All of us owe the men and women who have served our country an enormous amount of gratitude and respect. Many of these men and women have chosen to live here in the Puget Sound region, and I feel honored to represent so many of them in Congress.

I am a strong supporter of enactment of full Concurrent Receipt for veterans in order to permit retired members of the armed forces with service-connected disabilities to be paid both military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation. By faithfully fulfilling the required length of service, our veterans earned the retired pay, for service performed in the past. These veterans have also suffered debilitating injuries in the line of duty, and as a result should be compensated. Disabled veterans, particularly those who spent their lives protecting our Nation in military careers, have a right to expect responsiveness from their elected representatives. It's wrong that we have shortchanged so many of these veterans, and while we have made steps in the right direction on this issue, full enactment of Concurrent Receipt remains a top veterans priority to me.

One of the biggest challenges facing our veterans and military retirees is health care. As a Member of the House Armed Services Committee, I am committed to improving access to health care and expanding coverage for those who have served our nation. Further, many retirees are eligible to receive health care at both VA and DOD facilities - I have worked to make sure retirees do not have to choose between these programs.

We must also honor our veterans and military retirees by helping provide for their spouses, who have also sacrificed so much to our nation. I strongly support the Survivor Benefits Plan. Spouses are often hit hardest by a reduction in family income, and can scarcely afford to live on less.

I remain committed to our veterans and will work diligently to provide them with the best benefits available.