By Forum Staff
The federal omnibus spending bill recently signed into law features several provisions to assist veterans, according to U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Flushing), a member of the House Appropriations Committee who attached the Armed Forces measures to the legislation.
The provisions include:
• Directing the Department of Veterans Affairs to expand its no cost flu shots for vets program at local pharmacies to cover additional vaccines.
• Directing the Department of Defense and the VA to establish a program that assists transitioning military medical professionals find employment in the Veterans Health Administration. This, Meng noted, is an effort to address the staff shortages at the VHA, which serves more than nine million veterans.
• Directing the Secretary of Defense to fund outreach efforts at minority-serving colleges and universities in order to recruit more minorities into officer positions within the U.S. military.
“Our veterans deserve our unwavering support and gratitude for their service,” Meng said. “These provisions are a first step to addressing challenges that veterans and the military face and I look forward to helping them in the next fiscal year.”
The omnibus bill funds the government through the end of Fiscal Year 2018, which runs through the end of September.
