Pair to Start Listening Tour Friday in Oneonta

Panel to Ensure No One Gets Lost in VA’s Bureaucracy

Kinderhook, NY — August 11, 2016 … Congressman Chris Gibson, (R-Kinderhook), who served his country for more than two decades in the U.S. Army, will serve as honorary chairman of a Veterans Advisory Committee formed by Congressional candidate John Faso that is comprised of veterans across the 11 county district, the Faso campaign today announced.

The goal of the group is to ensure our military veterans are provided the necessary care, treatment and job placement services upon returning home from service at home and abroad, and Gibson’s leadership will provide the experience and know-how so that no members of our armed services fall through the bureaucratic cracks of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Faso said.

“Chris is a friend and a patriot, and I am grateful that he will be part of this important group,” Faso said. “His experience is invaluable in this all-too-important mission of ensuring that the brave men and women returning home from service get the adequate mental health services and more that they need and deserve from the VA. If elected, I will continue the policy and advocacy work that Chris has done for our veterans and pledge to be just as hands-on and active on these vitally important issues.”

Both Gibson and Faso will meet with veterans as part of a listening tour at the Veterans Outreach Center at 3 p.m. on Friday in Oneonta, N.Y., 3 W. Broadway, Oneonta.

Faso, who is running for Congress in the 19th Congressional District (Gibson is not seeking re-election) on the Republican, Conservative, Independence and Reform lines, announced the formation of this committee earlier this year as a way to work with veterans to provide guidance and advice on a range of veteran-related issues, including access to quality healthcare and job placement. If elected, Faso has proposed to establish a competitive grant program at the federal level to fund qualified nonprofits that provide peer-to-peer counseling services to veterans suffering from PTSD, TBI and other trauma.

The program would be paid for with an estimated $40 million a year in savings through 2024 by capping bonuses of senior executives at the VA and finding further savings through an audit of federal mental health programs under SAMHSA. There is no matching state or local share.

Gibson will serve as honorary chair of a committee that includes:

• Len Carson, Otsego County, US Air Force Active and Reserve
• Gary Flaherty, Columbia County, US Army Command Sergeant
• Sam Rowe, Delaware County, US Navy Petty Officer 2^nd Class
• Christian Bradley, Rensselaer County, US Army Retired Colonel, Gulf War I Veteran
• Andrea Goldstein, Columbia County, Lieutenant, US Navy Reserve
• Michael Abrams, Columbia County, US Marine Corps, Afghanistan Vet
• Carl Clark, Ulster County, US Army Master Sergeant
• Mike Spaccaforno, Delaware County, US Marines Lance Corporal Vietnam Vet
• Patrick Kelly, Greene County, US Army Sergeant

As a member of the New York Assembly, Faso developed and pushed proposals that led to real balanced budgets – including the first reduction in state spending in decades while closing a $5 billion deficit. He championed legislation that made a difference for tens of thousands of families such as the STAR program and education and real property tax reform. A former board member of the Rockefeller Institute of Government, Faso also served for three years as a member of the Control Board that worked to fix the financial and managerial issues of the City of Buffalo and its school system.

Mr. Faso and his wife, Mary Frances, a registered nurse, are the proud parents of two children. They have lived in Kinderhook, New York, for more than three decades. 

John Faso (R-Kinderhook) is former Republican leader of the state Assembly and candidate for Congress in the 19th Congressional district. To learn more about Faso, visit johnfaso.com.

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