Meet Carina Buchen: A Key Advocate for Veterans
We had the opportunity to learn more about Carina Buchen and ask her about her experience as Deputy Director at the Congressional Liaison Service, Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs, especially in the context of the upcoming Veterans Day commemoration.
This interview gave us valuable insight into the important work she does, supporting veterans and their families. We hope you enjoy the interview as much as we did, and that it sheds light on the dedication and passion behind her role in honoring those who have served our country.
Tell us more about yourself
“I joined the Department of Veterans Affairs this year as Deputy Director for Congressional Liaison Services within the Congressional Legislative Affairs Office for the Department of Veterans Affairs, the office is in the Veterans Affairs Central Office which is located in DC right next to the White House. We work closely with the Secretary of the Department, everything that has to do with leadership and management of congressional relations goes to my office. My division is pretty big because we have also everything that has to do with legislation, benefits, corporate, and so on. But specifically, my division is with congressional affairs and reach out.
I manage a team of four congressional liaison representatives. Whenever a constituent, a veteran, a spouse, or a family member of a veteran has some kind of issue or needs help, they contact the congressman or the senator for where they live, depending on the location, and they go through that office and contact my office for us to get a resolution and the help for the veteran. Congressional relations in VA is something that is also managed by the regional office so they can contact the VHA which stands for Veterans Health Administration, they can go directly there and get assistance, but if there is some kind of prolonging of the resolution that they're trying to get, they contact the Central Office which is headquarters, and it goes directly to me and our office.
We have a presence designated by Congress in two locations, one on the House side and Senate side. The one on the House side is in the Rayburn House Office Building, and the one on the Senate side is on Russell. It is a walk-in center, we have everyone walking in for service, it can be a member of Congress, it can be a congressional staffer, it can be a veteran, anyone with any kind of question, or who needs assistance from the VA. My team is small for the amount of work that we do, but they are really good. They're customer service-driven and we work a lot with dire need situations because sadly we have a lot of veterans who suffer from mental health conditions, so they have the skills to be able to manage through a crisis.
On many occasions, we receive phone calls from suicidal veterans or people who are going through a hard time. My team has the set-up skills for managing this type of situation and offering the help that they require. I think our office is pivotal for the VA and I know the need that we have for mental health, our country in the VA, and the world in general. It brings me a lot of personal satisfaction to be able to make a change, even though it might be a little change, we can help some people.
Also, we have a team for Congressional Liaison representatives but I report to the director of my division which is the outreach division. She also has a team of four employees that we call “CROs” which are Congressional Relations Officers. The focus of their work is more on reach out in briefings, they do a lot of meetings one-on-one with the Congressional Office in which the member could ask a question about the changes in the law and a briefing on how will the VA manage the new legislation. They will be able to connect them with the SME which is the Subject Matter Expert within the VA. In this case, it can be the Medical Director for the hospital that is for that state, because if it is a member from Ohio, it connects with the Medical Director of that VHA facility. So they are able to address any question regarding the new legislation and how it will affect the state, and how they will be able to provide a solution for any potential conflict.”
What are your specific duties and responsibilities in this role?
“My responsibilities are overseeing my team, they are directly the ones in contact with the congressional staffers but whenever we have a matter that is within the committees, because we have a Veterans Affairs committee, I work directly with those offices. But my team is in charge of the daily work with congressional casework.
But also at the same time, we work with urgent cases, we get a lot of people who have medical issues, so I need to work directly with a program office to get assistance. For example, The other day I had a veteran who was getting services in a private hospital, and the doctor could not move forward with his medical treatments until he received the medical records from the VA, from us. There was some kind of situation and the communications were not effective, and the veteran was basically without receiving any kind of treatment until the doctor got those records for him. I was able to connect with the regional program office and the leadership there, and within four hours I received the records.”
How does your work in this department impact veterans' lives? Do you have more examples?
“I joined Congressional Relations in 2015, I started with OPM, and then I moved to VA which is a similar type of situation because when the link between the constituent and the program office has some kind of communication issue in getting help to that person or resolution. At this point in my career I like to have a very proactive approach, therefore what my team in the VA and I have been focusing on is being able to identify trends and patterns of systematic issues that the agency might be having.
Therefore, we can take that to the Secretary, and they can work directly with that program office. It can be either with the Veteran Health Administration (VHA) the Veteran Benefits Administration (VBA) or the National Cemetery Administration (NCA). That proactive approach has helped a lot of people. For example, there was a specific region in the United States where the public was having a lot of issues in getting assistance for VH holders. We were able to engage with the Medical Director of that region, and he immediately assigned a team of employees who were focused on that part of the program that was failing. And in a few weeks, they we're able to find a resolution for that issue.
It's very stressful, I'm not going to deny that. But when you have empathy, you take everything personally, and you need to draw a line between that. But at the same time be efficient without getting personally affected. And doing as much as you can.”
What improvements do you think are needed, both within the department and nationally?
“I think in general for specific mental health care and access, I think that the primary issue that we face as a nation sadly, also at the same time the systemic structure sometimes is very outdated and with the current technological program, I think a little bit more can be done in order to improve the quality or service and the timelines. One of my goals as deputy Director in the Office is to engage at some point and restructure everything that has to do with Congressional service to have communication, because the VA has 40,000 employees which is a lot of networking and connections. This is something that will take time and not going to be made by tomorrow, but is one of my goals as Deputy Director of CLS is being able to find a system and put in place to be able to fast rack congressional casework. This will further improve services.
But again, as a nation we have the technology, and should still improve a little more and engage more with what we have available to be able to provide more access, specifically for medical services. I know friends of Puerto Rico have been helping a lot in everything on the Hill, providing assistance every time that they have the opportunity. I met Angelique back in 2017 when Huarcan Maria hit, and the way that she engaged and was able to provide help to Puerto Rico has been always amazing for me. And I'm so happy that this organization is helping because not a lot of people care, you know. I think it is an amazing organization.
There was an event on the Hill, I was able to talk with one of the people that was in there, and he was explaining to me about how his daughters got a grant from friends of Puerto Rico and was able to sell coffee beans and that money that she was able to get through Friends of Puerto Rico is what help her to start her small business, and I was amazed. That means a lot, you know, through the hard times that we are living and everything that is happening globally, to see the kindness and that we're still helping each other and teaching to our kids empathy and love, and care and community, that's extremely important. So I'm happy that Friends of Puerto Rico is doing that.
That’s very important. My daughter, who just started in the VCU College this year. She tells me, mamá, I don't understand how in high school they didn't teach you real life skills. That’s why we have Friends of Puerto Rico to help.”
What advice would you give to young professionals interested in public service and making a difference in the veteran community? How can they prepare to help?
“Try to engage with an organization or even with my office, we have been developing a lot of internships to be able to provide an insight view of congressional relations and how we work in the field. And we ask these veterans, their families, and the constituents in my office to be very proactive, to have a positive mindset of learning and engaging. Knowledge is power. Everything that you are able to gain through a community, organization, internship or school, it would be beneficial for you.
Also have a very creative mindset of trouble resolution so you are able to provide new pathways and help that maybe no one else has thought about before. Maybe you think that you're not sure about your ideas, ‘Oh this is silly, I'm not going to say anything because it will sound ridiculous or useless.’ But no, there is no silly idea, and the more information and potential resolution that you bring, the better.
I work with a lot of interns and I love to explore because obviously we are from different generations and with each one you have a different resolution, approach, and use of technology for providing help to the public. So be proactive, engage, learn as much as you can, and have empathy on understanding everyone as if they are your family, your friends, or even yourself.”
Is there any condition to apply to these internships or opportunities to volunteer?
“You have to be in collage, it is not necessary to be in the DC area, but you need to be able to provide your services in the Capitol Hill. I'm looking for interns over 18 and enrolled in school because they get credits through their schools and just contact me. Send me your resume and let me know. I'm going to engage with The Washington Center, a friend of mine provided me the liaison with this school. As long as they are able to be in the DC area and reach an agreement with me, with the VA through their school programs to get the credits for class, basically. And also speak English, because you would be the front side of our office which is engaging with customer service, connecting with congressional staffers and general public. You can send your application to this email: vacocls@va.gov”
What message would you like to share to the veterans' community and their families?
“We're here to help them, and we acknowledge, and we are so proud of the veteran community and everything they do for our nation and the sacrifices that they have taken in order to represent our nations, and defends us. It is an important community, the nation, my employees, and the VA care very close to their hearts. They might feel hopeless sometimes, but we want them to know that we care, we are always available to help them. We have a lot of people that they bring services that are extremely necessary for the veterans community. Please be patient and connect with us. We see them, and we acknowledge, and they are a priority in our agency.”
Is there one last thing you'd like to share with us?
“I don't know. The last thing that has been very important is the changes with The PACT Act that it would bring more service, so that means a lot more veterans are going to be able to get more disabilities benefits. And also about the disability percent, they will be able to have a revaluation of the percentage of disabilities and be able to increase, therefore getting a better payment each month. The other thing the IVF legislation that we're having in place is going to help a lot of families to be able to get the service that they want to which is very important for me personally.”