The pandemic would be a lot worse for Arizona veterans if it wasn't for federal relief
Opinion: Veterans fell ill from COVID-19, lost jobs and struggled as a result of the global pandemic. But the American Rescue Package eased that burden.
During my time as a lieutenant commander in the Navy Medical Corps, I worked with my surgical team day and night to keep our brave men and women healthy to ensure that they would return home to their families.
I cared for sailors, Marines and Air Force members who broke bones while training to parachute into foreign lands or who suffered severe burns and other injuries while maintaining our ships that patrol the globe. All of them had one mission: to protect American freedom and democracy.
As we come out of the Fourth of July weekend, it is an appropriate time to reflect on our shared responsibility to support our veterans in meaningful and lasting ways. Never has this been so glaringly apparent than during the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Veterans were hit hard by COVID, unemployment
Last year Arizona veterans, like hundreds of thousands of civilians, fell ill due to the novel coronavirus, faced unemployment and struggled to make ends meet as a result of the unprecedented global pandemic.
At the height of the economic downturn in April 2020, the national veteran unemployment rate peaked at 11.9%; today, after months of economic recovery that has been helped by the passage of the American Rescue Plan, the veteran unemployment rate sits at 4.8%.
As a physician, I saw overcrowded and underresourced hospitals whose staff struggled to care for the influx of sick patients. As a legislator, I was pained to see so many family owned small businesses close and neighbors lose their jobs in an unrelenting recession. And we saw sickness and financial strife fall upon far too many who had served our country.
Thankfully, Congress worked with President Joe Biden to answer those calls for help by passing the American Rescue Plan, a comprehensive recovery package that provided direct relief to families and businesses across Arizona.
The legislation was particularly meaningful for Arizona’s veteran population of more than 500,000, about 7% of whom live in poverty, nearly 1,000 face homelessness and 46% rely on the VA Health Care System for medical care.
American Rescue Plan cared for those who served
The American Rescue Plan provided grants to veteran-owned businesses, financing for VA State Homes for elderly veterans, and investments in the VA Health Care System. These initiatives worked in tandem to address the needs of our most vulnerable veterans.
While there are many issues that divide those in Washington these days, supporting our service members during this time of critical need shouldn’t be one of them. Unfortunately, every single Republican member in Congress, including Arizona’s Andy Biggs, David Schweikert, Debbie Lesko and Paul Gosar, put party ahead of country.
We know that our veterans represent the best that our state has to offer, and partisan attempts to block this crucial aid disregards and disrespects their service and sacrifice.
The most patriotic thing we can do as Americans is to ensure that those who serve our country never have to worry about feeding their families or accessing medical care, particularly in times of dire need. The American Rescue Plan did just that, and veterans and their families across our state are better off for it.
Dr. Randy Friese, a Democrat, is a veteran, doctor and educator who has served in the Arizona House since 2014. He is running for the 2nd Congressional District seat. Share your thoughts at info@drfrieseforarizona.com; on Twitter: @DrRandyFriese.