2012 VFW National Legislative Priority Goals Brochure

The location of our Washington, D.C., office allows us to monitor all legislation affecting veterans, alert VFW membership to key legislation under consideration and to actively lobby Congress and the administration on veterans issues.  With VFW’s own priority goals in mind, combined with the support of 2.1 million members of VFW and its auxiliaries, our voice on “the Hill” cannot be ignored!

We continuously advocate on veterans behalf. By testifying at committee hearings and interacting with congressional members, The VFW has played an instrumental role in nearly every piece of veterans legislation passed in the 20th century, as well as bills developed in the 21st. Most recently, VFW efforts halted the Department of Veterans Affairs proposal to re-review more than 70,000 cases it had already decided for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The review’s sole purpose was to revoke awards for disability compensation under the guise of fraud review. One of the VFW's most successful legislative pushes was making college education affordable for military servicemembers with the signing of the 1944 GI Bill of Rights, the signing of the Montgomery GI Bill in 1984, and the signing of a new 21st Century GI Bill in 2008.

The VFW’s legislative initiatives center on quality of life and health initiatives for all the nation's veterans, past and present. The list below details VFW’s 2011 legislative goals:

Provide sufficient funding so the highest quality care is available for all veterans.
Ensure the many health care and benefits challenges facing OEF/OIF veterans are met.
Expand programs that improve specialized care for women veterans.
Provide training to address shortfalls in gender-specifc care and mental health care services.

Ensure Congress provides resources to enable the VA to reduce claims backlog.
Adjust the VA’s Schedule for Rating Disability to ensure veterans are adequately compensated.
Call on Congress to pass legislation that offers workable solutions, not quick fixes.

Encourage seamless transition for veterans transferring from DoD to VA to include electronic medical records.
Improve veterans transition services and benefits to include training and education.

Call on Congress to remain fully committed to improving the quality of life for service members and their families.
  Fully fund all programs that enable our troops to succeed in their mission.

Congress must immediately address the highest unemployment rates among veterans in recent history.
Ask Congress to pass legislation that will strengthen USERRA.
Urge Congress to mandate that all agencies reach the 3% government-wide procurement goal for Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses.

Support troops and their mission to prosecute the war on terrorism.
  Halt the development and/or proliferation of nuclear weapons or material.
Secure U.S. borders, shorelines and all ports of entry to the U.S.

Seek to improve quality of life for troops, reservists and their families.
  Provide a military base-pay raise to restore comparability with private sector wages.
Oppose any TRICARE fee increases

Achieve the fullest possible accounting of all U.S. military personnel from all wars.
Ensure the U.S. government keeps the POW/MIA issue elevated as a national priority.
Urge the President and Congress to fully fund the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command.

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