Defense and Veterans

Our men and women in uniform represent the best of America, so they deserve the best that America has to offer. I support continuing President Trump's America First policies that gave our armed forces the tools they need to uphold their oath to support and defend the Constitution safely and effectively. 

I support President Trump's defense policies that put Americans first, rebuilt our military, crushed terrorist organizations, and stood up to our adversaries by building American dominance in sea, air, land, and even space by establishing the U.S. Space Force. I will fight to keep the military's strong posture to counter rising threats from terrorists, China, Iran, Russia, and North Korea. Additionally, I support the next generation of rising military leaders. If you know of or if you are a high school student looking to serve our country at one of the military service academies, please apply for a nomination from my office.

Unfortunately, Democrats don’t share my commitment to a strong military. Instead of focusing on policies that make us strong, they are pushing to make our military more woke. For instance, in the first version of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Democrats included provisions to draft our daughters, implement red flag laws, create a mandatory $15 minimum wage for DoD contractors, and implement land grabs in Colorado’s Third District. I voted against this version of the NDAA and called Democrats out for this nonsense. Due to my public pressure, the NDAA was amended and these woke provisions were removed. We also added improvements such as giving our troops a 2.7% pay raise, requiring that service members who chose not to take the COVID-19 vaccine are not dishonorably discharged and have an opportunity to apply for a medical or religious exemption, and prohibiting funding going to the Taliban. When the amended version of the NDAA came to the House floor for a vote, I was proud to vote for ensuring that the American military remains the most capable and lethal fighting force in the world. My work on this issue proves that when conservatives hold the line, we can deliver amazing results for our men and women in uniform without compromising and allowing woke politics to infiltrate the military.

I cosponsored the Medical Freedom in the Military Act to prohibit disciplinary action against a member of the Armed Forces for not receiving a COVID vaccination.

Legislation I cosponsored to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the 13 men and women in uniform killed in Afghanistan was signed into law.

Additionally, I stand with our home-front heroes—military spouses and their families. Our service members sacrifice so much for our Nation, and their families deserve to be taken care of.

My support for the members of our military does not end when their service is complete. Scripture says, "give to everyone what you owe them...if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor." We owe our veterans a debt of gratitude that we can never repay. Colorado is home to one of the largest veteran populations in the Nation—many of whom reside in rural areas, and I will always take steps to ensure our Nation's veterans and their families are treated fairly. For instance, I helped restart police escorts for veterans visiting their memorials in D.C. with the Honor Flight Network.

I voted for several other provisions that became law to support our veterans including: the Veteran’s Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2021, the VA Transparency and Trust Act of 2021, the John M. McHugh Tuition Fairness for Survivors Act, and the Department of Veterans Affairs Expiring Authorities Act of 2021.

Our veterans deserve the best care from the VA, and they also should have access to Veterans' Choice and other programs that allow them to receive the private treatment they need. The VA should offer accountable, transparent, accessible, and quality care while working to reduce bureaucracy and waste.

My office has helped hundreds of veterans receive the benefits and care they were owed by the VA.

Here are several examples of successful casework cases my team and I have worked for veterans and their families:

• Due to red-tape and staffing issues at the VA—including no one answering the phones—a Silver Star veteran had gone 14 months waiting for an authorization for care. Within days of opening the case, the veteran’s condition turned to an emergency. We were able to escalate the case through the VA-VISN, and stayed in contact with the veteran over the weekend so he could get immediate help.
• A provider for bi-monthly veterans’ PTSD group counseling had been a repeat no-show for a year and attendance dwindled as fellow veterans struggled to counsel one-another.  We drew attention to the problem which is now corrected.
• A veteran walked into my office in extreme distress with tens of thousands in unpaid medical bills for life-saving emergency medical care which the VA was supposed to cover. He was being harassed by bill collectors and reported the VA denied coverage because he didn’t seek care at his local hospital. The rural hospital didn’t have the needed expertise and doctors from both Albuquerque and Denver were involved in the case which created confusion on paper. We contacted the VA to put the pieces together for justification of coverage, and the veteran’s bills were paid.
• My office fought Navy bureaucracy to help reinstate a medically discharged veteran who subsequently recovered from his medical issues and was eligible to reenlist.
• I was contacted by a veteran who had been previously denied a claim for an increase in benefits and filed multiple appeals as his chronic condition had quickly been deteriorating his quality of life. At this time the veteran was very close to losing his home as he could not work or perform daily tasks. We were able to get the veteran in contact with the Loan Guarantee Department at the VA to assist with the veteran’s mortgage while we waited for a new medical appointment to document the deterioration of the veteran’s medical condition and the determination from those findings. Within a few months, we were able to help facilitate the increase of monthly benefits well over the expected amount as well as more than doubling the amount of back pay the veteran was expected to receive. 
• I was contacted by a veteran who was not receiving his retirement or benefits almost a year after retiring from the Navy. We inquired with the Department of the Navy and were able to get his retirement services approved and enrolled in benefits while ensuring the veteran received back pay for the year that he did not receive his retirement pay.
• I was contacted by the daughter of a Korean War Veteran that had recently passed away and due to the lack of paperwork, the family was unable to hold a funeral service with military honors and reached out to our office to get his service records to place a plaque on his headstone so he could receive the honor he deserved.  Due to the closures of the National Personnel Records Center due to COVID-19, this request was backlogged as no paper records were being retrieved. After almost a full year, we were able to obtain the veteran’s service records for the family to ensure this Korean War Veteran will be honored.
• A veteran’s family contacted me regarding the VA’s very slow reaction to their doctor’s request for the veteran’s immediate open-heart surgery.  We got the veteran into surgery in three days. The doctor and family indicated the veteran could have died had they waited longer for surgery.
• A widow contacted me and was very concerned that she would not receive any funds to assist her with living expenses. She had applied to the VA for benefits but had not heard anything for three months.  Within a month after contacting my office she had received the paperwork and funds.
• A widow contacted me as she was to receive lump sum spousal benefits and had waited fourth months and not heard anything from the VA.  Within a month of contacting me, she received the lump sum payment.    

If you are a veteran in need of assistance, or if you know of a veteran in need of assistance, please contact my office and we will get to work on your behalf.