AP: Costello calls for better services for female veterans

As published in the Associated Press

Staff

WASHINGTON >> Pennsylvania lawmaker Ryan Costello is calling on the Veterans Affairs Department’s inspector general to review the agency’s services for female veterans.

In a letter Thursday, U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello joined Democratic Rep. Dina Titus of Nevada and nine other lawmakers in asking what fixes may be needed to help the fast-growing number of women who served in the military.

Costello and Titus are members of the House Veterans Affairs Committee. Their request focuses in part on privacy standards and the VA’s ability to provide women’s care, such as gynecological services.

The IG’s office said it couldn’t comment until it had seen the letter.

The lawmakers’ request comes after a report by the Disabled American Veterans last year identified serious gender gaps in virtually every program serving veterans.

Female veterans represent 10 percent of the population served by the VA, and that figure is expected to grow significantly.

According to the Disabled American Veterans’ recent report, “Women Veterans: The Long Journey Home,” 20 percent of new recruits are female, along with 14.5 percent of the active duty component and 18 percent of the reserve components. Close to 200,000 women have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet recent reports indicate that the VA drastically underserves our female veterans.

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