Live from Capitol Hill: AMVETS to Testify Before House Subcommittees

Today AMVETS Acting Legislative Director Christina Roof will testify before both the House VA Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs and the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity.

Live Web casts from both hearings can be viewed at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. by Clicking Here.

The first hearing before the Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee came to order this morning in the Veterans Affairs committee chambers in Cannon 340, and will focus on seven pieces of legislation potentially affecting veterans. To view a full list of participants and to read their prepared remarks, Click Here.

Roof's remarks this morning will focus on four of the bills, which AMVETS supports; the Providing Military Honors for our Nation's Heroes Act, or H.R. 811, which would offer travel reimbursement to organizations that provide military honors for veteran funerals; the Veterans Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act, or H.r. 1407, which will set rates for COLA adjustments for veterans in 2011; H.R. 1627, an act to support uniform definitions for monuments at Arlington National Cemetery, and H.R. 1441, an act which would prohibit the long-overlooked practice of reserving space at Arlington National Cemetery.

In the afternoon, Roof will once again appear in Cannon 340 to testify before the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee, addressing four additional pieces of legislation related to veterans' educational and entrepreneurial opportunities. To view a full list or participants and to read their prepared remarks, Click Here.

Roof's remarks will focus on two pieces of legislation before the subcommittee which AMVETS supports, H.R. 1657, an act which would revise the penalties for small businesses misrepresenting themselves as "veteran-owned" to secure set-aside government contracts; and
H.R. 1383, an act which would temporarily preserve higher tuition reimbursement rates under the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill for student veterans attending private institutions of higher learning.

During her remarks, Roof will also address an overlooked inequity in last year's G.I. Bill improvements act, which stripped nearly 400,000 enrolled veterans of living allowance payments during academic break periods.

American Veteran will follow both hearings closely. Check back for highlights.

This Week at American Veteran

After a very successful AMVETS National Convention and 2010 Symposium for 21st Century Veterans, American Veteran Online is back in action this week.

Through all of the work in Louisville, AMVETS managed to compile significant information about the ever-changing needs of today's veterans community, which will now be used to compile a final report to be published in October.

This week, American Veteran will also bring you reaction to two recent court rulings that rattled the veterans' community--the Missouri ruling striking down the state's ban on military funeral protests and the Colorado ruling striking down the Stolen Valor Act. AMVETS leaders have advocated for both the protection of grieving military families and the prosecution of phony veterans.

This week, we will also highlight recent efforts of AMVETS Legislative Department pressing VA to codify service dog guidelines for health care facilities nationwide. AMVETS National Deputy Legislative Director Christina Roof worked with the office of Congressman Ron Klein (D-Fla.) to draft a letter to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, asking VA to close a loop hole that only allows "seeing eye dogs" on VA facilities. We will bring you updates as this story develops.

We will also discuss the latest issue of American Veteran magazine, which is now available online. The latest issue brings with it new digital features, such as RSS feeds and podcasts of the full text. We will highlight each of these new features, plus preview this summer's stories.

As always, we're eager to hear from you, our readers. We hope to continue highlighting the work of AMVETS posts and departments around the country, so please keep sending your submissions and post your comments.

Reps. Boccieri and Hunter Introduce Resolution on Military Funerals

Last week, two Iraq veterans serving in Congress, Reps. John Boccieri (D-Ohio) and Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), introduced a bipartisan resolution calling on the Supreme Court to preserve privacy for military families mourning their loved ones.

The resolution, House Continuing Resolution 261, would express the sense of Congress that the Supreme Court should uphold lower court decisions that military funeral proceedings should be private, peaceful ceremonies where Gold Star families are allowed to mourn with dignity.

The resolution comes as the Supreme Court prepares to hear the case of Gold Star father Albert Snyder, who sued the Kansas church that picketed the funeral of his son, Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snider, who was killed in Iraq in 2006.

The church, which we refuse to acknowledge on this blog, has picketed military funerals since 2005, brandishing offensive signs and screaming at mourning Gold Star families, posturing that American troops were dying in combat as a result of America's tolerance for homosexuality.

In an effort to protect grieving families, motorcycle groups like the Patriot Guard Riders and AMVETS Riders have offered escorts and cordons for funeral processions alongside local law enforcement.

After being exposed to the group's hateful message, Snyder decided to take action, suing the Kansas church for defamation, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Snyder was originally awarded more than $10 million in damages, until the decision was overturned by the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which also ordered Snyder to pay associated court fees for the Kansas church.

With the case making its way to the Supreme Court, AMVETS leaders support Boccieri and Hunter's resolution, calling to preserve dignified military funerals.

"What this radical church has done is abhorrent and cannot simply be viewed in the context of preserving First Amendment rights," said AMVETS National Commander Duane J. Miskulin. "Our grieving Gold Star families deserve only the utmost respect when mourning the loss of their loved ones. AMVETS hopes that the Supreme Court will agree that picketing military funerals violates the personal rights of a grieving family."

The Boccieri/Hunter resolution, which has already garnered support from fellow veterans in Congress, Reps. Chris Carney (D-Pa.) and Tim Walz (D-Minn.), among others.

Both Hunter and Boccieri said the issue was personal in nature to them, given their experiences in the current conflicts. Hunter has served multiple combat tours, leading Marines in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and Boccieri, a life member of AMVETS Post No. 44 in Youngstown, Ohio, flew C-130 missions in Iraq.

"Service members who make the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our nation--as well as their families--deserve our unending respect and appreciation," said Hunter. "Those who attempt to discredit their sacrifice by hurling insults and engaging in other offensive behavior bring great shame to themselves. The right to free speech is one of our nation’s most fundamental and protected rights, but it’s unfortunate when certain individuals or groups think it’s appropriate, for the purpose of creating controversy, to publicly malign our fallen heroes and disrupt such an important moment for their families. It’s my hope is that the Supreme Court will move to uphold existing laws that allow these families to mourn the loss of their loved ones without disturbance."

"The right to free speech ends where the privacy of a family mourning the loss of a service member begins,” said Boccieri. “While our law doesn’t restrict hate groups from spewing their venom, it forces them to do it at a respectful distance from the grieving family. This is personal for me after flying wounded and fallen soldiers out of Baghdad."

The Supreme Court granted certiorari on the Snyder case earlier this year and it has been placed on the docket for the current session, with a decision expected to come by fall.

American Veteran will continue to follow developments closely.

(Image: Dear Colleague letter from Reps. Boccieri and Hunter, calling for support to H.CON.RES 261. Letter courtesy of the Office of Congressman John Boccieri.)