Politics

Senate panel to hold hearing on Native veterans

Thursday, November 29, 2007

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee is holding a field hearing tomorrow on health care for Alaska Native veterans.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), the vice chair of the committee, said she is concerned that veterans who live in villages don't have access to health care after they return from Iraq or Kuwait. The Department of Veterans Affairs doesn't provide service in rural areas in Alaska and often won't pay for transportation to VA facilities in Anchorage or Fairbanks.

Witnesses for the hearing include Alex Spector, director of the Alaska VA Healthcare System, and Valerie Davidson, senior director of legal and intergovernmental affairs for the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.

The hearing takes place at the Egan Convention Center in Anchorage at 9:30am Alaska time.

Get the Story:
Murkowski to host hearing on health care for rural veterans (The Fairbanks Daily News Miner 11/29)

Committee Notice:
FIELD HEARING on Health Care for Alaska Native Veterans Returning from Kuwait and Iraq and Other Native Veterans Living in Alaska Native Villages: Access to and Delivery of Services (November 30, 2007)

Relevant Links:
Senate Indian Affairs Committee - http://indian.senate.gov