While both the House and Senate are out for August recess, the IAVA DC team remained busy building momentum as we close out summer. We attended a VSO summit on surviving military family members and continued to meet with Congressional offices to advance our #Big6 legislation. We also added 1 new cosponsor to IAVA-backed legislation!

First up, on Tuesday this week Travis Horr, Director of Government Affairs attended a VSO summit hosted by the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) regarding how to better serve the loved ones of fallen military members. There were over 20 VSOs in attendance and IAVA is looking forward to working with all of these organizations to better serve surviving families. Stay tuned as we will have more exciting information about the summit coming soon!

Also on Tuesday, Travis was quoted in a Stars and Stripes article about #BurnPits. The piece focused on what the Department of Defense (DoD) can do to better track servicemembers who have been exposed. IAVA has advocated for fixes to tracking exposure and that’s why we introduced the Burn Pits Accountability Act (S. 191/H.R. 663). Be sure to read the full piece here.

Lastly this week, Travis and Government Affairs Associate, Ryan Britch, was on the Hill talking to Congressional offices about all of our #Big6 issues. Even though Members of Congress are back in their home districts, August can be a critical time to talk with important Congressional staffers to advocate for all of the issues important to IAVA members. Be sure to stay tuned for all of the IAVA team’s work as we look to close out a strong summer!

New Cosponsors on IAVA-Backed Legislation:

Even with Congress on recess, the Congressional wins continue to roll in! Thanks to Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) for being the latest Member of Congress to cosponsor the VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act (S. 179/H.R. 712). Rep. Escobar joins a growing coalition of over 80 lawmakers dedicated to the passage of this historic piece of legislation.