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Competing at the Hampton Classic Horse Show. MICHELLE TRAURING
A little more than a year after being sworn in, U.S. Representative Lee Zeldin last week updated constituents at the Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton about his time in office so far.
Mr. Zeldin, who is up for reelection this November, focused his speech on Thursday, February 18, on his efforts working on three committees in the House of Representatives: Transportation and Infrastructure, Foreign Affairs, and Veteran Affairs. A member of the Army Reserves, Mr. Zeldin said it is important to him to make sure veterans are getting the benefits they deserve when returning from overseas.
According to Mr. Zeldin, the state of veterans hospitals across the country is dismal, with many not having enough funding to care for veterans. In some instances, he said, the hospitals are working with artificial budgets, meaning they have too large a deficit to present a realistic spending plan. The source of funding and the budgeting process for these hospitals need to be changed, he said.
“The Veterans Affairs Committee gives us an opportunity to do a lot of advocating on behalf of our veterans,” he said. “There is a lot to talk about there.”
During his roughly 90-minute presentation, Mr. Zeldin took several questions from the 25-member audience, adding that he recently opened a new office in Riverhead to be more accessible to East End voters.
Erin McKinley on Feb 23, 2016