VFW Veterans’ Education Bill Passes House

Yesterday afternoon the House passed H.R. 4057, a bill designed to improve consumer protections for student-veterans who seek to utilize their Post-9/11 G.I. Bill benefits.

VFW leaders applauded the passage of the bill and will call on the Senate to take up its education package during this week’s fall legislative conference, where VFW advocates are asking Congress to “Finish Strong For Veterans.”

H.R. 4057 was amended while in committee to include several other VFW-supported provisions to improve veterans’ benefits such as the bill that the VFW and the American Legion worked together to draft and amend, the HIRE at HOME Act (H.R. 4115), introduced by Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, which ensures that states consider military training for professional licenses in a variety of technical fields.

The committee also added language from other bills ensuring safe housing standards for homeless veterans, limiting bonuses for VA employees, and commissioning an Open Air Burn Pit exposure registry with VA.

H.R. 4057 was inspired by VFW action earlier this year, when VFW authored a letter signed by a broad coalition of veterans' advocates and education experts, calling for improved consumer information and consumer protections for veterans. To learn more about the bill, click here.

The bill’s author, Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., spoke on the House floor, touting the merits of his bill, which made it to the floor with overwhelming bipartisan support through the House Veterans Affairs Committee.

House Veterans Affairs Committee Ranking Member Bob Filner, D-Calif., a cosponsor of the bill, also discussed the merits of the bill’s other provisions, like ensuring VA keeps track of health care conditions for veterans exposed to toxins resulting from open air burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Your VFW will continue to advocate for the Senate to pass a comprehensive education package before the end of the current Congress. Check back regularly with this blog for updates.

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.)

House Moves Series of VFW-Supported Legislation

This week, each of the House Veterans Affairs subcommittees moved more than a dozen bills to the full committee for consideration, many of which the VFW has vocally supported in recent testimony.

House VA Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs: 

On Wednesday afternoon, the House VA Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs marked up and passed three bills, H.R. 5735, H.R. 5881, and H.R. 5880.

H.R. 5735, which the VFW helped to draft, was amended to not only commission a "Place of Remembrance" for unclaimed remains of American service members, but it will also clarify that burial proceedings at National Cemetery Administration facilities must reflect the wishes of the grieving family and that veterans convicted as Tier Three sex offenders or who receive life imprisonment will be excluded from burial in national cemeteries.

H.R. 5881, the Access to Veterans Benefits Improvement Act, was amended to reflect the wishes of the VFW to ensure that only properly vetted employees, such as VA employees, tracking officers, county service officers and VSO service officers, with proper need to access a veteran's claim information can have access to sensitive VA database information.

H.R. 5880, the Veterans Disability Examination Access Improvement Act, was passed without amendments. VFW vocally supported this bill in testimony before the subcommittee earlier this month.

To read VFW's full testimony on each of these bills, click here.

House VA Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations: 

On Wednesday morning, the House VA Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation marked up and passed three bills, H.R. 3730, H.R. 4481, and H.R. 5948.

H.R. 3740, the Veterans Data Breach Timely Notification Act, was amended and passed to require VA to notify the VA secretary of any data breach within 10 days, then notify the affected veteran within the next 10 days, finally notifying the public within the subsequent 10 days.

H.R. 5948, the Veterans Fiduciary Reform Act of 2012, was amended in the form of a substitute and passed to add further protections and oversight on VA fiduciaries to protect veterans. The amendment initiates harsher penalties to organizations and businesses that seek to scam or take advantage of VA beneficiaries or their fiduciaries.

H.R. 4481, the Veterans Affairs Employee Accountability Act, which would prohibit VA employees who violate federal acquisition laws from receiving bonuses, also passed the committee.

The subcommittee hosted a hearing on each of these bills earlier this month. To view a full list of witnesses and to read their prepared remarks, click here.

House VA Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity: 

On Thursday morning, the House VA Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity marked up and passed five bills, H.R. 4057, H.R. 4115, H.R. 4740, H.R. 3524, and H.R. 5747.

The VFW was paying close attention to H.R. 4057, the Improving Transparency of Education Opportunities for Veterans Act of 2012; a bill which VFW legislative staff worked diligently to introduce. The bill was amended to include specific disclosures VA would have to make to potential student-veterans as part of pre-enrollment counseling available to G.I. Bill recipients. The VFW has been the leading voice in Washington advocating for improved student-veteran consumer information and consumer protections, which is why the VFW has pushed for this bill and similar bills in the Senate.

H.R. 3524, the Disabled Veterans Employment Protection Act, was amended to allow disabled veterans not covered under the Family Medical Leave Act an additional four weeks of leave from work in a calendar year for treatment of service-connected injuries. The subcommittee originally proposed 12 weeks of additional leave, but was concerned that employers would balk at the prospect of hiring veterans with such a strong provision.

During testimony earlier this spring, the VFW pointed out that VA must adapt its treatment options to allow service-connected disabled veterans to schedule care around reasonable work schedules. The VFW contends that it is not fair to the veteran or to his or her employer if VA can only schedule appointments during the work day.

H.R. 4115, the HIRE at HOME Act, which the VFW helped to craft, passed favorably, along with H.R. 4740, the Fairness for Military Homeowners Act, and H.R. 5747, the Military Family Home Protection Act.

The VFW testified on each of these bills within the last few months. To read our testimony on H.R. 4057 and H.R. 3524, click here. To read our testimony on H.R. 4115, H.R. 4740 and H.R. 5747, click here. 

House VA Subcommittee on Health:

On Friday morning, the House VA Subcommittee on Health marked up and passed two bills, H.R. 3337 and H.R. 4079.

The VFW has been a vocal advocate for H.R. 3337, the Open Burn Pit Registry Act, helping to introduce the bill late last year, and even helping to introduce a companion bill in the Senate, with the help of the burn pit exposure advocacy group Burn Pits 360. The bill easily passed the subcommittee.

H.R. 4079, the Safe Housing for Homeless Veterans Act, was also amended and passed the subcommittee, ensuring housing for homeless veterans meets safe living standards.

The VFW testified on each of these bills in April. To read VFW's full testimony, click here.

The VFW will continue to track each of these bills as they move through committee, possibly to be included in another veterans' benefits omnibus package later this fall. Check back regularly for updates.

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.