Mikulski Applauds Federal Transportation Investment to Improve Veterans and Military Families Access to Jobs and Health Care

$2 Million in Federal Checkbook to Help Maryland’s Veterans and Military Families Access Services they have Earned and Deserve  

November 9, 2011

WASHINGTON – Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), a member of the Senate Military Family Caucus, today praised the Department of Transportation's announcement that Maryland will receive $2 million in federal funds to greatly enhance local, affordable transportation services for veterans and military families.   

"We have a sacred trust with those who have risked their lives so that we may live in freedom," Senator Mikulski said. "Part of that sacred trust is making sure we provide our troops, veterans and military families with the services and support they have earned and deserve. But if they don't have transportation to VA health clinics or job interviews, all the opportunities in the world don't mean anything. Opening up transportation means service members and their families can get back on the job and receive the health care and services they need."

"The Obama Administration is committed to providing our military veterans and their families with the resources they need and deserve," U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said. "These projects will better connect them with a range of reliable, affordable transportation options so they can get to work as well as the supermarket, their kid's day care center, medical facilities, and other destinations."

Maryland Department of Transportation will receive $1.6 million to expand the state's web-based Transportation Resource Information Point (TRIP) program, connecting it with Maryland 211, a toll free and online directory of community resources, including employment, health care and food pantries. Transportation information kiosks will also be deployed at military installations, VA facilities and other major transportation locations in the state.  Additionally, MDOT will use $400,000 to help Delmarva Community Transit implement a one-call/one-click center for veterans and their transit needs in rural Eastern Maryland.

Many military families live in suburban and rural communities where filling the gas tank for long commutes is expensive and public transportation is limited. Projects funded by the Veterans Transportation and Community Living Initiative will bridge the gap by enabling states and communities to build or expand so-called "one-click, one-call" centers that offer comprehensive information on local transportation options, and other community services, with just a single phone call or click of the mouse. Typically, such information is not available in one convenient place, and better local coordination will result in better services for veterans and nonveterans alike.

"Military families and veterans in Maryland must be able to take full advantage of the transportation resources in their communities," said Peter Rogoff, Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), which manages the grants through its discretionary Bus and Bus Facilities Program. "Every service member who returns home or a spouse who relocates to a new community deserves the best possible chance to earn a reliable paycheck and that means having access to reliable transportation choices."

The Veterans Transportation and Community Living Initiative is led by the federal Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility, a permanent partnership of federal departments working together to better coordinate federal programs on behalf of people with disabilities, the elderly and low-income individuals.

In addition to USDOT, the Department of Veterans Affairs is contributing up to $3 million for the VA health care network to coordinate veterans' transportation needs with community transportation systems.  The Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy is contributing $250,000 for social media tools and training to include veterans and the military in community transportation decision-making.  The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense are also lending critical support, in part through their extensive networks of community-based advocates.  Additional in-kind support is provided by over a dozen national veteran service organizations.