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Fight for Women Vets Equality Moves Forward As Iraq Vet Allison Jaslow Testifies Before Senate Panel

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 16, 2017) — Tomorrow at 2:30 PM, IAVA Executive Director and two-tour Iraq War veteran Allison Jaslow will testify before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on the Deborah Sampson Act. Jaslow will speak to her own experience as a woman veteran while also giving a voice to the 345,000 women who have deployed since 9/11 as IAVA urges swift action on the Deborah Sampson Act.
 
“In IAVA’s most recent member survey, only 43% of IAVA women veterans feel that male servicemembers respect their service. Even more shocking is that just 27% feel the public does,” said Allison Jaslow, Executive Director at IAVA. “We need to change that, and as we head into Memorial Day, IAVA urges all Members of Congress to honor the service of women by getting behind the Deborah Sampson Act.”
 
In March, IAVA joined bipartisan Members of Congress to introduce the Deborah Sampson Act and launched the #SheWhoBorneTheBattle campaign. Since the bill’s introduction, 18 Veterans Service Organizations have signed on as partners, and thousands of veterans and supporters have engaged their Members of Congress to encourage their support. Jaslow’s testimony comes as the bill advances in the Senate.
 
“The Deborah Sampson Act aims to fills critical gaps in VA care for women vets, in addition to asking the VA to demonstrate its commitment to culture changes by updating its motto: ‘To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan,’ continued Jaslow. “We urge all members of Congress to consider the message that the support of a more inclusive motto sends to the women veterans they represent. And, conversely, what opposition to this provision may indicate to women who feel alienated by the very agency that’s supposed to support them. We look forward to working with leaders in Congress to act quickly to pass this bill and ensure that women finally get the recognition and services they deserve.”
 
See highlights from Jaslow’s March testimony to Congress on IAVA’s priorities here.
 
A video of tomorrow’s testimony will be available shortly following the testimony online here.
 
She Who Borne The Battle: More than 345,000 women have deployed since 9/11. Women are the fastest-growing segment of the veteran population and that trend will continue as the number of male veterans simultaneously declines over the next decades. However, many female veterans are left without the proper care to support their needs when they return from their service. She Who Borne the Battle will change this by providing a foundation of public awareness, local support and policy changes solely targeted at supporting and empowering female veterans. Learn more at SheWhoBorneTheBattle.org.

 
The Deborah Sampson Act: Created in consultation with IAVA staff and driven by quantitative and qualitative data from IAVA’s annual member survey, the Deborah Sampson Act will: Foster cultural change; strengthen data and transparency; recognize and support the value of peer support; require coordinated community care and; increase outreach.

Allison Jaslow
is Executive Director for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA). In this role, Allison focuses on policy, external communications, IAVA’s Washington DC operations. She is our primary spokesperson for IAVA’s groundbreaking #SheWhoBorneTheBattle campaign and other policy initiatives.

Allison is a former Army Captain who served two combat deployments in Iraq and one of the nation’s leading voices and advocates for the post-9/11 generation of veterans. She previously served as IAVA’s Chief of Staff and Director of Intergovernmental and Political Affairs.

Before joining IAVA, Allison was a successful campaign manager and a respected political and communications strategist who has been appointed to positions in the White House, both Chambers of Congress, and worked on political campaigns across the country. She recently served as Chief of Staff and Campaign Manager for Illinois Congresswoman Cheri Bustos and previously as Press Secretary for former Virginia Senator and decorated Vietnam veteran Jim Webb.
 
Allison is a national spokeswoman for veterans. Her recent features include: NPR, MSNBC, PBS, and Chicago Tribune. 

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