“Finish Strong:” Florida VFW Discusses Sequestration During Hill Visits

Over the last two days, VFW National Legislative Committee members from Florida met with their congressional delegation to discussing VFW’s outstanding legislative issues, and asking the 112th Congress to “Finish Strong For Veterans.” Here are some highlights from their visits:

VFW Department of Florida Past Commanders Mike White and Bob Shepard, and National Legislative Committee Chairman Lee F. Kichen discussed sequestration on the national defense budget with Rep. Allen West, R-Fla. West shared the VFW’s concerns about the impact of force reductions, cuts to quality-of-life programs, and how they would affect military personnel and their families. The Florida Legislative Team agreed that the Army would not be robust enough to effectively challenge future adversaries, if deep defense cuts were allowed to take effect.

The VFW Florida Legislative Team also discussed the implications of sequestration budget cuts on active duty service members and their families with Drew Wyatt Shoemaker, legislative assistant to Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Fla.

Shepard and Kichen then discussed the VFW's goal to extend tax credits for businesses to employ veterans with Jeff Fatora, military legislative associate for Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla. VFW advocates have been storming the halls of Congress over the last two days as part of the VFW’s fall legislative conference.

The conference draws to a close tomorrow, at which time VFW advocates will have met with every Congressional office on Capitol Hill. To learn more about the VFW’s priorities for our fall legislative visits, click here, and check back regularly for updates, as our advocates tell Congress to “Finish Strong For Veterans.”

(Images: Top: The Florida Legislative Team meets with Rep. Allen West to discuss sequestration. Bottom: The team also met with staff for Rep. Tom Rooney to discuss concerns over potential defense cuts. Photos courtesy of Lee F. Kichen.)

Field Report: VFW Leaders On Hand for Hearing to Discuss Orlando VA Hospital

This week the House Veterans Affairs Committee hosted a field hearing at the University of Central Florida to discuss the lack of progress on a new VA Medical Center in Orlando.

VFW Past Department Commander David Harris was on hand to hear witnesses from the VA Office of Construction and Facilities Management, and hospital contractor Brasfield and Gorrie, testify on persistent delays in the project.

Harris described the hearing as a “circular firing squad” between the project’s architects, construction management, and the VA project manager, who all blamed each other for the project delays.

Construction on the new facility started in October 2008 and was scheduled for delivery this October; however, numerous change orders to the contract, design issues, and other delays have pushed the opening to late 2013 at the earliest, and possibly into 2014.

“My single interest is the expeditious completion of this facility for the veterans of Central Florida who have been waiting over a decade for this medical center,” said Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller, R-Fla. “It is clear from today’s hearing both VA and the contractor still have quite a long way to go to come together and figure out how to work together, which is what needs to happen. But I am cautiously hopeful that will become the goal moving forward, as it should have been all along.”

Despite the finger-pointing, both VA and Brasfield and Gorrie officials promised to continue working toward consensus on how to move the project toward completion of the new medical hub for central Florida’s veterans.

Local VFW officials will continue to monitor progress on the new VA medical center, holding public officials accountable for its completion.

To view an archived webcast of the hearing and to read the prepared statements of each witness, click here.

Members of both the House and Senate are in their home districts throughout the month of August, tending to constituent affairs. VFW advocates are once again taking this opportunity to meet directly with their elected leaders on veterans’ issues, and we are looking to share those stories on this blog.

To submit your Field Reports for consideration on the VFW’s Capitol Hill blog, simply fill out our online form here, or send photos and stories directly to vfwac@vfw.org. Information for this story was provided by VFW National Legislative Committee member Lee Kichen.