“The chairman fights to strengthen our military and to invest in a force that can meet and beat any threat,” said VFW National Commander Richard L. DeNoyer. “He also led efforts to keep terrorist detainees off of U.S. soil, increased missile defense funding, restored the tradition of keeping nondefense social issues out of the defense bill, and is a leading voice to keep the military intact in this budget-cutting era. Our military and veterans’ communities of past and present have no better friend in Congress than Chairman McKeon.”
The Tuesday afternoon award presentation is part of the VFW’s annual legislative conference that sees almost 300 VFW members visit their elected officials to discuss issues important to the veterans, service members and their families. Topmost this year is to protect the Department of Veterans Affairs budget from mandatory cuts if sequestration occurs, and to defeat the Defense Department’s negative quality of life proposals that would restrict military pay, substantially increase Tricare costs on military dependents and retirees, and overhaul a military retirement system into something more suitable for civilian companies.
“There is no military personnel issue more sacrosanct than pay and benefits,” said DeNoyer, a retired Marine and Vietnam combat veteran.
“A secure America needs a strong military, which is one of many reasons why Chairman McKeon was selected for this year’s award,” he said. “Messing with military pay and benefits is a clear signal to the troops and their families that the budget is more important than people. That money-first mindset is going to seriously hurt recruiting and retention, and potentially end the all-volunteer force.”
These and other important issues will be addressed in detail Wednesday when DeNoyer testifies before a joint hearing of the Senate and House Veterans Affairs Committees. Other high-interest topics range from military transition and employment assistance programs to education, the proper care and treatment of wounded warriors, women veterans, the 1.7 million VA claims workload, and combating veteran suicides and homelessness, among others.
Check www.vfw.org/vfwlivestream early Wednesday afternoon to watch the delayed stream of the testimony. The testimony will also be available for viewing on-demand later Wednesday.
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