To the Editor:
Our veterans have sacrificed much to protect us. It is only fitting that we help protect them as best we can on the home front. That is why I write today about a bill that was signed into law and was co-sponsored in the House by Congresswoman Barbara Comstock: the Veterans ID Card Act. This legislation allows for a universal ID card that proves military service, allowing veterans easier access to the services and resources they need after leaving the military. We owe them that much.
One of the most important goals of the bill is a reduction in identity theft for veterans. Our vets will no longer have to carry around multiple documents and forms of identification to verify their veteran status which can often subject those documents to duplication, misplacement or theft. Identity theft is a problem all too many of us face these days, but before this legislation our veterans were placed unnecessarily at higher risk.
My father was a veteran, of World War II and of Korea. His veterans’ benefits were important to him and to my mother. And I have to report, there were on occasion problems with arranging for the benefits. The problems eventually were resolved, but through a lot of trouble and hassle. This ID Card can help make access to earned benefits easier. This ID Card is especially important to veterans because they are sometimes denied benefits because carrying around complete military records and paperwork is no simple task. This law streamlines the process of receiving what our honorable veterans have earned.
This veteran ID card is long overdue. The benefits rightfully provided to veterans are numerous, but unfortunately many have a difficult time getting access to them. This card streamlines these processes, reducing the hassle and difficulties many veterans face in their daily lives. Congresswoman Comstock’s co-sponsorship of this legislation is yet another example of our results oriented Congresswoman doing her job, as was her support of the National Defense Authorization Act. These common sense solutions are proof that Barbara Comstock works for us.
Wayne Abernathy
Fairfax