Washington -- Heeding the call of U.S. Representative Barbara Cubin (R-WY) to provide crucial services to Wyoming veterans, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has assigned a full-time benefits counseling representative to the Sheridan VA Medical Center.
 
"For nearly a year veterans in northern and central Wyoming have been without a full time benefits counselor to help them deal with the VA bureaucracy," Cubin said.  "I commend Secretary Peake for filling the position and setting the precedent early in his tenure that he will listen and respond to the needs of all our nation’s veterans. Wyoming’s brave servicemen and women deserve nothing less."

Since the position was first left vacant Cubin has worked with Wyoming’s veteran community and the VA’s regional offices to fill the benefits counselor position at the Sheridan VA Medical Center. The Congresswoman also penned letters to former Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Nicholson, former Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs Gordon Mansfield and VA Denver Regional Office Director Janice Jacobs urging the VA to provide veterans in Wyoming access to a personally available federal resource for claims processing.

VA benefits counselors provide assistance, information and advice to veterans who are navigating what can be a complex administrative process to collect the benefits they have earned through their military service. When the Sheridan VA benefits counselor position was eliminated, the state of Wyoming was left with only one VA benefits office in Cheyenne to cover all veterans in a nearly 100,000 square mile state.