Ensuring Federal Agencies are Accessible, Accountable to Arkansans

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As a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, I’ve delivered improvements to benefits and services for Arkansas veterans. Crafting policies and approving legislation is one way to fulfill the promise made to the men and women who served in our nation’s uniform. Just as importantly is cutting through red tape and breaking down hurdles blocking access to the critical care and services Congress authorized the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide.

The importance of this role was clear during a recent visit to Malvern-based Covenant Health Urgent Care. The clinic aimed to expand urgent care services to eligible veterans, but the staff ran into some barriers to achieving this goal. Delays in the approval process forced the medical center staff to send veterans further away from home to seek care for minor injuries and illnesses. When my team and I heard about the challenges the clinic was experiencing, we stepped in to help speed up the process so it could provide veterans care through the VA’S Community Care Network.

I’m pleased my staff and I were able to help resolve this issue and so many other problems Arkansans experience with federal agencies.

Many U.S. government offices and departments are still struggling with backlogs and policy changes resulting from modifications made in the early days and weeks of the pandemic. Since January, my office has received more than 100 requests for help with veteran’s disability claims, fueled by substantial delays at all levels of that process. We are starting to see improvements with agency employees returning to in-person work, but there’s still a long way to go to ensure veterans receive timely decisions.

My office has also been inundated with requests from Arkansans who are frustrated with significant lags and poor customer service from the IRS. While the agency has pressed for more funding to support additional staff, the solution is to prioritize the needs of taxpayers over other activities like representational work. As a result of feedback from Arkansas taxpayers, I helped introduce the IRS Service Improvement Act, legislation requiring IRS employees to focus on meeting their obligations to customers instead of using their time on the clock for union work.

Other federal agencies have made major improvements. There is finally good news for people hoping to travel internationally this cumbersome. summer. The U.S. Passport

Service has overcome the My office has been recbacklog that plagued the

ognized for our commitment agency in 2020 and 2021. Although applications still take to serving Arkansans. As the longer to process than before the pandemic, Arkansans are Congressional Management getting their passports for vacations, education exchanges Foundation’s inaugural Deand business travel with a litmocracy Award for Contle extra lead time.

Constituent service is an stituent Service winner, we important oversight function of Congress. By assisting were thrilled to claim the Arkansans with these federal

title of “the best public seragencies, I truly understand what is and is not working at vant” for our constituents. I the federal level so I can pursue changes to broken syslook forward to continuing to tems and help people work through very large bureauserve Arkansans and helping cracies. I appreciate knowing

overcome the roadblocks to what challenges you face and providing information and federal services. Let my staff assistance to help make these complicated processes less and I help you.

The Malvern Daily Record — April 23 - 29, 2022 — Page 17