| May 2019 | Vol. 3 |
 Aloha, Friend!
There are so many lessons of Memorial Day, but among the most basic are never to forget the ultimate sacrifice of too many Americans - and never to forget our promises to them and to our veterans and their families. This is especially important to our Hawai’i, which has some of the highest rates of military service and of veterans in our country, to go with special needs and challenges in delivering fully on our promises in a diverse island state. Veterans issues are thus among my highest priorities and my efforts in this Congress have been devoted to fully understanding and addressing these issues at both the national and local levels. In this, I was very fortunate to be appointed to the House Committee on Appropriations, with responsibility for over $1.3 trillion in annual federal discretionary spending, and then gained appointment to the Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies, with responsibility for funding those federal efforts along with our veterans cemeteries and battle monuments. We have just passed out of our Committee a proposed budget for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in the coming fiscal year in the amount of $94.3 billion, substantially above prior years and far more than the Administration’s request to Congress. Our proposed budget includes increased funding not just for general health care but for specific efforts including mental health, homelessness, women’s health, opioid addiction prevention, rural health care, disability claims processing and telehealth and electronic records. Still, so many veterans issues are uniquely local since it is very difficult for our federal government to develop and administer one-size-fits-all programs from a faraway and different place like Washington, D.C. Likewise, the word about programs and benefits available to veterans and their families does not always reach all who are eligible. It is therefore critical to me to stay in very close touch with Hawaii’s veterans and their families, organizations and communities, as well as with the many others who are committed to their needs. As one way of doing so, I am dedicating my next open community meeting to veterans and their issues. Here are the details: Veterans Talk Story with Congressman Ed Case Saturday, June 1st, 9-11AM O'ahu Veterans Center 1298 Kukila Street I will talk story mainly on veterans issues, although I welcome anyone to come and discuss other issues as well. We will have representatives of the National Cemetery Administration, the VA health and benefits administrations, and the Hawai’i Office of Veterans Services on hand as well to answer questions and assist with individual needs. Pre-registration is available online at https://bit.ly/2YwwRPt, although all are welcome whether or not you do so. I hope to see you Saturday, but my office and I are always available in any event to listen to your thoughts on veterans and other issues, answer your questions, and help you with your own needs. Please contact my district office or else reach me through my website at https://case.house.gov. Most important, please sign up for my regular e-newsletter at case.house.gov/contact. Like all Americans, I am deeply grateful to our veterans and their families and I say mahalo nui loa from all of us for your service. Warm aloha,
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