VietNow National Magazine

The Legislative Report

Sometimes it may seem boring to keep paying attention to what's going on in Congress, but those bills and committee meetings in Washington and your own state capitol can be very important.

By Joe Lewis – VietNow National Legislative Committee Chairman

Joe Lewis

Hup two, three, four. Let’s hit the legislative road. What the heck is going on here you might be asking yourself? Are you thinking that I’m having a flashback, and revisiting my past? Well, if that’s what it takes to get things moving, then so be it.

Since the 2007 VietNow National Convention, we have added another person to the Legislative Committee. Bruce Jacobsen of the Rockford Charter Chapter has joined us as one of our committee members. Bruce, Sam and Sandy Veer, and Rose and I have been busy presenting the VietNow legislative stance to our elected representatives.

With a little help from National Director John Bates, U.S. Rep., Don Manzullo, R-Illinois, has signed on as a cosponsor to H.RES. 111. It should be noted that on this same day, four other representatives also signed on as cosponsors.

There are several bills in the United States Congress that we need to muster our members and other veterans behind.

H.Res. 111, which calls for the establishment of a select committee in the U.S. House of Representatives for the primary purpose of getting answers to the POW/MIA issue. Directly and indirectly, this issue has both a positive and a negative impact upon the legal residents of the United States. Let’s look at the effects of the passage or defeat of this House Resolution.

If this bill passes, the House of Representatives will establish a “Select Committee on POW and MIA Affairs.” What can we expect when this bill passes and a committee is set up? The least to be expected is the resolution of numerous reports of our POW/MIAs from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Cold War Missions, and Gulf War I and Gulf War II. The minimum that we should expect with the passage of this bill is for facts and fiction to be separated from each other.

H.RES. 111, gives the following timeline once passed, “Expiration – The select committee and all authority granted in this resolution shall expire 30 days after the filing of the final report of the select committee with the House, or just prior to noon on January 5, 2009, whichever occurs first.” In reality, with this timeline, the committee will not be operational long enough to complete the entire task they are charged with completing.

If this bill fails, what is the message we’re sending our armed forces? Very simply put, “We do not give a crap about you, or about getting you home to your loved ones if you are captured or become missing.” Is this the message that we want to give to those who “volunteer” to be a part of our armed forces? Not in my book. But why not? This is the message that we have been sending to this nation since World War I. I could go on with facts and figures about how many service members have gone missing since “The War to End All Wars.” But I’ll leave this to the VietNow National POW/MIA Chair, Bill Kessling.

H.R. 1370 and H.R. 1041, (introduced in the House) - “To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for an assured adequate level of funding for veterans health care. Mandatory Funding for Veterans Act of 2007.” This bill calls for mandatory funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Do we need this? Yes.

H.R. 972. - “To provide compensation to individuals who, during the Vietnam conflict, were employees of the Federal Government or contractor employees of the Department of Defense and suffered disability or death from exposure to Agent Orange.” As we discussed on the convention floor this year, this legislation is needed for those civilian contractors who worked in Vietnam, Panama, and the Korean DMZ.

H.R. 303, and H.R. 333. These bills are referred to as the Retired Pay Restoration Act. “To amend Title 10, United States Code, to permit certain additional retired members of the Armed Forces who have a service-connected disability to receive both disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs for their disability and either retired pay by reason of their years of military service or Combat-Related Special Compensation and to eliminate the phase-in period under current law with respect to such concurrent receipt.” Our retired veterans need the passage of these bills.

H.R. 1642. Homeless Veterans Housing at Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center Promotion Act. (Referred to the Senate Committee after being received from the House.) “An Act to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure that, to the extent possible, an enhanced-use lease for a homeless housing project at the Department of Veterans Affairs facility known as the Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center, located in North Hills, California, shall provide that such housing project shall be maintained as a sober living facility for veterans only, and for other purposes.”

This bill is now in the Senate and will shortly be on its way to the President.
There you have it. These are the top seven legislative bills in the United States House of Representatives. Contact your local legislative representative and keep requesting their support and cosponsorship of each of these bills.

The motto of VietNow is “Veterans Helping Veterans.” These aren’t just words. This motto describes who and what VietNow is and stands for. Time
to rally the troops to help our brothers and sisters.

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