Rep. Juan Vargas unveils new bill for veteran organizations

California Representative Juan Vargas unveiled a bill that will benefit veterans and the county organizations that provide help to veterans.

The GIVE ACT is a grant program that will provide funding to veteran service organizations to bring their buildings up to compliance with the accessibility requirements of the Americans Disabilities Act (ADA).

” Some VSO facilities need help to become ADA compliant or need help just to make it more convenient for veterans to come and get the help they deserve, and they’ve earned, ” Juan Vargas, California Representative.

Rep. Vargas chose to unveil his proposed bill at Imperial County’s Veteran Service Office in El Centro.

He hopes the bill he is proposing will help improve veteran facilities like the El Centro office.

” I’ve seen cases were literally they have to pick up a veteran in a wheelchair and pick him up over stairs. That’s inappropriate. You should have a situation where a veteran can come up with a wheelchair, and be able to go to the restroom and talk to people. We want veterans to have that opportunity everywhere, ” said Vargas.

” We take care of, a little over 2,000 veterans that come to the office, but there’s over 7,000 veterans out there in the Imperial Valley. Right now this is an older building, it was modified and it is ADA compliant, but wheelchairs are getting wider, and we do need a bigger office, ” said Federico Garcia, Imperial County Veterans Service Officer.

Vargas hopes to have funding for the bill sometime next year.