Patrick Supports Our Vets Again

Back to the Courier Times for this (in their “Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down” segment from Saturday)…

(Thumbs Up) To Congressman Patrick Murphy for his willingness to fight the small battles for veterans.

After hearing about veterans unaware of benefits they were eligible for at the state and county level — such as an exemption from paying property taxes — Murphy and another congressman wrote a letter to Daniel Cooper, the VA's undersecretary for benefits, encouraging him to better inform veterans.

Cooper responded by promising to include a paragraph about local benefits in award notification letters, instructing veterans to contact their state and county governments to find out what other benefits they can receive.

“It's a small thing, but it will go a long way to make sure all veterans receive all their benefits,” said Dan Fraley, director of Veterans Affairs for Bucks County, who said he gets five to 10 calls a year from veterans unaware of their benefits.

Too often it seems politicians only take action when it is sure to generate a lot of publicity, even if the public benefit is marginal. It's nice to see Murphy looking out for veterans by taking the time to ask for this small change, which might only amount to a couple sentences but could translate to hundreds or thousands of dollars staying in the pockets of eligible veterans. And, as far as we're concerned, that's no small change.

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