WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill today announced new resources headed to the Missouri State Veterans' Home in Cape Girardeau.

"The veterans who stood up to protect our freedoms have earned the best possible care," said McCaskill. "This is great news for the Missouri Veterans' Home in Cape Girardeau, which needs these resources to improve the care its residents depend on."

The Department of Veterans affairs announced that the Veterans' Home will receive $530,037 to construct a chapel.

Earlier this month, McCaskill sent a letter to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Erick Shinseki urging him to provide the Missouri Veterans Commission's with a prompt answer to its application for funding that was made available through the State Veterans Home Construction Grant Program. The Missouri Veterans Commission was twice forced to delay the start of the Cape Girardeau Veterans Home improvements due to lack of a final award letter from the VA.

McCaskill is a forceful advocate for federal grants and loans as an alternative to earmarks, which McCaskill has consistently opposed. McCaskill has pointed to competitive merit and need based federal grants and low-interest government loans as resources brought to Missouri in an honest and fiscally responsible manner.

McCaskill, the daughter of a World War II veteran, has been a champion for military veterans' healthcare since coming to the Senate in 2006. A founding member of the Senate Veterans Jobs Caucus, McCaskill was a leading advocate for the VOW to Hire Heroes Act, which provides tax credits to employers that hire veterans, extends education benefits to Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, and takes steps to help veterans translate their military experience into relevant skills sought by civilian employers.

Read more about McCaskill's work for veterans HERE.

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