Jan. 10, 2020
SENECA – Rep. Lee James (R-Venango/Butler) will be offering veterans affairs outreach hours in his district office at
3220 State Route 257 in Seneca on Tuesday, Jan. 21, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. An accredited field service officer from the American Legion Department of Pennsylvania will be available to assist veterans with a variety of issues.
The field service officer will assist veterans in filing VA claims for disability compensation, disability increase and rating decision appeals; veteran or surviving spouse pension; burial and death benefits; addition of dependents; dependency and indemnity compensation; as well as other veterans’ benefits. Veterans do not need to be a member of the American Legion to receive this free service. Interested participants are encouraged to call the district office at 814-677-6413 with any questions.
“These outreach hours are open to all veterans and their spouses, but I especially encourage our Blue Water Navy veterans to participate this month. Finally, those who were exposed to Agent Orange in the Vietnam War are eligible for care and compensation. Veterans with questions about the change can get answers by talking to the field service officer,” James said.
House Resolution 149 of 2017, which James drafted, implored Congress to enact legislation to offer benefits to Blue Water Navy veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange in the Vietnam War, as were so many veterans who served on land.
“More than 22 million gallons of chemicals were sprayed, and the men and women who selflessly served our country are suffering impacts to their health. That’s why putting pressure on our national government to recognize the sacrifice they made and the implications it continues to have in our veterans’ lives is so important to me,” James added.
Last summer, the Blue Water Navy Veterans Act of 2019 was signed into law, and it went into effect on Jan. 1. It extends a presumption of herbicide exposure to Blue Water Navy veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam and the offshore waters. Blue Water Navy survivors and certain dependents may be entitled to benefits if the veteran was exposed.
The veteran outreach hours offered on Jan. 21 are part of a monthly series of events. All outreach hours will be held in the Seneca office on the third Tuesday of the month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. A complete list of this year’s dates is available online at
RepJames.com.
Representative Lee James
64th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Alison Evans
717.260.6206
aevans@pahousegop.com
RepJames.com /
Facebook.com/RepLeeJames