January 02, 2025

Duckworth Joins U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs

 

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—former Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and a member of both the U.S. Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees—will join the U.S. Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee in the 119th Congress. Duckworth served in the Reserve Forces for 23 years before retiring from military service in 2014 at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and is an Iraq War Veteran and Purple Heart recipient. She was among the first Army women to fly combat missions during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

“After years of working hard to support our Veterans who sacrifice so much to defend our national security and keep Americans safe, it is an honor to join the U.S. Senate Veteran Affairs’ Committee to continue my work—and my life’s mission—to ensure these heroes are provided with the care and support they have earned,” said Senator Duckworth. “As a Veteran myself and as a former Assistant Secretary of the VA, I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to champion legislation that would expand access to good-paying jobs, high-quality accessible health care, affordable housing and so much more. I will fight every day to improve the lives of our Veterans—and that includes pushing back on any efforts from this next Administration to privatize the VA or cut VA benefits.”

Throughout her tenure in Congress, Duckworth has been a fierce supporter of and an effective legislator for our Veterans. Some of the legislation she has pushed for to help deliver for our Veterans include: 

  • The Sergeant First Class (SFC) Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act, historic legislation that she helped pass was signed into law in 2022 to overhaul the VA’s processes for toxic-exposed Veterans to include presumptions for several illnesses associated with burn pits and Agent Orange exposures and is helping deliver long-overdue VA healthcare and benefits across all generations of Veterans.
  • Duckworth’s bipartisan Protecting Moms Who Served Act, which was signed into law in 2021, is helping address the maternal mortality crisis among women Veterans by helping improve care at VA facilities and shed light on the scope of this crisis, particularly among women of color.
  • Duckworth’s bipartisan Veterans Small Business Enhancement Act, which became law in 2019, is helping Veteran entrepreneurs start and grow small businesses by allowing Veteran small business owners to acquire equipment and personal property that the federal government no longer has a use for at little to no cost.
  • The Veterans Expedited TSA Screening (VETS) Safe Travel Act, bipartisan legislation she co-led alongside Todd Young (R-IN), Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH), was signed into law last year to provide Veterans with service-connected disabilities with expedited screening under the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) PreCheck program.
  • Duckworth’s Veteran Entrepreneurship Training Act was signed into law last year as part of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which codifies the “Boots to Business” program through 2028—providing our troops, Veterans and military spouses transitioning from military service to civilian life with entrepreneurship education and training.
  • The Veteran Service Organization (VSO) Equal Tax Treatment (VETT) Act, which Duckworth co-led alongside U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D., (R-LA), was signed into law last year to help reform our tax code so that it promotes, rather than discourages, charitable contributions to Veteran Service Organizations.
  • Duckworth has also led the charge in pushing for her Right to IVF Act, comprehensive legislation that would establish a nationwide right to in-vitro fertilization (IVF) while expanding IVF coverage for Veterans. Despite publicly claiming to support IVF throughout the year last year, Republicans ultimately blocked Duckworth’s Right to IVF Act twice.
  • Duckworth has also been a leader in protecting and supporting immigrant Veterans and servicemembers who have proven they are willing to make tremendous sacrifices to defend our nation.
  • Duckworth has also pushed for a package of bills—the Veterans Visa and Protection Act, HOPE Act and I-VETS Act—that would prohibit the deportation of immigrant Veterans who are not violent offenders, provide these Veterans with a pathway to citizenship through their military service and help ensure those who have been deported already can access the VA health care services they are entitled to.

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