Share Your Stories of Advocacy from Memorial Day and the Congressional Recess

This weekend, legislators are once again home in their districts to observe the Memorial Day holiday alongside the men and women they represent. Many legislators will join VFW members and advocates who will gather to honor the brave American men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our nation, hoping to hear our concerns on the issues facing service members, veterans, and military families. If you seize the opportunity to advocate this week on behalf of our nation's veterans and want to share your story, we want to help spread the word on the VFW Capitol Hill blog.

For more than a century, VFW has helped to get passed into law virtually every significant quality-of-life legislation for service members, veterans and their families. VFW has also helped to defeat bad legislation that would reduce or eliminate those hard earned programs, which is why our sustained voice in Washington is only as strong as the voice of VFW members and all of our veterans’ advocates around the country.

Without your help and your grassroots action in communities from coast to coast, accomplishments like the Post-9/11 GI Bill, Agent Orange presumptions, veterans’ hiring preference, survivor benefits, advance health care appropriations and Family Caregiver benefits would not have been possible.

If you don't know where to begin, the VFW offers a variety of tools to help you reach out to your elected officials and discuss many of the most pressing national issues facing our service members, veterans, and their loved ones.

To army yourself with the latest VFW Legislative Priority Goals, click here.

To learn about key bills VFW is working to pass in Congress, click here.

To find contact information for your congressmen and senators, click here.

The VFW Capitol Hill blog brings together the efforts of the VFW Action Corps and the VFW National Legislative Service to provide updates in real time on veterans and military issues as they develop in Washington and around the nation. We hope that you will send us your stories and help us inspire members to reach out to their representatives and take action!

To send us your news, use the Blog Submission Form posted here, or simply email photos and stories directly to vfwac@vfw.org.

Why VA Programs Will Be Exempt from Sequestration Cuts

Yesterday afternoon the U.S. Office of Management and Budget released a letter to the Government Accountability Office unequivocally stating that all Department of Veterans Affairs programs would be exempt from budget cuts resulting from sequestration set to take effect in early 2013. The VFW had expressed concerns that VA programs -- particularly VA health care -- could be subject to deep budget cuts as a result of unclear language in last year's Budget Control Act of 2011, or BCA.

In yesterday’s letter, OMB explained that BCA amendments to the Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 had no effect on preexisting exemptions of VA programs, including a specific exemption added through tht Pay-As-You-Go, or PAYGO, Act of 2010, which effectively ensured that all VA programs would be exempt from any budget sequestration, to include health care programs.

The letter, however, did not address whether VA administration accounts would be exempt from sequestration of “Federal Administrative Expenses.” Even with potential cuts to VA administration, the VFW stresses that this decision is a win for the veterans’ community that will ensure preservation of the earned care and benefits millions of veterans rely on each day.

“Disabled veterans can breathe a sigh of relief today knowing that VA programs are exempt from sequestration,” said VFW Commander-in-Chief Richard L. DeNoyer in a statement yesterday afternoon. “Today’s decision means the healthcare plans and programs the VA currently provides to millions of disabled veterans will continue unabated, as will claims processing and veterans’ burial benefits.”

With assurances that VA programs are now safe from sequestration, the VFW must now focus its efforts on preserving military personnel and quality-of-life programs, which face serious cuts in this year's defense budget cycle as a way to avoid deep cuts through sequestration.

To contact your members in Congress and tell them to support and preserve military quality-of-life, visit the VFW Action Corps by clicking here, and check back regularly with this blog for updates.

(Image: First two pages of OMB's three-page letter explaining why VA programs would be exempt from sequestration in 2013.)

ICYMI: VFW Testifies on Veterans Health Bills

In Case You Missed It:  On Monday night, VFW Legislative Associate Shane Barker appeared before the House Veterans Affairs Health Subcommittee to discuss pending legislation to improve veterans’ health care. To view an archived webcast of the hearing, click here.

In his remarks, which can be read here, Barker expressed VFW’s support for bills that would create accountability within Department of Defense and VA for the Federal Recovery Coordination, or FRC, program (H.R. 3016); improve access to VA and DoD informational databases for Vet Centers (H.R. 3245); ensure caregivers for service members suffering severe illnesses also have access to VA caregiver program benefits (H.R. 3279); codify safety standards for homeless veterans’ transitional housing (H.R. 4079); and establish a burn pit registry for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans possibly exposed to toxins from open-air burn pits overseas (H.R. 3337).

Barker expressed VFW’s support for the concept behind one bill, H.R. 1460, which would automatically enroll service members deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan with VA healthcare. However, Barker said that the VFW was concerned that veterans who do not deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan, but suffer service-connected injuries, would not be given the same priority for VA health care as their deployed counterparts. The VFW asked for the bill to be amended to include mandatory enrollment for non-deployed service members that satisfy the VA’s enrollment requirements.

The VFW opposed H.R. 3723, a bill that would overhaul VA’s fee basis system by insisting that VA enter into contracts with private health care providers. The VFW is concerned that VA could not successfully execute the types of contracts necessary to properly anticipate and successfully deliver the kinds of acute care needed by veterans that must utilize the fee-basis system. Barker also went on to say that the VFW was concerned that new business practices could encourage veterans to leave the VA health network entirely, threatening the viability of the VA health care system. The VFW suggested that VA instead focus on implementation of the Patient Aligned Care Team, or PACT, model and the Patient Centered Community Care, or PCCC, program to improve care delivery for current beneficiaries and veterans who need to utilize fee-basis care.

To view a full list of witnesses from Monday’s hearing and to read their prepared remarks on each of the bills, click here.

Your VFW will continue to work closely with the subcommittee as these bills move through Congress, ensuring all of our concerns are addressed before a subcommittee mark-up. To voice your opinion on these bills directly to your representatives in Congress, click on the VFW Action Corps page here, and as always, 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 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.