VFW Joins Roundtable Discussion on Education

The VFW joined education industry experts, congressional staffers and veterans’ advocates from Student Veterans of America for a roundtable discussion on veterans’ education as part of the American Legion’s national convention in Indianapolis this week.

VFW Deputy Legislative Director Ryan Gallucci was invited to participate in the roundtable discussion, alongside many signatories from a January letter to House and Senate leadership and the Obama Administration. Participants sought to identify issues faced by student-veterans pursuing an education with the Post-9/11 GI Bill in an effort to build consensus on how to improve educational decision-making for today’s veterans. Congressional offices sent staff to Indianapolis specifically to listen to the discussion.

The roundtable comes in the wake of a report from the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions that implied some schools were more interested in the guaranteed tuition aspect of enrolling GI Bill recipients than on the student-veteran’s academic career.

After analyzing the Senate report and reaching out to academia, VA officials and student-veterans, the VFW determined that what the report exposed was more the lack of information than any wrongdoing. Student-veterans were not receiving information prior to enrolling to help them make proper academic decisions based on career goals. And once enrolled, there was little information about alternatives should they become dissatisfied with their school or academic choice. In other words, they felt locked in once a choice was made, which might account for part of the dropout rate.

In his remarks, Gallucci focused on improving delivery of academic counseling resources VA is already supposed to offer to potential student-veterans, improving information flow to separating service members through the military’s transition assistance program, or TAP, and revisiting the role of State Approving Agencies, or SAAs, who serve as boots-on-the-ground to approve G.I. Bill education programs in each state.

Gallucci said that the VFW consistently hears from student-veterans who do not understand their benefits and have hit dead ends searching for reliable answers. Many point out that VA hotlines are ineffective and resources on the web are confusing. Gallucci drew on his own experiences navigating the G.I. Bill, explaining how student-veterans may not be receiving the best education for them because they are not armed with the right information.

Over the last year, the VFW has testified on this issue on multiple occasions, and successfully pushed for an executive order to improve information delivery to student-veterans. VFW has also helped to introduce legislation in both the House and Senate that would further improve consumer information and consumer protections for student-veterans.

From the roundtable, participants agreed that student-veteran advocates needed to refocus the discussion on improving consumer information for student-veterans, rather than maligning certain sectors of higher education – a phenomenon major media outlets have taken up since the Senate released its report in late July.

This fall, your VFW plans to push Congress to move on this legislation; particularly during the VFW’s fall legislative conference in September, when VFW advocates are scheduled to meet with every House and Senate office. Check back regularly with this blog for updates.

VFW Joins Labor to Observe Redesigned TAP Program

Last week the VFW had the opportunity to sit in on the Department of Labor's latest iteration of the redesigned transition assistance program, or TAP. DOL Veterans Employment and Training Service, or VETS, is in the process of reworking the curriculum for its two-and-a-half day employment workshop in an effort to ensure that transitioning service members have all the resources necessary to pursue a meaningful civilian career after military service.

"Observing the latest iteration of the TAP redesign process was a critical step in offering insight into how the program is delivered," said VFW Deputy Legislative Director Ryan Gallucci, who sat in on last week's TAP workshop at Fort Belvoir, Va. "VFW members expect us to have our fingers on the pulse of the veterans' community, offering this kind of insight to veterans' policy decision-makers, which is why the VFW is happy that VETS chose to include stakeholders within the veterans' community to not only observe the program, but to offer our unique perspective on how we believe the program should proceed."

The VFW will now offer its feedback on the program, as VETS continues to polish its latest product, slated for a complete roll-out this fall.

The VFW has long worked with VETS to ensure service members and veterans have access to the viable civilian careers through a wide array of services offered by VETS like TAP, or career one-stops in each state where Disabled Veterans Outreach Program specialists, or DVOPS, and local veterans employment representatives, or LVERS, serve as direct conduits for veterans in the community to connect with employers in their area.

Over the last few years, modernizing and mandating TAP participation have been top legislative priorities for the VFW. Last year, the VFW succeeded in mandating TAP for transitioning service members through the VOW to Hire Heroes Act, ensuring those who leave the military have a baseline of information with which they can make a successful transition. Now, the VFW is focusing on extending access to TAP resources for veterans who have since separated from the military, pushing for the TAP Modernization Act of 2012, a piece of legislation that would create a pilot program for states to offer TAP resources in places where veteran unemployment is highest.

Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Fla., introduced the bill, H.R. 4051, and the VFW offered its support during a recent hearing before the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity. To read the bill, click here. To read VFW's testimony, click here.

Veterans' employment opportunities remain a top priority for the VFW in light of daunting veterans' unemployment numbers over the last few years. Though recent numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate the situation is improving, the VFW will remain vigilant to ensure that veterans receive the kinds of career opportunities they have earned. Check back regularly with this blog for updates.