IAVA Joins Pelosi, Lawmakers to Acknowledge Progress on Three Top Issues for Veterans

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, June 17^th, 2009
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IAVA Joins Pelosi, Lawmakers to Acknowledge Progress on Three Top Issues for Veterans

Washington, DC—Today, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the nation’s first and largest non-partisan, nonprofit organization representing veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, joined Speaker Nancy Pelosi, other lawmakers and the National Military Families Association (NMFA) on Capitol Hill in applauding the House of Representatives for taking action on three critical issues impacting veterans and military families:

• VA Funding. A record VA spending increase and progress on Advance Appropriations: Yesterday, the House Appropriations Subcommittee in charge of Military Construction and VA spending approved a landmark budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs. The proposed FY2010 VA budget represents a 15 percent increase over FY2009 levels. The committee also moved forward on a plan to provide advance appropriations for FY2011, IAVA’s top legislative priority for this year.
• Stop-loss. A retroactive stop-loss payment provision passed as part of the 2009 war supplemental bill: The provision would provide up to $5,000 in back-pay to thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who were held beyond their enlistment contracts before October 2008 under the military’s stop-loss policy.  
• The GI Bill. New education benefits for Gold Star families also passed as part of the 2009 war supplemental bill: This education benefit would allow the new GI Bill to be transferred to all children of servicemembers who died while on active-duty since 9/11.

“Today, IAVA is pleased to join Speaker Pelosi in applauding the House for listening to the veterans’ community and taking decisive action on behalf of our nation’s veterans and their families. In just the last twenty-four hours, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle put aside partisan politics to ensure that the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform do not go unrecognized.  With these bills, the VA can improve health care access for six million veterans, thousands of troops will receive the overtime stop-loss compensation they deserve, and the children of servicemembers who have made the ultimate sacrifice can pursue an education,” said IAVA Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff. “But these battles are not yet won. IAVA and veterans of all generations will continue to push forward on these issues until the bills have passed the full Congress and the ink from the President’s signature is dry.”

To arrange an interview with Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff or a member veteran, contact Chrissy Stevens, 212-982-9699, Chrissy@iava.org.

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (www.IAVA.org) is the country's first and largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and has more than 125,000 veteran members and civilian supporters nationwide. Its mission is to improve the lives of this country's newest generation of veterans and their families.