Van De Wege receives Veterans and Military Affairs Committee post

August 1, 2007

OLYMPIA – Seven months before the start of the next legislative session, Rep. Kevin Van De Wege (D-Sequim) received notice he’d be working on military and veterans issues. Speaker of the House Frank Chopp (D-Seattle) appointed Van De Wege to the Joint Committee on Veterans and Military Affairs after this year's legislative session ended.

“We all owe our service members and veterans a great deal more than we can ever offer, but I see this as an opportunity to make sure the state is offering all it can,” Van De Wege said.

The committee studies veterans issues, active military force issues, and national guard and reserve component issues, structure and administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Military Department, and makes recommendations to the Legislature.

“On the Peninsula we have a great population of veterans, but our location can make it difficult for them to receive services. Driving to Seattle, until recently, was your only choice.”

Van De Wege helped petition for a virtual Veterans Affairs office in Clallam County, which turned out to be successful.

“Struggling to locate the virtual VA office out here is something I’ll take with me to this committee. We can’t forget there are veterans all over the state deserving of state services.”

In the counties Van De Wege’s district includes, there are 21,618 veterans, according to 2000 Census date:

• Clallam County – 9,827,
• Jefferson County – 4,336, and
• Grays Harbor County – 7,455.

Jefferson County alone has seen over a ten percent growth in their veteran population from 1990 to 2000.

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Staff contact: Andrew Dziedzic (206) 729-3225

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