(La Porte, IN) - Indiana’s 2nd District Congressman Rudy Yakym made a special visit to La Porte earlier this week to meet with area veterans about their needs and concerns.

On Monday, Yakym held an informal discussion with a group of area veterans at the County Complex meeting room. They discussed bringing a clinic or more accessible services to La Porte County and current challenges with processing benefit claims in a timely manner. The failure of the Biden administration to provide leadership in these areas was also discussed.

Yakym gained valuable insight from the roundtable, saying afterwards, “My conversation with veterans in La Porte gave me a chance to better learn about some of the persistent challenges facing the veteran community and how we can best partner to solve them.” Yakym noted that his predecessor in office, the late Jackie Walorski, was a staunch advocate for veterans, and he intends to continue that focus.

County Commissioners Joe Haney and Connie Gramarossa participated, along with County Veterans Service Officer Joe Golec. “Really good in-depth conversations were had,” said Haney. I think everybody walked away from it pretty happy and much more well-informed.” According to Haney, a major obstacle for La Porte County veterans is access to VA care. Veterans have to drive to Crown Point or Mishawaka for some things as simple as getting results for routine blood work. A local clinic or a change in procedure would help veterans tremendously. Haney said bringing a VA clinic to the area is still a possibility, and Yakym seemed on board with helping to make that happen. “I know Congressman Yakym is going to push really hard for us,” Haney said. “I’m pretty excited in that regard, and we’ll do whatever we can here at the county if and when the time is appropriate.”