Maria Tripplaar

Maria Tripplaar serves as the Minority Staff Director for the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. She took a leading role in drafting and enabling Congress to enact improvements for Veteran’s disability compensation, pension, and memorial affairs benefits, notably including the Veteran Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017. This landmark legislation modernized and simplified the VA appeals process. In the 115th and 116th Congress, Maria was instrumental to the passing of the Blue Water Navy Veterans Act. This legislation provided disability benefits to thousands of Blue Water Navy Veterans impacted by Agent Orange. Maria holds a deep appreciation for the significance of these and other Veterans’ issues and has long advocated for the Veteran’s community, having previously served as an attorney at the National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP) and at the U.S. Board of Veterans Appeals.