MINNEAPOLIS– On Tuesday, November 19 and Wednesday, November 20, representatives from U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office will hold a series of discussions alongside the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs, County Veterans Service Officers, and Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development in Southern Minnesota to highlight the earned benefits available to Veterans and to offer assistance on benefit applications.

On Tuesday, November 19, Klobuchar’s staff will host discussions in Jackson, Fairmont, and Albert Lea. On Wednesday, November 20, Klobuchar’s staff will host discussions in Rochester and Winona. These events are free and members of the public, particularly Veterans and those caring for Veterans, are encouraged to attend.

Tuesday, November 19
10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
County Government Center Cafeteria
402 White Street
Jackson, MN 56143

1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Martin County Library
110 North Park Street
Fairmont, MN 56031

4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
American Legion Post 56
142 North Broadway Avenue
Albert Lea, MN 56007

Wednesday, November 20
9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
American Legion Post 92
915 21st Avenue Southeast
Rochester, MN 55904

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
American Legion Post 9
302 East Sarnia Street
Winona, MN 55987

This month, Klobuchar led a letter to the United States Department of the Air Force and the Air Force Reserve Personnel Command (ARPC) expressing concern regarding delays in determining Veterans’ military pensions and asking for immediate action to ensure that our retired servicemembers receive the benefits they have earned. 

Throughout her time in the Senate, Klobuchar has worked across the aisle to modernize G.I. Bill benefits for our troops, strengthen funding for Veterans’ health care and improve mental health care for our nation’s soldiers. She has also authored bipartisan bills on behalf of our nation’s Veterans and their families to expand job training and employment opportunities, cut red tape and wait times for Veterans scheduling appointments at VA Medical Facilities, and reduce Veterans’ homelessness.

In January, Klobuchar and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced the bipartisan Veterans Access to Care Act, which would help improve Veterans’ medical care by allowing facilities with a need for additional health care professionals to apply to be designated as a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA). Once designated, these facilities would have access to the National Health Service Corps, which provides service-obligated scholarships and loan forgiveness to health professional students who pledge to practice in a HPSA for at least two years.

In September 2018, the Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act was signed into law and included Klobuchar and Senator Thom Tillis’ (R-NC) legislation to help servicemembers who have been affected by harmful burn pits. The Helping Veterans Exposed to Burn Pits Act created a center of excellence within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to better understand the health effects associated with burn pits and treat Veterans who become sick after exposure.

And last year, Klobuchar and Senator Todd Young (R-IN) introduced the Department of Veterans Affairs Oversight Enhancement Act of 2018, bipartisan legislation to increase Congressional oversight of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in collaboration with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). She and Young also led a bipartisan letter urging the VA to give prompt consideration to the recommendations for improving Veterans’ access to mental health services as noted in the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which highlighted the substantial unmet need for mental health services for Veterans who served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

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