The federal government should better fund healthcare and other services for veterans and make it easier for them to transition into civilian jobs, Republican congressional candidate Jack Martins said Thursday.
At a roundtable discussion in Williston Park with about 20 veterans, Martins said service members should get certificates for skills they learn in the military and advocated more funding and accountability for the Veterans Health Administration hospital system.
“The commitment that was made is, you serve your country and these are things that are going to be there when you come home,” said Martins, a state senator from Old Westbury. “They’re non-negotiable.”
Martins, running against Democrat Tom Suozzi to replace Rep. Steve Israel in the 3rd Congressional District, expressed skepticism of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness’ finding this month that Long Island has essentially eradicated veteran homelessness. Nassau County’s recent 3.8-percent unemployment rate also “doesn’t reflect what I know,” he said.
Giving veterans credentials for skills learned in the military would help fill 100,000 “mid-skill-level” jobs in New York and reduce veteran unemployment, Martins said, a cause of homelessness and veterans’ disproportionately high suicide rate.
“If you can connect someone to a job, then so many of the other pressures in life resolve themselves,” Martins said.
He also touted his law in the state Senate that gave New Yorkers the option to donate money to combat veteran homlessness when filing their state income tax returns.
Congress should also continue to boost funding for VA hospitals and combat veterans’ continued problems navigating the system, Martins said.
The Republican-controlled Congress has increased VA funding 20 percent since 2010, Martins said, more funding could make VA hospitals “every bit as good” as state-of-the-art private hospitals.
While Martins said Long Island VA hospitals do not have the huge backlogs that caused a 2014 scandal and subsequent reform bill, veterans told him bureaucratic delays and communication issues still cause some problems.
Veterans said there should be measures to ensure VA hospitals meet benchmarks and that doctors are providing quality care.
“Those are the challenges — the bureaucracy itself, but also, in keeping with the bureaucratic question is, how do you have a civil service mentality when you’re dealing with people’s lives?” Martins said.
About 32,000 veterans live in the 3rd Congressional District, Martins said, which contains more than 718,000 people and stretches from Whitestone, Queens, to Kings Park in Suffolk County.
He met with veterans at American Legion Post 144 in Williston Park — near his hometown of Mineola, where he was mayor — to get “perspective” on federal issues that affect them, he said, as he has as a state senator.
Tony Catalano, a Mineola World War II veteran who served under U.S. Army Gen. George Patton, said Martins has always shown concern for veterans issues.
“It’s nice that they come in and talk to us and find out what our problems are,” he said. “Sometimes they don’t know too much about it, but when they do come in and say something, we appreciate it.”
Martins said he is planning similar discussions on other issues throughout the district. Suozzi, a former Nassau County executive, has said he will hold similar events. The two will face off in the Nov. 8 general election.
In a statement, Suozzi said he would “help employ and empower our veterans” through job training and healthcare by working with the VA, Department of Defense, private companies and local organizations.
