Welcome to Reno! Come by and Say "Hi" to the VFW's D.C. Staff

This week, the VFW National Legislative Service will be wheels-up to Reno, Nevada for the 113th VFW National Convention at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center from July 21-25.

Your NLS staff will have a booth in the convention center from Saturday through Tuesday, where members and delegates can stop by to learn about our mission to improve and preserve military quality-of-live and veterans' benefits on Capitol Hill.

We will have a number of resources available, highlighting ways for members to get involved in veterans' advocacy, and as always, some free VFW swag.

We will also host a legislative workshop on Sunday morning at 10 a.m. If you're in Reno, check your convention schedule and join us to learn about our work. This year's workshop will focus on ways to help spread the word about veterans' issues in your community this election year.

If you stop by the booth we'll be happy to walk you through many of the online resources we have available to learn about the advocacy work of the VFW, our organizational priorities, and ways to get involved. Here's a quick list of just some of the resources available:

• Click here to visit the "VFW in DC" homepage 

• Click here to learn about VFW’s Legislative Priority Goals and Victories 

• Click here to register for the VFW Washington Weekly and become a member of the Action Corps

• Click here to read VFW’s past Congressional Testimony

• Click here to visit the Action Corps home page hosted through CapWiz 

• Click here to read and print the VFW’s “Veterans Vote” brochure 

• Click here to find the VFW Capitol Hill blog homepage

• Click here to submit a "Field Report" to the Capitol Hill blog

• Click here to follow the VFW Twitter "Quick Reaction Force" 

Blog postings will likely be on hiatus throughout the convention, as we work with VFW delegates to craft next year's legislative priorities and talk to members face-to-face about legislative advocacy.

To follow the proceedings of the VFW convention live, where President Barack Obama, Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, and dozens of other distinguished guests are scheduled to speak, visit www.vfw.org.

Senate Passes Camp Lejeune Treatment Resolution as Part of Veterans' Omnibus

This week the Senate moved forward on a veterans' benefits omnibus bill, the Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act, which will finally offer care to veterans and family members exposed to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

The bill clarifies that veterans and family members stationed or working at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days between Jan. 1, 1957 and Dec. 31, 1987 who developed health conditions consistent with exposure to toxic water will be eligible to receive VA health care for the resultant conditions.

Before the Fourth of July recess, Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., placed a hold on the bill when the Senate sought to hotline it for passage, voicing concerns about potential fraud within the system that could divert resources away from other veterans who need them.

The VFW Action Corps and National Legislative Committee quickly sprang into action, with advocates in South Carolina reaching out directly to DeMint to explain the VFW's stance on the bill.

After speaking to the Action Corps, DeMint recognized why the bill was a responsible solution for affected veterans and family members, and this morning, he praised it on the Senate floor.

Language for the omnibus bill was agreed upon in late June by legislators in both the House and Senate. With this afternoon’s passage in the Senate, the House will now be able to vote on a final package.

The compromise language on Camp Lejeune was packaged with H.R. 1627, a 2011 veterans' benefits omnibus bill that already passed in the House and includes more than 50 provisions to better serve veterans; many of which the VFW has testified in support of over the last two years.

Highlights of the bill include:

• Extending hospital care and medical services coverage for certain illnesses and conditions to eligible veterans and family members who served on active duty or lived at Camp Lejeune.
• Authorizing VA to waive co-payments for telehealth and enhancing VA’s teleconsultation and telemedicine capabilities
• Protecting veterans from sexual assault at VA facilities
• Expanding services for veterans suffering from traumatic brain injury, or TBI
• Allowing veterans with service dogs access to all VA facilities
• Expanding travel reimbursement for veterans in highly rural areas and improving reimbursement for state veterans homes 
• Enhancing specially adapted housing programs for disabled veterans
• Commissioning annual reports to Congress on the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill 
• Reauthorizing certain homeless veterans programs and expanding eligibility for shelter services, allowing homeless veterans who are not mentally ill to take advantage of the services

The bill also includes provisions designed to streamline disability claims processing by clarifying VA's duty to assist veterans in obtaining private medical records and allowing VA to contact veterans electronically to adjudicate claims. 

The VFW voiced concerns over these two provisions before the House VA Committee last year, offering specific recommendations on how to best implement changes. VFW National Veterans Service staff are reviewing the specific language in the new veterans' omnibus to ensure duty-to-assist and electronic notification provisions meet our organization's standards. VFW staff will then make recommendations to the House on how to proceed with these specific provisions.

Check back regularly with this blog for updates as the 2012 veterans benefits omnibus package moves through Congress.

To learn how you can make a difference with your legislators, receive the Washington Weekly eNewsletter and other legislative priority alerts, sign up to be a member of the VFW Action Corps by clicking here. 

Watch: VFW Testifies on Disability Claims Process

This morning, the VFW appeared before the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security, Homeland Defense and Foreign Operations to testify on VA’s ongoing efforts to eliminate the veterans’ disability claims backlog.

The hearing started at 10 a.m., in room 2247 of the Rayburn House Office Building. To view a webcast of the hearing and to read the prepared remarks of each witness, click here.

VFW Deputy National Veterans Service Director Jerry Manar testified before the subcommittee, discussing how the disability claims backlog came about, shortfalls in efforts to rectify the situation, and current initiatives VA has undertaken in an effort to solve the problem – specifically the new Veterans Benefits Management System, or VBMS.

VFW testified that the new program should be fully tested to identify shortcomings, but that VA must walk a fine line between rolling out the program too soon and delaying too long while seeking to fix all the problems.

Manar reiterated that the working relationship between the VA and the VFW's cadre of claims service officers has been excellent, giving accolades to VA Undersecretary for Benefits Allison Hickey for caring enough to listen to veterans service organizations' suggestions on what is best for disabled veterans and their loved ones.

However, Manar also criticized the VA's recent simplified notification letters to disability claimants, pointing out that the information included in the new letters were insufficient for veterans to determine why they received a certain rating.

Members of the committee expressed their frustration with the disability claims process, saying that too many veterans are still waiting for their claims to be adjudicated with little progress on the total number of claims in the backlog.

Manar recently testified on this issue before the House Veterans Affairs Committee, highlighting similar problems and potential solutions.

Your VFW will continue to follow the VA disability claims backlog closely, ensuring that VA initiatives to improve the situation yield results.

(Image: VFW Deputy Service Director Jerry Manar testifies before the House OGR Subcommittee on National Security, Homeland Defense and Foreign Operations.)

VFW Calls For International Treaty for Disablity Rights

Your VFW was on hand yesterday morning for a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to hear testimony from U.S. State Department officials, senators, and others in support of Senate ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, or CRPD.

“As evidenced today by all who spoke in favor of ratification, disabled veterans face pretty steep challenges in other countries across the world when it comes to accessibility or securing a job,” said VFW Senior Legislative Associate Shane Barker. Barker went on to stress the importance of the convention because it “espouses the inherent dignity of all people, including veterans, and the conviction that we should work to include disabled men and women in all facets of societies across the world.”

After the hearing, Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and John McCain, R-Ariz., hosted a press conference to highlight the importance of this convention, where VFW Legislative Director Ray Kelley offered words of support. Kelley reminded the audience of the sacrifices veterans have made not only for Americans, but for the numerous countries on behalf of which we have fought. Kelley also spoke about how future generations would be led by today’s veterans, stressing the importance of those men and women being able to visit, learn, and work in other countries as they see fit. Ratifying the CRPD is vital to such goals, and that is why the VFW has led the charge within the disability community to ensure Senate ratification, he said.

Because America has long been a global leader in disability rights, CRPD will require no financial cost and no changes to domestic law. According to the State Department, it provides no right of action by any party – individual or group – for legal recourse in the courts, and could be an economic boon for American companies providing consultation or construction opportunities overseas. For more information on the treaty, visit the U.S. International Council on Disabilities by clicking here.

(Image: VFW Legislative Director Ray Kelley discusses CRPD alongside Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and advocates for people with disabilities and veterans. Photo by Shane Barker.)

VFW Reacts to Survey on Military Compensation

Yesterday morning the VFW was on hand at the National Press Club where the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, or CSBA, unveiled its report from a recent survey of service members, veterans, military families and retirees on military compensation.

When CSBA announced the survey in January, the VFW was harshly critical of the content and potential outcomes. Yesterday, CSBA Senior Fellow Todd Harrison, the architect of the survey, sought to quash some of the criticism, making his case for why the Pentagon should conduct its own similar surveys before deciding how it plans to alter military pay and benefits programs, updating the surveys periodically in an effort to optimize its compensation packages.

In his remarks, Harrison was careful to point out that CSBA’s report only demonstrated how service members perceived the value of the benefits they currently receive, and that the report should not be misconstrued as recommending any specific policy changes. He went on to criticize the Pentagon for its current approach to changing the military benefits structure, warning that proposals to strictly cut certain benefits without planning to enhance others, would prove detrimental to the quality of the force.

In the wake of yesterday's announcement, VFW leaders said that they understand the purpose of this study, but the organization remains concerned about how the Pentagon will interpret the results. In its report, CSBA pointed out that decisions about optimization should not be made solely based on perceptions of the force, but that policy makers must consider factors like fairness, equity, feasibility, and operational impact before making any changes. The VFW reiterated this sentiment in its reaction.

“It’s our duty as veterans’ advocates to ensure that the Pentagon considers the broader implications of changing its benefits system for the sake of not only recruiting and retaining competent professional leaders, but also ensuring the overall physical and financial well-being of the those who volunteer to serve,” said VFW Deputy Legislative Director Ryan Gallucci, who was on hand for the announcement. “Saving defense dollars is secondary to looking out for our troops and their families, and to preserving the integrity of an all-volunteer, professionally-led force.”

CSBA aggregated the data it compiled from more than 2,600 participants according to time-in-service, rank, branch and marital status in an effort to better analyze the data for different cohorts, both career and non-career, demonstrating how each group valued benefits differently.

Through the survey, CSBA discovered that many immediate tangible benefits, like increased base pay, increased leave, choice of duty station or access to exchange services, were perceived as highly valuable to service members across the ranks relative to actual cost. However, long term or contingency benefits like health care or retirement, were undervalued by potential beneficiaries relative to actual cost.

The VFW was not surprised by these findings, as similar surveys in the private sector indicate that civilian employees consistently convey similar misconceptions about their benefits packages. When employees undervalue some of their most lucrative benefits, companies can then justify hollowing out benefit programs under the guise of optimization.

“The Pentagon may want to optimize military benefits packages to simultaneously save money and boost perceived value among the troops, but the VFW is not concerned about perceptions,” said Gallucci. “We’re concerned about protecting our troops and demonstrating the actual value of their earned benefits.”

To read the full CSBA report, click here.

Your VFW has been one of the most vocal opponents of changes to military benefits and quality-of-life programs, exposing ten proposed cuts designed to pay for ten years of war through last year’s “10 for 10” campaign.

VFW advocates from coast to coast have consistently banded together to stop these kinds of toxic proposals whenever they surface, and we will continue to hold defense officials accountable for their decisions on the welfare of the all-volunteer force. Check back regularly with this blog for updates.

(Image: CSBA Senior Fellow Todd Harrison explains how the military envisioned its all-volunteer force in the 1970s during yesterday's announcement of CSBA's report on military compensation. Photo by Ryan Gallucci.)

VFW’s Education Package Among Veterans’ Legislation Moved by the House

This morning the House Veterans Affairs Committee hosted a mark-up, passing three major pieces of veterans’ legislation supported by the VFW, including a veterans’ education package directly inspired by VFW advocacy efforts. The three bills were the Improving Transparency of Education Opportunities for Veterans Act, or H.R. 4057; the Veterans Fiduciary Reform Act, or H.R. 5948; and the Military Family Home Protection Act, or H.R. 5747.

The VFW applauded the passage of H.R. 4057 in particular after leading the charge to introduce legislation that would offer improved consumer information to potential student-veterans on how to best utilize their G.I. Bill benefits and take action against schools, if they feel they have been victims of fraud, waste or abuse. In January, the VFW composed a letter calling on Congress to improve consumer information and consumer protections for student-veterans, building consensus among various sectors of higher education and among other veteran advocates in support of the concepts.

“In response to Senate reports on squandered G.I. Bill dollars and threats from Congress to scale back the benefit, the VFW knew we had to take steps to protect the educational opportunities we had secured for today’s warfighters,” said VFW Deputy Legislative Director Ryan Gallucci, who had testified on the issue extensively in the past. “Our military is recognized as the most professional and most effective fighting force in the world because we give our troops the best training, equipment and information before we send them into battle. Unfortunately, when we send our veterans off to school, we fail to prepare them similarly for what lies ahead. If the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill is going to be the generationally transformative benefit that we want it to be, we have to do better by our student-veterans.”

Gallucci went on to say that the information student-veterans currently receive can many times be inaccurate, misleading or downright false, making H.R. 4057 a responsible step to improving the information flow to potential student-veterans.

The committee amended all three bills extensively during today’s mark-up, adding provisions from more than a dozen other bills passed by each of the subcommittees during the series of mark-ups hosted just before the Fourth of July recess.

H.R. 4057 was amended to also include another bill that VFW and American Legion worked together to draft and amend, the HIRE at HOME Act (H.R. 4115), introduced by Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio. Stivers’ bill ensures that states consider military training for professional licenses in medical and commercial driving fields. Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., introduced an amendment to HIRE at HOME this morning, adding dental hygienists and radiological technicians to the list of covered professional licenses, and also clarified how the Department of Labor should share information collected from states on licensing gaps with the Department of Defense to improve training.

The committee also added language from two other VFW-supported bills ensuring safe housing standards for homeless veterans and commissioning an Open Air Burn Pit exposure registry with VA.

H.R. 5948, which ensures proper oversight of VA fiduciaries, was amended to include provisions from 10 additional bills that would prohibit the burial of Tier III sex offenders at National Cemeteries, ensure National Cemeteries respect the wishes of grieving families, extend VA’s medical exam contracts, ensure responsible advocate access to the VA’s Case Management System, mandate that VA disclose data breaches to veterans in a timely manner, formally honor the Patriot Guard Riders for protecting the burial privacy of grieving families, and designate 2012-2013 as the “Year of the Korean War Veteran.”

The final package for H.R. 5948 also included another bill that the VFW worked closely with Stivers to establish a “Place of Remembrance” at Arlington National Cemetery for unclaimed and unidentifiable remains of fallen troops. Stivers, an Iraq veteran who continues to serve as a lieutenant colonel in the Army National Guard, wants to ensure that unclaimed fragmented remains, formerly discarded in landfills, would receive proper burial honors moving forward.

H.R. 5747, which offers improved housing protections for deployed service members, surviving spouses and disabled veterans, was amended to also include refinancing rights for active duty and deployed military personnel under the Servicemembers Civil Rights Act, and offers up to four weeks of additional leave for workers who need to seek medical treatment for service-connected disabilities but are no longer covered by the Family Medical Leave Act.

All three veterans’ bills will now be reportedly favorably to the full House of Representatives for consideration. Your VFW will continue to track each of the bills closely, updating this blog regularly with details.

The VFW testified recently on nearly every piece of legislation that passed as part of today’s committee mark-up. To view recent webcasts of VFW testimony on the issues addressed today, click on the links below:

• March 9, 2012 - VFW testifies on education and medical leave

• April 26, 2012 - VFW testifies on burn pits and safe housing 

• June 6, 2012 - VFW testifies on National Cemetery issues, medical exam contracting, and case management access

• June 21, 2010 - VFW testifies on state licensure, military refinancing and home protection

To read VFW’s full testimony from each of these recent hearings, click here. 


(Image: The House Veterans Affairs Committee hosts a mark-up of pending veterans' legislation in the committee's chambers in the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill. Photo by Ryan Gallucci.)

House Passes Two Veterans' Bills

*Update: This week the Senate also passed H.R. 4155, meaning the "Veterans Skills to Jobs Act" now awaits the signature of the President. Stay tuned for details. 

Congress returned from the Fourth of July recess yesterday, and wasted no time in taking action on two pieces of pending veterans' legislation. Last night the House of Representatives passed two VFW-supported veterans’ bills, increasing cost-of-living allowances, or COLA, for veterans in 2013 and directing federal agencies to recognize military training for federal licenses.

The federal licensing bill, H.R. 4155, entitled the “Veterans Skills to Jobs Act,” was introduced by Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif., and spells out how federal agencies must recognize military training and military certifications when evaluating veterans for federal licenses. The VFW sent a letter of support to Denham back in March, urging for the quick passage of the Veterans Skills to Jobs Act.

Currently, the federal government can issue licenses across various sectors, like aerospace operations and maintenance. Denham, who served as an Air Force crew chief, said he personally encountered the challenges to federal licensure when he was forced to attend an additional three years of school to receive a federal license for a field in which the military had already trained him.

In an official statement yesterday, Denham went on to say that his bill would finally close this loophole, ensuring that veterans with highly technical military training could easily secure federal licenses to continue their careers with the federal government.

A Senate companion bill, introduced by Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., is also scheduled to be voted on this week.

The COLA bill, H.R. 4114, entitled the “Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2012,” was introduced by Rep. John Runyan, R-N.N., and ensures that VA compensation for disabled veterans and surviving spouses increases at the same rate as Social Security for 2013; a current projected increase of 1.9 percent.

In March, VFW Legislative Director Ray Kelley generally supported the Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act in testimony before the House VA Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, but clarified that the VFW disagreed with the provision to round down any increases to the nearest dollar amount.

In his remarks, Kelley called it “a money-saving gimmick that comes at the expense of our veterans.”

Kelley went to say that the committee should also advance another piece of Runyan legislation, the “American Heroes COLA Act,” or H.R. 4142, which would permanently tie annual COLA increases to Social Security increases. Currently, the House must vote each year to link veterans’ COLA to Social Security growth. In his remarks, Kelley called the process “an added step that confuses and leaves veterans feeling uneasy until the COLA bill is passed.”

Both the Veterans Skills Jobs Act and the Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act will now move on to the Senate. Your VFW will continue to track both pieces of legislation. Check back regularly with this blog for updates.