Washington D.C – U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) as well as Senators Mike Braun (R-Ind. ), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and 17 other members of the bipartisan group, have taken an important step towards supporting veterans by submitting an open letter addressed to United States National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The letter addresses concerns regarding the delays in records requests from veterans in a way that emphasizes the vital role that these records play in accessing benefits from the government and other services.
The Access for Veterans to Records Act was passed as a part of National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 2023 (P.L. 117-263) approved $60 million to NARA to help reduce the records backlog and speed up the speed of response for veterans’ records of military service requests.
The letter Senators praise NARA to its work in addressing the backlog, but emphasize the importance of ensuring all requests received are addressed by timely responses, thereby avoiding further delays. They’ve requested that NARA respond to specific inquiries on the 16th of October 2023 to ensure that veterans receive the help they need.
Senator Katie Britt expressed her dedication to veterans by saying, “It is crucial that we never fail to be there for our great veterans and service members. They do our country their best and we are obligated to give them the best of ourselves in return. I will work to ensure that our veterans are treated as the heroes they are.”
In addition to Senators Britt, Braun, and Ossoff in the sending of the letter as well Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kans. ), Jon Tester (D-Mont. ), Bill Cassidy (R-La. ), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass. ), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), John Thune (R-S.Dak. ), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Todd Young (R-Ind. ), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.Mex. ), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), John Boozman (R-Ark. ), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.).
