Blog Post

IAVA's Holiday Wish List for Congress
Posted by Ramsey Sulayman on December 14

If you’re anything like my buddies, you’ve been asking “What is this lame duck I keep hearing about?” After reading a couple weeks of IAVA dispatches about the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), it’s a fair question.

Here’s a quick breakdown on what the NDAA can do for vets. IAVA is burning the midnight oil to make sure we push this important policy through Congress before the year is up. We're marching up to Capitol Hill with this wish list every day, so we thought you might want to help. As 2012 is nearing an end, IAVA Is fighting for:

Protecting veterans' jobs

S. 3307 Servicemembers' Protection Act of 2012 - Strengthens USERRA and SCRA

Helping veterans transition to the workforce

House NDAA Sec. 541 - Enhances the Troops-to-Teachers program

S. 2246 TAP Modernization Act - Allows veterans and their spouses to re-take the newly redesigned Transition Assistance Program at off-base locations

Senate Amendment 2946 - Requires states to consider military training and education for civilian certifications and licenses in comparable civilian jobs

Defending the GI Bill

House NDAA Sec. 543 - Reviews access to bases and posts by for-profit schools and their recruiters

HR 4057 Improving Transparency of Education Opportunities for Veterans Act of 2012 - Provides more transparency to student veterans about schools at which they will use education benefits

Improving access to mental health care

Senate NDAA Sec. 512 - Create a suicide training and prevention program for >Guard, reserves, and their families

House NDAA Sec. 705 - Requires mental health screenings once every 180 days for deployed service members

House NDAA Sec. 725 - Using community partners to provide mental health >services for the Guard and reserves

House NDAA Sec. 728 - Allows VA and DoD to pay for TBI diagnosis and screenings done outside of military treatment facilities

Senate Amendment 3099 - Standardizes aspects of DoD and VA suicide prevention programs

S. 1707 Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act - Removes a barrier to seeking mental health treatment by requiring judicial process to remove a veterans Second Amendment rights

The year may be coming to a close but the work of Congress isn't over. If you want to join the fight, pick up the phone and call your representatives –tell them to have our backs.

Ramsey Sulayman is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, is IAVA's Legislative Associate and works out of our Washington D.C. office.