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Legislative Update
Texas VFW Legislative Update
By Mitch Fuller
The 2023 Fall National Legislative Conference was held in Washington, D.C., September 11-14. The four member of the Department of Texas National Legislative Committee, Reggie Williams, Shenna Lawless, Victor Ramirez, and myself, all attended along with our Comrades from other Departments and carried the message of the top National VFW Legislative priorities in the halls of Congress to the 38 members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas and our two United States Senators.
The focus during the recent Fall Legislative conference was on revenue neutral or no cost legislation, which is important after the huge allocation of taxpayer resources for the PACT Act, which was signed into law in 2022. The top legislative priorities for the VFW in the 118th Congress are:
• H.R. 3933, the TAP Promotion Act
• S.928/H.R. 4157, the Not Just a Number Act
• S. 740/H.R. 1139, the GUARD VA Benefits Act
H.R. 3933, the TAP Promotion Act, which requires accredited representatives from national, state, and local Veteran Service Organizations to be included in Department of Defense Transition Assistance Program (TAP) classes. This legislation will facilitate more timely filing of VA “Benefits Delivery at Discharge” (BDD), an underutilized tool in the fight against Veteran suicide. Sadly, the initial year following discharge comes with increased suicide risk among new Veterans, heightening the need to ensure all transitioning service members are connected to post-service benefits and resources as quickly as possible.
S.928/H.R. 4157, the Not Just a Number Act, which directs the VA to incorporate benefit usage data into its annual suicide prevention report, and to examine moving the VA Office of Suicide Prevention to the enterprise level of the VA. The VFW has advocated for years that the VA must incorporate more Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) usage date into its suicide prevention effort. This should include complete information on disability compensation, use of benefits for education, employment, home loans and foreclosure assistance, and participation in housing and food insecurity programs.
S. 740/H.R. 1139, the GUARD VA Benefits Act, which reinstates penalties for charging Veterans and survivors unauthorized fees relating to claims for VA benefits. The VFW is concerned that bad actors are preying on Veterans by seeking access to their earned VA benefits. When the Covid-19 pandemic struck, unaccredited consulting groups that the VFW refers to as “Claims Sharks,” viewed the chaos as an exploitive opportunity. Since the passage of the aforementioned PACT Act, they have ramped up their efforts even more by aggressively advertising online and making promises to increase disability ratings and in some cases charging thousands of dollars in fees for their services and even requesting VA login credentials to track when Veterans receive future ratings increases.
The best way to be truly informed is to sign up for the VFW Action Corps Weekly and to read it every week. The easiest way to sign up is to text “VFW” to 50457.
The members of the VFW Department of Texas National Legislative Committee are not alone in our advocacy mission. Every member of the VFW should be engaged with their elected officials and knowledgeable about VFW legislative victories and current priority legislation and goals and be an advocate themselves. Advocacy for Veterans was the reason the VFW was founded in 1899 and it remains one of our core missions.
VFW Post 5237 – Alvin, TX
Post comrades and family members conducted a Remembrance Ruck March and placed flags on veteran graves at National Oak Cemetery and Confederate Cemetery in Alvin.
VFW Post 9192 Killeen, TX
Post Commander David Reese and fellow comrades conduct a Memorial Day event for Past Commander-in-Chief Ted Connell with Ms. Connell and her family present.
Post members conduct their annual Memorial Day celebration and remembrance with family and other local community members.
Quarterly Snapshot
25 veteran households with 42 dependents assisted with $44,329.89 in direct financial assistance for the first quarter of July – September 2023.
