Rep. Gabe Vasquez discusses Veterans issues in Las Cruces Veterans Memorial Park

LAS CRUCES , New Mexico (KVIA) - U.S. Congressman Gabe Vasquez hosted a meeting with area veterans in Las Cruces today to discuss the issues faced by many veterans in Southern New Mexico.

The group spoke about national issues and said funding and staffing should be added to the VA, instead of it being reduced.

The veterans group called for the Major Richard Star Act, which would allow combat injured veterans with less than 20 years of service to receive full retirement pay when getting disability pay from the VA, to remain in place.

The congressman focused on helping veterans in rural areas, outlining a two part plan to address the issue.

Part one would be to eliminate what Vasquez called 'outdated' VA regional boundaries which would allow veterans in rural areas like Otero and Eddy county to go to El Paso instead of having to drive to Albuquerque to access their benefits.

The congressman said this is included in his ‘New Mexico Rural Veterans Healthcare Access Act’ he introduced during his first term in office before emphasizing his dedication to assist veterans. He said, "not wanting to be another elected official giving false promises."

"I have seen congresspeople that served this district that have promised veterans a lot of things, I was in those meetings, and never delivered," Vasquez said. "When I got elected, I promised that I would not be that Congress person, that I would deliver for them."

Another part of Vasquez's plan to address veteran's needs would be full-time liaisons in rural areas across New Mexico because in his opinion veterans shouldn't have to drive more than an hour to sit with someone and access their benefits.

One of the veterans present, Jeffrey Swanson, talked to ABC-7 about the need for more mental healthcare for veterans returning from conflict.

"You can't go through that without having some traumatic experiences and extreme danger," Swanson said. "So they're going to need mental health care. They're going to need physical care."

Swanson also outlined the limitations of public options veterans currently have access to, saying there need to be professionals trained to deal with the unique symptoms of veterans.

"Community health care is wonderful, but I may go to a doctor who really knows nothing about the unique experience of veterans," Swanson said. "I've been exposed to Agent Orange, to hydraulic fluid, water and bottles that's 125 degrees. I got a spot in my liver, I got spots in my lungs, but we have to have doctors and nurses and VA facilities who are available to really tune in on the veterans and try to help them."

Another way to help, according to Swanson, would be more family counseling as well as group sessions among veterans to support each other and wants them to be in person instead of online because it's 'not the same'.

"It's not the same as sitting there looking at somebody and you can smell them if they haven't had a shower in two weeks," Swanson said. "What's going on here, buddy? You know, so we can confront and talk with each other and really listen to each other and zoom in."

Swanson proposed these to be done weekl to allow veterans to talk about anything ranging from healthcare to war stories and even their PTSD so it can help other the way it's helped him.

"It's helped me also become more compassionate as a person and understand suffering in the world and appreciate diversity amongst people," Swanson said. "Because when we landed going into a zone it didn't matter if they're black or white or pink or purple or Methodist or Baptist or whatever.

"I was in the line of fire in Vietnam and fell off the back of a truck about to shoot an enemy soldier and the chaplain was with me," Swanson said. "He grabbed me by the butt and pulled me back in rather than hiding behind a tailgate. He was a Baptist and I was a Lutheran."

Other veterans at the press conference included combat veteran and candidate for Doña Ana County Sherriff Vanessa Ordoñez who said there are also issues getting healthcare as a female veteran living in a rural area.

Ordoñez also said she believed in keeping promises made to veterans and should be non-negotiables which shouldn't be changed for the sake of budget discussions or changing political priorities.

ABC-7 reached out to Vasquez's opponent in November's election Greg Cunningham for comment and was given the following statement:

“I am a Marine. I fought in Desert Storm. I came home a disabled veteran and spent twenty years as a police officer. I know what veterans in this district are going through because I live it every day. Gabe Vasquez has been in Congress for four years, and veterans in Otero and Eddy County are still driving hours for care. His empty words and hollow promises mean nothing when his failure to act harms the men and women who risked their lives for our country. Unlike my opponent, supporting veterans isn’t something I do every two years when it’s politically necessary. I stand with my brothers and sisters every single day, and delivering for New Mexico’s heroes will be my top priority in Congress.”