House, Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee priorities align with the Legion’s for new Congress

To voice The American Legion’s top legislative priorities, American Legion Family members and veteran advocates sent 75,270 messages to members of Congress in 2022 through the Legion’s Grassroots Action Center – a significant increase from the 10,882 sent in 2021. Of the messages sent last year, 36,000 was advocating for the passing of the historic PACT Act.

“Thank you to everyone, we were able to pass the PACT Act last Congress solely because of VSO support. I firmly believe that,” said Tim Brennan, from the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Minority, to members of the National Legislative Commission Feb. 27 during the Washington Conference in Washington, D.C. “I’ve spent 20 years in the government …. I’ve never seen a group of advocates that is stronger than veterans. Your advocacy is truly something special. I feel very lucky that we have advocates like you to move legislation forward and do good things for veterans.”

As Legion Family members attending the 2023 Washington Conference prepare to meet with their representatives and senators Feb. 28 to share the Legion’s legislative priorities, Legislative Associate John Kamin reminded members of the National Legislative Commission to engage in the Grassroots Action Center to make their voices heard in Washington, D.C.

The platform connects American Legion members and advocates with their members of Congress to share The American Legion’s legislative priorities and advocate for the passing of important legislation as seen with response to the PACT Act. See The American Legion’s legislative agenda for the 118th Congress, 1st Session. And to stay informed on important legislative issues that the Legion is advocating for, be a part of the more than 43,800 people who receive action alerts. Sign up here.  

In preparation for their visit on Capitol Hill, Legislative Commission members heard from congressional staff on priorities that align with The American Legion’s for the 118th Congress, 1st Session. These include:  

PACT Act implementation. VA estimates there will be six to seven million disability claims filed because of the eligibility expansion under the PACT Act. Brennan said the delivery of these benefits is the No. 1 priority this Congress for Rep. Mark Takano, ranking member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. “We want to make sure that we continue to deliver on our promise to veterans and provide them the healthcare and benefits they’ve earned. This is the cost of war and we’re trying to make sure that we continue to deliver.” The American Legion urges Congress to comprehensively oversee implementation of the PACT Act and fully support VBA by providing the funding necessary to counter the looming claims backlog. 

Major Richards Star Act. Simon Coon, staff member on Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said this legislation is a top priority in this Congress for Sen. Jon Tester, ranking member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.  As stated in the Legion’s legislative priorities, currently, 42,000 military retirees with combat-related injuries qualify for DoD retirement pay as well as VA disability compensation. However, for retired veterans with disability ratings less than 50%, the VA compensation is deducted from their DoD retirement pay. The American Legion strongly supports ending this unfair policy. The Major Richard Star Act would repeal this draconian offset, allowing disabled veterans to concurrently receive their retirement pay and disability compensation.

Oversight of the VA. “We are going to need your help. If something is broken at the VA and it’s not helping veterans, we need you, that voice on the ground, to help us figure out what is broken and how do we work together to make sure that we can fix it,” said Steve Gonzalez, deputy staff director for the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. 

Electronic Health Record Modernization. The EHRM is expected to take about 10 years to implement across all VA facilities, which will link VA, DoD and community healthcare providers to patient records. “Before we start to roll it out, we want to make sure that it’s working and operating properly the way it should operate,” Gonzalez said. “We want to ensure that individuals are being assessed properly and the system is working that ensures that you are getting the healthcare that you need through these electronic health records, and it’s documenting the proper documentation. That’s a top priority for us.”

Access to healthcare. In support of its Be the One suicide prevention initiative to help veterans get the care they need, The American Legion encourages Congress to enhance access to alternative therapies, robustly fund VA’s suicide prevention outreach budget, and continue to invest in mental health research. “If the VA is not providing you the healthcare at the hospital for whatever your needs are, it does not mean you should not have that access to the healthcare,” Gonzalez said. “You should not be put on a waiting list. We want to make sure you get care whether it’s internal or external.”

“We still hear a lot of concerns from veterans across the country who are having trouble getting access to care in the VA or the community. We want to make sure that any veteran who needs help gets help when they need it and where they want it,” said Samantha Gonzalez, from the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Minority. “We are very grateful to the work of the Legion for adopting a resolution (Resolution No. 14) last fall about the need to protecting a veteran’s right to get care in the community if the VA can’t provide it in a certain timeframe or certain distance. We are going to continue to watch that very closely and really appreciate your support.” (Resolution No. 14: Access to Care. It calls on VA to improve the timeliness of primary care and mental health appointments for veterans.)

VA infrastructure. Coon said for Sen. Tester this includes both workforce and physical because to “successfully implement the PACT Act, it’s going to require that the VA has the capacity to deliver healthcare benefits.” The American Legion’s legislative priority for this encourages Congress to fully fund VA infrastructure accounts to ensure they can optimize their infrastructure to meet the demands of today’s veteran population; and to require VA to maintain a publicly available website on staff vacancy information for each VA medical center.

Other shared priorities include ending veteran homelessness and protecting veterans from companies that charge high fees for services provided free of charge by veteran service officers.