▶ 0:15:09Chair Moran: Good morning, the hearing will come to order. I welcome everybody in the room and the commander. I think the colleague in my house along with ranking members blumenthal and come on -- and the rest of my senate and colleagues joining the final of the three hearings hosted this year. I welcome commander alfred lipphardt and the rest of his team at the vfw.
▶ 0:15:38Chair Moran: I also welcome all of the organizations recommend -- represented on the second panel and those who have traveled from across the country to represent veterans, service givers, families and survivors. I wantvfw is a major and importt organization in our state. I appreciate the relationship I have with them.
▶ 0:16:02Chair Moran: The work we do on our committees is not possible without the work and dedicated -- dedication of the vs so communicate -- community. The conversations are a result of your advocacy for doing what is in the best interest of your veterans and military communities. One example of this is the 21st century veterans and health care improvement act which was signed into law last congress and supported by all of the organizations we will be hearing from today.
▶ 0:16:32Chair Moran: We are working to make certain that this is implement it in a timely manner and it lives up to the promise for veterans, caregivers and survivors. All of the policies and programs that we will discuss today depend on a strong and effective eso community -- vso community and v.a. Workforce to deliver the care and benefits that veterans and their candidate -- and their communities deserve. As the v.a.
▶ 0:17:02Chair Moran: Implements new federal workforce guidance and we root out waste I am committed to preserving the essential workforce committee and I think it is that are to retain the inspector general to -- two better inform our decisions. The v.a.
▶ 0:17:23Chair Moran: Must be forthcoming and -- forthcoming with congress about how its incoming workforce and other changes and work to avoid or correct actions that could undermine access to care and benefits that veterans and their loved ones rely on. I again thank you for you all being here today and I look forward to the testimony of the witnesses on both panels. I yield to the chairman for his opening remarks. >> thank you. Good morning.
▶ 0:17:57Chair Moran: I want to thank you all for being here and thank you to my senate colleagues, chairman moran, ranking member blumenthal for hosting us this week. And I would like to thank the national commander alfred lipphardt for being here today. Thank you. I would also like to give a shout out to to the vfw auxiliary commander, thank you for being here.
▶ 0:18:23Chair Moran: And I am pleased that there are folks here from the great state of illinois and stand if you can or be recognized. Thank you for being here. And I want to thank you all for traveling here to your nation's capital for such important issues. This marks a decade on this sacred committee for me.
▶ 0:18:55Chair Moran: And it is my second term as chair. It is an honor to serve all of you. The mission of the v.a. Committee has always been personal to me. I grew up in a home with veterans and many of you have heard it before but I will still say it again. My dad and his brothers in the army, korean war.
▶ 0:19:20Chair Moran: My ran father was -- my grandfather was navy, second world war. Other grandfather, marine. Korea. Uncle, marine, vietnam. Fell victim of the ultimate oxymoron, friendly fire. But because of the v.a. Has had a successful life and is up in his years now. I was a peacetime marine.
▶ 0:19:52Chair Moran: My son is a lieutenant colonel, reservist now, but was active for many years. My grandson, the son of my daughter, just got out of the corps about six or eight months ago and he was an f-18 mechanic. As you can tell it is kind of personal to me. But it is an honor to serve you.
▶ 0:20:14Chair Moran: And every time I sit at the dais, when we are getting in debates, whether with an agency or the other side of the aisle, my focus is not on the person that I am discussing. It is on the veterans I am serving. It is always about you. It is always about veterans. Because that is why the was created. Not for bureaucrats, but for the veterans.
▶ 0:20:43Chair Moran: Now, I know the sacrifice that each of you have made, because my family made them. Each of you have thought -- to protect constitutional rights. I am proud of the work that vfw has done to improve transition from active duty to civilian life.
▶ 0:21:01Chair Moran: You wrote in your testimony about the transition of systems program can be improved to ensure that all transitioning service members are connected to benefits and resources as soon as possible. And I am looking forward to working with you on making improvements where we can to modernize the delivery of care and services at the v.a. And dod when we are using the program.
▶ 0:21:26Chair Moran: Now under my leadership we have listened to the men and women serving around the world who just wanted a simple program that meets their needs. There is more to do through legislation to increase the ability of dod and their accountability. But, to make dod accountable for putting the tap program into the right priority for those people leaving service.
▶ 0:21:53Chair Moran: I am optimistic that with our new leadership this will finally happen. I do want to let you know that in 1983, when I left the marine corps, they had a tap program, the colonel tapped me on the shoulder and said see you later. That is it. We are doing our job to make sure that we help you, but remember, like we talk about the v.a., if you have seen one program you've seen one program.
▶ 0:22:24Chair Moran: We have to have the ability to help these servicemembers as they leave to make sure they know and understand what is available to them. Vfw will play a vital role in making sure that we advance commonsense proposals and meet the needs of the entire veteran community no matter where they live or where they want to work. Veteran should have the freedoms to use the benefits of v.a. Offered no matter where they are at to meet their individual needs.
▶ 0:22:54Chair Moran: And they should not be spending hours driving in a car to get there. Or, combing through wonky paperwork for months on end to figure out what is available. Or needlessly waiting on a phone call to get a simple answer. You know where the v.a. Is falling short, and you know where we need to push the agency to bring it out of the stone age and into the modern age.
▶ 0:23:21Chair Moran: We cannot let the bureaucracy continue to grow without concrete results for you. The men and women who serve. You have my commitment that as long as I am in charge with -- that I will continue to fight for you. And the voices that you represent. The hundreds of thousands of veterans outside the D.C. beltway, who just want their health care on time, their benefits when they need them.
▶ 0:23:50Chair Moran: This old corporal takes his mission seriously, and I know that our new v.a. Secretary does too. Under president trump's leadership I know that we are going to put you, the veteran and v.a. Services at the center of the v.a. Mission. And when the bureaucrats tried to get in the way, I will continue to be the first one to hold them accountable and get the answers for you.
▶ 0:24:16Chair Moran: We made great progress throughout the -- through the dole at for the homeless program to ensure that the v.a. Lifts veterans out of homelessness and gets them back living and fulfill -- gets them back living fulfilling lives. My door will continue to always be open. We must deliver for our veterans to protect their health care choices, expand economic opportunity and education, streamline benefits to move v.a.
▶ 0:24:45Chair Moran: And the services that it provides forward. I promise to keep up the fight together with you. And I look forward to completing our mission alongside of you. I want to thank the senator again for having us here today. I yield back.
▶ 0:25:01Chair Moran: You said as long as you are in charge. I remit -- I would say who is in the chair now. >> I will be on my best behavior.
▶ 0:25:13Chair Moran: We look forward to that. I now yield to the ranking member of the senate committee, senator blumenthal.
▶ 0:25:21Sen. Blumenthal: Thank you Mr. chairman and thank you to everyone for being here today. Commander, you and all of your team and all of the vfw and other veterans who are here today. I hope we have a few veterans and a few members from the v.a. W from connecticut, if you are here. Yes, indeed. Thank you.
▶ 0:25:49Sen. Blumenthal: I have a particular argent -- honor to welcome you today because the vfw has been a key partner in helping pass important legislation for veterans and their families, keeping the promises to the nation's heroes.
▶ 0:26:09Sen. Blumenthal: And I want to thank you very deeply for the very forthright and powerful statement that you made in reaction to the firing and funding freezes, in effect saying and I think I'm quoting directly, stop the bleeding. I quoted you last week at both of our hearings. Extensively. And I put your statements into the record.
▶ 0:26:38Sen. Blumenthal: And I think your leadership at a time when others perhaps kept their heads down is typical of the vfw and provides a guiding light for other similar organizations. And a wake-up call, sounding that alarm. That is a real public service.
▶ 0:27:00Sen. Blumenthal: It is tough to focus on efforts and legislative priorities when so many of our previous efforts are being rolled back without consulting us. In other words how do we go forward with new legislation when the priorities can simply be ignored, and the legislation violated?
▶ 0:27:23Sen. Blumenthal: For instance on hundreds of contacts, -- contracts, secretary collins proudly announced that he had canceled a number, in fact 875. And, we are confused now as to which of those cancellations have been rescinded. There was an announcement I think in the last 24 hours that perhaps the now -- the number has been reduced to 600.
▶ 0:27:53Sen. Blumenthal: I have demanded information and clarity as to the contracts. I believe others might have done as well. We have been informed that one of those canceled contracts is the veteran directed care program, something that we codified and expanded in a bipartisan manner with the dole act.
▶ 0:28:21Sen. Blumenthal: This allows aging and disabled veterans to receive care in their home, a cost-effective alternative to nursing home care and it is absolutely integral to the v.a.'s continuing of long-term care services. But it is just one of the hundreds of contracts that secretary collins seems intent on canceling. Contracts that provide critical services to veterans and their families and allow the v.a.
▶ 0:28:50Sen. Blumenthal: Itself to identify waste, fraud, and abuse. We cannot confirm that this specific contract is on the list of 585 that he canceled last night or, the 875 that he announced he would cancel last week because he will not share the list with us. He just wants to use the numbers for his press release, no transparency or accountability. No consultation.
▶ 0:29:18Sen. Blumenthal: In the prawn set -- in the process he continues to claim that abruptly canceling hundreds of services will not impact veterans care and benefits in any way. If that sounds realistic to anyone in this room, I would like to talk to you. Mr.
▶ 0:29:38Sen. Blumenthal: Chairman I would like to submit from the record an article from "the kentucky -- the kentucky public radio" entitled kentucky business among hundreds losing veteran services contracts amid drum cuts. I have it here.
▶ 0:29:54Chair Moran: Without objection.
▶ 0:29:56Sen. Blumenthal: In this article, the army veteran neil riley is quoted "secretary college -- collins said specifically it would not impact veteran health care or benefits in any way, and that is specifically a lie." Mr.
▶ 0:30:15Sen. Blumenthal: Riley's company is a federally certified service disabled veteran owned small business that had all of its v.a. Contracts canceled last week, all of them last week. It is one of dozens of veteran owned small businesses who had their contracts canceled and were for -- forced to lay off hundreds of employees, many of those whom were veterans themselves.
▶ 0:30:47Sen. Blumenthal: These contracts help ensure the safety of low income housing for veterans who are homeless or transitioning from care. It is not simple waste, it is not waste at all. It is not hypothetical. It is not abstract. It is one of many human examples of impacts of this administration's actions.
▶ 0:31:13Sen. Blumenthal: And it is not happening on some imagine a tory -- imaginatory mind. It is happening in real life. It is the tip of the iceberg. We have heard directly from v.a. Employees and veterans that the v.a. Has terminated critical researchers, plans to cancel a pact act enterprise program management office contract that could derail implementation of the pact act.
▶ 0:31:44Sen. Blumenthal: It has delayed facility openings and reduced inpatient beds. It has canceled 50 patient appointments at a v.a. Facility last week due to staff shortages. It has fired the veterans crisis line employees in one wave of termination. Rehired them after receiving the backlash. And then fired even more during a second wave. Not to mention the thousands of other v.a. Employees and veterans fired without cause.
▶ 0:32:16Sen. Blumenthal: I will introduce, later today, a resolution and I will seek unanimous consent for it asking that these firings be reversed. Each of them has their own story. They are men and women serving alongside your doctors and nurses. They process your disability compensation claims. They ensure that veterans have a final resting place that honors their service to a grateful nation.
▶ 0:32:44Sen. Blumenthal: Many of them are veterans who choose to continue their service by serving their fellow veterans. They have been callously discarded. Your testimony says that vfw members prefer the v.a. To remain the primary provider of their health care. We need your help to ensure that the v.a. Has a workforce and capabilities to provide that health care, which is the rock of the v.a. Health care system.
▶ 0:33:17Sen. Blumenthal: And, I want to thank you for staying true, keeping faith and being a powerful and eloquent advocate for our veterans. We need you now more than ever. Thank you, Mr. chairman.
▶ 0:33:30Chair Moran: I now yield to the ranking member for his opening marks. >> thank you chairman. Today we close out our annual series of joint hearings with the veteran service organizations.
▶ 0:33:45Chair Moran: I am pleased to welcome our first panel, the national commander and representatives of the veterans of foreign wars and its auxiliary as well as the second panel, representatives from the paralyzed veterans of america, iraq and afghanistan veterans of america, the tragedy assistance program for survivors, the elizabeth dole foundation, the national coalition for homeless veterans and student veterans of america.
▶ 0:34:11Chair Moran: I would like to extend a special welcome to the commander-in-chief, Mr. ale part and brenda bryant. I have to ask, are there any californians in the room? [cheering] I just had to do it.
▶ 0:34:31Chair Moran: I grew up with the stories -- I just want you to know that I grew up with stories about my three great uncles who served in world war ii and the famed 442nd infantry regiment. One of my uncles who fought in vietnam sadly died by suicide when I was young.
▶ 0:34:52Chair Moran: Since joining this committee, I have had the honor of visiting the graves of the fallen around the world that cemeteries managed by the department of veterans affairs and the american battle monuments commission. I urge all americans watching this hearing to put it on your bucket list to visit some of these amazing hollow grounds that we meticulously keep and maintain.
▶ 0:35:20Chair Moran: It is for those service members and veterans and for all of you that I fight to ensure that our country honors the debt that can never be repaid. Honoring that debt means listening to veterans voices about issues impacting their daily lives and how to address them. One of the ways that we do that is by holding these hearings with veteran service organizations. It was here in 2022 when the vso stood in solidarity calling on congress to pass the pact act.
▶ 0:35:54Chair Moran: Without you, we would have never passed the largest expansion of veterans health care and -- and benefits since the vietnam war. And now millions -- without that, millions would struggle to access health care the toxics exposures that they experienced in our session their service to our country. I will always be grateful for you to helping us get it done. The pact act was never meant to be a one and done.
▶ 0:36:22Chair Moran: There is still so much work to be done because our pact with the nations veterans is not only about toxic exposure but the promise to ensure that veterans have access to their care and benefits. And that we do everything they can to end homelessness and suicide, address new categories of illness and injury associated with military service for example last injury and traumatic brain injury.
▶ 0:36:52Chair Moran: Finally achieve guard and reserve parity and ensure that the v.a. Is welcoming to all, and I mean all veterans who have earned the right to be at a facility. And to ensure that the infrastructure the kentish -- can hold the commission and more. Instead of focusing on these missions we are being distracted by unnecessary chaos. I have grave concerns about how the executive orders are being carried out. Most especially at the department of veterans affairs.
▶ 0:37:21Chair Moran: And the impacts that these orders are already having. Under the trump administration more than 2400 v.a. Employees have been illegally fired. Many more have opted to leave rather than put up with the chaos and uncertainty -- uncertainty inflicted upon them. The worst part is that they are not done. We expect the administration to further dismantle the federal workforce.
▶ 0:37:49Chair Moran: I question how purging the workforce, firing the watchdogs, making v.a. Hostile to women and minority veterans is helping the v.a. Serve veterans better. I have said -- I have sent numerous letters seeking information under the implementation of president trump's orders and have had zero meaningful responses from secretary collins. This is extremely troubling.
▶ 0:38:18Chair Moran: I was grateful to see the vfw statement supporting federal employees, especially veterans who have been unlawfully terminated. Vfw continues to be a leader when it comes to standing up to veterans and what they need. So, I am heartened to see that the courts appear to be paying attention. Last week, a judge in my home state called these firings illegal.
▶ 0:38:44Chair Moran: While it is unclear how this will impact the thousands of federal employees who have already lost their jobs, I am hopeful that the courts will stand in the constitutional role of providing relief for all of the damage that the administration has done. Yes, damage has already been done. Cuts at the cleveland v.a. Medical center have made it harder's for veterans to access mental health care, prosthetics, and other services.
▶ 0:39:11Chair Moran: Restricting access while we are fighting the crisis of veteran suicide is the height of tone deafness. Arguments that veterans are taxpayers too are tantamount to asking veterans to sign up and die for their country again. This is unacceptable. I have been accused of putting bureaucracy over veterans but I dispute that. What about the veterans who lost their jobs to the indiscriminate firings of federal employees?
▶ 0:39:40Chair Moran: What about black veterans unable to access v.a. Home loans due to redlining? What about women veterans who service is still not valued as much as their male peers -- peers and are now worried about the loss of gender specific care. What about lgbtq+ veterans whose health is in jeopardy because of the denial of their very existence. In showing that the institution is there to serve veterans is putting veterans first.
▶ 0:40:09Chair Moran: It is our job to ensure access to world-class health care and benefits to all, all veterans who have earned the right. And I take that responsibility very seriously. It is my hope that I can count on the vso community to help hold the v.a.
▶ 0:40:28Chair Moran: Accountable to our veterans and that you will also hold congress accountable by making sure that we walk the talk and we are carrying out our constitutional oversight responsibilities I asking tough questions, demanding answers and taking legislative action when it is needed. We cannot waiver in this because we know that veterans are survivors -- their survivors and caregivers are depending on us. I yield back.
▶ 0:40:55Chair Moran: Thank you ranking member takano. In a moment I will recognize senator ossoff. I was going to indicate that while the committee members are here, when we were in the house we called on members to ask questions based upon their seniority and in the senate, I do not know if it is more egalitarian, we call on people in order of their arrival time. So if you came here and started here and you were early, you get rewarded for good behavior.
▶ 0:41:25Chair Moran: Maybe it is that the senate needs incentive for good behavior. In that regard, let me recognize our colleagues from georgia, senator ossoff.
▶ 0:41:36Sen. Ossoff: Thank you for the privilege of addressing the joint committee today and the privilege of introducing to you a great georgian. An american hero, a friend of mine, and someone that I deeply admire, alfred lipphardt, who is commander-in-chief of the veterans of foreign wars. Born and raised in hamilton, ohio.
▶ 0:42:05Sen. Ossoff: He moved to georgia shortly after enlisting as an infantry man in the united states army in 1965. While training in georgia he attended officer candidate school and was commissioned as an infantry officer. During his time on active duty he earned his vfw eligibility from two combat towards during the vietnam war, from 1967 until 1968 and then 1970 until 1971.
▶ 0:42:33Sen. Ossoff: Through his service he received the combat infantrymen's badge, the purple heart, and numerous other awards. Concluding his service at fort mcpherson and 1979 with the rank of captain. After his service he devoted himself to a life of leadership in charitable and fraternal organizations. He received his bachelor of science degree from pacific western university in 1990.
▶ 0:43:05Sen. Ossoff: In 2002, he joined the vfw in north fulton, georgia as a charter member and maintains his gold legacy life membership in post 2667. Along with his family members who are also department of george or auxiliary really post -- georgia auxiliary post members.
▶ 0:43:32Sen. Ossoff: He has served in elected and appointed positions in all levels of leadership through the organization earning the triple crown award by achieving all american commander status at his post, district and department levels. Not a moment that brought great honor, on august 1, 2024 you were elected as the national commander-in-chief of the vfw and we are so proud of you and so grateful for your service throughout your life.
▶ 0:44:00Sen. Ossoff: He has been on the road, taking the poles of veterans across the nation. Servicemembers and families alike, traveling across the country to visit with the veterans and their families in nearly all 50 states and visiting veterans and serving overseas in europe and the indo pacific. He lives by the words leave and what you do and do what you believe in. He has a great american. And as a privilege for the senate and house to have him testifying today.
▶ 0:44:29Sen. Ossoff: I would be remiss if I did not conclude by noting and honoring the tremendous record of bipartisanship and bipartisan commitment to veterans that has been a hallmark of the veterans affairs committees in both chambers of congress.
▶ 0:44:50Sen. Ossoff: And I know I speak for veterans in georgia and people of all political persuasions today who are deeply alarmed by the unnecessary chaos that has been brought to the v.a. In georgia and across the country in the last few weeks.
▶ 0:45:08Sen. Ossoff: And I humbly urge you to sustain that bipartisanship that has been a hallmark of your work and conduct to the apolitical oversight that you are obligated to do getting with hearing from these distinguished american heroes. A pleasure to introduce my friend to the committee and chairman and ranking members, thank you for the honor of being here.
▶ 0:45:29Chair Moran: Thank you for your introduction of this great american hero veteran. I hold in highest regard our veterans. It may be slightly higher than that, veterans that serve other veterans. Clearly the distraction -- the description you gave them straits see is that. I recognize the 100 16th national commander of the veterans of foreign wars for his testimony. Commander.
▶ 0:46:02Cmdr. Lipphardt: Thank you chairman moran and bost, ranking members, members of the veterans committee, it is my honor to testify on behalf of or than 1.4 million members of the veterans of foreign wars and its auxiliary, the largest war veterans organization.
▶ 0:46:26Cmdr. Lipphardt: While the benefits of the all volunteer force might seem generous to those who have never served, they are simply the warranty of the service contract each of us signed before we put on the uniform. In addition to the service members obligations, each contract explicitly entitles service members to certain members as a result of honorable service. This is why it calls on the nation to honor the contract.
▶ 0:46:58Cmdr. Lipphardt: The basics and listened contract reads "my enlistment agreement is more than an employment agreement it affects a change in status from civilian to military member of the armed forces. And one line that stands out on this contract, as a member of the armed forces of the united states, I will be entitled to receive pay, allowances, and other benefits as provided by law and regulation."
▶ 0:47:34Cmdr. Lipphardt: This is not charity, but a contract. Everyone who served honorably, like every member of the veterans of foreign wars met our end of this agreement. We demand that our leaders do the same. By contract, you must ensure that the v.a. Has the resources and staff to provide veterans they are full earned benefits. This is not an ask. Honor the contract.
▶ 0:48:03Cmdr. Lipphardt: [laughter] the historic passage of the pact act in 2022 provided health care and benefits to a tremendous number of veterans and survivors, some of whom had waited years for relief. The vfw is grateful to these committees for drafting and passing this critical legislation.
▶ 0:48:33Cmdr. Lipphardt: [laughter] [applause] --[applause] the pact act is not the end of the journey for toxic exposed veterans and their survivors. This legislation was enacted to address health conditions related to burns pits and agent orange exposure.
▶ 0:48:57Cmdr. Lipphardt: Just as important included a framework for v.a.'s evaluation of toxic exposures not included in the legislation. Veterans frequently tell the vfw about health conditions resulting in exposure.
▶ 0:49:12Cmdr. Lipphardt: The military is inherently a hazardous profession, and we must take care of the k2 veterans, those who served at fort mcclellan, veterans exposed to radiation, forever chemicals, and others. The vfw urges congress to conduct oversight of the v.a.'s preventive process, because veterans cannot keep waiting.
▶ 0:49:38Cmdr. Lipphardt: [applause] the transition from military to civilian life is a critical moment that requires active participation by both the department of defense and the v.a.. Veterans can face different -- difficult transitions including housing insecurity, underemployment, and health concerns.
▶ 0:50:07Cmdr. Lipphardt: We know that the first year from separation has the highest rate for suicide. The v.a. Currently includes incredibly did -- accredited claims representatives and the vfw leads the way in providing critical assistance on major installations across the country.
▶ 0:50:26Cmdr. Lipphardt: The vfw urges congress to pass legislation like the tap promotion act to codify this practice, ensuring that service members receive benefits at the earliest possible moment. [applause] furthermore, the vfw believes that military commanders must prioritize transition services.
▶ 0:50:56Cmdr. Lipphardt: The vfw urges congress to establish an undersecretary of defense for transition. This is essential for effective management and accountability, and proving that transition has the potential to enhance recruitment and retention, lowers the risk of suicide, and sets veterans on a path to success.
▶ 0:51:19Cmdr. Lipphardt: [applause] many veterans live with ptsd, and the v.a. Provides anti-depressions and other medications combined with therapy. Veterans are concerned that the v.a. Might be over prescribing these medications. While these treatments are successful for some individuals, many report experiencing only temporary relief.
▶ 0:51:50Cmdr. Lipphardt: Adverse side effects and difficulties when going off medications. Not all treatments work for all veterans. Which is why the vfw is urging congress and the v.a. To research and provide alternative and nonconventional solutions for veterans and break the cycle of over medication.
▶ 0:52:17Cmdr. Lipphardt: [applause] treatments that have shown potential include medical cannabis, mdma and other plant plate -- plant-based alternative therapies. The vfw believes that there are additional ways to effectively treat ptsd. The v.a. Should ask -- should receive funding to research and deliver those treatments today.
▶ 0:52:47Cmdr. Lipphardt: [applause] now, onto our favorite subject. Claim sharks. [booing] the vfw continue its fight against unaccredited predatory claims consultants that we call claim sharks charging veterans for initial claims assistance which is prohibited by law.
▶ 0:53:19Cmdr. Lipphardt: Claim sharks often charge veterans the equivalent of five to 10 months of their future disability payments. This could put them in debt, simply for trying to access their earned benefits. Some claim sharks obtain fraudulent magical opinions from their own providers -- medical opinions from their own providers, access their login credentials for websites and call centers which are egregious practices.
▶ 0:53:50Cmdr. Lipphardt: Anyone who assists veterans with the preparation of v.a. Claims should adhere to federal law. [applause] the vfw understands that some veterans are willing to pay for claims help. But these companies cannot be allowed to line their pockets with taxpayer dollars at the expense of disabled veterans.
▶ 0:54:19Cmdr. Lipphardt: The vfw would support common sense legislation to require that everyone who charges veterans for claims is accredited. Veterans should never go into debt to access their earned benefits.
▶ 0:54:33Cmdr. Lipphardt: [applause] the service of national guard and reserve members is still overlooked despite a stark increase in deployments since september 11, 2001. Although they have served alongside active duty service members, they do not earn their v.a. Education benefits at the same rate.
▶ 0:55:00Cmdr. Lipphardt: This inequity has been amplified in recent years during the frequent activations due to natural disasters, the covid pandemic and border security missions. The vfw urges congress to pass the guard and reserve g.I. Bill parity act of 2025 to allow any day in uniform in which military pay is received to count towards post-9/11 g.I. Bill eligibility.
▶ 0:55:28Cmdr. Lipphardt: This is a joint legislative priority for both the vfw and student veterans of america. The current vfw legislation of -- legislative follows have at -- have advocated to bring awareness of this issue. The time is long past for parity. This inequity must end now.
▶ 0:55:48Cmdr. Lipphardt: [applause] for more than two decades, congress has failed to address the long-standing withholding military retirement pay from disabled veterans. Retirement pay and disability compensation are separate benefits earned for different reasons. Congress continues to wrongly treat their concurrent receipt as double dipping.
▶ 0:56:15Cmdr. Lipphardt: The vfw has advocate -- advocated for the majored richards -- major richard starr act to give full receipt to full veterans. Congress passed the social security fairness act in the last sentence is -- session ending a similar and just offset. It is time to correct this for our military retirees. Vfw calls on congress to fix this now.
▶ 0:56:41Cmdr. Lipphardt: [applause] lastly, I would like to end with a solemn reminder of what is at stake when we go to war. I would like to recognize five members of my unit with whom I served in vietnam. Privates lewis sloan, corporal kenneth ab rooms, -- adams. Corporal adams from new york.
▶ 0:57:09Cmdr. Lipphardt: Private first class robert modell. Corporal probably -- rodney lopeman. I would ask them to stand to be recognized, but they cannot. Their names are on the vietnam wall, along with all of those who gave the last full measure of devotion to this nation, acknowledged by the contract that we signed. They died november 23, 1967.
▶ 0:57:40Cmdr. Lipphardt: Thanksgiving day. Their names and the recognition of their supreme sacrifice must never be forgotten. Our nation must never forget our war fighters. This is why we persistently call for the full funding of proper recognition of expeditionary american forces, deterring enemies abroad and proper support to overseas veterans who augment these critical missions.
▶ 0:58:11Cmdr. Lipphardt: Chairman moran and bost, ranking member'members -- ranking members, members of the committees, thank you for allowing us to discuss these issues. My team and I are ready to answer the questions that you might have. Thank you. [applause]
▶ 0:59:02Chair Moran: Thank you for your thoughtful and solid testimony. Your compelling testimony. We are now going to have that opportunity to ask you and your team questions beginning with a round of three-minute questions. And, I will begin by highlighting a couple of things that you said. The first I was going to ask you about and am going to ask you about you highlighted first which is the pact act.
▶ 0:59:33Chair Moran: You highlighted that it was not a one and done deal. And there was more to come. There are veterans that are not yet receiving the benefits that some now are eligible for because the pact act requires further action by the department of veterans fairs.
▶ 0:59:51Chair Moran: We established a framework to make decisions regarding new presumptions of service connection in an attempt to make it easier for toxic exposed veterans to file for and receive disability compensation and access to v.a. Health care. What are you hearing from v.a. And veterans about this new presumptive decision process?
▶ 1:00:14Chair Moran: What are you hearing about concerns from veterans whose conditions are not covered by presumption current -- service connection or whose years of service are not included in the existing presumption? Would you please share that with me in the committee.
▶ 1:00:30Cmdr. Lipphardt: Thank you. And I certainly, I really like for our mike figley only to more fully answer that in detail.
▶ 1:00:45Dir. Figlioli: Thank you commander-in-chief. Thank you again for the passage of the pact act. It is a framework that needs to be looked at, updated and kept up with. We are aware that some veterans are not covered by those provisions. We have attempted to engage v.a. And have not had many meaningful engagements about what might be involved. We have not been able to discuss with them the conditions being reported to us.
▶ 1:01:15Dir. Figlioli: There has not been much discussion about what conditions they plan to review related to any other exposure. We have seen notices that have been published without stakeholder input and there has been a severe lack of transparency which is required by the pact act. We are aware of other formalities and things that we keep hearing about that v.a. Needs to consider. But they have been less than forthright coming to the table.
▶ 1:01:41Chair Moran: Thank you for your testimony. It is something that we clearly in cooperation with you need to follow-up to make sure that the v.a. Follows the law. Let me ask next about the guard and reserve g.I. Parity bill act which you highlighted. I appreciate the strong support of the vfw. Can you please go into any greater detail on why this bill is needed.
▶ 1:02:11Chair Moran: What gaps in education benefits national guard's and reserve components are experiencing and how it impacts recruitment and retention?
▶ 1:02:23Cmdr. Lipphardt: Thank you very much again, sir. Well, I can answer that question for you. I would rather turn it over to Ms. keenan, who is our national legislative director for more detail.
▶ 1:02:39Dir. Keenan: Thank you. I served in the national guard myself. Even though I deployed twice I only earn 60% of my post 9/11 benefits. We know that guard and reserve members are deploying more overseas but also domestically to support natural disasters, border security and other missions. Currently, a lot of that service does not count towards g.I. Bill eligibility.
▶ 1:03:09Dir. Keenan: So we just want parity that every day in uniform where a service is receiving pay counts towards their eligibility for post-9/11 education benefits. Thank you.
▶ 1:03:20Chair Moran: Thank you for your answer. I recognize chairman bot.
▶ 1:03:25Chair Bost: Thank you chairman. Commander, last year just about before congress was leaving town, the v.a. Reported a massive budget shortfall. It claimed that it would impact the delivery of benefits for the veterans. It scared her veterans around the nation. Now we know that that was not the case. So moving forward, you think it is necessary for the v.a.
▶ 1:03:53Chair Bost: To receive annual audits and report to congress to prevent another claiming of a shortfall, scaring people, do you think we need to do that?
▶ 1:04:05Cmdr. Lipphardt: Thank you very much. And the answer is one word, yes. But, the answer it more fully and then I will ask Mr. -- Mr. murray to follow-up, we need to ensure that the v.a. Is fully funded and fully staffed. That needs to be taken care of first.
▶ 1:04:28Mr. Murray: So, we are appreciative of congress stepping into take care of that emergency funding when needed, however it turns out it might not have been. We fully support the transparency from the v.a. And making sure our taxpayer but of dollars are being accounted for properly.
▶ 1:04:46Chair Bost: For veterans suffering from substance abuse disorder, admitting that they need help and showing up is the foundational moment in the road to recovery. Do you think that the v.a. Community care process enables v.a. To get them into the immediate treatment that they need?
▶ 1:05:10Cmdr. Lipphardt: Thank you. I am going to ask pat to give you more detail. And I will follow it up.
▶ 1:05:17Mr. Murray: No. The access act and the elizabeth dole home care act had a provision to address that. We want to make sure that when veterans are brave enough to ask for help there is someone there to answer the phone and take care of that and not send them away or make them wait months or drive far too long. All of those things will hopefully save lives.
▶ 1:05:44Cmdr. Lipphardt: The passage of hr 740 would eliminate that redtape. You agree with that?
▶ 1:05:52Mr. Murray: We hope so.
▶ 1:05:55Chair Bost: The v.a. Must be held accountable for carrying benefits that veterans are receiving. We would also like to see the committee conducts more oversight of the department to drive improved services to our veterans. Would you like to see that?
▶ 1:06:12Cmdr. Lipphardt: In a word. Absolutely.
▶ 1:06:15Chair Bost: Thank you. Thank you for being here today. I yield back. And, I will yield to senator blumenthal.
▶ 1:06:26Sen. Blumenthal: Thank you. I want to say, very enthusiastically, I support the goals of the guard act. I have been working and fighting for it. Likewise, the parity legislation that is so important to the reserve and national guard. They should be treated equally. There is no question that it is a matter of fairness.
▶ 1:07:00Sen. Blumenthal: Chief, you referred to that contract that we make. When anyone in this room went into the service, they raised their right hand and they swore allegiance to the constitution and laws of the united states. That contract is legally binding. On the united states' of america and on this congress.
▶ 1:07:26Sen. Blumenthal: And we owe it to our veterans to keep our promises and follow the law. [applause] and, that is why I am so angry and disappointed that the v.a. Is firing workers who are integral to implementing the pact act.
▶ 1:07:56Sen. Blumenthal: And terminating contracts that are essential to providing those benefits under the pact act. Would you agree with me that those workers and contracts should be reinstated so that the pact act is made fully available on a timely basis to every veteran deserving of care and benefits, because of their toxic exposure?
▶ 1:08:25Cmdr. Lipphardt: Thank you very much. And, we certainly agree that the contract must be honored. We deployed. When ordered. We served. When I was wounded in vietnam, I was wounded in the neck and the left arm with shrapnel.
▶ 1:08:52Cmdr. Lipphardt: But, instead of just taking my arm off, the medics took the time to pick out the pieces. That is the way that we need to be addressing these issues. It needs to be with a scalpel and not just a saw. We must take time to look at what is happening, and who it is happening to. So, yes, I do.
▶ 1:09:22Sen. Blumenthal: That is a very powerful statement of the way that waste should be eliminated in the v.a.. Not with a meat ask, but -- axe, but with a surgeon's scalpel, cautiously and carefully.
▶ 1:09:41Sen. Blumenthal: My fear is that veterans are regarded as trash on the road to some waste removal indiscriminately and recoding inactions that, in fact, involve taking off the v.a.'s farm in the name of eliminating waste and creating bigger costs as a result. I have two sons who have served, one in the marine corps and the other is a navy seal.
▶ 1:10:12Sen. Blumenthal: I worry about the v.a. Being there for them, and for our young people and the future generations. I know the vfw is seeking to attract younger veterans. And I think your powerful advocacy is going to be a beacon for them. I thank you for being here.
▶ 1:10:32Cmdr. Lipphardt: Thank you, sir. Again, veterans are not numbers. We are people. We are people that put ourselves out there to take this -- to secure this nation. And, we deserve to have the v.a. Fully funded, fully staffed so that we can receive the best care available. Period.
▶ 1:11:04Cmdr. Lipphardt: Thank you again senator. [applause]
▶ 1:11:11Rep. Takano: Thank you. Commander, as I mentioned in my opening, I applaud the vfw's statement calling for an end to the indiscriminate firing of federal employees, especially veterans who make up one third of the workforce. I worry that these -- what these -- that these cuts will have an immediate long-lasting effect on veterans. It seems like it is fire first and analyze after.
▶ 1:11:41Rep. Takano: Cancel contracts first and analyze after. I commit to working with you and others willing to stand with us to undo the illegal and unconscionable firings. Commander, recently the v.a. Announced the termination of $2 billion worth of contracts. One of them was the program office at v.a. Tasked with the implantation of the pact act. How important is the pact act and toxic exposures to the vfw?
▶ 1:12:15Cmdr. Lipphardt: Senator, military service is inherently dangerous and we can agree on that. One of the dangers's exposure to toxins. I would like to ask our members in the audience to stand up if any of them have been exposed to toxins at any point during their military career. >> wow.
▶ 1:12:42Cmdr. Lipphardt: There is your answer. [applause] as you saw, this issue is very important to us. These are the men and women who place themselves between the weapons of our enemies and the shores. We need to be careful. Thank you.
▶ 1:13:09Rep. Takano: Wow. All I can say is we owe you. We owe you to honor the contract and to honor the pack. I am very sad to see so many affected but this honors the importance of the pact act and we cannot allow the toxic exposure funds to be dismantled. We owe it to the veterans to ensure that the funding to care for them will always be available.
▶ 1:13:39Rep. Takano: Commander, as I mentioned, I applaud the vfw statement calling to the end of the firing of employees. I am worried that these haphazard cuts -- I already did that. You highlighted the results of the last survey on the v.a. Health care that show that veterans are still overwhelmingly preferring to get there care from v.a. When available.
▶ 1:14:05Rep. Takano: I agree that there is a time and place for community care, and I'm concerned that continued growth is having a catastrophic impact on the direct care budget. What can congress do to protect the direct provision of care where available?
▶ 1:14:19Cmdr. Lipphardt: The key is consistency of care, and I'm going to ask Mr. murray to expand on that.
▶ 1:14:27Mr. Murray: We support community care as v.a. Care. We believe it is a necessary supplement to v.a. Care and we never want that to supplant v.a. Care. We want consistency. When veterans need to access committee care, -- like our members in new hampshire are all eligible because they don't have close facilities. When they need access, they need consistency and expect to be told upfront what to expect.
▶ 1:14:58Mr. Murray: That's what we want.
▶ 1:15:05Chair Moran: Congresswoman, you are recognized for three minutes. >> thank you. Commander lipphardt, in the vfw testimony you mentioned in consistency around cap on time. Can you expend the barrier service members face trying to go through the program?
▶ 1:15:30Cmdr. Lipphardt: Thank you, ma'am. I would like to ask director keenan to expound.
▶ 1:15:37Dir. Keenan: We have heard from veterans who have said they were not able to get to tap on time because of mission readiness. Not all service members have the ability to choose because of mission.
▶ 1:15:52Dir. Keenan: We want to make sure that commanders take transition seriously and that there is accountability and that they can get all of their service members who are leaving, and 80% of the force leaves before retirement, make sure that they get to those transition courses and that they get there on time.
▶ 1:16:11Dir. Keenan: >> commander lipphardt, how can this committee best support veterans to make sure they have the opportunities and resources to maintain meaningful employment?
▶ 1:16:24Cmdr. Lipphardt: Thank you for the question, ma'am. We need to codify the contract. >> thank, Mr. chairman. I yield back the balance of my time.
▶ 1:16:37Chair Moran: Senator hassan, you are recognized for three minutes.
▶ 1:16:41Senator Hassan: I want to thank you, ranking member's, for the hearing. I want to thank all of the veterans here today, especially those from the granite state. My dad was a world war ii veteran who survived the bulge, I try to make sure that I honor his memory as best I can in my work here. Commander of the part, thank you for testifying here today.
▶ 1:17:09Senator Hassan: I will add my thanks to those of senator blumenthal for your advocacy for veterans, especially those who are federal employees. The recent layoffs within the federal government have a direct impact on the veterans who have lost their jobs as well as on the service they provide to our server -- citizens, including other veterans.
▶ 1:17:30Senator Hassan: To your point about honoring contracts, we talk about honoring veterans and the best way that we can do that is with actions and not words, meaning keeping our commitment, just as you all kept our commitment to our country, the country needs to keep a commitment to all of you and I am committed to doing that.
▶ 1:17:52Senator Hassan: [applause] I will add that my dad would have said that when a country begins ignoring contracts or laws, it begins to lose its freedom. I think you all for fighting for freedom and we have to be together in the pursuit of maintaining it. [applause] commander, I had two questions for you.
▶ 1:18:18Senator Hassan: As has been discussed, your written testimony discusses the most recent vfw health survey, showing that veterans prefer using v.a. Medical facilities but have concerns about appointment availability and travel distance. I have been working with senator bozeman on a bipartisan bill to address the issue and I want to thank the vfw for their support of the bill. Under the current process, it can be difficult for veterans to coordinate all of their appointments for the same day.
▶ 1:18:51Senator Hassan: Especially for rural veterans who may travel long distances to receive care. The bill that the senator and I have would make sure that veterans can review the appointments and fully schedule them in one easy step by going online or by placing him call. Can you please discuss the importance of making sure that veterans have easy and reliable access to this care?
▶ 1:19:14Cmdr. Lipphardt: Thank you for the question. I'm going to ask pat murray.
▶ 1:19:19Mr. Murray: In an ideal world, veterans can access care and v.a. In a facility all at once shot. Go to primary car, -- primary care, swing by the pharmacy, if the orthopedist. That's ideal world. It's tough to schedule that all in one. Our ask is that in developing a scheduling tool, to the best extent possible, buy it instead of developing their own because v.a. I.t. Development is not good.
▶ 1:19:48Sen. Hassan: I hear you. Mr. chair, with one other quick point I want to highlight the work that the defense pow mia accounting agency does. This agency works to repatriate and identify american service members who have gone missing, showing that americans never leave a fallen comrade behind. They have accounted for almost 3500 missing americans since 1973 and I will submit a question for the record.
▶ 1:20:20Sen. Hassan: As the administration is looking at cutting the pentagon's budget , I'm concerned that the mission of the defense p.o.w. Nia accounting agency can be undermined or hampered and I hope we can come together to prevent that from happening. Thank you. [applause]
▶ 1:20:39Chair Moran: Congressman, you are recognized for three minutes.
▶ 1:20:44Sen. Hassan: -- representative: thank you to our distinguished guests. I deeply appreciate your organization's vital work to make sure that we fulfill promises to those who have sacrificed so much to our country. I'm interested in how we can improve access to veterans in suburban and rural areas in arizona.
▶ 1:21:10Sen. Hassan: All veterans regardless of where they live must have timely access to the care and benefits they earned. I appreciate your insights on these issues and how congress can better support the mission to serve veterans. Commander, the vfw has been a strong advocate for concurrent receipt. Can you elaborate on how the current offset between retired pay and disability compensation impacts veterans?
▶ 1:21:36Cmdr. Lipphardt: Thank you for the question. It's not a compatible thing. It seems like we are combining the retirement pay with compensation. Retirement pay is for retirement .
▶ 1:22:00Cmdr. Lipphardt: Compensation is for the service can -- connected to the disabilities we incurred as a result of our service. They are two separate and distinct things. The time is now to stop. It needs to be separated.
▶ 1:22:19Representative: I agree. [applause] what specific legislation do you ask congress to support regarding it?
▶ 1:22:29Cmdr. Lipphardt: I'm going to ask Mr. murray for specifics.
▶ 1:22:33Mr. Murray: Start by passing the registrar act. [applause] there are other, there are other parts that need to be addressed as well, including those who have lower than a 50% disability rating. Those who receive separation pay from services. Those are all being offset by current disability compensation plans.
▶ 1:23:01Mr. Murray: We want to eliminate all of those. The registrar act would be a good start. 78% cosponsored it and we never saw a single vote. We need to stop it, put on the floor, pass it and get it to the president's task. [applause]
▶ 1:23:20Sen. Hassan: What feedback --
▶ 1:23:23Representative: What feedback has the vfw gotten regarding accessing those newly expanded benefits and health care?
▶ 1:23:32Cmdr. Lipphardt: The national veterans service director, director figlioli, should respond to that.
▶ 1:23:42Dir. Figlioli: Thank you for the question. Like v.a., there continues to be challenges with wait times, access, scheduling, traveling to and from facilities. Generally, veterans are comfortable with the pack act. But those challenges still remain. We need to invest in systems that allow people to handle their own management and get into facilities quicker and make sure that everything is fully staffed and funded.
▶ 1:24:09Rep. Hamadeh: Thank you. Mr. chairman, I yelled back. >> congressman pop us, you have three minutes for questioning.
▶ 1:24:19Representative: I want to welcome all the veterans here today. This is an impressive show of force for vfw and for veterans across the country and I want to give a shout out to the veterans from new hampshire who are joining us here. We've got a couple back there, all right. Commander, I was really glad that you mentioned the guard v.a.
▶ 1:24:42Representative: Benefits act that would reinstate pick -- criminal penalties for claims sharks charging unauthorized fees for assisting veterans with their claims. I have to say that we have educated our colleagues on this issue. You have. We have gained a significant number of cosponsors on a bipartisan basis for the bill. This will be the congress where we get it across the finish line. We got the claim sharks on the run. Let's finish the job.
▶ 1:25:08Representative: [applause] thank you for your help in that regard and for your leadership. It's so important. Asking about another issue, you talk about breaking the cycle of over medication and mentioned a number of alternative therapies that I think are groundbreaking for veterans to improve quality of life and outcomes.
▶ 1:25:30Representative: One thing I hear from veterans is about the benefit of alternative therapies like acupuncture and massage, which can be game changing in terms of alleviating physical pain. We know therapy providers face obstacles due to reimbursement policies that limit their ability to care for veterans. I'm wondering if you could discuss the need to be able to focus on alternative therapies, like massage therapy, and the difference it can make for veterans.
▶ 1:26:00Cmdr. Lipphardt: Thank you, sir. I'm going to ask our national legislative director chair. We are very lucky to have him on the panel today. He is very knowledgeable in this area to include his work. I would like to ask Mr. fuller. Please, take that.
▶ 1:26:27Mr. Fuller: Thank you for the question. You mentioned three great alternatives. Many veterans suffer from these injuries. If ptsd is not treated, the effect can be detrimental in many ways, including risk of homelessness, substance abuse, financial instability, difficulty transitioning back to civilian life, and in the worst case, suicide.
▶ 1:26:53Mr. Fuller: Veterans show a willingness to confront the -- confront the challenges you mentioned and we are advocating for more access to other alternative modalities so that we can address our own unique mental and physical health challenges. Using psychedelics like ketamine and cannabis, including medical marijuana and derived consumables made legal in the 2018 federal farm bill. Our ask here is simple. We ask the v.a.
▶ 1:27:20Mr. Fuller: To give veterans every option in the toolbox. Move beyond merely studying the effectiveness of these tools and, if they work, and we are confident they do, start executing the implementation of these options. The pharmaceutical cocktail as the loan default option causes harm for many of us in this room and those who are watching. This must end. Our lives are at stake. [applause]
▶ 1:27:53Rep. Pappas: Thank you. Thank you very much for the comments. You said it, not all treatments work for all veterans. We have to work together on an evidenced-based approach to make sure we are opening doors of opportunity for veterans to get the care that works for them. I yield back my time.
▶ 1:28:12Chair Moran: Thank you. >> senator tuberville, you are recognized for three minutes for your questions.
▶ 1:28:22Senator Tuberville: Thank you very much. Thank you to the veterans here for their service. Anybody here from alabama? [cheering] we have to get louder than that. Come on. Plus all the veterans services organizations, thank you for what you do. A lot of times your work goes unnoticed. Our v.a. Operates the largest health care system in the united states and is one of the largest in the world.
▶ 1:28:52Senator Tuberville: As a member of these committees, we must make sure our veterans are receiving the best around the world. Now, we have got to get rid of the fraud. We have got to get rid of the waste. Trump has taken a hit from a lot of people, but folks, we won't have a country if we don't get this mess straightened out. We are in trouble. Our veterans are going to be in trouble if we don't get this straightened out. We've got to get it going in the right direction.
▶ 1:29:20Senator Tuberville: Commander, you mentioned in your testimony dissatisfaction among veterans with the commercial -- community care referral process. I'm also very dissatisfied. I get more calls on that than anybody. We are 60% rural and have 500,000 veterans. The red tape is disastrous. Veterans must cut through this red tape. We need to be providing community care.
▶ 1:29:49Senator Tuberville: Would you say that your members receive mental health care more frequently through the v.a. Directly, or through the community care network, Mr. commander?
▶ 1:29:57Cmdr. Lipphardt: For a more complete answer, sir, I'm going to ask pat for this.
▶ 1:30:04Mr. Murray: We will take that for the record and get back to you. We don't know the breakdown of the mental health care that is received in the community at v.a., but we would be more than happy to learn more about that. I believe there is a bill coming out of the senate affairs committee next week that looks to maybe address that.
▶ 1:30:24Sen. Tuberville: Let me ask you, if a veteran is denied community care, what is your advice to these veterans, if they get denied community care and are told that you got to drive three hours to a v.a., what's your advice?
▶ 1:30:38Mr. Murray: My advice is to urge that if they are eligible based on drive time or wait time access to press the issue. That is what the mission act put in place. That is the law. We want v.a. To adhere to the law. When applicable, community care is incredibly helpful. If a veteran will receive better care through the community instead of driving for three hours, for example, yes, we want that to be the case.
▶ 1:31:04Sen. Tuberville: No doubt. In a lot of states it will be a necessity because veterans cannot drive for hours and hours. Commander lipphardt, you mentioned the importance of veterans having accessible treatments. I got a bill on the floor on hyperbaric chambers, where veterans can use a hyperbaric chamber. I'm being fought at every turn. What's your thought on that?
▶ 1:31:31Cmdr. Lipphardt: Thank you, senator. I'm sending it back to Mr. fuller.
▶ 1:31:36Mr. Fuller: As you heard me say earlier, we advocate for alternatives, like the hyperbaric oxygen chamber that has proven to be effective treatment for traumatic brain injury, ptsd, and tissue regeneration, which can prevent amputations. It has proven very effective. I would bet you have a good understanding of tbi and cte as a former football coach. It's effective and something that we will advocate.
▶ 1:32:03Sen. Tuberville: It helps everybody with concussions and it would help veterans and we need to get it done. Thank you very much.
▶ 1:32:10Mr. Fuller: Yes, sir. [applause]
▶ 1:32:15Cmdr. Lipphardt: I would like to add one thing to that, it's kind of a general for all of our conversations this morning. I don't think any group of people appreciates effort more than a member of the veterans of foreign wars. All veterans appreciate effort. But you know, it is achievement that we celebrate.
▶ 1:32:46Cmdr. Lipphardt: Until it's done, it ain't done. We have got to get it done. >> representative morrison, you are now recognized for three minutes for your questions.
▶ 1:32:59Representative Morrison: Thank you, madam chair. Thank you to all the witnesses for being here today. I want to start by saying that as a daughter-in-law of a disabled veteran and wife of combat veteran, I want to offer my profound gratitude to everyone in this room. Last week I received the devastating news that the v.a. Mass firings hit the minneapolis v.a., serving the veterans in my district.
▶ 1:33:22Representative Morrison: I team and I heard some truly gut wrenching stories about employees terminated, combat veterans, disabled veterans, people who may not have served but were honored to work for those who did. All of them terminated without cause through no cause of their own. In my view, there are two big problems here. First, the impact on the ability of the v.a. To deliver care and benefits to the veterans. The v.a.
▶ 1:33:52Representative Morrison: Is already dealing with staffing shortages. The last thing we should be doing is firing people for no good reason. As a doctor, let me tell you, the entire team plays a role in optimizing on the delivery of care, from the provider to the person who greets the veteran at the door. My second point is one that I think we need to be talking about more. Veterans make up a tiny percentage of the population. 's 30% of the federal workforce are veterans.
▶ 1:34:21Representative Morrison: If you cut 1000 federal jobs, odds are you are putting 300 veterans out of work. At the v.a. We are talking about firing veterans who made a conscious decision to serve their fellow veterans after serving their country. Regardless of whether or not you agree with the wave of terminations across the federal government, it's clear that these actions will disproportionately harm veterans , which is incredibly troubling to me. Commander lipphardt, my first question is simple.
▶ 1:34:49Representative Morrison: Do you think that firing thousands of v.a. Employees will be helpful or harmful for your members?
▶ 1:34:55Cmdr. Lipphardt: With all due respect, ma'am, it's going to kill us. [applause] of course it's going to impact us. To me there is nothing more sacred than taking care of those who serve this nation. Who stopped their own lives to give service to this nation.
▶ 1:35:29Cmdr. Lipphardt: And it's got to be fixed, it's got to be fixed. We have 1.4 million members. Those are our members. That's not who we represent. We represent 18 million, 18 million veterans. All veterans need to be respected and treated with respect and be honorably discharged. Thank you, ma'am.
▶ 1:35:54Rep. Morrison: Thank you. [applause] if you would allow me a brief question, preventing veteran suicide is a top priority of every member here today, house and senate, democrat and republican. We know that access to mental health care is essential. Can you share more about how transition assistance and housing access can have a role to play in eliminating veteran suicide?
▶ 1:36:20Cmdr. Lipphardt: I'm going to ask Mr. murray, he's got some examples of what's happened.
▶ 1:36:27Mr. Murray: Thank you, commander. We know that there is more to combating veteran suicide than simply mental health appointments. It needs to be the number one priority, not just the clinical priority.
▶ 1:36:40Mr. Murray: We are also focused on the benefits that can help to alleviate that, including housing, things like our roof over your head, food on your table, money in your wallet, those can be preventers in stopping veterans for making that negative slide to a fatal final decision. Housing is one of the key components we see as keeping veterans from not just dying by suicide, but helping wants them forward for success. That is what we want to focus on, making veterans the best americans they can be.
▶ 1:37:11Rep. Morrison: Thank you very much and shout out to the minnesota vets out there. [cheering]
▶ 1:37:15Chair Moran: The chair recognizes senator sullivan.
▶ 1:37:20Senator Sullivan: Thank you. Commanders, veterans, great to see you. Last year I retired after 30 years on active duty in the reserves in the united states marine corps. So, I knew that that would get a shout out. I am now joining another esteemed group of americans and alaskans, I'm officially a united states veteran. I love that.
▶ 1:37:49Senator Sullivan: [applause] proud number -- proud member of vfw post eagle river alaska, 975. I know my fellow alaskans travel far for these meetings. I know we have some here in the audience. Any alaskans? Alaska has more veterans per capita than any state in the country. How about a round of applause for them? Traveling the furthest way? Maybe with the exception of hawaii.
▶ 1:38:19Chair Moran: Will always respect, you have three minutes time. [laughter]
▶ 1:38:27Rep. Morrison: I'm just very
▶ 1:38:30Happy -- Sen. Sullivan: I'm just very happy to see everyone. Let me begin with an issue that I know the vfw and american legion have supported. The camp lejeune act that passed. You have seen these ads on tv. They are not helpful, we passed the act to help sick marines and their families from camp lejeune .
▶ 1:38:55Happy -- Sen. Sullivan: The tv ads are all of these law firms that are charging 60 percent to 70% contingency fees to take the money from them, the sick marine families, putting it in their pockets. It's one of the most disgusting things I've seen in my 10 years in the U.S. senate.
▶ 1:39:13Happy -- Sen. Sullivan: Can I get your commitment, working with the department of justice and others, to not allow that to happen with these law firms were doing these ads, billions in ads, by the way, not to help marines but to take receive there that get their money. Fa firms will get paid to a certain degree, but not 60% contingency fees, that's highway robbery. Commander, can I get your commitment?
▶ 1:39:37Cmdr. Lipphardt: Absolutely, vfw is committed.
▶ 1:39:41Sen. Sullivan: Thank you. All right. Thank you. [applause] got to take care of sick marines, not law firms. They don't need the extra money. One final question, I know it matters to my colleagues, senator king and I are working on the legislation with senator cramer that we will be introducing soon called supporting the rural veteran access to health care services.
▶ 1:40:06Sen. Sullivan: In big states like ours that are very rural, are veterans who live in rural communities have a harder time accessing their services, but they have earned their benefits just like anyone who lives in a big city.
▶ 1:40:21Sen. Sullivan: Can we work with the vfw once it's introduced to get your support on this bill that really tries to emphasize making sure every veteran, big city or a small community in rural alaska or maine gets the benefits they have earned? Can I get your commitment to working with us on this important bill?
▶ 1:40:42Cmdr. Lipphardt: Absolutely, sir. We will be honored to work with you.
▶ 1:40:47Sen. Sullivan: Great. Thank you very much. Mr. chairman?
▶ 1:40:51Chair Moran: Senator sullivan, thank you for your service. Representative connolly?
▶ 1:40:59Representative Connolly: Thank, Mr. chairman. As a veteran myself, hailing from new jersey, I want to express my gratitude for you, commander lipphardt, for your testimony and your colleagues who have offered valuable information to this committee to help our deliberations.
▶ 1:41:21Representative Connolly: As members of congress, it is our responsibility to make sure that every -- to make sure everyone receives their health services. Across many administrations we have been leaving our colleagues behind. We do not leave allies in the field either. Sadly, we are seeing that as well.
▶ 1:41:45Representative Connolly: Increase in -- increase enrollment in ba care, it's important that we prioritize equipping our facilities with tools and technology of the 21st century so that veterans can get the care that they richly deserve. We have heard about council contracts and mass firings across the various facilities in our country. As a practicing physician myself , I cannot help but work in hospitals for much of my career.
▶ 1:42:15Representative Connolly: I understand fully well how important it is that a team is there and ready and willing to take care of those who present themselves for care. We know that many veterans, particularly as they are leaving the service, have suffered from ptsd. They might have experienced military trauma, sexual trauma, anxiety, stress, mental health and addictive disorders, just to name a few.
▶ 1:42:47Representative Connolly: What is your thought about the shortfalls that we are seeing in health services for our veterans? Do you agree with me that we are seen shortfalls? And are there particular things you would like to see the v.a. Do with respect to those deficiencies?
▶ 1:43:07Cmdr. Lipphardt: Thank you very much, sir. For a detailed answer, I'm a big picture guy, not the detail guy.
▶ 1:43:17Rep. Conaway: Always travel with the detail guy, that's a good idea. Mr. murray?
▶ 1:43:22Mr. Fuller: Thank you -- Mr.
▶ 1:43:25Murray: Thank you, chief. For years we've been struggling to fill these vacancies. Tens of thousands of open positions the v.a. Cannot fill. In the past few weeks we have seen the indiscriminate firing of people. Not for performance, but simply because they are in a probationary status. In order to get the services veterans have earned, it needs to be fully staffed and fully funded. There are examples across the country.
▶ 1:43:52Murray: We are joined here by mike slater, who gave us this picture at the vet center in springfield massachusetts because of abrupt and unplanned staff shortages, we cannot reach you at this time. If you must schedule, come back at the time of your appointment. We apologize for this impact on your care. That is reducing services for veterans. Those are our critical points of contact for the v.a.
▶ 1:44:21Murray: And if you want to improve services we have to make sure that people can answer the phones and greet them at the door when they show up for the care. [applause]
▶ 1:44:35Rep. Conaway: Yet we have seen the indiscriminate cancellation of contract designed to make sure that we are recruiting health care providers into v.a. Care and as we have heard, and as it needs to be put in this, if you cancel these contracts, you don't have your freedom. We have got to make sure that that stops. Thank you, Mr. chairman, I appreciate it. Thank you, veterans.
▶ 1:45:01Chair Moran: Senator hirono?
▶ 1:45:06Senator Hirono: I'm glad to join my colleagues today from the house and senate. Good to see all the veterans. I think that every state is represented, from what I've heard. I would like to acknowledge, I hope the presence of the people from hawaii, hope you are still out there. [cheering]
▶ 1:45:25Sen. Hirono: Ok. [laughter] you deserve a shout out. Each of us sits on a number of committees. I sit on five. One thing about the veterans committee is that we each have a commitment to listen to and work with veterans to be of assistance. I can't say that about every committee I sit on, but this is one committee where we are united in wanting to be of service to all of you who have been of service to our country.
▶ 1:45:58Sen. Hirono: We have through so much of the advocacy that you have presented to us made major legislation. Most recently the pact act, but we have had the dole act, the isaacson row act, a number of sufficient -- significant pieces of legislation that have served to help veterans.
▶ 1:46:18Sen. Hirono: That is so much because of your advocacy and your continual pointing out to us that more needs to be done in terms of, for example, other areas, like ptsd care, suicide. Women veterans. [applause] women veterans, yes, finally acknowledging that women veterans should have care that is specialized to them.
▶ 1:46:45Sen. Hirono: So, thank you very much are in the minutes of thousands of people getting fired. As mentioned, every group that gets fired because right now but they happen to be on probationary status includes a lot of veterans. So, it is not just the v.a. That fired most recently 1400 people on probationary status, but you have the dod, the department of defense, the department of justice.
▶ 1:47:13Sen. Hirono: Thousands of people are getting fired. Not because of any indication of fraud or waste, but indiscriminate firing. There is chaos and fear across the country. At the moment this is not the way to run a government and it certainly no way to treat federal workers, of whom many are veterans. At the same time that those 1400 people from the v.a.
▶ 1:47:39Sen. Hirono: Were fired, we get a notice that 300,000 job openings need to be filled at the v.a.. In hawaii, just in our system, we have 5000 vacancies. There are a lot of other departments that have had to deal with hiring freezes.
▶ 1:48:02Sen. Hirono: Because of the need for the veterans, a hiring freeze was lifted for the v.a., but we are talking about hundreds of thousands of vacancies. The word crazy comes to mind.
▶ 1:48:19Sen. Hirono: As we continue to work with you, I want you all to know that as so many of us have been here to reinforce our commitment to work with you, I will continue to do so, because obviously there is a lot more that needs to be done and I want to thank the chairs of the house and senate committees for this hearing, each one of you, and commander, thank you so much for coming here with your team. Aloha. I yield back.
▶ 1:48:48Chair Moran: Thank you. I recognize senator king.
▶ 1:48:53Senator King: It has been noted yet, I don't think, this hearing falls on an appropriate day, the only day of the year that is a military command, march forth. [applause] we should be marching forth on the guard act, richard star act, and protecting veterans who work for the U.S. government. Marching forth. [applause] go ahead, Mr. commander?
▶ 1:49:22Cmdr. Lipphardt: I was going to say thank you for the invitation to come back. [laughter] we remember 1930.
▶ 1:49:32Sen. King: Any time. Any time. These staffing cuts, there have been 2400 firings at the v.a., but then there was a hiring freeze that left a couple of thousand places open, so we are really down 5000 in the last month at the v.a.. Here's how random it is. At first they were going to have it apply to doctors and nurses. Then they said no, those are direct care workers, we will exempt them.
▶ 1:50:00Sen. King: If nobody is there to answer the phone when a veteran calls for an appointment, that's a denial of benefits.
▶ 1:50:07Cmdr. Lipphardt: Yes, sir. [applause]
▶ 1:50:11Sen. King: The point has been made, 30% of federal employees are veterans, so when you see that 1000 people were fired at the cia, wherever it is, that's veterans. In our hospital in maine, we had seven people laid off. Fiber veterans. That's a hell of a way to treat someone who put their life on the line for the country.
▶ 1:50:34Cmdr. Lipphardt: Absolutely.
▶ 1:50:36Sen. King: The other thing, they said they are firing people who are on probation, probation meaning you started work in the last year or two. In the federal government, if you are promoted you are on probation. You could have someone who has worked for the v.a. For 10 years, get promoted, happen to be on probation and they get fired. I hate the picture of that guy with the chainsaw laughing about firing people from our government. [applause]
▶ 1:51:07Sen. King: You put it well in your statement, you said you were wounded in combat during vietnam and are thankful that the medics who treated me chose not to take my whole arm for the sake of efficiency. It took a trained eye and a skillful hand, human intuition to fix me up and get me back in the fight. In my experience, those operating with a scalpel have a better chance of saving lives than those who operate with a chainsaw. Thank you, Mr.
▶ 1:51:37Sen. King: Commander, for making that statement. Another point, transition. "in my view, we should put as much money, time, and effort into the transition out as we do into the recruiting in.
▶ 1:51:50Cmdr. Lipphardt: Yes, sir. Absolutely.
▶ 1:51:53Sen. King: That is a real disservice to veterans. [applause] finally, my wife says that I say finally too much and it gets people's hopes up, but finally, your voice is more important right now then perhaps it has ever been. We need to hear from the veterans of america. They need to speak up about what's going on and how we protect those who, as I said, when they signed up for their job, but their lives on the line for this country.
▶ 1:52:24Sen. King: Thank you to the vfw. Thank you for your advocacy. Keep at it, we need you. [applause]
▶ 1:52:32Cmdr. Lipphardt: Senator, thank you very much. Please know that the veterans of foreign wars have changed direction. We are moving forward. You are going to hear from us and see us a lot more. So, thank you.
▶ 1:52:54Chair Moran: Senator king, thank you.
▶ 1:53:02Senator: Is the only hoosier on the house veterans affairs committee, this work is so important, but we cannot do our job without the help of all of you. On behalf of all of the hoosiers in the room, it's an honor to represent you in the veterans who are here. Thank you for your important work. Commander, I am new to the senate, I served in the house for eight years, house committee for six of those eight years. I'm rolling up my sleeves and getting to work on a lot of issues important to veterans and all of you.
▶ 1:53:32Senator: Real quick, I'm preparing to legislation that I worked on in the house to refund the veterans g.I. Bills who later became eligible for the post 9/11 bills. Something we can work on?
▶ 1:53:48Cmdr. Lipphardt: Absolutely. I would like to call on director keenan for the details.
▶ 1:53:59Dir. Figlioli: We are happy --
▶ 1:54:04Dir. Keenan: We are happy to take a look at that. Love the idea, happy to work with your office.
▶ 1:54:10Sen. Banks: Very good. I'm also working legislation to make sure veterans can always be buried with their spouses, regardless of what kind of burial they choose. Is that something we can work on together?
▶ 1:54:21Cmdr. Lipphardt: Again, sir, thank you, and the answer is absolutely.
▶ 1:54:29Sen. Banks: Thank you. The v.a. Has been cooperating with nonprofit public mental health organizations to prevent veteran suicide. Since congress passed the john scott hannan act that you were all such a big part of getting over the finish line with other legislation, what results have we seen and how can we expand it?
▶ 1:54:51Cmdr. Lipphardt: Thank you, sir. I'm going to ask pat to respond with specifics.
▶ 1:54:57Mr. Murray: We know that some of those commissions, it's where the transition is, where the rubber meets the road. They are the folks in the community who know these things. The v.a. Can do a great job for a lot of it, but we need to put resources into those great organizations in the community that can really affect chand pete -- change. The john scott hannan act provided that.
▶ 1:55:26Mr. Murray: We want to make sure that funding stays in place for that critical mission.
▶ 1:55:30Sen. Banks: My last question, Mr. commander, the v.a. Has been resistant when it comes to changes to leasing and construction. It takes five years to lease a clinic and 10 to 20 years to build a new hospital. Similar to the innovation and mental health, how should the v.a. Partner with local governments and parked -- private health care systems to develop new facilities?
▶ 1:55:57Cmdr. Lipphardt: Sir, thank you very much. I'm again going to ask pat to respond.
▶ 1:56:05Mr. Murray: Construction is behind it. There's a lot that needs to be done. They need to figure out more dynamic ways, like the private sector does. If you look at systems like kaiser, they put 3% of their operating budget into their infrastructure. The v.a. Is closer to 1%. There are things you can do to move the process along so that you are not designing, bidding, and then building. There's a way to do that to hopefully shorten the length of the overall contracts, but we need to make sure that the v.a.
▶ 1:56:36Mr. Murray: Has proper staffing at central officers -- offices for those positions. Not just doctors and nurses, but the people who oversee the building of those facilities and they need help as well.
▶ 1:56:49Sen. Banks: I agree and I look forward to working with you on those issues. God bless.
▶ 1:56:55Chair Moran: Senator banks, thank you.
▶ 1:57:01Senator: I am one of those veterans that got paid in to the gl bit -- g.I. But never used the modern g.I. Bill. Thank you for being here. [applause] >> there you go.
▶ 1:57:14Senator: Thank you, things to get done. I am a member of chapter 720 in scottsdale, thank you for everything that you do. I'm concerned. The guys that I served with were relatively young. Iraq, 2005 early 40's. -- 2005, now in their early 40's. They committed their lives. They are scared.
▶ 1:57:44Senator: They feel like they are being disrespected. They passed up lucrative careers in the private sector because they wanted a mission oriented job that was still in service to the country. Now some of them are questioning whether or not they will be able to pay the rent if something goes bad, or the mortgage. If veterans are being treated this way by the guy with the chainsaw and a bunch of 20-year-old kids who probably never served or gotten close to a weapon in their lives, it scares the heck out of me.
▶ 1:58:14Senator: I encourage us to worry about our veterans who are being serviced in the v.a., but when 30% of the workforce is veterans and we know, at least from my experience, the thing that was most stabilizing for me coming back with ptsd was that I could get a job right away and the fact that 30% of our workforce is potentially engaging in fire, you could put these men and women into a hard situation.
▶ 1:58:42Senator: More to the v.a., commander lipphardt, what concerns do your members have about the way these cuts are being handled and what would you say to them about what's been taken into account before acting on those cuts and layoffs or even the contracts that are so important for veterans, veteran outreach and suicide hotlines?
▶ 1:59:03Cmdr. Lipphardt: Thank you very much, sir. I'm going to ask a member of the panel here who I believe shared the same dirt that you did when deployed, Mr. murray.
▶ 1:59:16Sen. Gallego: Mr. murray?
▶ 1:59:18Mr. Murray: Thank you, senator. I believe we might have crossed paths, we were there in two thousand six. You have our commitment to making sure that these cuts, these firings, are stopped. We often care about veteran unemployment. If we don't care about veterans not having jobs, then what are the veterans of foreign wars doing here? We have to make sure that stays in place.
▶ 1:59:45Mr. Murray: While every position might not be essential for government shutdown rules, they are very important, as we highlighted, just having people answering the phone. We need to make sure that these veterans are gainfully employed and that the ones who are high performers are not let go indiscriminately.
▶ 2:00:02Chair Moran: Senator cassidy?
▶ 2:00:07Senator Cassidy: Happy mardi gras to my people from louisiana and the people who wish they were from louisiana, if only for a day. [applause] commander lipphardt, in your testimony you talked about how investing in technology can help with the backlog for veteran applications.
▶ 2:00:35Senator Cassidy: Multiple secretaries ago I asked them something and they said the main point that we should be about is the veteran. So, with that spirit, I thought about how ai could take a stack of papers required for someone's application for you name it and in five minutes it has done everything that has to be done for a human to sit there and review it intelligently. Wouldn't that be great? I think I've learned that it can take up to 40 days for the v.a.
▶ 2:01:05Senator Cassidy: Claims management system to simply register a new claim submission. If 40 days is shrunk to five minutes or 30 seconds, how much better is it for the veteran? That's where I'm kind of coming at this from. By the way, we know that if you miss a deadline, everything starts over.
▶ 2:01:26Senator Cassidy: If you can catch the deadline, even if you suddenly realize there is something else you have to add, you can just quickly put it back in, so how much better for the veteran? Anything else? I don't mean to offend you, but you might be like the oldest guy on the panel.
▶ 2:01:46Senator Cassidy: I'm's [laughter] -- [laughter] I'm struck that the oldest guy is working to make things better and -- working to use tech to make things better for the veteran. What else do you have that we can channel into our conversations with the secretary to up the game?
▶ 2:02:05Cmdr. Lipphardt: Thank you very much, sir. My first comment relative to that is that it is 2025. Technology is here. We need to use technology. That is how we are going to move ahead. The department of defense has implemented it. It's about time that the veterans administration does. I would like for pat to be more specific.
▶ 2:02:32Sen. Cassidy: Mr. murray?
▶ 2:02:36Mr. Fuller: -- dir. Figlioli: commander-in-chief, we are looking at ai and understand that those processing times will be reduced for claims as the v.a. Is processing more claims than ever. They are already using it in some areas and are trying to get claims granted as quickly as possible. It's not out of the question. As the commander-in-chief said, it's here, it's the way of the world.
▶ 2:03:05Mr. Fuller: Similar to other advancements, ai is on the way. Getting the claims processed faster, absolutely. With the other electronic initiatives that need to be completed, if we don't look forward, we end up looking backwards and we need to keep pushing v.a. Forward to invest in I.t. Infrastructure and make sure the programs are up to date and that they are fully funded.
▶ 2:03:34Sen. Cassidy: I'm a physician as well. You are discussing -- I'm over but I will quickly finish up. You brought up electronic health records. Part of the problem with the is this related to service activity or not is that there is so much noise, and you have got to get the signal. I think you are saying that if we use ai and couple it with our massive amount of electronic health data, we can pick out the signal of that which is -- my gosh, service related after all.
▶ 2:04:06Sen. Cassidy: We were never able to detect it before. One more way we can serve the veteran.
▶ 2:04:12Dir. Figlioli: Agree, but fully running ai may not be -- people stomach mistakes, but working with ai has its place. It also needs to be subject to human review.
▶ 2:04:27Sen. Cassidy: Human has to be in the loop. Thank you again for your service. Happy mardi gras. [applause]
▶ 2:04:35Chair Moran: Senator cassidy, thank you. Before we close out this panel and transition to our second panel, thank you, commander. I often give our witnesses the chance to provide additional momentary thoughts, things that you wanted to correct, if you made errors or things you want to make sure you reiterate. Commander?
▶ 2:05:00Cmdr. Lipphardt: Thank you very much, sir. I would like to again comment about the contract. Contracts are contracts. There is an obligation there. I wish we could go back to shaking hands. My work is my bond. -- my word is my bond. The only thing that belongs to you, belongs to me. I word must be honored.
▶ 2:05:31Cmdr. Lipphardt: That's all we are asking. My life's mantra is believing what you do and do what you believe. I know that that's what this committee does. I know that you are dedicated. Again, where are we frustrated here as veterans? The effort is appreciated, but we have got to get across the goal line.
▶ 2:06:03Cmdr. Lipphardt: I remember the army-navy game from a couple of years ago. The navy had the ball on the goal line. It was like six inches away. The touchdown, it would've changed the game. They made a good effort, but they didn't get it across the goal line. So, army celebrated. We celebrated. I'm so honored to have been here.
▶ 2:06:28Cmdr. Lipphardt: I'm so honored that we have so many of our members as well as others in the room. I think it's a testimony to the passion that we feel and the change that we are making to better serve, help serve you.
▶ 2:06:51Chair Moran: We also feel that. Thank you to your members in leadership team today. I smiled when you said what you said, because occasionally, occasionally I am complemented for my efforts. And my standard response is that someday I would like to be complemented for my results.
▶ 2:07:13Cmdr. Lipphardt: Absolutely. [applause]
▶ 2:07:16Chair Moran: We are going to take a brief recess. Commander, I'm going to come down and shake your hand. It still means something important to me. We are going to ask the vfw audience, as they depart, to the part of the side. Your colleagues with the other vs owes, we will see if this works, will come in on the side. Let's see a lot of organization from the vfw. We stand in recess.
▶ 2:13:39Chair Moran: I'm not yet quite calling to hearing back to order, but I am trying to see if we can get some. Give us a moment and we will be back in session.
▶ 2:14:44Chair Moran: The committee will return to order and we will proceed to a second panel of witnesses. As we said earlier, we are delighted you are here. We will see it again in this setting. Thank you for your presence and for those who are joining us today in the hearing. This is our final panel of four panels for the joint sessions that we have had for a long history. With us today are our second panel, Mr. robert thomas, national president of the paralyzed veterans of america.
▶ 2:15:13Chair Moran: Miss allison jaslow, chief executive officer of the iraq and afghanistan veterans of america. Mr. jared lyeon, chief executive officer for the student veterans of american. Major bonnie carroll, president and founder of the tragedy assistance program for survivors.
▶ 2:15:36Chair Moran: Meredith beck, vice president of the government and community engagement elizabeth old foundation, and miss kathryn monet, chief executive officer of the national coalition for homeless veterans.
▶ 2:15:49Chair Moran: I looked at the list before I attempted per pronounce your names in there was no one I thought I would have difficulty with, but my take away, in addition to the relief that I know how to pronounce your names is there is no one on this panel I don't know, no one on this panel the committee hasn't worked well with, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to hear from each of you today. With that, let us begin to do so. I now recognize Mr.
▶ 2:16:17Chair Moran: Thomas, paralyzed veterans of america.
▶ 2:16:23Mr. Thomas: Thank you. Members of the committees, thank you for the opportunity to testify on the behalf of the tens of thousands of veterans with spinal cord injuries and disorders. Today I want to focus on their top priority, preserving the specialty system, preserving the v.a. Preeminent system of care for veterans with spinal cord injuries and disorders.
▶ 2:16:48Mr. Thomas: On more than one occasion I have testified before these committees about our concerns that their system of care is being slowly starved of staffing , infrastructure up -- upgrades, and funding for its survival. Not for the mist -- for the sake of the v.a., but for the sake of the veterans it serves. My friend, a fellow pva member, received cares for sei for eight years until he was introduced to the sciv system of care.
▶ 2:17:21Mr. Thomas: Once into v.a. Care, his health improved. He believes he would have died if he hadn't begun to receive specialized health care from v.a. Medical professionals who understand our injuries and illnesses. Despite best temptations -- intentions, community health care providers are not as well equipped to meet our complex needs. That is why so many veterans like myself choose the care provided by the v.a.. The entire model is designed with us in mind.
▶ 2:17:50Mr. Thomas: That's why thousands of pva members, their families and supporters have signed a petition opposing any effort to dismantle the scid system of care and the life saving services they provide. We choose v.a.
▶ 2:18:10Mr. Thomas: Unfortunately, this system is facing challenges of epic proportions and the consequences, if not addressed now, will prove devastating for veterans with specialized health care needs. For example, one of the 25 sei day's end -- scid centers can only use half of their beds because staffing exceeds 2%.
▶ 2:18:33Mr. Thomas: The leadership recently denied again their request to backfill resignations and as a result, over time increasing and we expect additional resignations due to burnout and closures. Staffing shortages are not new. The scid system of care has been short hundreds of nurses for years, with total staff vacancies hovering around 35%.
▶ 2:19:02Mr. Thomas: The department has been concealing its vacancy problems through the use of overtime, which if taken away may reveal much more staffing issues. Without proper staffing, veterans may be forced to accept care from the community when it is not the type of care that they would receive it a v.a. Facility. Most importantly, when it is not their decision to do so.
▶ 2:19:28Mr. Thomas: In addition to staffing shortages, the system also contains -- continues to suffer from infrastructure deficiencies. The average age of an scid center is 45 years. Consequently, we had major incidents at several of the last year. For example, a plumbing system failure at one facility let it half of the center. It took one month to repair the system, restore the impacted areas in blue patients back to the center.
▶ 2:19:59Mr. Thomas: We call -- we asked congress to address infrastructure deficiencies to meet the demand for care read for those of us with catastrophic injuries, v.a. Is the cornerstone of our care. The cause of an is clear, lies to veterans like rick and myself and thousands of other veterans with scid her at stake.
▶ 2:20:27Mr. Thomas: There have been many changes to federal staffing and funding. We understand and generally support the desire for veterans to benefits, the arbitrary and haphazard these efforts are being approached is failing that mission and harming veterans. Pva members are concerned v.a. Provided care will not be available in the future and the life-saving research will be curtailed.
▶ 2:21:00Mr. Thomas: Even though many political providers may be protected by staffing changes, not all are included. Including veterans that treat veterans how to get back to society after catastrophic disability. They are equally concerned about access to benefits like home modifications and delayed because of staffing shortages.
▶ 2:21:27Mr. Thomas: How can we expect physicians, nurses, vocational rehab counselors and others to be focused on their mission to get with veterans while the specter of losing their jobs hangs over their heads? They carry the workload of multiple positions. They can't. As a body charged with v.a. Oversight I urge you to add before veterans are harmed any further. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have. >> Mr. thomas, thank you.
▶ 2:22:01Mr. Thomas: >> chairman moran, chairman bost, ranking members and members of the committee, on behalf of iraq and afghanistan veterans of america and over 425,000 numbers and supporters nationwide thank you for the opportunity to represent our nation's post 9/11 veterans today. Being the ceo has been a privilege of a lifetime.
▶ 2:22:27Mr. Thomas: The young second lieutenant who boarded a plane on route to iraq did not envision this is where would be today but here I am. For every day I have sat in this seat I have to bring it for my veteran -- generation of veterans. I have done my best to show up regardless of where they live, their racial or ethnic background door how they vote.
▶ 2:22:49Mr. Thomas: I could also spend time articulating legislative priorities so you and your staff could pander to our community along with the rest of your colleagues, but as our staff and cavalry behind me know, that is not my style. One of the most profound experiences I have had of life was being appointed as a summary court officer following a platoon leader's death in iraq in 2005.
▶ 2:23:15Mr. Thomas: I will never forget the battalion paralegal handing me his orders and saying, this is the definition of soldiering on. I entered that lieutenant's quarters with a noncommissioned officer also appointed to help inventories belongings, pack them up and ship them up behind his body. My soldiers were also soldiering on.
▶ 2:23:39Mr. Thomas: Back on the road providing security to convoys, dodging arms and small arms fire and completing the mission, even if it no longer made any sense. Soldiering on the something many of us have gotten good at. It help me get through a second 15 month deployment in iraq and even after the army it served me well to be a force of good like where I find myself today. I may be good at soldiering on at this point in my life, but frankly I'm tired of it.
▶ 2:24:11Mr. Thomas: I know our members are tired of it, too. Tired of soldiering on we learned another one of our buddies has taken their life because they could not deal with the torment war inflicted on them or would we are tired of soldiering on when the rest of america does not notice and tired of soldiering on as elected leaders give us lipservice instead of leadership.
▶ 2:24:32Mr. Thomas: Our nation is at a crossroads and members, while they may want care for the cancer they got after being exposed in afghanistan or the ability to use cannabis to bring relief to wartime wounds what they really want is what america wants, leadership.
▶ 2:24:51Mr. Thomas: Not just from their president but also the rest of their government including this congress that is advocated so much authority in recent decades , whether war powers authority as post 9/11 veterans have been deployed over and over without question or the need to tell a president, even if they are from their own party, that they have crossed a line the average citizen knows they should not of crossed.
▶ 2:25:15Mr. Thomas: If that makes me wonder what the hell we fought for, most of us who served would tell you, despite complicated politics of the conflict we found ourselves in, what helped was commitment to the men and women to the left and right of us. That was true for me as a 22-year-old platoon leader and remains true today. But I wish it was not the case.
▶ 2:25:36Mr. Thomas: I joined the army because I love my country and what we stand for and was willing to put it on the line to defend it but what I did not realize back then but do now was how much that made me and my fellow veterans unique. What I also did not realize was how different it made us from the people who sent my generation of veterans to war.
▶ 2:25:58Mr. Thomas: Despite that we swore a similar oath, many of the people who asked us to risk our lives in defense of our country were so lacking in courage themselves they are unwilling to risk their political lives to do the same. That should weigh more heavily on your conscience then it seems to. If you want to get back to post 9/11 generation veterans, stop asking us to soldier on when none of us is satisfied with the leadership in this country.
▶ 2:26:27Mr. Thomas: Follow my generation of veterans lead and make sacrifices that prove you're worthy of the office you hold and if you really care about our troops still serving in uniform and this country we love, you will do so starting today. Later this evening the eyes of this country will be focused on this building to see who is and who is not meeting the moment. Our ivea cavalry members will be watching and have every right to judge and judge harshly.
▶ 2:26:54Mr. Thomas: If you want their stamp of approval going forward, I recommend you meet with the moment is asking of you tonight and of the days ahead. The time for asking us to soldier on has come to an end. Thank you for your time. [applause] >> thank you.
▶ 2:27:27Mr. Thomas: I assume that is directed to members of this committee and the united states congress.
▶ 2:27:31Ms. Jaslow: Yes, sir, all 535. >> we need you to be specific, forceful and direct as you have been and to name names. Mr. lyons, you're recognized for five minutes.
▶ 2:27:51Mr. Lyon: Thank you for inviting student veterans of america to share legislative priorities. I'm honored to represent the 840,000 students using their g.I. Bill and over 1600 chapters worldwide building stronger communities for student veterans, military connected students, families, caregivers and survivors. Research shows belonging is essential to student success.
▶ 2:28:23Mr. Lyon: Be that in a traditional college environment, online learning or vocational training. Especially true for veterans transitioning to campuses that may not fully understand the value of their military service. Sva chapters foster that offering mentorship, peer support and pathways to academic and career achievement.
▶ 2:28:47Mr. Lyon: If you are here with sva, I ask you to please stand or raise your hands we can recognize your commitment. [applause]
▶ 2:29:02Mr. Lyon: Thank you. Our mission is to empower veterans to succeed to, through and beyond higher education, beyond earning degrees and certificates, it is about strengthening our workforce, fueling innovation, reinforcing our economy and elevating life.
▶ 2:29:21Mr. Lyon: For student veterans here today and thousands more who could not be in washington this week, meaningful success depends on financial stability, a sense of belonging, and access to rewarding careers. Like many veterans I followed a path post military service from community college to a state university and earning a masters all while juggling work obligations, family obligations.
▶ 2:29:47Mr. Lyon: My experience taught me earned benefits must work seamlessly to encourage further engagement with v.a. Services. When benefits fall short, delays in housing payments or stagnant stipends, veterans lose their trust and they may walk away entirely which is why we ask these committees to see the g.I. Bill is the front door to the v.a. For recently separated servicemembers.
▶ 2:30:11Mr. Lyon: We thank representatives for introducing the expanding access to online veterans students act last congress. We urge support for legislation that mandates monthly housing allowance, ensuring veterans are not penalized for enrolling online, where many pursue coursework or are working full-time raising children, or managing service-connected disabilities.
▶ 2:30:37Mr. Lyon: A full natural average mha for online learners would move us toward true parity. [applause]
▶ 2:30:49Mr. Lyon: We also request an increase to the annual book stipend, which has not been updated since 2009. Many veterans in stem or law programs see material costs that surpassed $1000 per semester. We appreciate those in congress who championed raising this to a more realistic level. Nearly 75% of veterans are working well in school, often in jobs unrelated to their degrees.
▶ 2:31:21Mr. Lyon: Modernizing be a work study to include career relevant placements such as cybersecurity, accounting, engineering or health care will open doors for veterans balancing academics and deployment. We applaud bipartisan efforts to reintroduce legislation that supports the school.
▶ 2:31:37Mr. Lyon: These women and men bring discipline, life experience and experience to life in campuses and often outpace peers in gpa and graduation rates, and graduate into fields that urgently need talent. By investing in them congress boosts our economy, campuses and communities.
▶ 2:31:58Mr. Lyon: Working with congress, the v.a., dod, department of education and department of labor helps sva power scholarships, leadership training, research and professional development for thousands of veterans. When universities partner with sva chapters, they create a culture where student veterans thrive, benefiting the entire institution.
▶ 2:32:22Mr. Lyon: Our full written testimony goes further into areas like bridging childcare caps -- gaps, ensuring parity and expanding accountability in higher education. We encourage you to review it for policy recommendations. At sva we believe ensuring veterans received earned education benefits transcends politics. This is about fulfilling america's promise to those who serve.
▶ 2:32:51Mr. Lyon: We know that promise yields tremendous returns for veterans, schools, employers. Thank you for your leadership. Your work reinforces that this nation values service and interest of those who where the uniform. I welcome your questions.
▶ 2:33:19Mr. Lyon: >> the chair recognizes major carroll.
▶ 2:33:25Ms. Carroll: The tragedy assistance program for survivors is grateful for the opportunity to share issues of importance to the 120,000 plus surviving family members of all generations representing all services with losses of all causes of death.
▶ 2:33:46Ms. Carroll: As a goldstar spouse and brigadier general tom carol, I want to express thanks for passing the bipartisan elizabeth dole health care and benefits improvement act. This important law included multiple long-term priorities for surviving families.
▶ 2:34:08Ms. Carroll: Many of whom were caregivers first, such as expanding eligibility for a scholarship, and provisions within the love lives on act. A top legislative priority for taps is ensuring surviving spouses are allowed to remarry and retain benefits at any age, not wait until age 55.
▶ 2:34:32Ms. Carroll: Today surviving spouses are often widowed in their 20's and 30's, yet the law forces them to wait decades, sometimes half a lifetime, to remarry without losing their earned benefits. Grief does not expire and love after loss should not come at a cost of financial security. Tops urges congress to end this unjust penalty and honor the sacrifice of our nation's young widows with fairness and dignity.
▶ 2:35:01Ms. Carroll: Taps is proud to work with chairman moran, senator warnock and 22 original senate cosponsors, along with representatives hudson and others in the love lives on act, and urge swift passage of this legislation.
▶ 2:35:22Ms. Carroll: Taps strengthens dependency and indemnity compensation, stringent limitations on dic payments have widespread negative impacts on finances, housing, deployment, transportation, food security and medical and mental health care for surviving families.
▶ 2:35:39Ms. Carroll: Raising dic from 43% to 55% will increase dic by an average of $454 a month and provide long-overdue parity with other federal survivor benefits.
▶ 2:36:01Ms. Carroll: Tops supports the caring for survivors act and thanks senator blumenthal and bozeman and representative hayes ann kirkpatrick. Taps also is working for coverage for eligible surviving children up to age 26 to align with private insurance plans.
▶ 2:36:23Ms. Carroll: Surviving families who have lost loved ones as a result of military service should be provided the same access to affordable health care and mental health services as their civilian counterparts. Taps supports the children's care protection act, and appreciates ranking member blumenthal and congresswoman brownlee for their leadership.
▶ 2:36:48Ms. Carroll: As a voice for families who have died as a result of illnesses connected to toxic exposures, taps was instrumental in the passage of the historic packed act. Though a tremendous victory, the work does not stop. Of survivors seeking care in 2024, 37% or more than 3200, were grieving the death of a military loved one due to illnesses.
▶ 2:37:15Ms. Carroll: Taps is working with congress to ensure packed --pact act funding. We fully support the aviation cancers examinations study act and ensuring justice for camp lejeune victims act and a presumption of service connection for all conditions from k2 deployments ensuring timely, comprehensive health care and mental health support, their families, caregivers and
▶ 2:37:45Ms. Carroll: Survivors is not just a priority. It is a moral imperative that will uphold the sacred promise we made to those who serve and sacrifice. We think chairman moran and bost for the expansions to support service members act of 2025, which will improve health care and mental health outcomes. Military service exposes individuals to unique stressors and potential traumas.
▶ 2:38:17Ms. Carroll: The presumption of service connection for veteran suicides would acknowledge that mental health challenges veterans face are often a direct consequence of their service. Taps strongly supports the introduction of the service-connected suicide compensation act.
▶ 2:38:39Ms. Carroll: Taps has stood beside more than 27,000 survivors grieving the death of a devastating loss of a military or veteran loved one to suicide. These families not only endure unimaginable grief, but face stigma and bureaucratic barriers that compound their trauma, requiring them to prove service connection in their darkest moments is unjust and unnecessary. We can do better.
▶ 2:39:08Ms. Carroll: On behalf of our survivor community, tops urges congress to take action, remove these burdens and honor the sacrifice of our nation's heroes and their families. Thank you for the opportunity to testify. I look forward to your questions.
▶ 2:39:23Chair Moran: Thank you. I know recognize meredith beck.
▶ 2:39:28Ms. Beck: Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. As many of you know, the elizabeth dole foundation commissioned rand for a new landmark study updating us on military and veteran caregiver community, who they are, how they are faring, and what they contribute to our nation.
▶ 2:39:49Ms. Beck: The report identified will caregivers provide a minimum of $119 billion in unpaid care to veterans, they face serious impediments to economic stability, lost wages, inability to plan for retirement, and unforeseen out-of-pocket expenses, resulting in mental health strain. There are several actions congress can take. The v.a. Released the newest proposed role -- rule for comprehensive assistance for family caregivers.
▶ 2:40:18Ms. Beck: While we appreciate it was finally published after almost two years of financial limbo, we have numerous concerns. It is still far too complicated and would be difficult to implement in a standardize and transparent manner. Additionally we are concerned that those with significant mental health and cognitive disabilities would be exclusive. Edf asks congress to minimize further turmoil and ensure those in congress intended to support are included.
▶ 2:40:45Ms. Beck: Edf also asked congress grandfather legacy participants, post 9/11 caregivers admitted. They have repeatedly been found eligible and endured multiple causes, regulation and leadership changes, lack of standardization and questionable assessments. Grandfathering this small population would allow the v.a. To focus on its mission of supporting all 10 rations of caregivers by ending this year's long struggle.
▶ 2:41:17Ms. Beck: The v.a. Has many programs that benefit both veterans and caregivers. There are incredibly high satisfaction rates and it cost less than other support services. In theory veterans can use the service to hire individuals to provide care, pay for transportation to appointments, hire skilled care without paying the overhead costs of an agency. Unfortunately gaining access to these programs is often incredibly difficult.
▶ 2:41:45Ms. Beck: In many instances the veteran is subject to a tool ensuring they are not receiving redundant services. While this makes sense generally, it does not allow complementary programs for those who made them most. Sean lopez, cares for his 100% service disabled father. In addition to other diagnoses, his father battles age 4 cancer, dementia and requires constant supervision for safety.
▶ 2:42:10Ms. Beck: If sean were not providing round-the-clock care, there would be very expensive care for which the v.a. Would be responsible. The case mix tool was determined for his dad's eligibility for additional support. Even with his serious diagnoses and need for constant supervision, Mr. lopez scored far too low to qualify for enrollment.
▶ 2:42:35Ms. Beck: After much research sean learned the scoring algorithm is weighted towards those with physical needs and excludes those with cognitive and mental health needs. It was not until his father fell and broke five ribs even came close to qualifying. After significant advocacy Mr. lopez was re-rated at the necessary level, but improved only one adl to no longer qualify, leaving sean to support his dad on his own or find an institution.
▶ 2:43:05Ms. Beck: Not only is it wrong to deny family members support, it does not make fiscal sense. Sean's stipend is $40,000 a year, whereas a skilled nursing facility is far more expensive, approximately $160,000 a year in maryland. Edf asks congress to work with the v.a. To provide oversight to this vital program to ensure veterans can stay in their homes as long as medically appropriate.
▶ 2:43:33Ms. Beck: While much work remains to be done, many issues were addressed in some way with the dole package Ms. carol mentioned. The foundation thanks the committee members and staff as well as leadership of both parties for their hard work to find common ground and achieve final passage. However we are deeply concerned the current seemingly arbitrary federal staffing reductions previously identified vha budget shortfall, cuts to clauses and cancellations will greatly impact the ability for the v.a.
▶ 2:44:05Ms. Beck: To provide direct vital services to those in need and implement the dole act. It was expanded but due to continued current operations, the program must ensure providers are certified and recertified periodically. Unfortunately the contract that provides certifications was halted, leaving the future of the program and those enrolled in jeopardy.
▶ 2:44:34Ms. Beck: Let me be clear, we agree the realignment of resources and staff is often necessary. We are concerned wherever the process does not allow for careful review and him limitation to ensure services especially those for the most vulnerable are not interrupted.
▶ 2:44:50Chair Moran: Thank you.
▶ 2:44:53Ms. Monet: Chairman, ringing members and distinguished members of the committee on veterans affairs, thank you for the opportunity. We are a resource for community based service providers and local and state governments that serve thousands of homeless, at risk and formally homeless veterans. We thank you for your leadership and passage of the dole act. We encourage you to focus on implementation of the homeless provisions within the bill.
▶ 2:45:22Ms. Monet: We urge you to ensure authorizing caps and appropriation levels are sufficient to allow v.a. To pay for increased per diem rates, and to fund assistance. Our written testimony includes appropriations recommendations for critical programs. Veteran homelessness dropped to the lowest level recorded last year, 32,882 veterans on any given night.
▶ 2:45:47Ms. Monet: 2024 hud count needs context so I will give it to you. This represents a 7% decrease since 2023, a 55% decrease since 2009 compared to increases across the board for every other homeless population across the same timeframe. It is the best national measure we have for comparison. We are and have been reducing veteran homelessness consistently in the last seven of 10 years.
▶ 2:46:18Ms. Monet: This is no mistake as v.a. Staff and partners across the country dedicated time, talent toward this mission and discipline to research other practices along the way. In spite of these efforts we know we can do more to make sure our crisis response, homelessness prevention, for housing and supportive programs can be would veterans need and we look forward to doing that with all of you. Congress plays a major role.
▶ 2:46:46Ms. Monet: And my written testimony includes priorities for consideration. I would be remiss if I did not mention the vast uncertainty created as federal partners have moved quickly to make changes across the government. The doubt resulted makes it hard to focus on homelessness rather than issues that impact their ability to work, including implications of grand causes, shifting grant operating requirements, reductions in v.a.
▶ 2:47:14Ms. Monet: Staff, and other federal reduction initiatives. Further, while we are learning more about last night's contract cancellations we know at least one cancellation was related to a leasing program that managed oversight, including lead paint testing, life safety issues, and ensuring veterans in house and get case management they need.
▶ 2:47:42Ms. Monet: We have concerns quality of care will falter as a result and we urge you to work with the administration to ensure contract cancellations do not result in better outcomes for veterans. These factors have complicated the already hard work of ending veteran homelessness. We want you to collectively keep your eye on everything we have seen in all the changes to common to ensure there is minimal impact not only to veterans but communities that serve them. V.a.
▶ 2:48:12Ms. Monet: Has been an essential partner and that has to continue. I would like to pivot back to homelessness priorities and I have three major ones I would like to discuss. The first is hud utilization. We need your help to ensure the public housing authorities are properly resourced and need you to codify compensation from eligibility requirements for funded affordable housing.
▶ 2:48:39Ms. Monet: For far too long homeless veterans who needed assistance the most with the highest level of service-connected disabilities were excluded from these benefits because of disability income. We support registration to codify the change for the program and encouraged reintroduction of legislation to codify changes for the low income tax credit program.
▶ 2:49:04Ms. Monet: Second we urge you to ensure veterans with other than honorable discharges and those inhe reserve without being activated can access all homeless programs. The program currently does not serve this program, and we request you expand criteria to make it uniform across all programs. Third, our nation's housing crisis has guaranteed rents are unaffordable for everyone, including veterans.
▶ 2:49:31Ms. Monet: In most counties across the country economist agree a person earning minimum wage is not able to rent a one bedroom apartment without being severely burdened and not everyone eligible for section eight receives it because of underfunding. We support a vouching -- voucher program and legislation to prohibit income discrimination so people can use these vouchers. Thank you for the opportunity to join you today. I'm open to any questions you may have.
▶ 2:49:59Chair Moran: Thank you. I will recognize ranking member to conneaut.
▶ 2:50:06Sen. Cotton: -- Sen. takano: thank you. I have been impressed with your interest in doing oversights on the internal process v.a. Does to establish -- I want to thank you for those comments. My first question is for Ms. monet.
▶ 2:50:29Sen. Cotton: You have been stewarding the program to end veteran homelessness, in your work at the coalition and during the biden harris administration we saw homelessness reach new lows. Unfortunately secretary collins seems to think this progress was not real and told the military times, quote, we have spent millions of dollars and added countless programs to the homeless situation and to suicide prevention, and seen nothing he said, end quote.
▶ 2:51:01Sen. Cotton: Quote, I'm ready to see results and take whatever we have and say, what can we do better, end quote. Was the progress we saw during the biden-harris administration real and to what do you attribute it. What roadblocks could bar further progress?
▶ 2:51:20Ms. Monet: The progress we have seen was absolutely real. V.a. Programs help hundreds of thousands of veterans every day -- across the course of a year. There are things we can do to improve and I laid out a few of them in my testimony today. When I think about roadblocks I think about things that are not really tied to v.a. We don't have a lot of affordable housing, we know people are struggling to stay employed.
▶ 2:51:49Ms. Monet: Veterans are underrepresented in the federal workforce that is getting fired at a rapid pace. There are these challenges we have to contend with and within v.a., there are things we can do. We can connect services to veterans better, be thoughtful about prevention and how we learn about preventing homelessness, and risk factors. There is so much we can do, but I think we can if we commit to it.
▶ 2:52:17Sen. Takano: Yes, thank you for your response. I would like to ask Mr. lyon. I met with many of your student veteran numbers from sva yesterday and was disturbed to hear stories about many contract employees who serve as counselors.
▶ 2:52:41Sen. Takano: Can you tell us about the situation before the recent firings in terms of the number of counselors and the vital role they play? Oddly enough they play a role in terms of preventing waste, fraud and abuse.
▶ 2:52:58Sen. Takano: The vre program is a program for student veterans, it is about their service-connected disability and get them education which can make them gainfully employed.
▶ 2:53:15Mr. Lyon: Thank you for the question, sir. You are right here and we had many conversations with the highest levels of v.a. From officials to senior government employees about the impact terminations are having which I think have been well addressed by the first panel this morning and my colleagues today.
▶ 2:53:37Mr. Lyon: In particular when we hear that mission-critical roles are not being cut, we are seeing in particular a program already chronically understaffed and had delays with not only approving benefits but also addressing concerns for these service-connected disabled veterans while in school have been exacerbated by recent terminations and canceling of contracts, the very contracts
▶ 2:54:07Mr. Lyon: Staffing oversight for fraud, waste and abuse, but also approving. This is causing in many instances weeks if not multiple months of delays just to hear back from the initial claim of a vre claim.
▶ 2:54:24Sen. Takano: That is meant incredible delays and students not able to get their courses, hardships on student veteran families. I yield back.
▶ 2:54:33Chair Moran: Thank you. Representative ramirez. >> thank you. Grateful we are holding this hearing. Want to start by thinking service organizations joining us today for the tremendous work you do every single day on behalf of our veterans.
▶ 2:54:57Chair Moran: The work we do, legislation we pass to bring more veteran benefits, none of that could happen without your help. I want to thank all of you for being here. Each time we come together I think it is important to rehearse why. Or I believe it is my responsibility to make sure every veteran has full access to the benefits they earned, they deserve.
▶ 2:55:22Chair Moran: As a former nonprofit community director of an organization that served people who were unhoused, including veterans, the gap between our ability to fulfill our mission is often about resources. For many housing and homeless service providers federal grants are an important part of resources layered to meet the needs of our neighbors, particularly veteran neighbors.
▶ 2:55:49Chair Moran: I want to ensure every veteran has full access to the spectrum of benefits they, have earned we have to make sure the services are fully funded. Fully funding our programs can make an impact on veteran homelessness. Ms.
▶ 2:56:03Chair Moran: Monet, you were just talking about it, a record investment in veteran homelessness, and as a result, in the data, not only have we made progress in reducing homelessness, but veterans are the only population across the country that has seen a decline in rates of homelessness according to this count.
▶ 2:56:32Chair Moran: I want to follow up on that and ask, if there is a freeze on the grant that serves unhoused veterans, what impact do you think it would have on the ability to end veteran homelessness? More broadly, what would those freezes mean for organizations that depend on federal resources?
▶ 2:56:57Ms. Monet: When we experienced the last freeze, it was chaotic. Organizations were pushed to the brink. A lot of them were running numbers, looking at their budgets, thinking intently about cash flow and questioning the level of commitment the federal government has for this initiative.
▶ 2:57:21Ms. Monet: Because we have the toll-free referral line we got calls from veterans who were upset they had been looking for housing for three or four weeks, finally found somewhere that would take their subsidy, but could not get their check because of the current -- funding freeze. We got call from medical staff who said their provider did not have enough cash flow to cut checks for whole community of veterans on february 1. They were looking for other funds to support.
▶ 2:57:50Ms. Monet: There were a lot of instances where members were facing this uncertainty, trying to figure out how to work through this, what does this pause mean, what activities will be acceptable or not, and thinking intently about that versus serving veterans in front of them. That is not what we want them to be doing.
▶ 2:58:09Rep. Ramirez: In summary what you're saying is, freezing funds means our veterans are at risk of homelessness, it is chaos, and it means it takes us back when we should be doing more for our veterans. I yield back.
▶ 2:58:22Chair Moran: Thank you. Mr. lyon, we have a long history mostly related to covid in student access to education during those difficult times. I appreciate your strong support for the national guard g.I. Bill parity act.
▶ 2:58:47Chair Moran: Based upon your focus on the success of student veterans, explain why this change is needed and how the bill if signed into law would impact outcomes of national guard reserves.
▶ 2:59:02Mr. Lyon: Thank you. I appreciate the question. When you look at the service of those in uniform number regardless of active duty, guard or reserve, every day in uniform should count equally with regard to your benefits. Unfortunately as the g.I. Bill is the benefit that requires specific and nuanced service as pertains to guard and reserve members wearing that uniform, they are not equally eligible.
▶ 2:59:34Mr. Lyon: There are countless instances in which we hear from student veterans activated for any number of supports from overseas deployments to work on the border, to natural disasters. When they are, their service does not count equally for their ability to be eligible for the g.I. Bill. If we can get this done and pass this bill, we would be able to say that every day in uniform counts equally.
▶ 3:00:04Mr. Lyon: This would be impactful for those members of the guard reserve that find themselves student veterans.
▶ 3:00:08Chair Moran: The disadvantageous circumstance for those in the guard and reserve is a result of the law, not a result of interpretation of the law or bias toward those not in active duty. It is the law that needs to be changed, is that true?
▶ 3:00:24Mr. Lyon: Yes, sir.
▶ 3:00:26Chair Moran: Major carroll, thank you for your team and your ongoing work with senator warnock and I in advocating for the love lives on act. We have been challenged by the expense of this legislation. It is not a reason not to do it. We are fully committed to its passage and implementation.
▶ 3:00:54Chair Moran: Do you have suggestions of how we can advance -- we advanced several steps of this legislation. Any suggestions as to what we do next?
▶ 3:01:03Ms. Carroll: Love lives on is important to our surviving families, the top priority for those. Something our families are already receiving compensation for all of those who are receiving those benefits. It is only when they remarry that is taken away.
▶ 3:01:30Ms. Carroll: The rate is so low and our team has done extensive work looking at that, talking to your team and many members on what that would mean. It would allow our families to be whole, allow our children to be raised in a two parent household, allow families to move forward with their lives.
▶ 3:01:54Ms. Carroll: We are hopeful the amount required will be recognized as an amount owed to families who have sacrificed so much for this country.
▶ 3:02:05Chair Moran: You and others associated with you are such valuable advocates. Even what you said just now suggest to me it is hugely important for us to have success, more rapid success. As indicated earlier, it is nice to be thanked for your efforts, but this one would be great to be thanked for results.
▶ 3:02:35Chair Moran: Major carroll, you have recommendations for how the v.a. And congress can better work with the vso community to reach survivors and make sure they are aware of benefits and resources they may be entitled to?
▶ 3:02:51Ms. Carroll: Absolutely, we have surviving family members who receive some benefits, dic, but through our networks, public awareness, community efforts, other vso partnerships, we are reaching out to surviving families. One way we do this is through the national cemetery administration, where we reach all those who are survivors of anyone buried at a national cemetery or estate cemetery.
▶ 3:03:23Ms. Carroll: We are very active with federal funeral directors to reach all of those whose loved ones lives included service to the country to ensure they have benefits they have earned, and their families will never be forgotten for their service.
▶ 3:03:35Chair Moran: Thank you, speaking of national cemeteries, Ms. monet, there are 156 national cemeteries across our country and the nca runs the cemetery apprentice program which offers training and employment in either a caretaker or in ministry to position to veterans who are at risk of becoming homeless. Would you speak to the importance of that program.
▶ 3:04:05Ms. Monet: Absolutely. Employment is an important part of solutions for veteran listen us. It gives folks income, connections to others in the network and the cemetery caretaker program is an important part of that. We would love to see that program expanded and more opportunities for supported employment of veterans within v.a. And other federal agencies.
▶ 3:04:31Chair Moran: Thank you. Ms. beck, you indicated -- I wrote down learning more. I think what you are saying, learning more about contract cancellation. What happens that you are going to learn more? Where are you getting information and what can you tell me about those sources?
▶ 3:04:55Ms. Beck: The information we have is, the new round of contract cancellations, I believe totaling 585, is that that is a reduction in the number of contracts from last week they said would be reduce. We hear from a number of contract providers who are very concerned about their ability to provide services. We hear from caregivers who are concerned about that as well. As Ms.
▶ 3:05:23Ms. Beck: Monet indicated we don't have visibility on the actual contracts included in that 585, but there is concern about the when I mentioned about the veteran directed care. The other piece of concern that we hear about is from the research perspective.
▶ 3:05:44Ms. Beck: Not just funding cuts to research, but staffing freezes and how that impacts the ability to execute active contracts and research initiatives ongoing, that we are hearing from those at the national association that represents the nonprofit community that supports the research we have done within the v.a.
▶ 3:06:07Ms. Beck: Those would be programs, services, clinical trials that are incredibly important for pact act implementation and otherwise.
▶ 3:06:15Chair Moran: Have you had success in outreach to the v.a., either you are asking them or they are telling you what is transpiring?
▶ 3:06:24Ms. Beck: No, sir, we have not.
▶ 3:06:29Chair Moran: Let me ask Ms. jaslow and Mr. thomas. Anything you would add to the knowledge base as to what is happening in regard to contract cancellation? Mr. thomas?
▶ 3:06:50Mr. Thomas: With contract cancellations we are hearing a lot of fear from our members the sha grants and such are being canceled. Our members with als need their housing and every thing done.
▶ 3:07:14Mr. Thomas: We can't wait because it is demanded upon them to get around and move in a house that is really accessible for them. That is something that is very hard.
▶ 3:07:27Chair Moran: The only knowledge that anyone has is coming from their members or from contractors who are in the circumstance of either fearing or experiencing a contract cancellation.
▶ 3:07:49Mr. Thomas: The information we are getting is from our members. They are in the process of getting the sha grant, then all of a sudden that individual is not there. This makes them go back through the entire process all over again, causing many delays.
▶ 3:08:08Chair Moran: Understand. As my usual practice, do any of you have anything you want to make certain is clearly put on the record before we close this hearing? >> wanted to make one point relative to data. V.a.'s enrollment manager, reporting issues on those in chapter 35 that did not receive their february payments.
▶ 3:08:35Chair Moran: We have also gotten reports from alabama, california, north dakota that also have payment issues. We are getting it from specific members but also the school certifying officials within the system. They can show on their end the enrollment manager demonstrates payments have been processed, but they cannot see the distribution and we are also getting input from veterans.
▶ 3:08:59Chair Moran: It currently numbers less than 1000 veterans impacted, but impacted nonetheless.
▶ 3:09:06Chair Moran: That is a consequence of what, payments not being made? They show on the record they are not fulfilled and what has transpired that has caused that to happen?
▶ 3:09:27Mr. Lyon: There reporting staffing challenges.
▶ 3:09:31Ms. Beck: With the veteran directed contracts of great concern to us many of us advocated for the passage of the dole act off of that and other home-based services. In that example the contractor was on the previous list to be terminated and also has a stop work order in place is the only contractor who does that certifying work to bring on new contractors for expansion.
▶ 3:10:01Ms. Beck: I think that is where we were seeing the information, having the stop work order in place.
▶ 3:10:05Chair Moran: That is still true?
▶ 3:10:07Ms. Beck: Until we get clarity on the new list, it is in place as of this moment. >> I would be remiss if I did not thank you for your leadership on the pact act specifically. That continues to be an important law to our entire community. You're looking at somebody who slept next to a camp trashcan for 16 months on my second appointment. We know what it takes to get it across the finish line.
▶ 3:10:39Ms. Beck: I wanted to thank you on behalf of our leaders for your leadership on that important law, an important law not just today, but for many years as we age and understand consequences of our toxic proposal.
▶ 3:10:50Chair Moran: I think you for your efforts for convincing members of the senate and house that the pact act was important to pass. I think that concludes the hearing. I'm trying to think. I don't want to leave anything out. It does. Oh, I know what I was going to say. Ms.
▶ 3:11:14Chair Moran: Beck, you don't have to advocate for the elizabeth dole act because everybody else advocates for it for you. It seems consistent, constant.
▶ 3:11:31Ms. Beck: It is the benefit of being in a very supportive community.
▶ 3:11:36Chair Moran: We thank you for your advocacy. The record will remain open. If we ask questions, please respond quickly. With that, the hearing is adjourned. Thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap.org]