Watch Live: VFW to Testify Before House and Senate

*Update: Archived webcasts of Wednesday's hearings are now available. To view Joe Davis' testimony on Stolen Valor, click here. To view Ray Kelley's testimony on the 2013 VA budget, click here. 

The VFW will testify at two hearings this morning. VFW Legislative Director Ray Kelley will testify before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee alongside the Independent Budget partners to discuss the fiscal year 2013 VA budget. VFW Public Affairs Director Joe Davis will testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security Homeland Defense, and Foreign Operations to discuss Stolen Valor and military record-keeping.

Kelley’s hearing will take place in room 418 of the Russell Senate Office Building. Davis’ hearing will take place in room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building. Both hearings commence at 10 a.m. Live video from Kelley’s hearing will be available on the committee’s home page by clicking here, and Davis’ hearing can be viewed live by clicking here.

Stolen Valor:

The VFW has been a vocal proponent of preserving Stolen Valor legislation, the law that prohibits the false display of military awards and decorations that is currently under review by the Supreme Court. During his remarks, Davis will not only discuss why preserving Stolen Valor laws are critical to the veterans’ community, but also how the Department of Defense must also play a role in ensuring that military records are accurate and properly maintained. Testifying alongside Davis will be award and decorations experts from the military services, National Personnel Records Center Director Scott Levins, and Military Times Hall of Valor curator Doug Sterner. Sterner, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, is considered the nation’s most prominent expert on military award record-keeping and maintains the most accurate database of valor awards for U.S. military personnel.

Subcommittee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, decided to call the hearing after his own experiences in his district where constituents had made false claims of military awards.

VA Budget:

Similar to last week’s hearing before the House Veterans Affairs Committee, Kelley will focus his remarks on potential shortfalls in construction and infrastructure investment in the VA’s 2013 budget proposal.

The Independent Budget is a roadmap drafted by some of the nation’s leading veterans’ advocates, which Congress has used for more than a quarter century to help determine how to best fund VA. The Independent Budget partner organizations include AMVETS, Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and the VFW. The document also has the support of more than 50 other veterans’ organizations which have endorsed the Independent Budget recommendations. To learn more about the Independent Budget and to read this year’s specific budget proposal, click here.

Your VFW will bring you highlights and updates from both of today’s hearings. Check back later for updates.

VFW Takes the Hill: An Advocate's Point of View by Navy veteran Bob Hunter

Our second advocate submission leading up to the 2012 VFW National Legislative Conference comes from Department of Connecticut Legislative Chairman and Navy veteran Bob Hunter. Be on the look-out for more stories from VFW advocates who will be coming to Washington on March 3 to meet with leaders in Congress leading up to VFW Commander-in-Chief Richard L. DeNoyer’s testimony before a special joint session of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees on March 7:

When I joined the VFW in 2006 I had no idea what role I might take by joining; I only knew I wanted to serve. I looked back on my time in service and thought I could have made more of my experience than I did, and becoming active in the VFW helped me to do more for my fellow veterans.

I came home in good shape compared to some of my comrades who came home profoundly injured, or had even laid down their last great measure of devotion in their country's service. In that regard, I felt I had to do more. When I got out I saw vets who had no concept of the benefits they had earned or how to file a claim with the VA to receive them. There were vets who needed help and they weren’t getting it.

For me it was a learning process, but I wanted to be involved. By dumb luck, I was seated alongside [VFW Executive Director] Bob Wallace and [VFW Adjutant General Allen] “Gunner” Kent at our state convention. I learned in a very brief period of time everything that the Washington office does. They inspired me to continue helping. I thought, “I like that. That’s the root of what we do at the VFW.”

I have been attending the [VFW] legislative conference since 2008. It was my first year as commander of VFW Post 9086 in Torrington, [Conn.,] and I wanted to learn as much as I could about the work the VFW accomplishes every day in our nation's capitol. Moreover, I wanted to bring back word to my post about the VFW’s work, and why our role in supporting those efforts is so important.

Not long after my first conference I met a few comrades who sensed my interest in developing my advocacy skills, and I was immediately taken under their collective wing. Each year I attend the conference I learn and contribute more toward furthering the goals that ensure our brothers and sisters are looked after by the country they took an oath to defend.

In many ways, my service in the VFW is a perpetuation of the oath I took when I enlisted. I've learned the work is continuous, that many hands make for light work, and no effort is too small as long as it helps the VFW remain a leader in their comrade veterans' advocacy.

Bob Hunter served as an electronics technician in the U.S. Navy from 1980-1984. During his time in service, Hunter earned his eligibility to join the VFW as part of the multinational Lebanon Peacekeeping Force aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. During his deployments, Hunter's unit responded to the barracks bombing in Beirut and repeated aggression from Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Today Hunter serves as the legislative chairman for the VFW Department of Connecticut. Hunter's VFW post, Post No. 9086 in Torrington, Conn., helps to finance his trip to Washington each year to participate in the legislative conference on behalf of Connecticut's veterans.

(Images: Top: Navy veteran Bob Hunter during the 2008 Pratt & Whitney Veterans Day Celebration in Connecticut. Bottom: Hunter on the signal bridge of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower while underway in 1984. Photos courtesy of Bob Hunter.)

VFW Supports Closing G.I. Bill Payment Loophole

This week the VFW sent a letter to Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., expressing support for his bill, H.R. 3483, the Veterans Educational Equity Act of 2011, which would offer student-veterans who do not meet residency requirements at public schools equitable reimbursement to finance their education through the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill.

The purpose of the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill was to offer a free, public education to today's war-fighters. Unfortunately, in an effort to ensure student-veterans have access to the highest quality educational programs, new reimbursement policies have created a loophole that potentially harms student-veterans who choose to attend certain public schools.

Recent changes to the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill benefit allow student-veterans attending private schools to receive up to $17,500 in tuition and fee payments from VA. However, student-veterans attending public schools are still only entitled to receive the highest in-state tuition and fee payments, regardless of whether or not they meet residency requirements for the state. As a result, many student-veterans who do not qualify for in-state tuition face significant out-of-pocket costs to attend the public school of their choice, unlike their counterparts whose education at a private school may nearly be fully financed.

In the letter, VFW Legislative Director Ray Kelley said that many times the nature of military life makes it difficult for veterans to establish residency in areas where they may choose to attend college.

"Servicemen and women must constantly move across the country and even around the world,which can prevent them from establishing domicile in any one state," said Kelley. "We must take these extenuating circumstances into account and offer an equitable benefit for veterans who choose to attend both public and private schools."

Butterfield's bill would extend the $17,500 reimbursement cap for student-veterans attending public schools who do not meet residency requirements for in-state tuition. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 25,000-35,000 veterans are affected by this inequity, and closing the loophole could cost up to $134 million each year.

The VFW is scheduled to testify on H.R. 3483 and other pending legislation before the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity on Thursday, March 8.

To read the full text of Butterfield's bill, click here.

To read Butterfield's statement about the bill, click here.

The VFW played a critical role in passing the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill in 2008 and continues to have a vested interest in ensuring that today's student-veterans have an opportunity to use their benefits as intended to receive a quality education. Check back regularly with this blog for updates.

VFW Joins VA Nurses for Legislative Roundtable

On Friday VFW joined the Nurses Organization of Veterans Affairs, or NOVA, for their annual legislative roundtable at the Washington, D.C., office of the Disabled American Veterans, or DAV.

VFW Action Corps Manager Teresa Morris, who recently served on the NOVA foundation board, joined representatives from both the House and Senate Veterans Affairs committees, the American Nurses Association, Association of Veterans Affairs Nurse Anesthetists, National Association of Veterans Research and Education Foundations, and veterans advocates from the American Legion, DAV, Paralyzed Veterans of America and the Vietnam Veterans of America to discuss NOVA’s legislative priority goals for 2012.

The afternoon’s discussion centered around the fiscal year 2013 VA budget and the potential shortfalls in construction and research funding – particularly funding and availability of proper laboratory space. In addition to budget considerations, NOVA provided a handout of their legislative agenda for 2012 and discussed many areas of concern for nurses within the VA system, such as investment in proper IT infrastructure and programs to recruit and retain quality staff.

Morris discussed VFW’s role within the Independent Budget for VA, focusing on how inadequate funding for VA construction and infrastructure improvement could negatively affect veterans who rely on VA health care. The VFW testified on the VA’s budget proposal before the House Veterans Affairs Committee last week, expressing the same concerns.

Morris also focused on broader veterans’ health care issues outlined in the VFW’s 2012 Legislative Priority Goals including mental health, invisible wounds like post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, and proper training for all who serve in a patient care role to identify signs and symptoms related to these conditions.

House and Senate representatives talked about their committees’ priorities for the second session of the 112th Congress, stressing proper oversight of VA mental health programs and efficiencies within the department.

Next Wednesday, the VFW will appear before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee to once again discuss the FY2013 VA budget, continuing to advocate for proper VA funding and voicing similar concerns over proper infrastructure funding. As the 2013 budget process moves forward, check back regularly with this blog for updates.

VFW Takes the Hill: An Advocate’s Point of View from Navy veteran Jim Ellars

In two weeks VFW leaders from around the country and around the world will converge on Washington, D.C., to meet with every Congressional office ahead of VFW Commander-in-Chief Richard L. DeNoyer’s testimony before a special joint session of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees. In advance of the conference, which will bring in advocates from the VFW’s legislative, women veterans, and Iraq/Afghanistan-era veterans committees, the VFW Washington office has asked some of our advocates to explain why the annual Capitol Hill visits are important and why they chose to become involved in veterans advocacy. Be on the look-out for more personal stories like this leading up to the convention. Below is our first submission from Department of Arizona Legislative Officer and Navy veteran Jim Ellars:

We all made a difference, being in the military and having spent a part of our lives “answering the call,” and while we all still want to make a difference, nowadays we just don't always know how to pull it off. I found a way, and I believe you would like to join in. I became a veterans advocate. How? Pretty simple, really. I showed up and spoke up. It was that simple, and certainly not hard for a military man or woman to do.

Our federal, state and local governments provide numerous opportunities for people to attend forums and meetings to voice concerns and offer assistance for a multitude of issues. Being like you and still wanting to make a difference, I attended one such meeting along with district members of the VFW. It turned out to be the first of many meetings I would attend, and over time I found that those meetings, peopled by others just like me, created that difference I was looking for. Happily, I saw changes came out of these meetings; changes to the very laws that affected the people at my post, the people on the [military] bases I visited, and to the families I saw at the commissary and exchange; every one of them. It was an enormous and powerful realization, so I stuck with it, and the next thing I knew, I was another veterans advocate. And the more I stuck with it, the more I saw positive changes being made.

“But, Jim, does advocacy really work?”

Over the past few years I've “stormed the Hill” with those same “others like me,” and along the way I got to know the people and the processes of [Capitol] Hill.

Back in November, the VFW National Legislative Office in [Washington] D.C. – an exceptionally dedicated group of people devoted to monitoring the complex legislative world of D.C. for our military, our veterans, and their families – alerted the members of the VFW to a harmful proposal being considered for pending legislation that adversely affected TRICARE fees. There was an immediate need for a grassroots effort from all veterans to vote the proposal down. Arizona has a large population of retired military personnel and a number of major military bases. As a VFW advocate, I immediately used my experience on the Hill and contacted key Senate staff that I had met in D.C., and also spoke to our department's leadership at a VFW Ladies Auxiliary training conference.

The department and Ladies Auxiliary members responded immediately by initiating a campaign to contact the Senate, particularly the proposal's sponsor, to demand the proposal be voted down. This action was repeated by all respective VFW advocates, the national [veterans service organizations], and many military/veteran associations. The sponsor listened. The proposal was withdrawn. This is just one example of VFW advocacy at work, one that is repeated all the time.

We're already a part of the world's most influential veterans organization that does great things for our military, our veterans, and their families. Take it to the next level: advocate for it! Go to www.vfw.org, click on VFW in DC and continue the mission!

Jim Ellars is a retired naval aircrewman who served on the USS Kitty Hawk and logged more than 4,000 hours on the flight line throughout his military career, earning his eligibility to join the VFW while deployed to Lebanon. Today Ellars is a member of the VFW National Legislative Committee and he continues to serve as the national legislative officer for the VFW Department of Arizona.

(Images: Top: VFW advocate Jim Ellars discusses the contentious TRICARE legislative issue at the VFW Department of Arizona Ladies Auxiliary training conference in November 2011. Bottom: Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., meets with Blue Star mother Francis Playfoot and Ellars in Washington, D.C., during last year's VFW visits to Capitol Hill. Photos courtesy of Jim Ellars.)

VFW Discusses G.I. Bill with State Approving Agencies

This week the VFW joined the National Association of State Approving Agencies, or NASAA, for the organization's annual conference at the Radisson Hotel in Arlington, Va. State Approving Agencies serve as the "boots on the ground" for certifying G.I. Bill-eligible programs across the country, which is why VFW Deputy Legislative Director Ryan Gallucci was honored to join a distinguished panel of veterans' education experts and veterans' advocates to discuss specific challenges and opportunities for student-veterans who seek to use their Post-9/11 G.I. Bill benefits.

Panelists included Chad Schatz, president of NASAA, Keith Wilson, director of VA education programs, David Brasuell, president of the National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs (NASDVA), Dorothy Gillman, president of the National Association of Veterans Program Administrators (NAVPA), Steve Gonzalez, assistant director of the American Legion's National Economic Division, Tom Tarantino, deputy policy director for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and Matt Feger, director of development for Student Veterans of America.

The panelists discussed a range of issues facing today's G.I. Bill beneficiaries, including access to benefits, responsible educational decision-making, academic planning, and proper oversight of G.I. Bill-eligible programs. The panelists also took questions from the audience on issues like VA's school compliance surveys, the evolving role of state approving agents, and unique challenges facing Guard and Reserve students.

Gallucci's remarks focused on the VFW's ongoing efforts to ensure veterans have access to quality information with which to make educational decisions and proper recourse mechanisms should they feel they have been victims of fraud, waste or abuse.

Last summer, a Senate investigation concluded that many veterans may be the victims of schools that seek to collect veterans' education dollars, with little intention of conferring relevant degrees or credentials for the veteran.

The VFW believes that a lack of quality information for potential student-veterans and a lack of oversight from VA has created an environment where potentially uninformed or misinformed consumers can be coerced into making poor decisions on how to best use their earned benefits.

Over the last six months, the VFW has discovered that while VA is authorized to offer educational counseling to potential student-veterans, the agency remains dramatically under-resourced to adequately conduct the counseling on a consistent basis. In 2011, more than 800,000 veterans enrolled in G.I. Bill programs, but VA was only able to council 6,400 veterans on their benefits.

Wilson acknowledged that VA is working with the departments of Labor and Defense to integrate educational counseling into the redesign of mandatory transition assistance programs; a step the VFW applauds. However, the VFW also hopes to see legislation that will allow VA to physically contact all potential beneficiaries, explaining in detail the benefits to which they are entitled before the veteran enrolls in an academic program.

Last month, the VFW built a diverse coalition to support improved consumer education and consumer protection for student-veterans, calling on leaders in the House, Senate and the Obama Administration to take action. To read the letter and learn more about the specific steps VFW hopes to take, click here.

The VFW also joined NAVPA's annual conference this week to discuss veterans' education issues. NAVPA is the national organization that represents school certifying officials for the G.I. Bill; the men and women who interact daily with student-veterans on college campuses around the country.

The VFW is currently working closely with leaders in the House and Senate to draft legislation to ensure student-veteran success; legislation that should be introduced in the coming weeks.

Your VFW will continue to advocate on behalf of student-veterans, ensuring they have access to the quality education they have earned. Check back regularly with this blog for updates.

(Images: Top: L-R, Dorothy Gillman, Matt Feger, and Ryan Gallucci were among the participants in Monday's panel on the G.I. Bill, moderated by Joe Wescott, vice president of NASAA. Bottom: State approving agents and veterans' education advocates look on during the panel discussion. Photos courtesy of NASAA.)

Watch Live: VFW, Shinseki to Testify on VA Budget

*Update: To view the archived webcast of the hearing, click here. To read Stars & Stripes coverage of VFW's testimony, click here. 

This morning VA Secretary Eric Shinseki will appear before the House Veterans Affairs Committee to discuss the fiscal year 2013 VA budget. The VFW and our partners in the Independent Budget will also appear before the committee to present the veterans’ community’s views on how Congress should fund the department in the coming year.

The hearing will commence at 10:30 a.m. in the committee’s chambers, room 334 of the Cannon House Office Building. To view a live webcast of the hearing, click here.

The Independent Budget is a roadmap drafted by some of the nation’s leading veterans’ advocates, which Congress has used for more than a quarter century to help determine how to best fund VA. The Independent Budget partner organizations include AMVETS, Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and the VFW. The document also has the support of more than 50 other veterans’ organizations which have endorsed the Independent Budget recommendations. To learn more about the Independent Budget and to read this year’s specific budget proposal, click here.

National Legislative Director Ray Kelley will testify on behalf of the VFW, focusing on the VA’s construction and capital investment budget; an area in which the Independent Budget partners noticed considerable discrepancies between their analysis and VA’s budget proposal announced earlier this week.

Over the last two years, the VA budget has significantly scaled back capital investment projects in an effort to control spending during difficult fiscal times. In his remarks, Kelley plans to focus on why VA needs to properly invest in infrastructure to meet the ever-changing needs of a veterans’ population in flux.

To view a full list of panelists for this morning’s hearing, click here. Prepared remarks should also be available later today. Check back this afternoon for updates.

(Image: Cover of the FY2013 Independent Budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs.)

VFW Mobilizes to Fight Defense Budget Proposals

The Pentagon unveiled its budget proposal for fiscal year 2013 this week, drawing criticism from the VFW for several proposals potentially hurting military personnel and retirees.

In a statement this afternoon, the VFW balked at Pentagon recommendations to create tiered systems for retirees participating in TRICARE, as well as new pharmaceutical copayments for military dependents and retirees, calling the ideas “deal breakers.” These latest proposals come on the heels of new fee increases tied to annual cost-of-living adjustments approved by Congress just last year.

“We will not allow the nation’s economic problems drive a military downsizing strategy that breaks faith with every man and woman who has ever worn the uniform,” said VFW Commander-in-Chief Richard L. DeNoyer. “We will not allow the budget crisis to be more important that the men and women who serve and sacrifice to keep everything and everyone we hold dear safe.”

The VFW has been the most vocal opponent of proposed TRICARE and pharmaceutical increases since exposing the ideas as part of last summer’s “10 for 10” campaign, and DeNoyer said the VFW plans to vocally oppose these new proposals, mobilizing its grassroots Action Corps against these new increases.

VFW is calling on its members and advocates from coast to coast to reach out to their members of Congress, asking them to oppose increases in health care fees on military retirees and military families. VFW leaders have consistently said that such proposals break the nation’s promise to care for the men and women who defend our nation and their loved ones. To read the full Action Alert, or sign up to join the Action Corps, click here.

“So few Americans serve in the military, and far fewer serve a full career in the military, making these brave few an easy target for some in Washington now that the wars are no longer front-page news,” said VFW National Legislative Director Ray Kelley. “Our military retirees and our military families have earned these benefits through their sustained sacrifices, which is why it is our obligation as veterans’ advocates to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them to maintain the integrity of the system.”

The VFW offers resources to help you contact your legislators by clicking here.

Earlier this week, DeNoyer and the VFW praised the proposed increases in the VA budget, but cautioned that Defense cuts and lack of proper investment across VA could hurt the agency’s ability to care for today’s veterans.

“The VFW appreciates the proposed increase because it recognizes that the proper care and treatment of wounded, ill and injured veterans are ongoing costs of war," said DeNoyer. “We remain concerned, however, that the amount is not enough for the VA to maintain much less improve all the programs and services on their watch, especially knowing the Defense Department plans to shrink the size of the military, which will directly increase the number of veterans seeking VA care and services.”

The VFW will testify alongside partners in the Independent Budget before the House Veterans Affairs Committee tomorrow, outlining how the veterans’ community believes the VA should be funded in FY 2013. The Independent Budget is a roadmap for funding veterans’ programs compiled by AMVETS, Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America and the VFW that Congress has used for more than a quarter century to help guide the VA budget process. Details on the hearing can be found here, and check back with this blog tomorrow morning to watch live.

We want to hear your thoughts on this week’s budget proposals for both VA and DoD. Please leave your comments below and check back throughout this week for updates.

VFW Builds Coalition to Support Student-Veteran Success

VFW staff in Washington have been busy over the last month, building a robust coalition, pushing for student-veteran success in higher education. The coalition, comprised of 10 organizations vested in supporting student-veterans, recently sent a series of letters to leaders in the House, Senate, and the Obama Administration, calling for improved consumer education for potential student-veterans and a streamlined method of recourse for veterans who feel they were victims of fraud, waste or abuse while using their benefits.

The VFW first scored a major victory for student-veterans in 2008, pushing for the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, which now offers unprecedented educational opportunities to veterans of the current conflicts and the dependents of career service members. Unfortunately, recent reports indicate that some of today’s newest student-veterans may lose their benefits by enrolling in schools that fail to confer relevant educational credentials.

While some continue to point fingers at certain sectors of higher education, the VFW has chosen to look at the root causes of the problem – a potentially uninformed consumer inundated with bad information and no process for recovery. Over the last few months, the VFW has learned that enough quality information is available for veterans to make informed decisions about how to best use their education benefits, and both the Department of Education and VA have already taken steps to collect more. Unfortunately, most of this information never reaches student-veterans. Plus, if veterans feel they have been victims of fraud, waste or abuse, conflicts are resolved on an ad-hoc basis, with little knowledge or interaction from VA.

Under Chapter 36 of the G.I. Bill, VA is obligated to make educational and vocational counseling available to service members, potential student-veterans, and dependents eligible for any chapter of the G.I. Bill. Unfortunately, very few student-veterans are aware that this benefit exists, and even fewer choose to take advantage of it. In its current form, veterans must first discover that such counseling is available, fill out the requisite paperwork, mail it to their nearest VA regional office and wait for a response. This labor-intensive “opt-in” process resulted in only 6,400 veterans receiving counseling in 2011, compared to more than 800,000 veterans utilizing G.I. Bill benefits.

With so much at stake for these future leaders, the coalition has asked for an overhaul to VA’s educational counseling procedures, mandating VA to actively contact veterans eligible for such counseling, asking those who wish to waive the benefit to “opt-out.” On the back end, the coalition has asked that VA leverage its resources to create a formal complaint process to address student-veteran issues, allowing VA and other agencies responsible for student-veteran programs to take action.

In addition to the VFW, the coalition includes some of the nation’s leading veterans’ advocates, including the American Legion, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and Student Veterans of America; as well as a diverse group of advocates in non-profit and for-profit education including American Association of College Registrars and Admissions Officers, American Council of Education, Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities, National Association for College Admission Counseling, National Association of State Approving Agencies, and the University of Phoenix.

The VFW believes that by ensuring veterans understand their benefits and can take action when a school breaks the rules, student-veterans will be able to use their G.I. Bill effectively, molding the next generation of American leaders, as we intended. Check back regularly with this blog for updates.

(Image: Coalition letter recently sent to House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller, R-Fla., and Ranking Member Bob Filner, D-Calif., asking for improved consumer education and recourse for student-veterans.)

Watch Live: House Subcommittee Discusses VA Fiduciaries

*Update 1:45 p.m.: The archived webcast is now available here. 
*Update 11:05 a.m.: The hearing has reconvened. Tune in live now. 
*Update 10:13 a.m.: The hearing is in recess for votes in the House. We will keep you posted once the hearing reconvenes. 

This morning the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will host a hearing on the VA’s fiduciary system, which has come under scrutiny in recent years over concerns for severely disabled veterans’ financial interests.

The hearing commences at 10:00 a.m. in the committee’s chambers, room 334 of the Cannon House Office Building. To view the live webcast of the hearing, click here.

VA assigns fiduciaries to oversee VA benefits paid to severely disabled and incapacitated veterans incapable of managing the funds. However, a 2010 report from the VA’s Office of the Inspector General indicated that loopholes persist in the program that keep VA from properly auditing fiduciary accountings and prohibit VA from balancing delinquent accounts.

The VFW most recently testified on these inequities during last spring’s legislative hearing before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, calling for improvements to the program, and VFW advocates in Washington will be watching this morning’s proceedings closely in the House.

This morning’s panelists include Dave McLenachen, VA’s director of pension and fiduciary service, alongside fiduciaries who have been tasked to represent veterans’ financial interests. To view a full list of panelists, click here.

Prepared remarks for each panelist should be available later this week. VFW will keep you posted through this blog on this morning’s hearing. Check back for updates.

VFW Applauds Presidential Jobs Initiatives for Vets

The VFW joined President Barack Obama at Fire Station No. 5 in Arlington, Va., where the president announced the administration’s latest employment initiatives for veterans. First responders, veterans and veterans’ advocates from across the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area joined the president alongside VA Secretary Eric Shinseki and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar for the announcement.

The president’s latest initiatives include new incentives to hire veterans as first responders in communities across the country, establishing a new Veterans’ Jobs Corps to help build, restore and maintain the nation’s infrastructure, and offering extensive entrepreneurship workshops for potential small business owners.

The president’s initiatives come with a price tag, which will be reflected in the administration’s budget proposal later this month. However, the administration hopes to demonstrate to Congress that offering viable career opportunities to America’s veterans in critical industries will be worth the investment. The VFW applauded the announcement, which could help develop a new generation of leaders for our nation.

“There is no initiative too bold when it comes to helping veterans get jobs, especially with the new generation of post-9/11 warriors now reentering society in numbers not seen since the Vietnam War,” said VFW Commander-in-Chief Richard L. DeNoyer. “Our nation and her public and private employer partners must do everything possible to not only ensure their smooth transition, but to enlist their extraordinary talents to help serve and protect our nation and communities, and to help restore our economy to greatness.”

House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller, R-Fla., said in a statement that he was skeptical of temporary programs, but that he looks forward to learning more about the president’s initiatives.

“Veterans deserve nothing less than to have the opportunity to gain meaningful employment and to be first in line for any existing jobs program,” Miller said.

The VFW has considered veterans’ employment one of its top priorities for the last few years. In December, the VFW scored a major victory when the VOW to Hire Heroes Act passed Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support and the president quickly signed it into law. However, VFW advocates continue to work with leaders in Washington to improve employment prospects for veterans, as the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan draw to a close.

Today’s announcement coincided with the release of new unemployment data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which demonstrated that unemployment among Iraq and Afghanistan-era veterans finally dipped below 10 percent. Unfortunately, unemployment among veterans of the current conflicts continues to outpace civilian unemployment.

Arlington Fire Station No. 5, located only three blocks from the Pentagon, is known for its brave firefighters and paramedics who first responded to the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Arlington Fire Department Lt. Jacob Johnson, a Marine Corps veteran of the war in Iraq, introduced the president and spoke about the importance of first-responder jobs for veterans like him.

(Images: Top: President Barack Obama announces the administration’s latest employment initiatives for veterans at Fire Station No. 5 in Arlington, Va. Bottom: Arlington Fire Department Lt. Jacob Johnson, a Marine Corps veteran, greets President Obama on stage prior to the announcement of the administration’s new veterans’ employment initiatives. Photos by Ryan Gallucci.)

Watch Live: House to Address Unemployment in the National Guard

*Update: The hearing adjourned shortly before 1 p.m. 
*Update: The hearing was delayed and came to order at 10:24 a.m. The live stream is now available. 

The House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity will host a hearing this morning to address growing concerns of unemployment among members of the National Guard. The hearing will come to order at 10 a.m. in room 334 of the Cannon House Office Building. To view the archived webcast from the proceedings, click here.

This morning’s hearing comes in the wake of persistent reports from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicating that military men and women serving in the National Guard and Reserve face unemployment at rates of up to 30 percent in certain states. The VFW, which has been vocal on the issue of unemployment in the Guard, will be on hand for the hearing and plans to submit testimony for the record.

Ted Daywalt, president and founder of the VFW-supported employment resource VetJobs, will testify before the subcommittee alongside National Guard leaders from the across the country and Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans Employment and Training Service Ismael “Junior” Ortiz. To view a full list of participants, click here.

The VFW is concerned that unemployment among the Guard and Reserve not only threatens the immediate readiness of the military’s operational reserve force, but also threatens the future viability of the all-volunteer force, which has relied heavily on the reserve component over the last decade.

Veterans’ employment remains a top priority for the VFW in the current Congressional session. VFW leaders hope to build on the success of last session’s passage of the VOW to Hire Heroes Act by ensuring that reserve component service members also have the kinds of job opportunities they deserve.

Updates and VFW reaction from today’s hearing will be available later today on this blog.

Watch Live: House Committee Questions VA on Pharmaceutical Contracts

*Update: Hearing adjourned at 12:25 p.m. Eastern. 

VFW is on hand for the House Veterans Affairs Committee hearing this morning on alleged contracting issues within VA’s prescription drug program. The committee called the hearing in response to concerns that VA may have purchased prescription drugs off-contract.

The hearing started at 10 a.m. in the committee’s chambers, room 335 of the Cannon House Office Building. To view the archived webcast from the hearing, click here.

Key witnesses include VA Deputy Secretary W. Scott Gould and VA Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Audits and Evaluations Linda Halliday.

To view a full list of witnesses, click here. Remarks for each witness should be available following today’s hearing. Check back later today for VFW reaction and updates.