Veterans' Affairs

Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA), Chairwoman of the Women Veterans Task Force, hosted the first Women Veterans Task Force roundtable with a diverse group of women veterans who are current or past leaders in Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) to discuss how to address and resolve representational challenges in our nation’s VSOs.

Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health and Women Veterans Task Force, introduced the Women Veterans Equal Access to Quality Care Act, which would ensure that gender-specific services are continuously available at every VA medical center and community-based outpatient clinic for our nation’s women veterans.

Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA) released a statement today regarding the 75th anniversary of D-Day.

Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee’s new Women Veterans Task Force, announced the 48 members and participants of the bipartisan group of lawmakers that will work to promote inclusivity and equitable access to resources, benefits, and healthcare for women veterans.

Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-Westlake Village) announced that the Child Development Resources of Ventura County, Inc. (CDR) and Easterseals Child Development Center in Ventura will receive more than $18 million to continue their Head Start and Early Head Start Child Care programs.

Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health and Women Veterans Task Force, introduced the Building Supportive Networks for Women Veterans‎ Act, a bill that would expand and make permanent the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) pilot program on counseling in retreat settings for women veterans coping with post-traumatic stress (PTS) and other wounds of war.

The first female combat veteran was wounded in action in 1782 while serving in George Washington’s army during the Revolutionary War. Deborah Sampson, disguised as a man, was shot twice in the leg. Terrified she would be discovered, she removed one of the bullets herself. Her leg never fully healed. After the war, she married and became a mother. While Congress granted her a pension in 1805, Deborah Sampson continued to struggle with the long-term health impacts of her combat wounds for the rest of her life.

Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA) today announced the launch of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee’s new bipartisan Women Veterans Task Force and that Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), an Army veteran, will spearhead a corresponding effort in the Senate. The mission of the Task Force is to increase the visibility of the two million women veterans living in the United States and to promote inclusivity and equitable access to resources, benefits, and healthcare for women veterans.

The work of the task force will focus on culture, healthcare, economic opportunity and benefits access for women veterans, Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Calif., chairwoman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee’s subpanel on health, said at a Thursday press conference. 

The United States has nearly 2 million women veterans today, but but Rep. Julia Brownley thinks many Americans never really see them.

Today, the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs launched a new bipartisan Women Veterans Task Force to increase the visibility of the two million women veterans living in the United States and to promote inclusivity and equitable access to resources, benefits, and healthcare for women veterans. The Task Force will be chaired by Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA), who is also the Chairwoman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Health Subcommittee.

Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA) today spoke about her bill to support the survivors of Medal of Honor recipients during a House Veterans’ Affairs Disability and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee hearing. Under current law, the special pension awarded to a Medal of Honor recipient does not go to the survivors of the honoree. Brownley’s bill would rectify this injustice to take a small step to repay loved ones who have lost so much.

Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-Westlake Village) introduced three bills to help eradicate veteran homelessness nationwide.

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA) today introduced legislation to allow children of disabled veterans to remain eligible for VA healthcare until they are 26 years old – the same coverage required under the Affordable Care Act for private-sector insurance plans, as well as the military’s TRICARE program.

When she’s on the job in Washington, D.C., nearly 3,000 miles separate U.S. Rep. Julia Brownley from her constituents in Ventura County.

Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health, today introduced a bill that would improve access and research at VA for evidence-based complementary and integrative medicine – services that may include animal-assisted therapy, acupuncture, and hypnosis – aimed at helping our nation’s veterans reduce dependence on opioids and better treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), chronic pain, and other conditions.

Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Health Subcommittee, today introduced two bills to ensure that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has the resources it needs to care for America’s heroes. The Veterans Healthcare Improvement Act would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct an independent audit of VA’s medical care budget so that Congress can ensure there are enough resources for veterans to get the care they’ve earned and deserve. The Build a Better VA Act would fix a bureaucratic budgeting rule that is an unnecessary roadblock to quickly expanding veterans’ access to VA care in underserved communities across the nation.

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Veterans’ Access to Child Care Act (H.R. 840), a bill introduced by Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Health Subcommittee, to break down barriers for veterans to access healthcare. This legislation will make permanent the VA’s Child Care Pilot Program and expand it so that veterans across the nation who are parents, grandparents, or other caretakers of young children have a convenient, cost-free child care option when they have VA medical appointments. Congressman Brian Higgins (D-NY) was the original co-sponsor of the bill, and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) introduced similar legislation in the Senate on Monday.