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Congressman hears local veterans' concerns
KFDM News
By Haley Bull | Thursday, August 18, 2016 | Link


Orange — Questions, concerns and cries for change were raised by dozens of veterans Thursday night at a town hall at North Orange Baptist Church in Orange hosted by U.S. Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX).

"It takes three to four months to get a doctor's appointment you know and then your claims take forever," veteran David Rankin said.

"I've filed several times on some things and didn't get a response that I liked so I just want to hear what's available," Leslie Patin, another veteran, said.

"The VA has been super to me other than this one issue of the medication," veteran Timothy Looney said.

"I was told it would be two and a half to three years before they ruled on the appeal," veteran Ed Hoke said about his case.

Babin, himself a veteran, heard about issues ranging from the length of the appeals process to the turnover of VA staff in Beaumont alongside Veterans Affairs representatives.

"The VA has got a long list of problems and it's a culture, a bureaucratic culture that we're trying to clean up and bring some accountability," Babin said.

The congressman said the VA has made some progress, but still has room for improvement.

"We have over 50,000 veterans in our district. I want to know what they're thinking, what they're doing," he said.

And while the patriotism of those in the town hall room was clear:

"It's payback time and the government needs to take care of our veterans," Babin said.