Harry Teague
I am humbled to have been recognized by a group whose work on behalf of our nation’s veterans is an inspiration to me. I want to thank the Veterans of Foreign Wars – Political Action Committee for their endorsement in the 2010 general election to represent the 2nd Congressional District of New Mexico.
This honor, however, is not about me, or even about my candidacy. It is about fighting for the brave men and women who sacrificed so much for our freedoms. I have always said that the reason we are able to enjoy the democracy we have is because of the hardships they endured. While I myself am not a veteran, I consider it a privilege and am proud to work on behalf of the veterans of Southern New Mexico.
New Mexico has a proud history of service in defense of America. Our state answered a call to service when it made a permanent home to our military bases and national laboratories. The famed Navajo Code Talkers and the survivors of the Bataan Death March call New Mexico home.
From its first days as a territory, countless New Mexico sons and daughters have selflessly served our nation during times of war. These men and women give their service and sometimes their life to protect our democracy and our freedoms.
Fighting for veterans
When I was elected to Congress, I fought to secure a seat on the House Veterans Affairs Committee because, for too long, veterans have been the last in line in Washington. They way I see it – they served us, so now it’s our turn to serve them. We owe our freedoms to the sacrifices of the brave men and women who have served in the military. While their fights on the battlefield are over, for too many, their fights will go on for years.
As a member of the House Veterans Affairs committee, I made it a priority to ensure timely funding of the VA, to begin to work toward finding new ways to end homelessness among our veterans, to assist veterans to secure their benefits, and to treat the invisible wounds of war that are ravaging our military. I know there is still a lot of work to do for our veterans, but in less than two years, we have made real progress.
Working alongside veterans’ organizations like the VFW and the American Legion and DAV, we were able to secure advanced appropriations for the health accounts of the Department of Veterans Affairs so that veterans’ health care isn’t held up by political wrangling. This will mean that, for the first time in history, Congress will provide funding for veterans’ health care on a two-year budget cycle, allowing the VA to better plan for and effectively care for the brave men and women who serve our country.
One of my biggest concerns was the mental health of our troops and veterans. Treating the wounds we can’t see like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or Traumatic brain injury is important not only for those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, but also for veterans who served in Vietnam, Korea and other eras. Ensuring the mental health of our troops is a problem that we have ignored for far too long, and it has come at a terrible price.
Last year, a study showed that the United States lost more active duty members of our military to suicide than were killed in either Iraq or Afghanistan. This horrible discovery requires us to recommit ourselves to providing our nation’s veterans with the support and benefits they earn through service. That’s why I introduced the Kyle Barthel Veterans and Service Members Mental Health Screening Act, named after a veteran and Doña Ana County resident. This new law ensures that every member of the Armed Services will receive a confidential, face-to- face mental health evaluation from a mental health provider when they return home from the theater.
No one should ever have to lose their life because we did not do enough to help. That is why I am determined to continue helping the troops and veterans afflicted with PTSD, TBI and other unseen wounds. And it is also because of them that I worked to start the bipartisan Congressional Invisible Wounds Caucus, a group that will examine our current mental health challenges and potential solutions to those challenges.
More to do
We still have a lot of work to do. We have to clear the claims backlog, truly eliminate the vet tax once and for all, find a way to stop the horrors of PTSD from overwhelming our men and women, and make sure no veteran sleeps on the streets that they fought to defend.
I know we will succeed because I’m not alone. I’m fighting alongside the veterans of our country and they’ve fought their way out of tougher situations.
Teague, a Democrat, is the congressman representing the 2nd Congressional District of New Mexico.