Capps introduces bill to help war veterans without records

Last Wednesday, Capps — who represents more than 50,000 veterans in her 24th District — introduced a bill called the Veterans’ Record Reconstruction Act that would streamline the process by which servicemen and servicewomen prove their eligibility for benefits or decorations. While unofficial sources of information like photographs, letters, and eyewitness accounts have been used on a case-by-case basis to help reconstruct veterans’ files destroyed in the fire, explained Capps spokesperson Chris Meagher, there are no actual guidelines to follow. The bill, Meagher said, would require the Department of Defense to work with the Department of Veterans Affairs and come up with rules and criteria for considering these unofficial sources and, in more general terms, make the whole process easier. Read more: Santa  Barbara Independent, November 5 2013