By: Assemblyman Michael Allen
Once again, Veterans Day finds our armed women and men in harm's way. And once again, Veterans Day finds their sacrifices given lip service by politicians and civilians alike.
A recent Washington Post article highlighted the fact that despite having people in uniform engaged on multiple fronts, many in the public at large are mostly unaware of this service.
We owe this group a great deal, and a simple “thank you for your service” from their elected representatives is simply not enough. This Veterans Day, let's honor the memory of those who were killed in Iraq, Afghanistan and earlier wars and conflicts by giving the living service members and their families the respect they deserve and access to the services they need.
To that end, the California State Assembly is committed to supporting those who fight now, and have fought in the past, by using some of the funds cut from its own operating budget to support several veteran programs. These include aiding vets in collecting federal benefits, expanding current social service programs that help homeless veterans get back on their feet and increasing mental health counseling for National Guard members and families.
However, given the state's budget challenges and the impact of the recession, a greater effort must be made to focus on better coordination of existing services, and make them more efficient at delivering the assistance needed.
With this in mind, Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez introduced Assembly Bill (AB) 557 to create the California Interagency Council on Veterans Services and Programs. I was a proud co-author of AB 557, which sought to bring together key state agencies and departments, federal officials, legislative representatives, local governments and stakeholder organizations so that we can ensure better efficiency among those working on behalf of the state's veterans.
To be clear, state services must be properly integrated with local and federal programs to maximize the number of veterans who receive assistance.
Fortunately, Gov. Edmund G. Brown, Jr., agreed with this approach and took steps to create the interagency council without signing the bill into law.
If California can increase its participation rate in veterans utilizing services to the national average, more than $200 million in benefit payments could be returned to the state and local economy, which would have a measurable impact on veterans and their families.
In addition, and to assist with this integration effort, I am proud to work with my Republican Assembly colleagues in a new, bipartisan training program for the district office staff of the entire 80-member Assembly. This program will teach best practices to staff, so that a veteran — from a conflict that is new or old — will feel like she or he has finally found the office that is going to help them.
Assembly district staff cannot provide everything a returning veteran may need — but they can help that person make contact with someone who does. This will be more than simply handing that veteran a list of resources — those who receive this training will know how to be a guiding hand in assisting our American heroes with health care, employment, housing, education and more.
On Veterans Day, we must remember those who fought and died, and those who served and returned.
Most of all, we must acknowledge that the act of "remembering" is not enough — we need to work every day to give returning veterans or their surviving family members the tools they need to succeed in civilian life.
(Allen is the Assembly's Assistant Majority Floor Leader. He represents California's 7th Assembly District, which is composed of Napa County plus portions of Solano and Sonoma Counties.)
