LEGISLATIVE DIVISION UPDATE
Congress continued its work on numerous legislative projects. Both the House and
Senate held committee hearings on the President’s recently-announced Fiscal Year
(FY) 2016 federal budget proposal.
National Commander Helm Testifies Before Joint House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs
Committees
In a hearing room packed with more than 300 American Legion veterans and their
families, National Commander Michael D. Helm laid out a wide-ranging legislative
agenda before the Members and Leadership of the House and Senate Committees on
Veterans’ Affairs. “The prevailing concern,” Commander Helm told the lawmakers, “is
transition assistance.”
Commander Helm called for action to expand VA-recognized treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). He cited 2014
American Legion survey results that showed 59 percent of PTSD-TBI patients felt no
improvement as a result of their VA treatment plans and 30 percent had quit their plans
altogether because the plans did not work.
“For tens of thousands, VA’s current prescription is not working,” Helm said. “This
breakdown contributes mightily to the high rate of veteran suicide, substance abuse,
and homelessness that our nation – and The American Legion – cannot abide.” He
asked Congress to study alternative treatments and call on VA to accept them.
“Introduce and pass legislation that will require VA to recognize treatments other than
those that are measured in milligrams and doses per day.”
During the hearing, Helm fiercely defended VA against any attempts to privatize its
health-care system in the long term.
“The American Legion applauded emergency legislation to allow VA patients to use
non-VA providers if they were waiting a month or longer to see doctors, or if they lived
far from VA facilities,” Helm testified. “But let me be clear. The American Legion
supports Choice Cards only as a temporary fix to the bigger problem of VA access. We
adamantly oppose privatization or the vouchering out of VA care as a long-term
solution. Veterans need VA. It’s up to us to repair the access problem and restore trust,
not send veterans down the road for help somewhere else.”
Commander Helm was introduced to the joint committee by Sen. Jerry Moran (KS) who
calculated the distance from Helm’s home in Norcatur, Kansas, to the nearest VA
facilities. “It’s 267 miles to Denver [Colorado],” Moran said. “It’s 287 miles to Wichita
[Kansas]. Its 287 miles to Omaha [Nebraska] and the nearest CBOC (Community Base
Outpatient Center) is 100 miles away. I appreciate the perspective that this commander
will bring about caring for all veterans regardless of where they live in the United
States.”
Rep. Jeff Miller (FL), Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, credited
The American Legion for setting up Veterans Benefits Centers and potentially saving
lives in response to last year’s scandal.
“The American Legion sent expert teams across the country – from Phoenix, Arizona, to
Bay Pines, Florida, and many places in between,” Miller explained. “You coordinated
with VA, set up command centers, and tangibly helped thousands of veterans access
health care and benefits, which had eluded them for years. You changed lives, and you
may have saved lives.”
Chairman Miller also recognized The American Legion’s traditional role both as
advocate and watchdog of VA. “As your testimony notes, The American Legion is
working with VA, not against it, to improve service and restore trust,” Miller said. “Due to
the hard work and dedication of The American Legion’s 2.4 million members, veterans
have been provided with professional benefits counseling and claims assistance;
transition assistance services; employment opportunities; and, countless other manners
of assistance.”
Commander Helm also reminded the joint committee that Americans are still in harm’s
way as the Global War on Terrorism continues. “Sadly, some will come home from the
fighting having made the ultimate sacrifice. They will arrive at Dover Air Force Base in
coffins draped by our nation’s enduring symbol of freedom. I will ask once more for
Congress to support the majority of Americans in co-sponsoring and passing a bill
introduced in the House last month that would amend the Constitution to protect our flag
from desecration.”
Commander Helm was joined on the panel by Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation
(VA&R) Commission Chairman Ralph Bozella, VA&R Division Director Lou Celli,
Veterans Employment and Veterans Preference Committee Chairman James Fratolillo,
Veterans Employment and Education Division Director Joe Sharpe, Legislative
Commission Chairman Brett Reistad and Legislative Division Director Ian de Planque.
National Legislative Commission Meets at Washington Conference
On Monday, February 23, the Legislative Commission met at the Washington Hilton.
The meeting included two guest speakers who made presentations on issues pertaining
to veterans legislation.
The first speaker was James Ridgeway, Chief Counsel for Policy and Procedure at the
Board of Veterans’ Appeals, lecturer in law at the George Washington University Law
School, and author of more than a dozen law review articles and a book chapter
focusing on veterans’ law and legal argument theory. He presented an historical
overview of veterans’ benefits in the United States from colonial times through to the
creation of the Department of Veterans Affairs in 1989. The hour-and-a-half
presentation provided a detailed history of the development of veterans benefits as the
country developed, including the substantial contributions of The American Legion since
its founding in 1919, including the establishment of the Veteran’s Bureau in 1921, the
development of the Veterans Administration in 1930, and its elevation to the Cabinet of
the President in 1989 as the Department of Veterans Affairs. The presentation was
directed at giving the members of the Legislative Commission a backgrounder for
context, which will help them to understand what kinds of legislative issues might arise
in the future as veterans benefits continue to evolve.
The second speaker was Seth Lynn, director of Veterans Campaign, an organization
that provides training to veterans who are interested in running for political office. Mr.
Lynn’s presentation was an overview of the training his organization provides to
veterans, including how to talk about their service and the cautions against embellishing
or misrepresentation of their service.
Legion National Chaplain performs opening prayer in House and Senate
The American Legion National Chaplain, Rev. Tierian “Randy” Cash (NC), opened both
the House and Senate with prayer as a guest chaplain during The American Legion’s
55th annual Washington Conference this week. Legislative staff is responsible for
arranging the opening prayers for the chaplain and providing assistance while in DC. On
February 24, Chaplain Cash did the opening prayer in the Senate. The Senate sponsor
was Sen. Richard Burr (NC), who posted on Facebook both a picture of the two
together and video of the prayer. On February 25, Chaplain Cash did the opening
prayer in the House. The House sponsor was Rep. Patrick McHenry (NC-10), who
posted on Facebook this picture of the two together, along with Speaker of the House
John Boehner (OH) and House Chaplain Reverend Patrick J. Conroy. The text of the
prayer is available here.
Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Considers VA Budget Request
On February 26, Legislative Director Ian de Planque provided testimony before the
Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee with regard to the FY 2016 VA budget request. The
American Legion stressed the need for transparency between VA and all stakeholders
to ensure proper cooperation to meet the needs of veterans throughout the country.
Much of the testimony focused on questions on the implementation of the Choice Card
program to allow veterans who are struggling to access VA health care because of
delays or distance. One of the key focuses revolved around the 40-mile regulation for
veterans who are too far from a VA facility. Current regulations only focus on whether a
veteran is 40 miles from a facility, not whether that facility provides the care the veteran
needs. There is legislation being proposed by Sen. Jerry Moran (KS) which would help
address that situation and get veterans access to care.
Much discussion focused on the underutilization of the Choice Card program, for a
variety of reasons, ranging from veterans confusion over eligibility, VA’s struggles on a
local level to communicate the program to veterans, and actual problems with
interpretation of the law which specifies distance “as the crow flies” as opposed to
actual road distance traveled by a veteran.
LEGISLATIVE DIVISION UPDATES
Staff Activities
Legislative staff members of The American Legion accompanied several delegations of
Legionnaires on Congressional visits to have firsthand views of the interaction between
Legislative Council liaisons of The American Legion with their Congressional members.
Throughout the week, The American Legion lobbied Senators to provide co-sponsorship
to an upcoming bill to be introduced by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), which will benefit
Blue Water Navy Veterans and provide Agent Orange presumptive condition protection
for Blue Water Veterans who served up to 12 miles offshore from Vietnam from 19621975.
During the Washington Conference on February 23, Deputy Director Dean Stoline
attended the National Security Commission session which met at the Washington
Hilton. The meeting included four guest speakers, who presented on issues pertaining
to the Defense Health Agency Healthcare Operations, Coast Guard operations,
POW/MIA operations update, and an update from the National League of Families of
American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia board. The morning session
concluded with a POW/MIA panel discussion.
The first speaker was MG Richard Thomas, Chief Medical Officer and Director of the
Defense Health Agency Healthcare Operations Directorate. His presentation focused on
providing the members of the Commission an update of the consolidation of various
parts of the military healthcare system in the joint medical environment and a
background to understand what kinds of consolidation issues might arise in the future
as the consolidation of military medicine continues to evolve.
The second speaker was Rear Admiral Toad Sokalzuk, Assistant Commandant for
Resources & Chief Financial Officer for the United States Coast Guard. He focused on
funding now and in the future for the Coast Guard, the challenges of the present
continuing resolution and appropriations debate, and how he expects the Fiscal Year
2016 budget to shape up.
The third and fourth speakers presented a POW/MIA Update. They were Rear Admiral
Michael Franken, Director of the Defense Personnel Accounting Agency, who gave an
update of the new configuration of the office and how operations have been changed;
and Ann Mills-Griffiths, Chairman of the Board, National League of Families of American
Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia, who updated the commission on her efforts
for the families and her view of some of the recovery operations that she saw in
Southeast Asia recently and that has changed over time. Following their presentations
there was a general panel discussion of this issue.
Update on Flag Amendment Bills
On January 7, House Joint Resolution (H.J. Res.) 9 was introduced by Rep. Steve
Womack (AR). This legislation proposes a constitutional amendment to protect the
American flag from physical desecration. Its text states simply: “The Congress shall
have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States.”
Staff from Legislative Division has met with staff of Sen. Orrin Hatch (UT) to discuss the
Senate re-introduction of the flag protection amendment in the 114th Congress. Sen.
Hatch has long been a champion of the amendment and it seems to be his intention to
reintroduce it around Flag Day, June 14.
In addition to Rep. Womack and the five original co-sponsors of the joint resolution
there are now 13 cosponsors, with the additions of Reps. Mike Simpson (ID) and Patrick
Tiberi (OH) on February 24 and 25, respectively. H.J. Res. 9 has been referred to the
House Judiciary Committee for action. Additional cosponsors are being sought.
Ian de Planque, Director
The American Legion Legislative Division
[email protected]
(202) 861-2700
For Week Ending 02-27-2015