President Signs USERRA Protections for TSA Employees into Law

The president signed H.R. 3670 into law recently to force the Transportation Security Administration to comply with the Uniformed Servicemembers Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, or USERRA. The VFW, which called attention to the problem and helped to introduce the legislation, applauded the bill’s signing.

“This new law not only offers piece-of-mind to service members already employed by TSA, but it also ensures that TSA can be an attractive employer to potential workers who possess the kinds of skills TSA needs to fulfill their mission," said VFW Executive Director Bob Wallace. "We thank the president, as well as leaders in the House and Senate, for continuing to make the well-being of our service members and veterans a priority."

Congress established TSA in the wake of 9/11 to strengthen security for American air travelers. In an effort to quickly mobilize the new agency and its thousands of employees, Congress designated transportation security officers, or TSOs, as a special class of employee considered vital to national security, and therefore exempt from certain labor laws like USERRA. However, the agency remained exempt from complying with USERRA more than 10 years later.

In an effort to offer reasonable protections to members of the National Guard and Reserve who may seek employment with TSA, VFW worked diligently with the offices of Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., and Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., over the past year to introduce and pass legislation that would finally close this loophole.

The VFW testified in support of H.R. 3670 before the House VA Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity in March, and VFW legislative associate Daniel Elkins, who currently serves in the National Guard, spearheaded efforts to find cosponsors for the bill, ultimately pushing the legislation across the goal line.

To read the official White House announcement of the bill signing, click here.

To read the official notice of the new law, P.L. 112-171, click here.

At a time when Americans criticize Congress for stalling on legislation, VFW advocacy efforts have resulted in dozens of new provisions becoming law, including the "VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011,", a comprehensive veterans' jobs bill, and the "Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012," an omnibus veterans' benefits package that finally resolved the years-old debate on how to care for service members and military families exposed to toxic water at Camp Lejeune.

But your VFW is not done. When Congress returns from the August recess, we will continue to push for more pending veterans' reforms, which we will highlight on this blog in the coming weeks. Check back regularly for updates.

Post Reports That Pentagon Fudged TRICARE Numbers

The Washington Post reported this week that the Department of Defense has requested nearly $3 billion over the last three years be moved from funds dedicated to TRICARE into weapons programs and other accounts unrelated to healthcare, despite assurances from Pentagon officials that healthcare costs were "eating the U.S. military alive."

According to a report on the FY2013 Defense Appropriations Act provided by the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, the Pentagon reprogrammed $1.36 billion dollars from TRICARE in fiscal year 2011, $772 million in fiscal year 2010, and requested an additional $708 million to reprogram from this year's budget.

This reprogramming has been happening at a time that the VFW has worked tirelessly to prevent the Pentagon from arbitrarily raising TRICARE copayments, adding and expanding fees, and tying increases to medical inflation; while retiree health costs are rising at an average rate of 2.6 percent.

"The VFW is adamant that the Pentagon must not be allowed to pull this bait-and-switch on Congress and TRICARE beneficiaries," said VFW Executive Director Bob Wallace. "Instead, the Pentagon must improve its budget and management controls so Congress can have an accurate view of the fiscal situation within TRICARE and the entire Military Health System before shifting responsibility to those who choose to wear the uniform to pay for their own health care."

Your VFW has been one of the few veterans' organizations in Washington fighting to prevent any increases in military health care premiums, encouraging Washington bureaucrats to do the hard work of generating a more cost-effective military, without jeopardizing the welfare of military families and breaking faith with military retirees.

VFW advocacy efforts earlier this year successfully fought off TRICARE fee increases, and in light of this recent report, the VFW intends only to ratchet up the pressure.

To make your voice heard on TRICARE fees, click here, and check back regularly with this blog for updates.

To read the full Senate report, click here. Details on health care reprogramming can be found on p. 228. 

Senate Passes USERRA Protections for TSA Employees; Bill Awaits President's Signature

This week the Senate hotlined the final version of H.R. 3670, a bill which will force the Transportation Security Administration, to comply with the Uniformed Servicemembers Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, or USERRA. The VFW played a lead role in mustering support for the common sense legislation in both the House and Senate, and applauded its final passage.

“Once we learned that a loophole exempted TSA from complying with service members’ employment rights, our advocates worked hard to fix it to protect the employment rights of Guard and Reservists who work for the agency " said VFW Executive Director Bob Wallace. “The bill passed by the Senate today not only offers piece-of-mind to the service members working for TSA, but it also ensures that TSA will be an attractive employer to potential workers with the unique skills they need to fulfill their mission. We applaud Senator Joe Lieberman, Congressman Tim Walz, and the more than 60 bipartisan cosponsors in both the House and Senate for standing up for the rights of our citizen-soldiers, and we urge the president to quickly sign this responsible piece of legislation into law.”

In the aftermath of 9/11, Congress established TSA in an effort to strengthen security protocols for air travelers. In order to quickly stand up the new agency and its thousands of requisite employees, Congress gave TSA administrators broad authority to hire, fire and promote officers to meet the demand. As a result of this broad authority, transportation security officers, or TSOs, were included in a select category of federal employees considered vital to national security, and therefore exempt from labor laws like USERRA.

More than 10 years after the establishment of TSA, the agency remained exempt from complying with USERRA, and the VFW sought to finally close this loophole, offering reasonable protections to members of the National Guard and Reserve who may seek employment with TSA.

Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., introduced H.R. 3670 in the House, and Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., introduced the companion bill, S. 1990, in the Senate.

The VFW testified in support of H.R. 3670 before the House VA Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity in March, and VFW legislative associate Daniel Elkins, who currently serves in the National Guard, spearheaded efforts to find cosponsors for the bill, ultimately pushing the legislation across the goal line.

The bill now awaits the president's signature. Your VFW will continue to keep tabs on H.R. 3670 as it moves closer to becoming law. Check back regularly for updates.

Veterans' Benefits Bill Passes House; Awaits President's Signature

Last night the House passed a comprehensive veterans' benefits bill that now awaits the president's signature. VFW leaders applauded the bill's passage as a major victory for veterans.

"The VFW has waited nearly two years for a comprehensive veterans’ benefits bill to make it through Congress, and we commend legislators on both sides of the aisle for demonstrating their continued support to our nation's veterans," said VFW Executive Director Bob Wallace. "The issues addressed in this bill demanded critical attention and difficult decision-making from our legislators, which is why we applaud the leaders in both the House and Senate who refused to let these ideas die in committee."

The bill was packaged as H.R. 1627, the Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act, and includes more than 54 provisions designed to improve or streamline veterans' benefit programs that have moved through the House and Senate over the last two years. The bill also offers VA healthcare to veterans, employees and military family members exposed to toxic water at Camp Lejeune between Jan. 1, 1957 and Dec. 31, 1987, finally resolving a years-long dispute over how to best care for victims of the exposure.

Language for the omnibus bill was agreed upon in late June by legislators in both the House and Senate. The Senate passed its version of the bill on Wednesday, July 18, shortly before the VFW convened for the 113th national convention in Reno.

Among the bill's key provisions supported by the VFW are enhancements to VA's ability to deliver telehealth consultations to remote-located veterans; expanding services for victims of traumatic brain injury, or TBI; protecting veterans against sexual assault at VA facilities; and reauthorizing and expanding certain homeless veterans' programs.

To read more about the bill and the VFW's work advancing the bill though the Senate and ways to become involved in the legislative process, click here.

As this blog explained two weeks ago, the omnibus bill also includes provisions designed to streamline disability claims processing by adapting VA's duty to assist veterans in obtaining private medical evidence to support their disability 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. Though the original legislation contained suitable language, the final version reverted to language that the VFW believes could prevent some veterans from receiving the maximum disability benefits to which they may be entitled.

To read VFW's original testimony on proposed duty-to-assist changes, click here.

However, VFW advocates in Washington believed that the omnibus bill contained too many critical provisions to help veterans, and encouraged the House to pass it, despite minor concerns over duty-to-assist. Instead, the VFW has already reached out to key staff on Capitol Hill to ensure discrepancies in the duty-to-assist process will be addressed quickly in the next Congressional term.

Your VFW will continue to fight to preserve and improve veterans' benefits programs, and the VFW urges the president to sign the veterans' omnibus bill in short order. Check back regularly with this blog for updates.

VFW Action Sparks Legislation to Better Serve Student-Veterans

This morning Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., introduced the "GI Education Equity Act of 2012," a bipartisan bill to help ensure student-veterans have access to quality educational counseling before tapping into their G.I. Bill benefits, and a clear method of recourse should student-veterans feel they have become victims of fraud, waste or abuse.

The bill reflects the two main tenets of a letter VFW sent to House, Senate and Obama Administration leadership, calling for improved consumer education and recourse mechanisms for student-veterans, and signed by a diverse coalition of veterans' education stakeholders, including veterans' advocates and both for-profit and non-profit education advocates. To read Lautenberg's bill, click here. To read the coalition letter, click here.

“The Post-9/11 G.I. Bill could be the transformative benefit for today’s service members and veterans, but the VFW believes that we must ensure that our veterans have all the tools they need to succeed in higher education. This bill will do just that,” said VFW Executive Director Bob Wallace in a statement issued by Lautenberg's office this morning. “Through just a few simple steps, we can ensure that student-veterans are armed with the best information to make an academic choice, and that they can take action when a school doesn’t hold up their end of the bargain. This bipartisan bill presents some common sense, easy-to-implement solutions that will help our student-veterans succeed in higher education without restricting their choice of schools or placing unreasonable burdens on campuses that open their doors to student-veterans.”

After a recent Senate investigation implied waste within the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, and both the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees offered several proposals to scale back the benefit, the VFW sought to learn more about how veterans were making their educational decisions. All indicators led VFW to conclude that veterans were never properly informed of their benefits, despite programs within DOD and VA designed to do just that.

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.

Lautenberg's bill mandates that VA actively contact veterans eligible for G.I. Bill counseling, asking those who wish to waive the benefit to “opt-out.” On the back end, VA must 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 and audit findings. The legislation is co-sponsored by Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Scott Brown, R-Mass., Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.

Lautenberg's bill is similar to a House bill recently introduced by Rep. Gus Bilrakis, R-Fla., the "Improving Transparency of Education Opportunities for Veterans Act of 2012," which VFW supported in testimony before the House last week. Bilrakis' bill orders VA to develop a plan to deliver comprehensive consumer education and formally track complaints. Lautenberg's bill lays out how the Senate wants VA to deliver such counseling. To read VFW's testimony, click here. To read Bilrakis' bill, click here.

The VFW hopes both bills will gain momentum in their respective chambers, resulting in a responsible compromise piece of legislation that will help student-veterans make a responsible choice in higher education without limiting access to certain kinds of schools or placing new administrative burdens on academic institutions.

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 Reacts to Pentagon Budget Priorities

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta unveiled the Pentagon’s budget priorities this week for fiscal year 2013, reflecting the Administration’s calls for a leaner, more agile force as the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan wind down. In light of pledges from the Pentagon to ensure that the U.S. military remains a lethal and effective force, VFW leaders voiced their concerns over proposed cuts that could dilute the quality of America’s military and possibly threaten the continued viability of the all-volunteer force.

The Defense Department is expected to request $525 billion as a baseline budget for FY2013, with an additional $88.4 billion for overseas contingencies; $6 billion and $27 billion less, respectively, than FY 2012. Five key strategies for DoD include driving the future military force, which will be smaller and leaner; repositioning with more emphasis on Asia-Pacific and the Middle East; strengthening through better alliances and partnerships; and developing an extremely agile and deadly force, which will be second-to-none in technology and capability.

Some key priorities and choices that could be made over the next five years include:

• To reduce the active Army from 570,000 to 490,000 soldiers, and the active Marine Corps from 202,000 to 182,000.
• To reduce the number of Air Force tactical air squadrons from 60 to 54, but maintain the current bomber fleet, as well as the Navy’s 11 aircraft carriers, 10 air wings and big-deck amphibious fleet.
• To fund a new bomber, increase cruise missile capacity in future Virginia-class submarines, and increase investments in cyber capabilities, special operations, homeland missile defense, countering weapons of mass destruction, and projecting power into denied areas.
• To provide service members full pay raises in 2013 and 2014, but begin limiting increases starting in 2015.
• To ask Congress to conduct a comprehensive review of the military retirement system, while grandfathering all current retirees and service members into the existing system.
• To recommend increases in healthcare fees, co-pays and deductibles for military retirees using a tiered approach, based on their retired pay, as well as create a TRICARE for Life enrollment fee for retirees age 65 and older. Exempt would be medical retirees and survivors of those who died on active duty.

In response to the announcement, VFW leaders said they continue to be wary of plans to change the current military retirement system and potentially saddle military retirees with higher health care costs.

“We are pleased to continually hear pledges from the White House and Pentagon that retirees and those serving in uniform today will be grandfathered under the old system, but our concern is for tomorrow's recruit,” said VFW Executive Director Bob Wallace. “Asking someone to first donate 20 or more years of their youth in return for the immediate receipt of a modest retirement pay is a contract, which cannot be compared with any civilian occupation or retirement plan. We are concerned, however, that by introducing civilian retirement plans into a military world it has zero in common with, could signal the end of the all-volunteer force. A lot of trial balloons have been floated, so we have to wait for details.”

Traditionally, only eight percent of America’s military men and women serve until retirement age. With already low retention of career service members, the VFW is concerned that too many new proposed incentives for highly-trained and highly-qualified leaders to leave the military early could thin the force to such an extent that the last person standing, not the best qualified, could serve as the next service chief or senior enlisted leader. Plus, too many incentives to leave could also mean a watered down G.I. Bill for veterans.

VFW leaders went on to say that increasing enrollment fees and copayments while reducing services for retirees is a breach of faith with all who choose to serve; a sentiment the VFW has consistently voiced since launching the “10 for 10” campaign against military and veterans’ benefits cuts last summer.

When discussions of an overhaul to the military retirement first surfaced, the VFW polled readers on this blog about their inclinations to serve a full career with watered-down retirement benefits. The results, which can be viewed here, indicated to VFW leaders that such changes would threaten the continued viability of the all-volunteer force by incentivizing the best and brightest to leave early in their military careers.

Your VFW will continue to fight against these proposals, ensuring that America’s military remains strong and sustainable for future generations. Keep posted to this blog for updates.

(Image: Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, brief the press on major budget decisions stemming from the defense strategic guidance at the Pentagon, Jan. 26, 2012. DoD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley.)

VFW Hosts Libyan Delegation to Discuss Caring For Vets

The VFW Washington Office this week hosted a six-member delegation from the transitional government of Libya to explain how the United States cares for her veterans. The delegation, comprised of members of Libya's National Economic Development Board, is participating in a 10-day visit to the United States, in coordination with the U.S. State Department, to learn how Libya might establish new governmental systems to care for those who fought and were injured in the recent rebellion that toppled their former dictator, Muammar Gaddafi.

In addition to meeting with government officials from the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, the delegation sought out the advice of the VFW, the nation’s largest organization of combat veterans, to learn how advocates view the landscape of veterans’ services, and ways in which an organized veterans’ community can work to ensure those who are injured in battle receive the care and services they need to lead productive lives once the war ends.

VFW Executive Director Bob Wallace said he was encouraged by the steps Libya’s interim government has taken to quickly address the needs of their war wounded.

“The fact that you are here shows how serious you are about taking care of your warfighters,” said Wallace. “This won’t be an easy task, but the VFW is happy to assist in any way we can.”

During the meeting, Wallace and his staff discussed the evolution of veterans’ organizations and veterans’ services in the United States since the VFW's founding in 1899, with special focus on health care and transitional needs of those who served in harm’s way, but who must now readjust to life after war.

The Libyan delegates said they faced two critical challenges in caring for those who fought in the revolution. First, those who comprised the rebellion against Gaddafi were not formally aligned with an organized military entity, meaning no formal paper trail can connect them to the battlefield. Second, those who fought in Gaddafi’s Army are still Libyans, and many may have been forced to fight against their will, prompting questions about benefits to which they should or might be entitled.

VFW Deputy Service Director Jerry Manar correlated the rebels’ paperwork dilemma to that facing Filipino citizens who took up arms to fight the Japanese alongside U.S. forces during World War II. After the war, Filipinos had the opportunity to prove their status through corroborating evidence to receive veterans’ benefits from the United States, but the window for establishing veterans' status closed shortly afterward.

The Libyan delegation concluded that their first action should be providing care for those who were wounded in battle. Reconciliation among Libyans could wait for a new formal government, but now the healing for those who suffered during the war must begin.

VFW leaders said the session was productive and inspiring, and that the VFW looks forward to working with Libya’s fledgling government to help ensure that they properly care for their brave citizens who help to free Libya.

(Image: VFW leaders pose for a photo in Omar E. Ketchum Hall at the VFW's Washington office alongside delegates from the interim Libyan government after this week's meeting to discuss veterans' issues. VFW photo.)