We’re going into Fourth of July weekend having successfully held off Senate passage of the Veterans First Act. This fight is far from over though. Senate Veterans First Act proponents are becoming increasingly concerned about our advocacy and they thought that the proposed cuts to the Post-9/11 GI Bill would have passed through Congress by now.

While this fight has been difficult, one positive aspect that continues to surface is the relentless advocacy of our membership. These past weeks we’ve continuously asked them to step up to support our campaign and they’ve done so time and time again. This proves that #VetsRising is not simply a slogan, but an idea that continues to define our community. The week in #DefendTheGIBill:

Advocacy Team: 

• Conducted meetings with the offices of Sens. Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Ben Cardin (D-MD) Mark Warner (D-VA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX)
• IAVA CEO and Founder, Paul Rieckhoff, conducted calls with several U.S. Senators on campaign.

Member Advocacy:

• 121 grassroots IAVA member messages sent to Capitol Hill since last Friday.
• Defend the GI Bill campaign grassroots IAVA member message total grew to 30,906.