Future Caucus Members Improve Congressional Service Accessibility For Veterans

HR4471, the Improving Veterans Access to Congressional Services Act of 2021, is a bipartisan piece of legislation aimed at improving congressional office service and accessibility for veterans. The bill was introduced by Congressional Future Caucus member Rep. Brian Mast (FL-18), and is co-sponsored by fellow Caucus members Reps. Peter Meijer (MI-3), Anthony Gonzalez (OH-16), Mike Gallagher (WI-8), Adam Kinzinger (IL-16), and Rep. Darren Soto (FL-9). The passage of HR4471 would be especially beneficial to younger veterans, as a majority of Americans in active service over the past 20 years have been Millennials.

This legislation would direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to permit Members of Congress to use facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs for the purposes of meeting with constituents. Dedicating space within VA facilities for congressional use would streamline communication between veterans and their district’s congressional office, ease the casework process, and facilitate the distribution of office resources. The bill also seeks to establish regulations for VA member offices, ensuring that the space is easily accessible and used for the purpose of constituent outreach.

“Opening the first-ever Congressional office inside a VA hospital has allowed [my district] to help veterans on the spot: when and where they’re having an issue… I introduced The Improving Veterans Access to Congressional Services Act to pave the way, to make that high level of service a reality for our veterans all across the country,” said Congressman Mast, the author of the bill and a U.S. Army veteran.

The bill was introduced in July of 2021, is active, and has been referred to the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.