Over 75 veterans and community members attended a panel discussion that featured United States Senator Joni Ernst in Jefferson on Friday.

Ernst was joined by Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds, Jefferson VFW Post Commander Don Ihnken, Greene County Supervisor Guy Richardson, Home Base Iowa Program Manager Jason Kemp and American Legion Post 11 Commander Jim Andrew was the emcee.

Topics that were covered include updates on Home Base Iowa and what the federal government is doing to help veterans received services that they need. A major problem is scheduling difficulties for veterans with the Veterans Affairs hospitals and Ernst explains a bill that she is working on to help alleviate those issues.

“When the VA tried to modernize their scheduling system, they tried to develop their own system. They spent years, and years and millions, and millions, and millions of dollars on the project and couldn’t ever get it to work so they scrapped the project. All of those hard earned dollars, those taxpayer dollars should been going to our veterans and those services, yet they were wasted by the federal government.”

The stop in Greene County was part of Ernst’s and Reynolds’ 99-county tour.