U.S. House VA subcommittee in Sanford

U.S. Reps. Tom Allen and Mike Michaud held a field hearing Monday in Sanford that examined the Department of Veterans Affairs programs on women, rural veterans and other special populations. At the hearing, Michaud, Allen and Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., examined the ways the VA can improve access to treatment for these populations.

Michaud is the chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health.

"The VA has instituted some innovative programs to provide much needed services to our veterans, but we need to make sure they have the authority to cover all needs. These programs need to work for the veteran," Michaud said in a statement. "I appreciated the thoughtful and compelling testimony from all of the witnesses today. As I have said in the past, the best insights and solutions can most often times be found outside of Washington. This was a very productive hearing. There is no doubt that I will take much of what was discussed here today back to Washington."

Allen also weighed in.

"Today’s hearing offered Maine veterans a voice in their struggle to obtain the physical and mental health benefits they have so richly earned. It is our job in Congress to give the VA what it needs to address the physical or mental health problems of our veterans, and we in Congress must continue to work to remove the bureaucratic red tape that allows suffering veterans to slip through the cracks.  I recently introduced legislation to help veterans applying for disability compensation for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  The Full Faith in Veterans Act would change the VA’s standard of proof for veterans who suffer from PTSD.  The bill creates a common sense approach that is long overdue," he said in a statement.