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.)

VFW Commander To Join in National Memorial Day Observances

This afternoon VFW Commander-in-Chief Richard L. DeNoyer will touch down in Washington, D.C., for Memorial Day weekend events.

Every year, VFW leaders converge on the Nation's Capitol for a series of events across the region to honor the brave American men and women who gave their lives on the battlefield to defend our great nation. This year, DeNoyer, VFW National Chief of Staff Walter Gansenberg, and VFW Washington staff are scheduled to participate in nearly a dozen events around Washington to honor America's fallen heroes.

The VFW national commander's weekend starts tonight, when he joins fellow Marines at the Eighth and I Marine Corps Barracks for the evening parade.

On Saturday, VFW National Veterans Service staff begin manning a tent near the Vietnam War Memorial so that visiting veterans can learn about their earned VA benefits and speak with trained VFW service officers on how to navigate the complex VA claims process. VFW staff will man the tent on Saturday, Sunday and Monday from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m.

On Sunday night, DeNoyer and other key VFW leaders will join members of Congress and their professional staff at the U.S. Capitol for the National Memorial Day Concert.

On Monday morning, DeNoyer will begin observing Memorial Day by joining the president and the first lady at the White House for a breakfast to honor America's Gold Star Families.

Afterwards, DeNoyer and other VFW officials will gather at Arlington National Cemetery for the 114th National Memorial Day Observance, immediately followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

The VFW national commander will close out Memorial Day alongside his fellow Vietnam veterans at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial for the 30th Annual Memorial Day Wall Ceremony, which this year includes the National Commemoration of the Vietnam War's 50th Anniversary.

In addition to the national Memorial Day events hosted in Washington, VFW members and advocates will gather from coast to coast to honor the sacrifices of America's fallen war heroes. Next week we will bring you highlights from DeNoyer's Memorial Day observances, but we also want to share you stories on this blog. To learn how, click here, or simply email photos and stories directly to vfwac@vfw.org.

(Images: Top: VFW Commander-in-Chief Richard L. DeNoyer lays a memorial wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery during last fall's Veterans Day observances in Washington, D.C. Bottom: DeNoyer, center, visits with VFW National Veterans Service staff manning an informational booth near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial over Veterans Day weekend last fall. Photos by Joe Davis.)

VFW Marine Completes Walk to Arlington

On Monday afternoon, VFW member and Marine Corps veteran Justin Kuhel walked onto the grounds of Arlington National Cemetery and into the arms of his mother, Nancy, completing a 17-day, 400-mile trek from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio, to help raise the nation's awareness of wounded veterans.

Kuhel, an active member of VFW Buckeye Post No. 1598 and a veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan, set out on the journey as a way to raise funds to support wounded veterans through the Wounded Warrior Project. Kuhel's goal was to raise $10,000 to support his brothers and sisters-in-arms, and surpassed his goal shortly after arriving at Arlington with a $2,000 pledge from Azalea Charities in Fairfax, Va.

VFW Washington Office staff were on hand to greet Kuhel as he reached his destination, and accompanied the Marine to Section 60 so he could pay his respects to a fallen comrade.

In order to successfully complete the journey, Kuhel walked about 25 miles each day, followed closely behind in a car by fellow Marine veteran Steve Stucky. Family, friends, veterans and supporters came out at points all along the journey to cheer on Kuhel, who proudly carried the American flag along his route.

Kuhel chronicled his journey via Facebook, posting photos and messages along the 400-mile route.

(Image: Marine Corps veteran and VFW member Justin Kuhel hugs his mother, Nancy, upon his arrival at Arlington National Cemetery, completing his 400-mile walk to support wounded veterans. Photo by Joe Davis.)