Alaska’s history is closely intertwined with the sacrifices and contributions of our military. Mark Begich worked hard as Anchorage’s mayor to support veterans and military families and that’s what he’ll do as Alaska’s US senator. Alaska leads the nation in the number of veterans per capita; has the 3rd highest percentage of citizens in uniform, and the 4th highest percentage serving in the National Guard and Reserves. That’s why Mark Begich took strong steps as mayor to support veterans and military families and why he has made veterans issues a top priority of his campaign for the U.S. Senate. As senator, Mark Begich will help lead the effort to fully fund the Veterans Administration, modernize VA health care delivery and provide specialized care to our wounded warriors. He will work to eliminate the unacceptably high backlog of VA benefit claims, increase access to health care for all veterans, and provide the services needed by veterans and their families as they transition from the military to civilian life.
Care for Our Wounded and Disabled
Mark Begich will fight to ensure that our nation never forgets and never weakens its commitment to veterans care and support by improving both the quality and accessibility of health care. When soldiers come home they should receive affordable health care without having to travel long distances. As senator, Mark will work across party lines to improve veteran’s health care by:
- Quality coverage for veterans. When VA health care is not available due to backlogs, veterans should be given access to private care facilities. Mark supports proposals to create a special health pass or “heroes health card ” to provide veterans with care in their own communities through coordination between local doctors and the federal government.
- Full funding for the Veterans Administration. Mark will also fight for a stronger, fully-funded Veterans Administration so that veterans no longer have to wait months for an appointment and jump through ridiculous bureaucratic hoops. Mark will fight to ensure that millions of modest income veterans are not denied the care they deserve and that they have earned.
- Increase VA Facilities in Alaska. Too many Alaska veterans have to travel out of their communities and out of Alaska for health care. More than $11 million a year in veterans’ medical costs are taken care of outside of Alaska. Mark will push for a dedicated Veterans hospital in Alaska as well as more community clinics.
- Provide specialized treatment and rehabilitation for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Mark understands that TBI, PTSD and other mental health issues are combat injuries and should be treated that way. Mark supports increased funding for specialized counseling and support for veterans and family members faced with these injuries. Mark also supports new incentives to recruit mental health professionals to the VA that have the appropriate training and expertise to treat these injuries.
Provide Full Education Benefits to Veterans
Mark Begich supported passage of the GI Bill for the 21st Century to ensure that veterans pursuing college or vocational training will have the financial support they need. He pushed Senator Stevens to also support the bill to ensure that veterans attending the University of Alaska didn’t have to go into debt to go to college. More than 1,600 veterans are currently enrolled in the UA system.
Recognize Special Needs of Rural Alaska Veterans
More than one-sixth of the Alaska Army National Guard is Alaska Natives. When the 650 Guardsman returned from the deployment last October, members fanned out to more than 80 communities. Health care access is incredibly difficult for veterans living in rural Alaska with transportation costing thousands of dollars for each visit. In addition, many rural veterans have an especially difficult time readjusting to civilian life in rural communities and Anchorage. As senator, Mark will push for:
- New partnerships with community organizations. Mark will support bipartisan legislation that requires the VA to work with community based organizations, such as the Veterans Aviation Outreach in Alaska, to reach out to underserved and rural veterans.
- Reduce travel costs of veterans to VA facilities. Mark will push for new partnerships with local health care providers, increased support for telemedicine and increased reimbursement rates to cut the high travel costs and burdensome trips rural Alaska veterans have to make now.
Provide Parity for Women Veterans
Far too many women veterans do not get the health care and services they deserve. Mark Begich will fight for equal access and care for women veterans that have so honorably served our country. He will push for a new veterans clinic specifically for women veterans in Alaska where they we feel comfortable and safe. He will also support calls for expanded housing and transition services for women veterans. To make sure women veterans receive the care they deserve he will also call on the next administration to create a new high level position within the VA in Alaska dedicated to addressing women veteran’s issues.
Help Service Members Transition to Civilian Life
Many Alaska veterans coming back from service find it very difficult to transition to civilian life and frequently end up homeless and jobless. They have fallen behind their peers in education, job skills, and personal capital development. Much more assistance is needed to help new veterans transition back to civilian life, especially housing assistance and job training. The military and VA also need to work together to make this transition smooth. As senator Mark will work to:
- Increase outreach to veterans and their families. Too many veterans and their families do not know about the services offered in Alaska. Mark will push for increased outreach to veterans, including National Guard and Reserves, when they return to civilian life. This includes mental health screening, benefits counseling, and job placement services offered through an expanded network of community based transition programs.
- Build a dedicated veterans home in Alaska. As mayor, Mark Begich offered to donate land to the Veterans Administration for a veterans home in Anchorage. As senator, he will continue to push for a home where Alaska veterans can receive the care and assistance they deserve.
- Simplification of the VA benefits administration process. Mark will push for more claims workers and electronic claims filings to reduce the bureaucratic delay too many veterans face.
A Strong Record of Supporting Veterans and Military Families
As Anchorage mayor Mark Begich has always worked to support veterans and military families:
- Implemented a veterans hiring preference in city and created a full-time person on staff for the first time who is responsible for looking at military and veterans issues within the Municipality.
- Created an on-the-job training program for vets in the VA Compensated Work Therapy program.
- Started and chairs the U.S. Conference of Mayors Community and Military Relations Task Force which shares “best practices” among cities for relations with their military personnel.
- Support members of the National Guard and Reserve who are city employees. Anchorage was recently praised by the national chairman of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve for this initiative.
- Donated two surplus People Mover disabled-accessible vans to Fort Richardson’s Warrior Transition Unit to assist recovering servicemen.
- Mark’s wife Deborah Bonito established the First Lady’s Military and Family Support Initiative that recently won a national award from the Armed Service YMCA.
Read about Mark's support for a new G.I. Bill
