WASHINGTON, DC (March 6, 2018) — Today at 2PM ET, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the leading post-9/11 veterans empowerment organization, will testify before a combined session of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees to present IAVA’s 2018 policy priorities – the “Big 6”. At a time of unprecedented politicization of veterans and military by political leaders across the aisle, and tremendous controversy inside the VA, the landmark “Big 6” initiative is IAVA’s biggest and boldest advocacy campaign ever, centering veterans voices and empowering them to lead the nation forward. The Big 6 is an urgent call to Congress, the White House and all Americans to stand with IAVA in 2018 to tackle veteran suicide, support women vets, defend the GI Bill, invest in and protect VA and DoD reform, sound the alarm on burn pits and empower veterans to utilize medical cannabis.

The important and powerful testimony comes on Day 2 of Storm the Hill, IAVA’s premiere advocacy and leadership program in which veterans from across the country bring their priorities straight to Capitol Hill. It also comes as controversy at the Department of Veterans Affairs continues to make news headlines and following a breakfast meeting this morning at VA headquarters hosted by Secretary Shulkin that was attended by IAVA’s Bryant and leaders from most of America’s leading veterans service organizations.

Who: Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA)
Where: Dirksen Senate Office Building (SD-G50)
When: 2:00 PM ET
What: IAVA testimony and presentation to House and Senate VA Committee of IAVA’s “Big 6” annual priorities by IAVA Chief Policy Officer and Army veteran Melissa Bryant. The testimony will also stream live on the SVAC website.

IAVA’s Annual Policy Agenda: IAVA leverages the vast data from our Annual Member Survey to shape a comprehensive, non-partisan policy agenda that is shared online and is distributed to members of Congress. The policy agenda can be found and downloaded from www.iava.org/advocacy

Storm the Hill: In its 11th year, #StormTheHill is IAVA’s signature leadership development and grassroots advocacy activation. Over the years, it has grown from a handful of veterans walking the halls of Congress into an annual event placing Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in more than 100 meetings with our nation’s leaders. Learn more at StormTheHill.org