City Councilman Eric Ulrich is calling on the city to pass legislation that would install benefit counselors in each borough for veterans.
Photo courtesy William Alatriste/NYC Council
A new piece of legislation is looking to link up veterans with benefit counselors across the city.
City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) announced a bill last week that would provide veterans with benefit counselors in each borough through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The councilman said he launched the initiative with hopes of helping veterans get their hands on the benefits already at their disposal.
“One of the biggest difficulties facing New York City’s veterans is access to benefits,” Ulrich said. “The process can be arcane, and many veterans and their families get discouraged dealing complex applications and intimidating bureaucracies.”
Ulrich said there were about 555,000 claims still pending adjudication at the VA for a slew of issues relating to dependency compensation, survivor pension and college education benefits. Concerns like those already take a long time to process, the councilman said, which was why he hoped the new legislation might help ease heartache and headache for vets and their families.
Through the legislation, benefit counselors would help make sure veterans’ claims are reviewed in a timely fashion and processed quickly, Ulrich said. They would also serve as an economic benefit because they would bring money into the neighborhoods they serve by linking up veterans with the appropriate services, the lawmaker said.
“This introduction would ensure that city services are available in each borough to help veterans battle through bureaucratic red tape to obtain the benefits and services to which they are entitled,” Ulrich said.
Lawmakers throughout the borough have been upping their efforts to help veterans access the benefits they deserve without any red tape getting in the way.
U.S. Rep Joseph Crowley (D-Jackson Heights) introduced another piece of legislation earlier this year that would prompt doctors to outright ask their patients if they ever served in the armed forces. That bill, Crowley said back in May, was written with hopes of getting veterans the benefits they are entitled to, whether or not they know they are available to them. It would also help the doctors serve them better, the lawmaker said.
By Phil Corso
