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Meng Measures to Help Veterans and Promote Diversity in the Military Passed into Law

April 4, 2018
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY), a member of the House Appropriations Committee, announced today she has secured several important provisions to assist veterans and strengthen diversity in the U.S. Armed Forces. These measures are items that Meng attached to the omnibus spending bill that was recently signed into law. They include:
  • Directing the Secretary of Defense to fund outreach efforts at minority-serving colleges and universities in order to recruit more minorities into officer positions within the U.S. military. This is an effort to correct the underrepresentation of minorities in officer ranks across the military.
  • Directing the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to expand its no cost flu shots for vets program at local pharmacies to cover additional vaccines.
  • Directing the Department of Defense and the VA to establish a program that assists transitioning military medical professionals find employment in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). This is an effort to address the staff shortages at the VHA, which serves over 9 million veterans.
    "I am proud of these provisions and believe they will provide greater preventive care for our veterans, offer military medical professionals more employment opportunities that align with their skillsets, and produce more U.S. officers in the military who are minorities," said Meng. "Our veterans deserve our unwavering support and gratitude for their service. These provisions are a first step to addressing challenges that veterans and the military face and I look forward to helping them in the next fiscal year."
    The omnibus bill funds the federal government through the end of fiscal year 2018, which runs through the end of September.