Veterans Issues
The men and women who wear our nation's uniform are extraordinary people who are always prepared to meet the challenges of our time. I support measures to address veteran homelessness, improve the veteran health care system, and facilitate a smooth transition to civilian life for all returning veterans.
It is our solemn responsibility to honor each veteran's service and ensure we are doing all that we can to support them when they leave the military and return home. One of my proudest moments as a Member of Congress came in 2008, when I voted for the post 9/11 GI Bill, which was the largest expansion of veterans' benefits since the original GI Bill passed after World War II.
In 2022, I was proud to support the PACT Act – a landmark piece of legislation signed into law by President Biden in 2022. This bill expands healthcare access and benefits to more than five million service members who faced toxic exposures during the Vietnam War, Gulf War, and post-9/11 era.
I’m also proud to sponsor legislation that would allow DACA recipients to serve our nation in the armed forces. These Dreamers have known no other home but America and deserve to be able to serve the country they love.
More on Veterans Issues
Auora, IL – Today, Congressman Bill Foster again invited constituents of the Eleventh Congressional District to participate in the "Valentines for Vets" program.
Last year, students and community members made over 1,600 Valentine's Day cards. Foster's office delivered the valentines to the Joliet Community Based Outpatient Clinic, Judd Kendall VFW in Naperville, and Operation Care Package in Joliet, which sent valentines to troops serving overseas.
Elwood, IL - The first federally approved monument honoring lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) veterans was dedicated Memorial Day, Monday, May 25 at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Illinois.
With flags representing all branches of service, along with the rainbow flag for the LGBT community, the monument was unveiled to applause.
NEWPORT NEWS -- In August 2010, Sgt. 1st Class Angela Dees sent her stepson off to college, a move made possible because she transferred her benefits to him under the GI Bill.
Or that's what she thought.
Halfway through the semester, Christopher hadn't received any money. Dees stretched her credit card to pay his living expenses, bus fare and other bills. She was confident the GI Bill benefits would come through because the Defense Department had OK'd the transfer.
In November, the Department of Veterans Affairs said the money wasn't coming.
An Illinois congressman wants children of soldiers to avoid a case of educationus interruptus. Sgt. First Class Angela Dees of Joliet, now stationed in Virginia, says the Defense Department reversed itself on her son's tuition and demanded a refund. "The only thing the VA website or any of the other literature concerning the Post-9-11 GI Bill stated was that it could be transferred to spouses and dependent children that had to be in (a military dependents' reporting system)," Dees said on a conference call arranged for reporters by the office of U.S. Rep.
At least seven legislative proposals are pending in Congress to improve the new GI Bill for large swaths of beneficiaries, including active-duty and reserve troops, wounded warriors and families.
The four-year-old Post-9/11 GI Bill has served 1 million students at a cost of almost $35 billion — but some lawmakers clearly think it could be doing more to serve troops, veterans and their families.
A bill crafted with the help of The American Legion would, if enacted, correct a "bureaucratic nightmare" that has caused some servicemembers' children to be billed for thousands of dollars in educational benefits for which they were originally approved. The Legion-backed corrective legislation, "GI Education Benefits Fairness Act", was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 22 by Rep. Bill Foster, a Democrat, and Rep.
WASHINGTON — A group of about 90 elderly veterans flew here from Chicago's Midway Airport on Wednesday and visited the National World War II Memorial — shutdown be darned.
On Tuesday, the memorial on the National Mall became the symbol of the shutdown as vets who arrived on what are called "Honor Flights" ignored the barricades set up to try to shutter the outdoor tribute to the 16 million who served in World War II.
Eleventh District Congressman Bill Foster's office announced the school has secured the $176,427 grant for its Driving America: One Veteran at a Time program.
The grant is administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Congressman Bill Foster (IL-11) greeted veterans at the World War II Memorial. The group included veterans from Will, DuPage and Kane counties.
"I was proud to take part in this special day to honor and celebrate our veterans," said Foster.
