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Speaker 1: To you our power coming up after eighty five Congress

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Speaker 1: from Thomas Massey, followed by Judge Jennita paul Atana. Looking

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Speaker 1: forward to that. I hope you are as well, and

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Speaker 1: I've been looking forward all morning to talking with Adam

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Speaker 1: Miller from the Concerned Veterans for America. He's given some

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Speaker 1: praise to Senator John Houston for some work he's doing

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Speaker 1: about improving access to benefits. Welcome to the program, Adam.

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Speaker 1: It's a real pleasure to have you on.

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Speaker 2: Hey, Brian, good morning. Thank you so much for having.

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Speaker 1: Me real quick for you dive into the Rural Veterans

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Speaker 1: Improved Access to Benefits Act. Can you remind my listeners

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Speaker 1: about what you do at Concern Veterans for America, which

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Speaker 1: my listeners can find online at CV number four a

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Speaker 1: dot org.

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Speaker 2: Sure. So, Concern Veterans for America. We're an organization of veterans,

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Speaker 2: military families, and just patriotic citizens who are inspired and

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Speaker 2: determined to shape a better American future. So we believe

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Speaker 2: that veterans in their communities are a positive force for

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Speaker 2: good and can tackle a lot of the country's most

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Speaker 2: pressing challenges. So we try to amplify the veterans' voices

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Speaker 2: and encourage folks to get involved at the local, state,

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Speaker 2: and federal level.

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Speaker 1: Lodge your efforts along those lines too. Anyone can do

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Speaker 1: here in the morning, should healthy American veteran. We are

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Speaker 1: going to do. And apparently Senator John Houston, you're praising

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Speaker 1: him on the website. I saw that for introducing the

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Speaker 1: Rural Veterans Improved Access to Benefits Act. This is sort

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Speaker 1: of a corollary to what you had a CDA been

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Speaker 1: pushing for the Veterans Access Act. If I understand this correctly,

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Speaker 1: it's sort of a separate piece of legislation.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's separate. And you know the legislation that the

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Speaker 2: Senator introduced in the Senate, it deals with veterans benefits,

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Speaker 2: as the Veterans' Access Act deals with veterans the Veteran's

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Speaker 2: healthcare administration. But you know, at the end of the day,

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Speaker 2: we believe that veterans deserved timely, reliable access to care

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Speaker 2: and benefits that they've earned, no matter where they live.

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Speaker 2: And that's why we're so thankful for Senator Housted's legislation

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Speaker 2: because it cuts through that bureaucratic red tape. It expands

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Speaker 2: access to qualified providers, and it ensures that our veterans

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Speaker 2: are not left navigating delays or uncertainty. So again, you know,

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Speaker 2: we're just very appreciative of him his commitant to these

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Speaker 2: common sense reforms that at the end of the day

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Speaker 2: put our veterans first.

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Speaker 1: Okay, you know, I think about this this phenomenon quite often.

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Speaker 1: If you live in a highly dense populated, you know,

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Speaker 1: city like Cincinnati, for example, you're usually close to a

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Speaker 1: lot of services. You know, there are a few blocks away,

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Speaker 1: they're within a short drive or whatever. The VA's right there,

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Speaker 1: it's close by. But you know what of my friends

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Speaker 1: out in very rural counties, And I always think of

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Speaker 1: the entire state of West Virginia. It's mostly rural and

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Speaker 1: does not have convenient access to a lot of the

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Speaker 1: services that folks need. So how does this Rural Veterans

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Speaker 1: Improved Access Benefits Act help folks like that out in

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Speaker 1: the world get the health care that they need.

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Speaker 2: So this specific bill, it just it allows local providers

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Speaker 2: to provide those those medical examinations that our veterans need

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Speaker 2: to get their benefits. So so it is similar to

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Speaker 2: the Veterans' Access Act in the sense that it allows

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Speaker 2: them to get care closer to home.

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Speaker 1: So there's currently absent this legislation, there's an impediment to

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Speaker 1: local providers giving care to the veterans.

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Speaker 2: So when we're talking about benefits restrictions, how will it work?

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Speaker 1: I guess if it goes through and everything passes like

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Speaker 1: you want, Adam Miller, how's it going to make care easier?

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Speaker 1: What's it going to change that will give more veterans

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Speaker 1: access to care?

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Speaker 2: So the specific build that the Senator John Housted sponsored

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Speaker 2: in the Senate, it expands the types of qualified medical

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Speaker 2: professions who can conduct these specific exams. So, for instance,

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Speaker 2: there was a veteran from Akron, Ohio that needed an

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Speaker 2: examination and he was sent by the Veterans Benefits Administration

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Speaker 2: to Pittsburgh to get that examination. So this will cut

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Speaker 2: down on drive times, it'll cut down on wait times. Ultimately,

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Speaker 2: it'll make sure that our veterans are getting the benefits

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Speaker 2: that they've earned quicker, faster, and then in a more reliable way.

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Speaker 1: Okay, so there will be just a broader swath of

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Speaker 1: providers to provide the care. Is that a strange You

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Speaker 1: got to go to Pittsburgh for something that you know

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Speaker 1: you would think you can get locally. So are the qualifications?

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Speaker 1: Are the restrictions that are currently in place? Are they

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Speaker 1: designed in some way help the veteran Like was there

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Speaker 1: concern that only certain people are really truly qualified? I

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Speaker 1: guess this seems like it's greasing the skids in a

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Speaker 1: positive way, but I'm wondering, well, could it be maybe

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Speaker 1: not at them?

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Speaker 2: No, for this specific legislation, it really came down just

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Speaker 2: to kind of the bureaucratic red tape that the Massive

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Speaker 2: Veterans Administration has and then some of the policies that

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Speaker 2: they implement internally. And that's where organizations like Concerned Veterans

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Speaker 2: for America, you know, we advocate for some of these

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Speaker 2: common sense policy reforms and then we look to Congress

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Speaker 2: to enact them from from a watchdog perspective and just

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Speaker 2: making sure that we're streamlining the process. And again it

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Speaker 2: comes it really comes down to making sure that our

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Speaker 2: veterans have had more choices and great access to these

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Speaker 2: examinations and the medical professionals that can provide them. All.

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Speaker 1: Right, Well, it sounds like a reasonable idea, would you

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Speaker 1: like for my listener's got a lot of veterans and

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Speaker 1: veteran families in the listening audience, some call to action.

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Speaker 1: You we'd like them to pursue Adam Miller from Concerned

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Speaker 1: Veterans from America.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so this legislation is important, but CBA has long

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Speaker 2: champion for expanding veterans healthcare choice and that includes strong

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Speaker 2: support for the Veterans Access Act. Like you had mentioned,

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Speaker 2: it's a top priority for CBA. To give a little

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Speaker 2: bit of background, the VA Mission Act gave millions of

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Speaker 2: veterans healthcare choices through its community care program, but unfortunately,

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Speaker 2: through VA waight, tim MA snipulation, faulty scheduling guidance, and

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Speaker 2: improper appointment cancelations, it kept way too many veterans from

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Speaker 2: accessing these important choices. So the Veterans Access Act would

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Speaker 2: codify those community care standards, make them law. It's twenty

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Speaker 2: twenty six. It'll create self scheduling portals so veterans can

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Speaker 2: can schedule their appointment. They can they can connect with

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Speaker 2: their care providers right there on an app and then

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Speaker 2: they can get appointment updates, reminders, they can track referrals

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Speaker 2: and their appeal decisions if if their community care is

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Speaker 2: not accepted. Another big positive aspect of the Veterans Access

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Speaker 2: Act is full choice pilot programs for mental health and

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Speaker 2: substance abuse. So this will allow veterans three year pilot

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Speaker 2: program offering them access to outpatient mental health care substance

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Speaker 2: use treatment through community care without prior VA approval. So

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Speaker 2: these are just some of the some of the key

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Speaker 2: aspects of the Veterans Access Act that we're that we're

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Speaker 2: advocating for and we're promoting, and we're just so excited

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Speaker 2: that that there's a lot of co sponsors here in

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Speaker 2: the great state of Ohio and we're just going to

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Speaker 2: try to continue to expand it.

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Speaker 1: All right, wonderful, I guess I'm I've been led to

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Speaker 1: believe talking to my friends at the Cincinni VA that

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Speaker 1: a lot of the things you just mentioned are already

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Speaker 1: provided here. Do different VA hospitals have different levels of service, like,

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Speaker 1: for example, I know they offer mental health services even

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Speaker 1: telehealth through this and sendy v a form my veteran friends,

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Speaker 1: So it sounds me like they've already taken a step

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Speaker 1: in that direction at least here locally. Or do I

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Speaker 1: have that? Am I misunderstanding that? Adam?

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Speaker 2: No, We've seen a lot of positive changes under the

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Speaker 2: new administration with Secretary Collins at the VA, and you know,

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Speaker 2: I'll be honest, there's there's a lot of frustration out

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Speaker 2: there because veterans upheld their oath. So when we when

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Speaker 2: we were set overseas, you know, we carried the weight

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Speaker 2: of those decisions that are made by Washington when we

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Speaker 2: return home. So you know, our ultimate goal is to

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Speaker 2: to make sure that that our veterans are receiving the

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Speaker 2: care and treatment that they see that best best fits

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Speaker 2: their needs. And unfortunately, in a lot of veterans hospitals

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Speaker 2: sometimes that that care is not provided adequately. And and

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Speaker 2: that's fine, and there's a lot of veterans that that

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Speaker 2: enjoy their their VA benefits, but they should.

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Speaker 1: Have that choice definitely, So Veterans Access Act and of

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Speaker 1: course the Rural Veterans Improved Access to Benefits Act, which

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Speaker 1: John Houston is behind. I guess you want my listeners

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Speaker 1: to go to CV number four a dot org to

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Speaker 1: get more information, Adam, or is there another place they

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Speaker 1: can go in terms of like reaching out and helping

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Speaker 1: get this legislation passed.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I would encourage encourage them to go to our

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Speaker 2: website TV there before a dot org follow us on Facebook, x, Instagram, LinkedIn,

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Speaker 2: and you know, I'll just again say this. If you

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Speaker 2: love this country, if you believe in the American dream,

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Speaker 2: if you if you want your voice to be heard,

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Speaker 2: you know, march beside Concerned Veterans for America and really

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Speaker 2: see what we can do to help elevate the veterans voices,

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Speaker 2: veterans perspectives and continue serving our communities here at home.

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Speaker 1: Adam Miller want to thank you for your service to

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Speaker 1: our country and you continued service with the Veterans for America.

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Speaker 1: Concerned Veterans for America recommend my listeners get on over

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Speaker 1: there and help out themselves CD number four a dot org. Adam,

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Speaker 1: been a pleasure talking with you and appreciate your at

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Speaker 1: least given Senator Houston some praise for doing something right

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Speaker 1: for the American veterans.

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Speaker 2: Thank you, Brian, have a great day

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Speaker 1: You tube seven forty right now if you have KERCD

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Speaker 1: talk station four