WASHINGTON — Today, together with national leadership and staff, Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Legislative Committee members from across the country arrive in the nation’s capital to share the VFW’s legislative priorities with their respective lawmakers.
Based in Crystal City, Virginia, the conference will take place from Sept. 9 – 11, and the schedule includes a new member meeting on Monday evening followed by an all-hands legislative briefing on Tuesday morning before committee members leave for Capitol Hill. Meetings with lawmakers will take place Tuesday afternoon and all-day Wednesday.
“This is one of the most consequential times of the year for the VFW. All year long, our volunteer, grassroots legislative committee members are active in their states engaging policy issues that impact fellow veterans in their communities,” said VFW Commander-in-Chief Al Lipphardt. “Every September and March, they bring that same fire in their bellies that motivates them to effect change at home to Capitol Hill, where, as constituents, they voice the ‘why’ behind the VFW’s most pressing priorities.”
The two topline issues for this September conference are:
- Urging Congress to solve the VA’s budget short fall by the Sept. 20 deadline to prevent the dire consequences veterans and their families face come Oct. 1.
- Passage of H.R. 8371, the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act.
Other priorities include the oversight, accountability, and action on unaddressed toxic exposures following the passage of the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022; funding and research authorizations of alternative post-traumatic stress disorder treatments; the overdue action on predatory claims companies that operate in violation of federal law; and the urgent need to provide full funding of Department of Veterans Affairs care and benefits for the entire fiscal year.
This year’s legislative conference also coincides with the somber anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001. To commemorate the occasion, VFW leadership and staff will host a 9/11 ceremony on Wednesday morning at the VFW Washington Office, beginning at 8:40 a.m. EST, followed by a press conference that will highlight the negative impacts of not properly funding the VA.
Be sure to follow the VFW on social media for real-time updates throughout the conference.