In The News

The clinic’s women’s health unit is the first standalone program of its kind in the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System with a separate entrance and waiting room. The program, and the clinic’s new name, are testament to the importance of women veterans, said U.S. Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Westlake Village. She led the drive for the clinic and wrote the bill naming it for Mariner.

A bill filed in July by U.S. Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Calif., would adjust language in the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010 to increase payments to veterans under what’s known as the beneficiary travel program. Instead of saying the secretary of defense “may” adjust the mileage rate, Brownley’s measure would require that increase to be “at least” equal to the rate set for use of privately owned vehicles by U.S. government employees.

The announcement came after House committee members visited VA medical centers in Texas and Oklahoma and heard from women veterans and health providers on access to reproductive health care. Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Calif., chairwoman of the House VA Committee’s subpanel on health and the Women Veterans Taskforce, will lead the initiative.

Opening the summit, U.S. Rep. Julia Brownley (D-CA-26) addressed the crowd of more than 100 transportation professionals and key stakeholders, thanking GCTD’s leadership for meeting our county’s transportation needs.

Representatives Rick Larsen (D-WA02), Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen (R-AS), Albio Sires (D-NJ08), Alan S. Lowenthal (D-CA42), Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (D-MP), Barbara Lee (D-CA13), Jared Huffman (D-CA02), James R. Langevin (D-RI02), Eric Swalwell (D-CA15), Derek Kilmer (D-WA06), Suzan K. DelBene (D-WA01), and Julia Brownley (CA-26) are original cosponsors on the bill.

The clinic may be named for the late Navy Capt. Rosemary Bryant Mariner, the first woman to command an operational air squadron in 1990 at Ventura County’s Naval Air Station Point Mugu. The site would become only the third of 1,255 VA facilities to be named for women veterans, said U.S. Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Westlake Village, in a news release.

Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Calif., represents California’s 26th Congressional District. She is the chairwoman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health.

“While opening the new VA clinic in Ventura County has been my highest priority, I believe that naming the clinic after Captain Rosemary Bryant Mariner will provide us with yet another opportunity to recognize the service and sacrifice of women veterans. I could not be more pleased that the House has passed this bill to honor a truly distinguished veteran from our community.”

U.S. Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Westlake Village, led the drive for the new clinic and wrote the legislation for the site approved by Congress in 2017. Brownley has introduced a bill to name the new clinic for the late Navy Capt. Rosemary Bryant Mariner. She was the first woman to command an operational air squadron in 1990 at Ventura County’s Naval Air Station Point Mugu.

California Democrat Julia Brownley in March 2021 reintroduced a House bill to ensure veterans can access in-vitro fertilization and other fertility care. The government had for too long “overlooked the healthcare needs of veterans who struggle with infertility,” she said.

The state’s restrictive abortion laws spotlight existing gender disparities within the VA medical system, according to former military women who shared their personal experiences during a listening tour held by Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Calif., chairwoman of the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Health.

“Without clear, state-specific guidance from VA, providers at VA medical facilities are confronted with tremendous uncertainty, and they are frustrated by restricted authority and constraints that limit their ability to provide the best care for veterans,” Brownley said in a statement included in the news release.

Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Calif., chairwoman of the House VA subcommittee on health and the Women Veterans Taskforce, will lead the initiative.
“As the assault on reproductive rights escalates and the right to bodily autonomy continues to be threatened, veterans are rightfully anxious and emotionally distressed about the future of their reproductive care,” Brownley said in a statement.

“Tonight, our community mourns the life and legacy of one of its most loved and admired citizens, Carmen Ramirez,” wrote Congresswoman Julia Brownley, D-Westlake Village. “Carmen was my friend, and I cannot put into words what this loss means to the many people who were fortunate to know her. My heart is broken.”

U.S. Representative of California 26th District, Julia Brownley visited the Ventura Port District to celebrate the federal appropriation of $5,516,000 for maintenance dredging in Ventura Harbor. The check was presented to the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Ventura Board of Port Commissioners, Chris Stephens and Michael Blumenberg.

“Age, combined with their unique health needs, makes many elderly veterans especially vulnerable to going into nursing homes and institutional care,” said Congresswoman Julia Brownley, Chair of the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health, who introduced the Dole bill.  “Our nation’s veterans deserve the right to age comfortably and with dignity in their homes. The research is clear: providing health services and assistance in home settings improves health outcomes and delays, if not prevents, nursing home placement for people with disabilities and the elderly.”

As Rep. Julia Brownley (D-CA) noted in a July 14 hearing of the House Veterans’ Affairs Health Subcommittee, “spending on community care has increased by 116 percent over five years while investments in direct staff of VA medical facilities grew by only 32 percent. Why are VA’s investments in community care so vastly outpacing investments in in-house care?” she asked.

“Choosing when, or if, to have a family is essential to women’s health and to their economic security. The Equal Access to Contraception for Veterans Act is another step toward ensuring all women have access to comprehensive contraceptive and reproductive health care,” said Congresswoman Brownley. “As Chairwoman of the Women Veterans Task Force, I am committed to identifying disparities in health care for women veterans and, where necessary, to introduce, advocate, and pass legislation that addresses those gaps.”