VFW at the RNC: Tuesday Highlights

Last night, VFW Legislative Director Ray Kelley and Senior Legislative Associate Shane Barker were on hand for the first night of the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla. The theme of the evening was “We Built It,” which provided an opportunity to highlight the importance of entrepreneurship and to showcase the differences between the parties on the role of government in job-creation and the economy.

Many of the speakers featured last evening were small business owners from across the country or rising stars within the Republican Party, such as Mia Love from Utah and Ted Cruz from Texas.

The evening’s marquee speakers, Ann Romney and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, are well known and admired among the ranks, and they didn’t fail to deliver for the crowd.

Mitt Romney, who earlier in the day officially secured the Republican nomination, made a brief cameo, stepping on stage to personally congratulate his wife, thanking her for her remarks. She electrified and prepped the audience for Christie with her words, which focused from several aspects on her view that the Romneys “don’t have a storybook marriage… but a real marriage.” The boldest statement of the evening from Ann Romney was that her husband “Will not fail.” Ann Romney was the ideal message bearer of this conviction, and with those words she deftly moved the crowd to a roaring applause.

Christie energized the crowd by speaking about responsible government, making hard choices, and the need to agree with leaders in the Democratic Party without forfeiting conservative principles.

Noticeably absent from last night’s speeches was any substantive talk about the policies that affect our nation’s military and our veterans. With vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan speaking tonight, and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney speaking tomorrow, the VFW fully hopes and expects concrete ideas and policy positions on these important issues to be front and center.

Check back tomorrow for more VFW highlights from the Republican National Convention.

(Image: The floor of the Republican National Convention when Mitt Romney officially secured the Republican nomination for president. Photo by Ray Kelley.)

VFW Touches Down in Tampa for GOP Convention

VFW legislative staff landed safely in Tampa, Fla., yesterday to carry the voice of 22 million veterans and 2.3 million service members to the 2012 Republication National Convention. VFW National Legislative Director Ray Kelley and VFW Senior Legislative Associate Shane Barker will be on hand all week, listening to keynote speakers and speaking directly with GOP leadership on issues concerning veterans, service members and their families.

These issues include improving military and VA mental and behavioral health treatment options; streamlining VA’s benefits delivery system to ensure swift and accurate claims-processing; fostering service member success after service through education, employment and entrepreneurship opportunities; and preserving military and veterans’ benefits programs during a time of budget constraints. To learn about each of these issues in detail, and to read VFW’s proposed solutions, click here.

Your VFW will also be on hand next week in Charlotte, N.C., for the Democratic National Convention, continuing the long-standing VFW tradition of ensuring candidates for the highest office in the land fully understand the needs and concerns of our nation’s diverse veterans’ and military communities.

Once the conventions conclude, VFW’s work will not stop, as delegates from the VFW National Legislative Committee will report to Capitol Hill to meet with every House and Senate office, pushing Congress to “Finish Strong For Veterans” by passing comprehensive veterans’ legislation before the end of the 112th Congress.

VFW advocates participating in both the Republican and Democratic national conventions will file regular reports on this blog, bringing you up-to-date information on how each party plans to meet the needs of all generations of our nation’s veterans. Check back regularly over the next two weeks for updates from Tampa and Charlotte.

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 Joins Defense and VA Officials to Discuss Suicide Prevention

This week, the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs hosted their joint annual suicide prevention conference in Washington, D.C. VFW Senior Legislative Associate Shane Barker was on hand for a number of presentations, including this afternoon's intriguing remarks about post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

“Secretary Panetta reinforced many of the hallmarks of our public message” said Barker, who handles military health policy issues for the VFW Washington office. "To the VFW, the alarming suicide rates we've seen among today's veterans indicate that we still haven't done enough to properly identify and treat invisible wounds. It will take a concerted effort on the part of the military, VA, Congress, and veterans' advocates to sufficiently address this issue, and we are encouraged to see so many agencies coming together to discuss this issue."

Panetta discussed his four pillars for addressing the mental health challenges our military personnel and veterans endure: Improving leadership, ensuring access to quality treatment; achieving parity between mental and physical health in all aspects of military culture, and emphasizing research into the brain within DoD.

“Secretary Panetta referred to PTSD as ‘the signature unseen wound’ of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Barker. “This is an important distinction, as it brings into focus the importance of actively going out and identifying mental health challenges within the ranks without minimizing the need to address the multitudes of other very serious injuries in these conflicts, such as traumatic eye injury, traumatic brain injury, and serious hearing loss.”

Secretary Panetta and others stressed the importance of working more closely with VA, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the private sector.

Your VFW will continue to watch the changing approach to mental health services very closely to ensure improved services and outcomes for all military personnel and veterans. In the meantime, If you are a veteran in crisis, help is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week though the Veterans Crisis Line. Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) and press “1” to speak to someone now. You can also log on to www.veteranscrisisline.net for confidential chat or text a message to 838255.

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.