Gulf War Illness treatment research funding. VCS succeeded in our extensive Spring efforts related to our requested $20 million appropriation for the treatment-focused Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP) that VCS champions. The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense Appropriations included that request in their recommendations.
Historically, the Subcommittee’s recommendation has been the final appropriation coming out of final conference committee, which is expected to be completed sometime this Fall, so this is very, very good news for Gulf War veterans.
GAO investigation complete. After more than two years of effort, the Government Accountability Office has concluded an investigation confirming VCS’s earlier findings of a greater than 80 percent denial of Gulf War Illness VA claims. The GAO investigative report is here: http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-17-511
Congressional Hearing on Gulf War Claims. On Thursday, July 13, Anthony Hardie, Veterans for Common Sense Executive Director, will be testifying before Congress about the issues identified in this GAO investigation. The hearing starts at 9:30 a.m. and will be streamed live. More information about the hearing and the live stream is here: https://veterans.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=1802
G.I. Bill Modernization/Education Coalition Update. As part of the VCS longstanding Education Coalition efforts, VCS signed onto a June 5, 2017 letter regarding G.I. Bill modernization and a July 12, 2017 group letter submitted to the Education Secreteary DeVos on Thursday, July 12, 2017.
VCS testified at a public hearing on veterans education issues on Monday (7/10) at the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, DC., in favor of stronger protections for student veterans who’ve been scammed by predatory colleges.
VCS will be attending a Student Veterans of America- and VFW-hosted Roundtable on G.I. Bill Modernization on Thursday (7/13), followed that afternoon by an American Legion-led press briefing with select Members of Congress, both in the U.S. Capitol complex in Washington DC.
National Desert Storm War Memorial. On Wednesday (7/12), VCS will be presenting to the National Park Service (NPS) about the prospective location of the now-approved memorial. The location favored by VCS is just northeast of the Lincoln Memorial on the Mall; the other possible location is in Arlington, in an undeveloped park area between Arlington National Cemetery and the Potomac River.
*NPS website about the memorial: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/meetingNotices.cfm?projectID=62216
*National Desert Storm War Memorial website: https://www.ndswm.org/
Burn Pits Congressional Briefing. On July 27, VCS will attend Burn Pits 360’s first Congressional briefing on Burn Pits and Airborne Hazards in the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center.