Legion Family delegation meets with various lawmakers during Washington Conference.
During The American Legion’s Washington Conference earlier this month, members of the Department of Arizona American Legion Family discussed veterans’ issues on Capitol Hill with various lawmakers and their staff.
During their visit, the delegation was able to talk directly with or staff from Sens. Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly, as well as U.S. Reps. Abraham Hamadeh, Greg Stanton, David Schweikert, Juan Ciscomani, Paul Gosar, Andy Biggs, Eli Crane and Adelita Grijaliva.
Members of the Arizona delegation included:
· Department Commander Gary Vaughan
· National Vice Commander Ben Headen
· National Executive Committeeman Andres Jaime
· Alternate National Executive Committeeman Ken Queen
· Past Department Commander and current National Legislative Commission member Steve Aguirre
· Sons of The American Legion member Matt Griffin
· American Legion Auxiliary members Lynda Griffin and Misty Lacy,
· Department Vice Commander Department Legislative Chairman José Maldonado,
· National Commander Legislative Appointment Jaclyn Kulfan
· Department Membership Chairman Bobbie Kimelton
· Department National Security Chairman Gerard Brinkman
· District 2 Commander Al Young
· Department of Arizona Legislative Commission member Bradley Shafer
· Past National Legislative Commission Chairman Mathew Shuman
· Department Adjutant Matthew Kritzer
“During our time on Capitol Hill, we focused our advocacy on several key 2026 American Legion legislative priorities,” Aguirre said, noting those priorities included:
· Championing women veterans’ health by supporting the Servicemembers and Veterans Empowerment and Support (SAVES) Act.
· Expanding mental health resources through the Building Resources and Access for Veterans’ Mental Health Engagement (BRAVE) Act.
· Balancing community care with veterans’ needs, including the Veterans ACCESS Act.
· Protecting Veteran Access to Telemedicine Services Act
“We also prioritized Guard and Reserve GI Bill parity via related bills and supported full concurrent receipt for combat-injured, medically retired veterans under the Major Richard Star Act to authorize full concurrent receipt for medically retired, combat-injured veterans and eliminate statutory offsets,” Aguirre said. “While there are additional priorities for 2026, given our limited time with elected representatives, we focused on those that would have the greatest impact on Arizona Legionnaires.”
During their trip to the nation’s capital, members of the Arizona delegation also visited several veterans memorials and were at Arlington National Cemetery for a Sons of The American legion wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Share Your Capitol Hill Visit With Us. We want to hear from other American Legion departments about how your Capitol Hill visit went during the Washington Conference so we can share those efforts in our media channels.
Please email sbrooks@legion.org with the following information:
· The members of your delegation who were a part of the visit (please include any current post, district or department offices each currently hold).
· Those members of Congress you met with during the visit.
· Photos of the visit.
- Legislative