|
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.C.R. NO. |
176 |
|
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017 |
|
|
|
STATE OF HAWAII |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
HOUSE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
URGING HAWAII'S CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO WORK WITH THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF VETERANs AFFAIRS TO DEVELOP A PROGRAM OR pass LEGISLATION to PROVIDE VETERANS from compact of free association nations with ACCESS TO high-QUALITY MEDICAL CARE WITHIN THEIR RESPECTIVE COMMUNITIES.
WHEREAS, the United States government entered into a Compact of Free Association (COFA) agreement with the Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; and
WHEREAS, citizens of COFA nations are eligible to enlist in the United States armed services, and over the years, the United States has vigorously recruited Pacific Islanders from COFA nations to serve in the United States military; and
WHEREAS, Pacific Islanders from COFA nations have a long and distinguished history of military service stretching back to World War II; and
WHEREAS, upon completing their military service and returning to their respective communities, veterans from COFA nations are unable to secure Department of Veterans Affairs services, especially Department-approved basic medical services, which are non-existent in their own communities; and
WHEREAS, veterans from COFA nations must fly to Hawaii, at enormous cost to their personal financial well-being, to obtain proper medical care at Tripler Army Medical Center; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2017, the Senate concurring, that Hawaii's Congressional delegation is urged to work closely with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to develop a program or pass legislation to provide veterans from Compact of Free Association nations with access to high-quality medical care within their respective communities; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Defense, each member of Hawaii's Congressional delegation, and the Director of the Office of Veterans' Services.
|
|
OFFERED BY: |
_____________________________ |
|
|
|
|
Veterans from COFA Nations; Medical Care