WE'RE ALMOST THERE! H.R. 1925 is a bipartisan bill proposing to name the Manhattan VA Hospital in honor of Revolutionary War hero Margaret Corbin, who was the first woman paid and pensioned by the United States military for her service and wounds in combat. New Yorkers need the full support of our state’s Congressional delegation to name the Manhattan VA hospital in honor of Revolutionary War hero Margaret Corbin. This legislation will:

• Designate the first VA hospital campus named in honor of a woman veteran
• Honor the nation’s first woman veteran recognized and pensioned by the U.S. military for her wounds in combat in 1776
• Commemorate Manhattan’s Battle of Fort Washington, where Margaret Corbin made the Continental Army’s final stand before falling to near-fatal wounds
• Signal the VA’s recognition of women’s service and sacrifice as members of the U.S. Armed forces since 1776
• Increase VA access for women veterans, a rapidly growing yet underserved population, by recognizing and welcoming them

The NYC Veterans Alliance has announced that U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and U.S. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (NY-12) are introducing legislation to name the Manhattan VA as the 'Margaret Corbin VA Medical Center' in honor of the first woman veteran who fought and was wounded in combat in the U.S. Armed Forces.

On November 16th, 2018, members of the NYC Veterans Alliance "ruck" marched more than 12 miles from the historic Fraunces Tavern in lower Manhattan to Fort Tryon Park in Washington Heights to commemorate Margaret Corbin's bravery in the Battle of Fort Washington, which took place on November 16th, 1776. At the conclusion of their march, the NYC Veterans Alliance held a press conference announcing that Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney are introducing legislation to name the Manhattan VA in honor of Margaret Corbin.

At a time when the VA itself is reporting that 70% of veterans who have died by suicide have not been in recent VA care, and that women veterans in particular are nearly twice as likely as other veterans to die by suicide--it is essential that the VA do all that it can to mitigate the crisis of veteran suicide by ensuring that ALL veterans are welcomed in to receive quality care. 

While the VA has made great strides in making programs and care more accessible, the VA has nevertheless firmly resisted the most basic way of welcoming in all veterans--to simply acknowledge them in the VA motto.

Today the president's nominee for the next Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Robert Wilkie, appears before the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, and we raise concerns about his nomination based on information about Mr. Wilkie that has come to light in the media over the past 24 hours. We hope to hear today from Mr. Wilkie that he sincerely supports ALL veterans--regardless of race, religion, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or other characteristics that are fundamental to veterans' personal identities. Veterans need to know that the VA, from the top down, is ready to provide quality, bias-free care and benefits for all those who have served our nation.

Moderator Phoebe Gavin discusses an audience question about women veterans with panelists Lee Covino, Coco Culhane, Brett Morash, Tireak Tulloch, and Vadim Panasyuk.

Forum on NYC Veterans Policy

Presented by the NYC Veterans Alliance
July 28, 2015 - New York Public Library