Signs
of
Progress
for
North
Carolina
in
2015
Dear
North
Carolinians,
My
first
year
as
North
Carolina’s
U.S.
Senator
has
been
eventful
and
productive
to
say
the
least.
I’ve
attended
over
a
hundred
committee
hearings,
met
with
thousands
of
North
Carolinians
in
every
corner
of
the
state,
heard
from
hundreds
of
thousands
of
constituents
who
have
contacted
my
offices,
and
had
the
honor
of
visiting
with
the
brave
men
and
women
in
uniform
stationed
at
our
military
bases
at
Fort
Bragg,
Camp
Lejeune,
and
Cherry
Point.
Serving
the
people
of
North
Carolina
will
always
be
my
top
priority,
and
we
have
succeeded
in
building
a
dedicated
and
responsive
constituent
services
operation
that
has
resolved
thousands
of
cases
for
North
Carolinians,
from
helping
ensure
that
our
veterans
receive
the
VA
benefits
they
deserve,
to
assisting
seniors
in
receiving
fair
and
timely
responses
from
the
Social
Security
Administration.
In
Washington,
my
focus
has
been
on
developing
relationships
with
my
colleagues
Republicans,
Democrats,
and
Independents
so
we
can
find
common
ground
and
address
the
many
major
challenges
facing
our
nation
on
a
bipartisan
basis.
And
I’m
happy
to
say,
this
has
resulted
in
some
very
positive
developments
for
North
Carolina
over
the
past
year.
I’ve
had
the
absolute
honor
of
representing
the
more
than
800,000
North
Carolina
veterans
as
a
member
of
the
Senate
Veterans’
Affairs
Committee.
I’ve
worked
with
my
colleagues
to
address
the
issues
plaguing
the
VA
health
care
system,
and
I’ve
partnered
with
Democratic
Senator
Richard
Blumenthal
of
Connecticut
to
introduce
two
bills
aimed
at
providing
veterans
with
ample
opportunities
to
receive
a
high
quality
education.
I
was
encouraged
when
President
Obama
recently
endorsed
these
two
bills,
and
I’ll
work
hard
next
year
to
make
sure
they
become
law.
Several
weeks
ago,
the
Senate
unanimously
passed
my
bipartisan
bill
to
assist
living
eugenics
victims
by
excluding
their
payments
from
state
eugenics
compensation
programs
including
North
Carolina’s
from
consideration
in
determining
federal
benefits.
Without
this
legislation,
many
eugenics
victims
who
receive
compensation
payments
could
see
their
federal
benefits
reduced
or
even
have
their
eligibility
eliminated,
which
simply
is
not
fair.
The
good
news
is
that
the
House
has
already
moved
my
bill
through
committee,
and
final
passage
is
expected
early
next
year,
when
it
will
then
head
to
the
president’s
desk
for
his
signature.
Additionally,
Congress
recently
passed
the
first
longterm
transportation
and
highway
bill
in
a
decade,
which
included
a
key
provision
originally
introduced
by
Rep.
G.K.
Butterfield,
Sen.
Richard
Burr
and
myself,
designating
the
Raleigh-Norfolk
and
U.S.
70
corridors
as
future
interstates.
This
bipartisan
provision
could
be
a
game-changer
for
North
Carolina,
as
it
will
produce
long-lasting
benefits,
including
reduced
traffic
congestion,
improved
access
to
our
military
bases,
and
increased
investments
in
our
state’s
infrastructure
and
transportation.
North
Carolina
scored
another
big
victory
with
the
passage
of
the
National
Defense
Authorization
Act
(NDAA),
which
ensures
our
military
has
the
training
and
resources
it
needs,
provides
critical
support
to
American
servicemembers
and
their
families,
and
makes
key
reforms
to
the
military
retirement
system.
The
NDAA
includes
a
provision
I
introduced
that
halts
a
plan
to
transfer
24
AH-64
Apache
helicopters
from
the
North
Carolina
National
Guard
in
Raleigh
to
the
regular
Army.
It
also
includes
another
provision
I
authored,
along
with
Sen.
Burr,
that
requires
Fort
Bragg’s
top
commanders
to
certify
that
the
loss
of
the
440th
Airlift
Wing
at
Fort
Bragg
will
not
harm
training
before
it
is
permitted
to
be
deactivated.
This
will
put
a
temporary
halt
on
the
Air
Force’s
short-sighted
and
flawed
plan
to
shutter
the
440th
Airlift
Wing.
While
2015
yielded
many
positive
results
for
North
Carolinians,
there
is
still
more
that
needs
to
be
done
in
2016
and
beyond.
I
look
forward
to
continue
serving
the
people
of
North
Carolina
and
working
across
the
aisle
on
behalf
of
the
servicemembers,
veterans,
and
hardworking
families
who
make
our
state
and
nation
great.
Please
contact
my
office
if
you
or
anyone
you
know
needs
assistance
in
dealing
with
a
federal
agency.
You
may
find
my
contact
information
at www.tillis.senate.gov or
call
202-224-6342.
Sincerely,
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