Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Veterans Transportation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee advances bill to form disabled veterans transportation task force
Summary
S3410, which would direct the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to establish a disabled veterans transportation task force, was released by the committee after testimony that volunteer systems currently provide millions of miles of service but face certification and usage limits.
The Senate Military and Veteran Affairs Committee released S3410, a bill directing the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to establish a disabled veterans transportation task force.
A representative of the Disabled American Veterans told the committee the organization runs a national volunteer transportation network and stressed the limits of relying on volunteers. “We travel over 70,000,000 volunteer miles,” the witness said, and explained that donated vehicles turned over to the Department of Veterans Affairs can be restricted to VA trips only, leaving veterans without transportation to private doctors or dentists.
The witness described operational challenges in New Jersey, including long certification times that once led chapters to reclaim vehicles to operate them independently; currently six chapters run vehicles statewide. He urged the committee to support the bill so veterans need not rely solely on volunteer drivers.
Committee members moved to release S3410 and the motion passed. The bill will proceed according to the legislature’s referral process.
