Lexington, KY– U.S. Congressman Andy Barr (KY-06) held a virtual meeting tonight with the Sixth District Veterans Coalition. The Coalition regularly advises Congressman Barr on veterans’ affairs issues and provides ideas for legislative proposals that Congressman Barr champions in Washington.
“In this Congress, I have had the honor of serving on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee (HVAC), which gives me the opportunity to promote policies making the VA more effective, efficient and accessible for veterans,” said Congressman Barr. “The Sixth District Veterans Coalition is an invaluable resource to me and my office in crafting legislation to meet the needs of our veterans. I thank them for their service to me and to our country, both in uniform as well as on this Coalition.”
Most recently, the idea for the Veterans Benefits Fairness and Transparency Act (VBFTA) was born from the Coalition’s meeting with Congressman Barr. The VBFTA protects veterans applying for disability benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic by requiring the VA to restore public access to disability benefits questionnaire (DBQ) forms, used by veterans and their advocates to justify disability claims. Congressman Barr led the bipartisan bill to unanimous passage in the HVAC and later to unanimous passage by the full House of Representatives in September. This bill is now in the U.S. Senate where it is being co-sponsored by Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Senator Jon Tester (D-MT), who serves as Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.