On Wednesday, Third Congressional District Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Washougal, testified to support her bipartisan bill to expand rural veterans transportation access to Veteran Administration (VA) health facilities.
If passed, the Rural Veterans Transportation to Care Act would expand access to the Highly Rural Transportation Grant (HRTG) program, which awards funding to veteran service organizations and state agencies to provide no-cost transportation for veterans.
According to Gluesenkamp Perez, nearly a quarter of Washington’s veterans live in rural areas, and 2.7 million veterans in rural areas across the country rely on the VA’s health care system.
Currently, only counties with fewer than seven people per square mile are eligible for the program, a threshold that only counties in 13 states meet. Skamania County recently lost eligibility, after data from the 2020 Census showed 7.15 persons per square mile.
During her testimony, Gluesenkamp Perez said, “With just one week’s notice, we lost transportation funding.”
In 2022, the program provided 300 trips to between 40 and 60 veterans in Skamania County. If passed, Skamania County would gain eligibility for the program, and Cowlitz, Wahkiakum, Pacific, Lewis, Thurston and Clark Counties would also become eligible.
According to Gluesenkamp Perez, she contacted Secretary of Veterans Affairs Richard McDonough last October and urged him to loosen requirements for the program. The department has “expressed support” for the proposal, according to Gluesenkamp Perez.
The Rural Veterans Transportation to Care Act is cosponsored by Reps. Juan Ciscomani, R-Arizona, and Gabe Vasquez, D-New Mexico.
“The bipartisan bill would improve how VA measures rurality, helping more veterans living in rural areas get transportation to VA or VA-authorized healthcare facilities,” Gluesenkamp Perez said. “The bill would also expand eligibility to both rural and highly rural counties, as well as tribal organizations. Lastly, the legislation would increase the maximum funding amount so transportation services could keep pace with inflation.”
If passed, the bill would expand eligibility to both rural and highly rural counties and expand eligibility to tribal organizations.
“As veterans across my district and the country face dramatic reductions in lifesaving services, it is our duty to make sure they are not left behind,” Gluesenkamp Perez said. “This bipartisan bill won’t only restore critical healthcare transportation services for Skamania County veterans, but will also newly expand eligibility to make sure more veterans in rural areas around the country have a safe and reliable way to get to their appointments and receive the care they deserve.”
While in Congress, Gluesenkamp Perez has frequently sought to expand access to medical care for veterans. During a July visit to a VA medical facility in Vancouver, Gluesenkamp Perez hand-delivered a petition with more than 16,000 signatures from veterans, caregivers and community members to urge the VA to reopen a clinic in Lewis County.
Following the visit, Gluesenkamp Perez told The Chronicle she wouldn’t let reopening the clinic “get lost in the bureaucratic shuffle.”
