VETERANS NEWSLETTER

My Friend,

It's been a busy few months in Washington, DC, and across our congressional district. From honoring our local service members on the House Floor, to nominating students to U.S. military academies, to spreading the word about events where you can share your concerns, I will always have the backs of our men & women who've served.

Additionally, I joined a bipartisan group of colleagues in voting for, introducing and supporting several pieces of legislation to help our nation's veterans and military, including bills to recognize WWI Hello Girls, expand affordable housing options for veterans in New York City and cover shipping costs of vehicles for disabled veterans.

My office will be sending regular updates about the work I'm doing to support our veterans and active duty service members in and around New York City, so please be sure to share this and encourage others in your network to sign up to stay up to date with everything I'm doing for you.

Sincerely,

Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis

HONORING USCG CAPTAIN ZEITA MERCHANT

In February, I took to the House Floor to honor U.S. Coast Guard Captain Zeita Merchant, Commander of the Port of New York on Staten Island, who will be making history by becoming the highest-ranking African American woman in the Coast Guard's 233-year history. I admire Capt. Merchant's dedication and commitment to protecting New York City's waters, and she will be truly missed by me and our entire community. She will continue to make us proud when she assumes her new role as Rear Admiral in Washington, DC this April.

VETERAN TOWN HALL MEETING

On Wednesday, April 10 at 5:00 PM, the VA New York Harbor Healthcare System will host a town hall meeting to answer questions and share more about the recent expansion of eligibility through the PACT Act, something I've proudly supported in Congress.

Brooklyn VA Medical Center

800 Poly Place, Brooklyn, 2nd Floor Conference Room

Wednesday, April 10 - 5:00-6:30 PM

Join the meeting in-person and virtually by scanning the QR code on the flyer or dialing: (213) 282-6316

Access Code: 937737919#

For more information about the PACT Act, click HERE.

EXPANDING HOUSING OPTIONS FOR NYC VETERANS

I've partnered with Queens Rep. Grace Meng to introduce bipartisan legislation that makes co-ops eligible for mortgages backed by the VA, expanding affordable housing options for local veterans. With co-ops accounting for roughly a quarter of the housing market in New York City, it’s critically important that we ensure access to these properties for our veterans who’ve sacrificed so much for our nation,

MILITARY ACADEMY NOMINATIONS

Nominating impressive students from Staten Island and Southern Brooklyn for our country's service academies is one of the greatest honors I have as a Congresswoman. So far, I've been able to congratulate six local students on receiving appointments to the U.S. Military Academy (West Point), U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Naval Academy and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.

FREE ACCESS TO STATE PARKS

Thanks to legislation passed in September 2023, all New York Veterans and many Gold Star families can apply to join New York's Lifetime Liberty Pass Program beginning April 1, which grants free access and discounts at state parks and historic sites, including free greens fees at state-run golf courses! Veterans can access these benefits at parks with a state ID that has a 'Veteran' status designation, or apply on the Parks Department's website by clicking below.

COMBATTING CHINA & RUSSIA IN THE ARTIC & ANTARCTICA

I joined the New York Congressional Delegation in urging the Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to immediately upgrade the New York Air National Guard's LC-130H "Skibird" planes which are the only planes in the world that provide strategic airlift capabilities in the Arctic and Antartica. Updating these planes is essential to the mission of the 109th Airlift Wing which operations out of Stratton Air National Guard Base outside of Albany, NY, and would help combat Russia and China's growing influence in the two regions.

BILLS I'M SUPPORTING

H.R. 3511 - The Service-Disabled Veteran Opportunities in Small Business Act: This bill provides training to federal agencies that fail to award at least 3% of their contracts to small businesses owned by service-disabled veterans. This bill passed the House with unanimous support in February.

H.R. 1572 - The Hello Girls Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2023: This bill awards a Congressional Gold Medal in honor of the female telephone operators of the Army Signal Corps, commonly known as the Hello Girls, in recognition of their military service and 60-year struggle for veterans' benefits. Despite wearing U.S. Army uniforms and serving under the direction of the Signal Corps, the Hello Girls were classified as civilians and not officially recognized as veterans until 1979. These brave women played a vital role in maintaining clear communication channels during the war, contributing significantly to the Allied forces’ success. Their service paved the way for greater opportunities for women in the U.S. military.

H.R. 522 - The Deliver for Veterans Act: This bill authorizes the VA to pay the total shipping price for the delivery of an automobile for certain disabled veterans. By covering the shipping cost for adaptive vehicles, which in some cases can amount to thousands of dollars, we are giving our disabled veterans more mobility without having to overcome burdensome financial barriers.

H.R. 6538 - The VA Correct Compensation Act: This bill allows certain VA clinicians to rectify routine payroll errors, which many VA healthcare professionals currently don't have the right to do. This will help the VA recruit and retain employees by making it easier to fix incorrect paychecks, in turn enabling these employees to better serve veterans.

H.R.1191 - Correcting Guam's History in the PACT Act: This bill expands eligibility of benefits to veterans who served in Guam or its territorial waters between August 15, 1958 and July 31, 1980, and have a disease associated with exposure to certain herbicide agents.

H.R. 7411 - The Recover Pride in Service Act: This bill requires the Department of Defense to proactively upgrade discharges for veterans who were discharged solely because of their sexual orientation, allowing them to receive earned benefits and have their military record amended to reflect their service.

Washington DC Office

351 Cannon House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

(202) 225-3371

Staten Island Office

1698 Victory Blvd

Suite 2L

Staten Island, NY 10314

(718) 568-2870