Legislation offered by State Sen. Mark Herring (Loudoun & Fairfax), SB 1064, to help Virginia’s veterans receive their federal VA benefits faster and more efficiently passed the Senate unanimously today.
“Many of our veterans wait too long, some a lifetime, for benefits to which they are entitled,” said Herring, a candidate for the Democratic Party attorney-general nomination. “While Virginia’s Department of Veterans Affairs, under the leadership of Secretary Terrie Suit, has been working near miracles with scarce resources to help our veterans, the US Department of Veterans Affairs does not have a similar reputation for efficiency and effectiveness.”
“My legislation will ensure that fighting for timely and accurate processing of veterans benefit requests to the federal government will continue to be among the chief responsibilities of Virginia’s Department of Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security,” Herring stated.
Also Friday, Herring’s bill, SB 1083, to criminalize newly identified chemical compounds of “bath salts”, cleared the Senate Finance committee and will head to the Senate floor.
“Designer drugs like bath salts continue to threaten the health and safety of our young people in Virginia,” Herring stated. “We have succeeded in raising awareness about the dangers of these chemicals and getting them off the shelves of legitimate businesses. However, we must remain vigilant in giving law enforcement and prosecutors the tools they need to go after them as criminals who create new compounds designed to skirt our laws.”
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