U.S. Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL), chairman of the U.S. House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, on Nov. 1 released a bipartisan report from the Women Veteran Task Force (WVTF), which the congressman reauthorized in March for a six-month period to examine issues that uniquely affect women veterans.
During the six-month period, WVTF members met with women veterans, advocacy groups, and stakeholders to discuss a wide-range of topics, including barriers to disability benefits, underemployment among women veterans, safety for women in VA facilities, and more.
The subsequent WVTF report was then prepared by staff serving on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee to memorialize the task force’s findings and policy recommendations for issues the committee can address to improve the delivery of care, benefits, and services to women veterans, according to Rep. Bost’s staff.
U.S. Reps. Aumua Amata Radewagen (R-American Samoa) and Julia Brownley (D-CA) served as chair and co-chair, respectively, of the task force for the 118th Congress.
“I owe a huge thank you to my colleagues, Rep. Radewagen and Rep. Brownley, for the good work they poured into the bipartisan Women Veteran Task Force over the last six months,” Rep. Bost said on Wednesday. “Under Rep. Radewagen’s leadership as chair, the task force held a handful of roundtables and spoke with dozens of women veterans to gain vitally important insight into what today’s female veterans struggle with.”
Some of these unique challenges include transitioning from the military, facing underemployment in the workforce, feeling safe in VA medical centers, and running into barriers when seeking disability benefits and medical treatment, the congressman added.
“We know that women are the fastest growing group of veterans, which is why I was proud to reauthorize the task force in the new Republican majority to ensure that they have access to the good care and services they have earned after they leave the military,” said Rep. Bost. “As chairman, I look forward to taking the successes of the task force into the rest of this Congress to continue fighting for the brave women who have and will serve our nation in uniform.”
Rep. Radewagen said it was an honor and pleasure to work on the issues affecting the lives and futures of America’s female veterans.
“I’m inspired by our women veterans, who overcome challenges while bringing leadership, entrepreneurial spirit, team building and aspirations to communities all over America, and certainly in American Samoa where we take pride in our many Veterans,” said Rep. Radewagen.
The WVTF held a total of five roundtables with a focus on benefits, health, security, underemployment, and safety and security, and engaged with multiple stakeholders, Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs), and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
The WVTF’s goal, according to the report, was to bring together women veterans and advocates to identify barriers women veterans experience in accessing earned benefits and to improve the delivery of care and other services.
Additionally, the WVTF wanted to raise awareness about such barriers so that the task force could better identify solutions.