VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Virginia Second District residents participated in Zoom call Tuesday to thank Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria for helping them gain access to benefits they earned from the federal government.
In the 20 months since she was sworn in, her staff has now worked on 659 constituent cases, closing 287 of them and recovering $2.9 million, essentially cutting through the red tape at such agencies as the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Internal Revenue Service and the Social Security Administration.
"You were expedient, Congresswoman, and we're so thankful for that," said Patrick Seals.
Nancy Gamble said, "And I was totally blown away, it was like so fast."
Added Ollie Reed: "Your staff did phenomenal and I'm most appreciative. And I'm a big Luria supporter now because of it."
Luria said her staff takes great pride in helping people.
"When we can take that last step to help them get their benefits in a very complex situation, it's really rewarding to hear how we can help people like that," she said.
Luria's opponent and predecessor Scott Taylor continues to hammer the incumbent, saying she has not done enough when it comes to constituent service, calling her record, "pathetic."
"When we were in Congress, we had completed 1,400 cases," he said. "There are hundreds, if not, thousands of our neighbors who are walking around not getting helped."
But Luria says she's proud of what she and her staff have achieved.
"Political campaigns are full of attacks, but I think people try to attack your strength and I think our team has been very strong on this," she said.