VFW Joins House Democrats for Veterans Roundtable

*UPDATE: The Office of Management and Budget announced this afternoon that all VA accounts and military personnel accounts would be exempt from budget sequestration. 

Yesterday the VFW joined House Democratic leadership and some of the nation’s other leading veterans’ advocates for a roundtable discussion on veterans’ issues. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has routinely hosted quarterly roundtables with the veterans’ community for the last few years, offering veterans’ advocates an opportunity to candidly discuss ways in which Congress could work to better serve our veterans.

 VFW Deputy Director Ryan Gallucci joined in the discussion, expressing the VFW’s frustration over looming sequestration cuts to the defense budget and administrative accounts for Veterans Affairs. Gallucci pointed out that while the Obama Administration had clarified that VA health care accounts were exempt from sequestration, experts had indicated that VA’s administrative accounts could be subject to cuts.

The veterans’ community has asked for clarification from Congress and the Administration as to what kinds of administrative accounts could be affected, pointing out that the timely delivery of other VA benefits, like disability compensation or the G.I. Bill, could be affected if the administrators of those benefits are forced to scale back their operations.

House Budget Committee Ranking Member Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., tackled the issue by explaining that the Administration was scheduled to deliver their analysis of how sequestration would affect each agency, but that he and his fellow committee members were still searching for ways to avoid the looming 2013 deadline when across-the-board cuts would have to take place.

Other issues raised during the roundtable were the absence of advance appropriations in the VA budget continuing resolution currently before Congress, daunting unemployment numbers among Iraq and Afghanistan-era veterans, and the persistent lack of mental health resources for veterans suffering from the invisible wounds of war.

Your VFW advocates have been working hard all week, asking the 112th Congress to “Finish Strong For Veterans.” In addition to the Democratic roundtable, VFW participated in a Republican veterans affairs roundtable on Tuesday, and members of the VFW National Legislative Committee hit the halls of Congress all week, pushing for solutions to issue related to the VA budget, employment and education, health care, and benefits delivery.

As Congress wraps up business leading into the election, check back regularly for updates.

“Finish Strong:” Florida VFW Discusses Sequestration During Hill Visits

Over the last two days, VFW National Legislative Committee members from Florida met with their congressional delegation to discussing VFW’s outstanding legislative issues, and asking the 112th Congress to “Finish Strong For Veterans.” Here are some highlights from their visits:

VFW Department of Florida Past Commanders Mike White and Bob Shepard, and National Legislative Committee Chairman Lee F. Kichen discussed sequestration on the national defense budget with Rep. Allen West, R-Fla. West shared the VFW’s concerns about the impact of force reductions, cuts to quality-of-life programs, and how they would affect military personnel and their families. The Florida Legislative Team agreed that the Army would not be robust enough to effectively challenge future adversaries, if deep defense cuts were allowed to take effect.

The VFW Florida Legislative Team also discussed the implications of sequestration budget cuts on active duty service members and their families with Drew Wyatt Shoemaker, legislative assistant to Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Fla.

Shepard and Kichen then discussed the VFW's goal to extend tax credits for businesses to employ veterans with Jeff Fatora, military legislative associate for Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla. VFW advocates have been storming the halls of Congress over the last two days as part of the VFW’s fall legislative conference.

The conference draws to a close tomorrow, at which time VFW advocates will have met with every Congressional office on Capitol Hill. To learn more about the VFW’s priorities for our fall legislative visits, click here, and check back regularly for updates, as our advocates tell Congress to “Finish Strong For Veterans.”

(Images: Top: The Florida Legislative Team meets with Rep. Allen West to discuss sequestration. Bottom: The team also met with staff for Rep. Tom Rooney to discuss concerns over potential defense cuts. Photos courtesy of Lee F. Kichen.)

VFW Joins House VA Committee Republican Roundtable

House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller, R-Fla., hosted a roundtable discussion this morning with Republican committee leadership and leading veterans’ advocates in the committee’s chambers of the Cannon House Office Building. VFW Deputy Legislative Director Ryan Gallucci was on hand to discuss a series of persistent veterans’ issues like mental health care, employment, and looming budget concerns.

Miller decided to host the roundtable as a way to evaluate progress over the 112th Congress, identify shortfalls in meeting the needs of veterans, and candidly discussing potential new ideas to ensure veterans receive the care and benefits to which they are entitled.

The morning’s discussion took place just as the VFW National Legislative Committee converged on Washington, asking Congress to “Finish Strong For Veterans,” by enacting meaningful legislation, providing oversight, and applying pressure on federal agencies to better serve the veterans’ community. This week, VFW advocates will visit every Congressional office discuss VFW’s outstanding issues for the 112th Congress relating to benefits delivery, health care, budget concerns, and education and employment. To learn more about these issues, click here.

Gallucci reiterated the VFW’s “Finish Strong For Veterans” message, encouraging Congress to pass bills like the H.R. 4057 to improve consumer information for student-veterans; provide oversight to ensure the military’s new transition assistance program, or TAP, provides relevant resources to transitioning service members; ensure VA can meet its mental health staffing requirements; and apply pressure to VA and the Administration to define “administrative accounts” potentially affected by mandatory sequestration budget cuts.

Chairman Miller also took the opportunity to candidly discuss a controversial proposal from Republican leaders designed to help veterans receive timely mental health care from TRICARE providers, paid for by VA. The idea comes on the heels of ongoing military and veteran suicide concerns, and reports that VA cannot meet the demand to deliver mental health care in a timely manner.

Veterans’ advocates expressed concern about how the proposal could not only increase care costs for VA, but could create more bureaucratic problems for veterans seeking care outside the VA system.

Gallucci explained that many times veterans cannot receive timely mental health care from VA because they never actively enrolled in the VA health care system before reaching out for help. If veterans sought out emergency care from TRICARE providers on the economy, Gallucci explained that they could be left with a hefty bill for services, and face additional bureaucratic hurdles when they seek reimbursement from VA.

Chairman Miller explained that the concept was designed to ensure veterans who need mental health care can find somewhere to go as a stop-gap measure, and ensured the veterans’ community that his committee would flesh out exactly how such a system could efficiently deliver care.

Other discussion topics this morning included alternative treatments for traumatic brain injury like hypobaric oxygen therapy, persistent processing delays for Post-9/11 G.I. Bill recipients, the effectiveness of peer-to-peer counseling for mental health issues, and empowering employers to find potential veteran employees.

(Image: VFW Deputy Legislative Director Ryan Gallucci discusses VFW's call for Congress to "Finish Strong For Veterans" in the 112th Congress. Photo courtesy of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs.)

VFW Hears From Marine Commandant

The VFW Washington Office attended a luncheon yesterday afternoon at the National Press Club to hear Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos speak on a number of issues important to the Corps. Leading the list was the continuing success of combat operations in Afghanistan and the transfer of responsibilities over to Afghan national security forces, as well as the ongoing concern over recent "green on blue" attacks.

To view C-SPAN’s coverage of the luncheon in its entirety, click here.

Twelve American service members have been killed by members of the Afghan National Army in the last month alone. Amos said that on a recent trip to Afghanistan, he spoke about the incidents with his field commanders and his Afghan military counterparts.

Both American and Afghan commanders acknowledged to Amos that as the ranks of the Afghan National Army grew, so did incidents of “green on blue” attacks. However, the Marine commanders responsible for those serving alongside Afghan troops reassured Amos that despite the incidents, they continued to have confidence in the capabilities of their fledgling Afghan allies.

Following his remarks, Amos fielded questions from the audience on a variety of military quality-of-life and force readiness issues ranging from fiscal responsibility and budget constraints on the Marines Corps, to women serving in combat, suicide, and sexual assault.

When asked about potential across-the-board cuts to the Defense budget, Amos said he believed the Marine Corps would be hit disproportionately hard, considering the size of the force and the value it delivers to the U.S. military. Amos also said that the greatest challenge for the Corps moving forward would be ensuring the force remains balanced through a period of fiscal austerity.

When discussing women serving in combat roles, Amos clarified that the Marine Corps’ plans to integrate certain military occupations, but unit leaders must set the conditions allowing women to meet the Marine Corps standards, and that any planned integration demanded facts; rather than “hyperbole, intuition and instinct.”

Amos also took the time to address the issue of military suicide, pointing out that Marine Corps initiatives implemented by non-commissioned officers at the ground level had a positive impact, but more work needed to be done.

Amos is the 35th Commandant of Marines and the first aviator to hold the post. He commanded the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing in Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2003-2004, and served as Assistant Commandant prior to becoming Commandant in October 2010.

(Image: Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos speaks at the National Press Club during yesterday's luncheon. Photo by Ryan Gallucci.)

Why VA Programs Will Be Exempt from Sequestration Cuts

Yesterday afternoon the U.S. Office of Management and Budget released a letter to the Government Accountability Office unequivocally stating that all Department of Veterans Affairs programs would be exempt from budget cuts resulting from sequestration set to take effect in early 2013. The VFW had expressed concerns that VA programs -- particularly VA health care -- could be subject to deep budget cuts as a result of unclear language in last year's Budget Control Act of 2011, or BCA.

In yesterday’s letter, OMB explained that BCA amendments to the Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 had no effect on preexisting exemptions of VA programs, including a specific exemption added through tht Pay-As-You-Go, or PAYGO, Act of 2010, which effectively ensured that all VA programs would be exempt from any budget sequestration, to include health care programs.

The letter, however, did not address whether VA administration accounts would be exempt from sequestration of “Federal Administrative Expenses.” Even with potential cuts to VA administration, the VFW stresses that this decision is a win for the veterans’ community that will ensure preservation of the earned care and benefits millions of veterans rely on each day.

“Disabled veterans can breathe a sigh of relief today knowing that VA programs are exempt from sequestration,” said VFW Commander-in-Chief Richard L. DeNoyer in a statement yesterday afternoon. “Today’s decision means the healthcare plans and programs the VA currently provides to millions of disabled veterans will continue unabated, as will claims processing and veterans’ burial benefits.”

With assurances that VA programs are now safe from sequestration, the VFW must now focus its efforts on preserving military personnel and quality-of-life programs, which face serious cuts in this year's defense budget cycle as a way to avoid deep cuts through sequestration.

To contact your members in Congress and tell them to support and preserve military quality-of-life, visit the VFW Action Corps by clicking here, and check back regularly with this blog for updates.

(Image: First two pages of OMB's three-page letter explaining why VA programs would be exempt from sequestration in 2013.)