FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
December 27, 2021
CONTACT: press@iava.org

New York, NY – Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) commends Congress and President Biden on the passage of the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) – the bipartisan annual defense bill that authorizes $770 billion for Defense Department operations and programs.

Within this omnibus legislation, IAVA is proud to announce some key priorities that our organization has been working to pass into law. They include:

• Authorization of a Global War on Terrorism Memorial to be built on the National Mall.
• The Afghanistan War Commission Act, which authorizes a thorough bipartisan investigation of every aspect of US involvement in Afghanistan. 
• Significant new changes to US military law to improve justice outside the chain of command for victims of military sexual assault and other serious crimes. More will be done to strengthen this new change. 

“Establishing a place of national importance for families who have sacrificed since the 9/11 attacks, working toward an improved military justice system for servicemembers who have been wronged, and providing for a thorough accounting for a our efforts in our 20-year war in Afghanistan are extremely important to our community,” said Jeremy Butler, CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. “I cannot be prouder of these major efforts of our team working with our VSO partners nationwide.”

In addition to the aforementioned policy victories, we continue to press forward on a number of priorities that could see success very soon. They include:

• The SERVE Act to ensure that veterans’ military medical qualifications and expertise are utilized by the VA and civilian health care facilities to meet the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic
• Legislation that establishes VA healthcare and benefits, and a presumptive service connection for veterans with illnesses related to military toxic exposures like burn pits
• The Post-9/11 Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act to improve access to mental healthcare, expand VA mental health care training opportunities, and support research on suicide prevention and mental health efforts, PTSD, and TBI
• Passage of the Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act to expand on military justice improvements made in the 2022 NDAA

For more information from IAVA on the NDAA, please see our previous press releases:

• The Afghanistan War Commission Act
• The Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act
• The Global War on Terrorism Memorial Location Act

IAVA is the voice for the post-9/11 veteran generation. With over 425,000 veterans and allies nationwide, IAVA is the leader in non-partisan veteran advocacy and public awareness. We drive historic impacts for veterans and IAVA’s programs are second to none. Any veteran or family member in need can reach out to IAVA’s Quick Reaction Force at quickreactionforce.org or 855-91RAPID (855-917-2743) to be connected promptly with a veteran care manager who will assist. IAVA’s The Vote Hub is a free tool to register to vote and find polling information. IAVA’s membership is always growing. Join the movement at iava.org/membership.

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