veterans directly.
|
My office has created a central location to search through some of the federal grants available for Veterans and Veteran Serving Organizations. Over the years, these grants have boosted our local partners who have been grant recipients. The helpful information provided on this webpage is updated regularly and includes grants for employment and job training, veteran-owned businesses, home care, transportation, and more.
We also have a webpage that can help individuals or organizations navigate through all federal grants available, regardless of veteran status.
|
Three years ago, I was able to lead the charge in honoring the life and service of Air Force Major Andreas “Andy” O’Keeffe by passing legislation to rename the Town ‘n Country post office in his honor. My bipartisan colleagues and I have recently joined together to make sure Maj. O’Keeffe and all airmen who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the helicopter crash of “Jolly 51” of the 46th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron in Iraq on March 15, 2018 are posthumously awarded for their bravery with a Purple Heart. While we can never be able to fully honor what Maj. O’Keeffe and his fellow Airmen have sacrificed, it is important that we recognize their service and show their families that our community and country will never forget them. Maj. O’Keeffe graduated from Tampa Bay Tech High School, attended USF, completed law school and answered the call to serve. He was deployed to Iraq three times, to Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa, and Texas during Hurricane Harvey. I continue to be inspired remembering Maj. O’Keeffe’s life serving our country and rescuing people around the world.
|
|
As co-chair of both the bipartisan Air Force Caucus and Special Operations Forces Caucus in Congress, I work to ensure that our service members are supported every day and have the tools they need to keep our country safe. I have worked hard to champion efforts that will modernize the missions at MacDill Air Force Base, provide pay raises, health care and paid leave to our service members, modernize military housing, and reform the military justice system to better address the issues surrounding sexual assault and sexual harassment in the armed forces. For our veterans, I am working hard to help improve Tampa’s James A. Haley Veterans Hospital, reduce the backlog of claims and appeals processing that were caused by Covid19 so that veterans receive the benefits they have earned, and extend access to mental health care and strengthen suicide prevention and response efforts.
|
President Biden’s historic Build Back Better plan sets aside $5 billion for the VA, which will allow us to restore veterans’ faith by literally rebuilding the physical infrastructure of the VA system, investing in VA’s workforce, and providing much-needed updates to the support structures that serve our veterans. Most VA hospitals are over 50 years old, and it is clear there are places where the infrastructure of these buildings is failing our veterans. That’s unacceptable, and nearly three fourths of Americans agree that it’s time for an update. I am committed to passing this legislation so we can Build Back Better for our veterans and all of our Tampa neighbors in the days ahead. This historic package also: - Provides $2.3 billion for VA’s capital investment portfolio, allowing VA to update aging facilities. This investment in the brick-and-mortar infrastructure will allow VA to make improvements to existing facilities. If we want VA to deliver 21st century care, we need to ensure VA has 21st century infrastructure.
- Allocates $1.8 billion for major medical facility leases. This is a key investment that will help VA address a backlog of medical facility leases that have been awaiting congressional authorization and one that will truly impact veterans by vastly improving access to healthcare.
- Sets aside $455 million for VA to invest in a veteran-centric, enhanced-use lease program. This expands on VA’s existing authority to lease vacant or under-utilized buildings to organizations that provide services to veterans.
- Provides $268 million to conduct an education and training program for health professional students and residents. This would increase the number of health professions residency positions at VA medical facilities by up to 500 positions over 7 years, helping not only veterans, but the nation as a whole, by addressing the overall shortage of physicians, nurses, psychologists, and other healthcare professionals.
- Secures $150 million to address the backlog of unscanned veteran records. With additional funding, VA plans to have more veteran records available on day one of the receipt of a claim at the Veterans Benefits Administration.
- Includes $5 million for VA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) to carry out enhanced oversight of these investments, which will greatly aid Congress in its own oversight of VA’s efforts.
|
One of my most important duties as a U.S. Representative is help neighbors who are facing issues with federal agencies. Although I cannot override the decisions made by a federal agency, I can often intervene on a person's behalf to answer questions, find solutions, or just cut through the red tape. If you need immediate help with a federal agency (i.e. Social Security, Veteran's Administration, immigration, passports, or other government agencies) please contact my office at 813-871-2817 for assistance. I wish you all a Happy Veterans Day, Tampa Bay! On behalf of our patriotic Tampa Bay community, we are grateful for your service and your sacrifice.
|
Sincerely,
|
|
|
Kathy Castor Member of Congress
|
|
|
|