The VA secretary was in attendance
Rep. Bresnahan, R-Dallas Township, center left, welcomed U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, center right, to Northeastern Pennsylvania to hear directly from veterans, community leaders, and veteran advocates to discuss how the VA serves those who have served our nation. The event was held at the Black Diamond American Legion Post 395, Wyoming Avenue, Kingston.
Submitted photo
KINGSTON — U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan Jr. on Monday said supporting veterans means making sure they can easily access the benefits and care they’ve earned.
Bresnahan, R-Dallas Township, welcomed U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins to Northeast Pennsylvania to hear directly from veterans, community leaders, and veteran advocates to discuss how the VA serves those who have served our nation.
“Today’s conversation was about hearing directly from veterans and advocates about what they are seeing, hearing, and experiencing, and how we can help improve the system,” Bresnahan said. “I’m grateful to Secretary Collins for coming to Northeastern Pennsylvania to hear directly from our community and for his commitment to making the system work for our veterans.”
The event was held at the Black Diamond American Legion Post 395, Wyoming Avenue, Kingston.
“Under President Trump, we are transforming VA from a bureaucratic organization to a service organization that puts Veterans at the center of everything we do,” Collins said. “Veterans in Northeastern Pennsylvania have a strong advocate in Rep. Bresnahan, whose leadership has been vital to accomplishing this goal.”
During the roundtable, Bresnahan said participants engaged in a broad, productive discussion on how to better support veterans and their families. He said key topics included simplifying VA forms, expanding access to benefits and housing resources, and increasing awareness of available services through constituent casework.
Bresnahan said attendees also shared ideas for streamlining processes and strengthening coordination between federal, state, and local partners to better serve veterans.
In addition to Bresnahan and Collins, the roundtable included 22 people from across the district involved in veterans advocacy.
Participants included: Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township; Tim Booth, Lackawanna County Veterans Affairs Director; Oscar Flores, Luzerne County Veterans Affairs Director; Lisa Kaye, Monroe County Veterans Affairs Director; Jesiah Schrader, Pike County Veterans Affairs Director; Frank Araujo, Wayne County Veterans Affairs Director; Vito Ruggiero, Gino Merli Veterans’ Center Commandant; Jim Wansacz; Executive Director, Agency for Community Empowerment of NEPA; Susan Allen, Wyoming Valley Veterans Day Parade Committee Chair; Judge Tom Munley, Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas Retired Judge and Host of ‘Veterans Views;’ Bob Suhosky, Northeast Infrastructure owner; Rob O’Donnell, WILK Radio Host; Bill Roland, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States PA State Commander; Vince Benedetto, Bold Gold Media CEO; John Baum, Voyager Technologies Chief Marketing Officer; Sung ‘John’ Nam, Nam’s Tae Kwon Do Centers owner; Mark Price, Black Diamond American Legion Post 395 Post Commander; John Fronzoni, Black Diamond American Legion Post 395 President, Home Association; and Nate Gerace, U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick Northeast Regional Director.
According to information provided by Bresnahan’s office, Northeast Pennsylvania is home to more than 44,000 veterans.
Bresnahan said his office maintains a dedicated caseworker to assist veterans in navigating federal agencies and ensure local veterans have direct access to support when they need it.
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Reach Bill O’Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.