As the House and Senate returned from their Summer recess, IAVA continued to build momentum and rack up legislative victories. We’ve added six new cosponsors to IAVA-backed legislation, IAVA Board Member General (Ret) David Petraeus talked about Burn Pits on Fox News, and the Department of Defense (DoD) has removed a restriction for Purple Heart recipients transferring their GI Bill benefit.

On Labor Day, General Petraeus went on Fox News to discuss the importance of the Burn Pits Accountability Act (S. 3181/H.R. 5671). During the interview, he described how Burn Pits came to use, as there was no easy way to dispose of waste while deployed to combat zones, and the subsequent issues he raised with such problematic waste disposal while he was in Iraq. Be sure to watch the interview and read the article here.

Also worth highlighting, DoD this week changed their GI Bill transferability rules for Purple Heart recipients. They will no longer have to serve at least six years with a commitment to an additional four years or be unable to transfer after 16 years. While this is certainly a step in the right direction, IAVA will continue to #DefendTheGIBill and work to reverse the DoD policy change from earlier this Summer which stripped transferability from servicemembers who served over 16 years. Be sure to help us in this fight by signing on to our petition (with nearly 50,000 signatures!) to Secretary Mattis here.

New Cosponsors for IAVA-Backed Legislation:

This week the #BurnPits Accountability Act (S. 3181/H.R.5671) gained an additional six new cosponsors! This brings the total amount to 129 cosponsors across 43 states or territories! Thank you Reps. Ted Deutch (D-FL), David Cicilline (D-RH), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Conor Lamb (D-PA), Barbara Comstock (R-VA), and Thomas Suozzi (D-NY) for being the latest to sign on to this historic piece of legislation as it gains momentum across Capitol Hill!

Want to ensure that your voice is heard and help gain support across all of IAVA’s Big Six priorities? Head on over to our Take Action page to ensure your Member of Congress is signed on here.