Dear Neighbor,
One of the most important, and rewarding, parts of my job is assisting constituents who are having trouble with federal agencies. From Social Security payments and IRS refunds to visas and passports, my door is always open to constituents who need our help.
I want to take a moment to share with you some recent successes my team and I have had in assisting members of our community:
Helping a Constituent Get a Passport:
Andrea Catala of Burke filed her passport application and, less than a week later, she received notice that the State Department had received the application and that it was being processed. Several weeks later she inquired independently about the whereabouts of her passport, as her travel date was soon approaching. Ms. Catala was told that it had not been mailed out yet. This is when she enlisted the help of our office. We sent a Congressional inquiry to expedite the processing of her passport. In less than a week, we were able to get it to Ms. Catala, just in time for her foreign travel.
Ensuring a Retired Federal Employee Receives His Full Pension Benefits:
Robert Updegrove of Fairfax reached out to our office needing help getting his full federal pension benefits restored when his former wife passed. He had provided the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) all the necessary documentation showing that the portion of his pension that had been going to her should now be sent to him. When OPM failed to respond to his request, Mr. Updegrove contacted our office for assistance. We submitted an inquiry with the agency on his behalf and the issue was resolved within a week.
Helping a Constituent Get Her Medical Expenses Reimbursed by Medicare:
Joelle Fishkin is on Medicare, but had to pay out of pocket for some medical services that should have been covered. Ms. Fishkin filed the necessary forms for reimbursement from Medicare. Almost a year later, when she still had not received the reimbursement that was due, she contacted our office for help. We sent an inquiry about the situation to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Within just two weeks the matter was resolved and Ms. Fishkin received her reimbursement check from Medicare.
Honoring the Service of a Veteran and Providing Support to His Family:
Erica Meadows of Vienna contacted our office for assistance with having her recently deceased husband, Master Sergeant Scott Walters, buried at Arlington National Cemetery. She also needed help obtaining the survivor benefits her family was due. Our office submitted an inquiry to the Secretary of the Army requesting approval for the burial, and we worked with the agencies to ensure the family receives their benefits. Master Sergeant Walters was buried at Arlington and his wife has now received the benefits she was owed.
These are just a few stories out of the thousands of cases my team and I have successfully handled on your behalf. In fact, in 2023 alone, my team closed 3,744 constituent cases and recovered $11,225,972 for constituents from the federal government. And we’re not stopping there.
If you or a loved one ever need help with a federal agency, please know that my door is always open. For more information on how my office can help, click here. And please don’t hesitate to give us a call at (703) 256-3071 if you need assistance.
