WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) invited the Legislative Chairman of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Department of Ohio as his guest to the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee. During the hearing, Larry Moore, an Akron resident and Mansfield native, testified on the need to ensure Ohio’s veterans receive the resources they need and earned after serving their country.

“Ohio’s veterans served their country with selflessness and courage. For their sacrifice abroad, they deserve our support while home,” Brown said. “I thank Mr. Moore for coming to Washington to help me and my colleagues learn more about what we can do to help our veterans and their families.”

Moore is a Vietnam Veteran who served in the U.S. Navy Seabees. In Richland County he previously served as Post Commander of VFW Post 3494 in Mansfield. And after serving as the Richland County Veterans Service Officer (VSO), he currently holds the same position in Summit County. In June 2012, the Senate passed Brown’s bipartisan legislation to rename the Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) in Mansfield after Private First Class David F. Winder, a Mansfield native who was killed while serving in the Vietnam War. Moore first proposed the idea to Brown and worked with him throughout the legislative process.

Brown continues to fight for Ohio’s veterans. Brown is the Co-Chair of the Senate Air Force Caucus and is a senior member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. In March 2014, at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Brown urged U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Eric Shinseki to make immediate and necessary changes in order to eliminate the backlog of, at the time, more than 368,000 disability claims filed by veterans for services and benefits they have earned. Brown also pressed Shinseki on the VA goal of ending veterans’ homelessness by 2015 and efforts by the VA to eliminate claim disparities between state VA rating agencies.

In November 2013, Brown announced that key provisions of his Veterans Services Outreach (VSO) Act passed the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. The Act would require the VA to notify veterans filing claims electronically that they can receive help and important time-saving information that could significantly reduce their wait time. Brown is also fighting to pass the Claims Processing Improvement Act, legislation that would hold the VA accountable by requiring it to publically report information on both its projected monthly goals and actual production so that Congress and the public knows if the VA is working toward eliminating its backlog. The bill would also establish a task force to hire and train claims processors, and develop tactics to attack and eliminate the backlog.

Brown is the only Ohio Senator to serve a full term on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and is an original cosponsor of the VOW to Hire Heroes Act, which offers tax credits to employers who hire unemployed veterans and provides job retraining assistance to veterans between 35 and 60 years of age.

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