    [Senate Hearing 116-398]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                            S. Hrg. 116-398

                LEGISLATIVE PRESENTATION OF THE AMERICAN LEGION

    =======================================================================

                                 JOINT HEARING

                                     OF THE

                         COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS

                                   BEFORE THE

                     UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                                    AND THE

                              UNITED STATES SENATE

                         ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 FIRST SESSION

                                   __________

                               FEBRUARY 27, 2019

                                   __________

          Formatted for the use of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

     [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

            Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov

                                 ______

                 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
    42-887PDF             WASHINGTON : 2021

                     SENATE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS

                       Johnny Isakson, Georgia, Chairman
    Jerry Moran, Kansas                  Jon Tester, Montana, Ranking
    John Boozman, Arkansas                   Member
    Bill Cassidy, Louisiana              Patty Murray, Washington
    Mike Rounds, South Dakota            Bernard Sanders, Vermont
    Thom Tillis, North Carolina          Sherrod Brown, Ohio
    Dan Sullivan, Alaska                 Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut
    Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee          Mazie K. Hirono, Hawaii
    Kevin Cramer, North Dakota           Joe Manchin III, West Virginia
                                         Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona
                           Adam Reece, Staff Director
                    Tony McClain, Democratic Staff Director

            HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS

                       Mark Takano, California, Chairman

    Julia Brownley, California           Dr. Phil Roe, Tennessee, Ranking
    Kathleen Rice, New York                  Member
    Conor Lamb, Pennsylvania             Gus M. Bilirakis, Florida
    Mike Levin, California               Amata C. Radewagen, American Samoa
    Anthony Brindisi, New York           Mike Bost, Illinois
    Max Rose, New York                   Dr. Neal Dunn, Florida
    Chris Pappas, New Hampshire          Jack Bergman, Michigan
    Elaine Luria, Virginia               Jim Banks, Indiana
    Susie Lee, Nevada                    Andy Barr, Kentucky
    Joe Cunningham, South Carolina       Dan Meuser, Pennsylvania
    Gil Cisneros, California             Steve Watkins, Kansas
    Collin Peterson, Minnesota           Chip Roy, Texas
    Gregorio Kilili Camacho              Greg Steube, Florida
        Sablan,Northern Mariana Islands
    Colin Allred, Texas
    Lauren Underwood, Illinois

                           Ray Kelley, Staff Director
                     John Towers, Republican Staff Director

                                C O N T E N T S

                                  ----------

                               February 27, 2019
                                    SENATORS

                                                                       Page
    Isakson, Hon. Johnny, Chairman, U.S. Senator from Georgia........     3
    Tester, Hon. John, Ranking Member, U.S. Senator from Montana.....     4
    Tillis, Hon. Thom, U.S. Senator from North Carolina..............    15
    Sullivan, Hon. Dan, U.S. Senator from Alaska.....................    22
    Boozman, Hon. John, U.S. Senator from Arkansas...................    26
    Cassidy, Hon. Bill, U.S. Senator from Louisiana..................    29
    Moran, Hon. Jerry, U.S. Senator from Kansas......................    32
    Hirono, Hon. Mazie K., U.S. Senator from Hawaii..................    34
    Sanders, Hon. Bernie, U.S. Senator from Vermont..................    36
    Blumenthal, Hon. Richard, U.S. Senator from Connecticut..........    39

                                REPRESENTATIVES

    Takano, Hon. Mark, Chairman, U.S. Representative from Montana....     1
    Roe, Hon. Phil, Ranking Member, U.S. Representative from
      Tennessee......................................................     5
    Cisneros, Hon. Gil, U.S. Representative from California..........    14
    Underwood, Hon. Lauren, U.S. Representative from Illinois........    17
    Bergman, Hon. Jack, U.S. Representative from Michigan............    19
    Levin, Hon. Mike, U.S. Representative from California............    21
    Browley, Hon. Julia, U.S. Representative from California.........    24
    Pappas, Hon. Chris, U.S. Representative from New Hampshire.......    31
    Allred, Hon. Colin, U.S. Representative from Texas...............    41

                                   WITNESSES

    Statement of Higgins, Hon. Clay, U.S. Representative from
      Louisiana......................................................     8
    Reistad, Brett P., National Commander, The American Legion
        Accompanied by: Fisher, Randall, Chairman, National
        Legislative Commission Sharpe, Joseph, Director Veterans
        Employment and Education Division Nuntavong, Chanin,
        Director, National Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation
        Division Shuman, Matthew, National Legislative, Director
        Bozella, Ralph, Chairman, Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation
        Commission Troiola, Vincent, Chairman, Veterans Employment
        and Education Commission                                          9

                                    APPENDIX

    The American Legion Legislative Agenda submitted by Reistad,
      Brett P., American Legion National Commander...................    50

                LEGISLATIVE PRESENTATION OF THE AMERICAN LEGION

                                  ----------

                          WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019

                          United States Senate,
                          and House of Representatives,
                                Committee on Veterans' Affairs,
                                                       Washington, D.C.
        The Committees met, pursuant to notice, at 10:00 a.m., in
    Room SD-G50, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Johnny
    Isakson and Hon. Mark Takano, presiding.
        Senators Present: Isakson, Moran, Boozman, Cassidy, Rounds,
    Tillis, Sullivan, Blackburn, Tester, Sanders, Brown,
    Blumenthal, Hirono, and Manchin.
        Representatives Present: Takano, Brownley, Lamb, Levin,
    Rose, Brindisi, Cisneros, Lee, Underwood, Cunningham, Pappas,
    Allred, Roe, Bilirakis, Bost, Bergman, Banks, and Meuser.

                  OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN TAKANO

        Chairman Takano. Good morning. The Joint Hearing to Receive
    the Legislative Presentation of the American Legion is now
    called to order. I will begin with my opening statement.
        Good morning, Commander Reistad, and welcome to everyone in
    the House and Senate Joint Hearing to Receive the Legislative
    Presentation of the American Legion. I am honored to be here
    with Chairman Isakson and Senator Tester and Ranking Member
    Roe, and all members of the House and Senate Committees on
    Veterans' Affairs.
        First I would like to thank Commander Reistad for being
    here today and welcome every Legionnaire here today and those
    who could not join us in person but are watching from home.
        Commander, I want to begin by recognizing the tireless
    advocates who work every day on behalf of the American Legion.
    We rely on the American Legion in our districts and
        states back home, and here in Washington, D.C., to be the
    voice for the millions of veterans you represent throughout the
    country.
        I would also like to specifically recognize members from my
    own home state of California. Are you in the house?
        [Cheers.]
        All right. All right. California American Legion Boys State
    right here. Thank you.
        [Applause.]
        And, by the way, I just like to add, now more than ever we
    benefit from the civics lessons that are taught through
    American Legion Boys State and Girls State, and I know that the
    tremendous volunteer effort through the auxiliary and your
    membership, what it takes to stage those Boys State and Girls
    State events throughout the country. And America certain
    benefits from having that civics education and leadership
    development that you provide.
        For 100 years--and I realize that last year was your 100th
    year anniversary since your founding, and a very poignant
    founding since the World War I and such a consequential war for
    the world and our country--members of your organization have
    been on the front lines as a strong voice on Capitol Hill
    ensuring Congress fulfills its promise to veterans. We look to
    you to guide our work and to hold us accountable to the
    veterans and their families. You make sure the work we
    undertake is done in the best interest of veterans. And with
    your help, we have seen a lot of successes over the years, and
    we will need your continued input as we move through the 116th
    Congress.
        Reading through your testimony I want to say that your
    concerns are my concerns. This afternoon, the House Committee
    on Veterans' Affairs will have Secretary Wilkie testifying on
    the state of the VA and what needs to be done to achieve our
    vision for VA through the year 2030. Our VA 2030 plan is
    simple. It is a future look at what we envision as the ideal
    VA, a system worth saving for all veterans, no matter the
    generation or conflict in which they served. That starts with
    getting implementation of the Mission Act right so veterans can
    access care at VA hospitals and clinics and with community
    providers.
        I hold with your similar concerns regarding hiring and
    retention. We must continue to find constructive ways to bring
    the best and brightest to VA once they are there, and once they
    are there we need to keep them.
        Keeping pace with the fastest-growing population of
    veterans is crucial. Women veterans need to know that VA is for
    them.
        We agree with your assessment that no veteran should have
    to choose between caring for a child and receiving health care,
    and we are proud to report that the House passed the Veterans
    Access to Child Care Act just a few weeks ago so that veterans
    who are parents to young children can see their VA provider
    without having to worry about finding and affording child care,
    and thank you, Julia Brownley, for your bill. Thank you.
        [Applause.]
        And I want just as much acknowledgment for our Republican
    colleagues because this bill passed with 400 votes in the
    House, and I do not want to pass over the hard work of my
    Ranking Member, Phil Roe. Thank you, Phil, for your work on
    that bill as well.
        [Applause.]
        And I know and trust that Senator Isakson will burst this
    through the Senate in no time, in zero seconds flat. Right,
    Senator?
        Chairman Isakson. Zero.
        Chairman Takano. Zero. We know how fast they work over
    there in the Senate.
        And we will continue to work with you to advance benefits
    to all Vietnam veterans serving on land and sea, especially
    those exposed to Agent Orange. We will double our efforts to
    end homelessness and strive to find and care for every veteran
    who may contemplating suicide.
        And while I just touched on a few of the issue areas that
    are important to you and your membership, know that I am
    committed to helping advance your priorities in the coming
    year. I look forward to hearing your testimony today, and thank
    you again for your tireless advocacy of the veteran community.
        And with that I now recognize Chairman Isakson for his
    opening statement.

                 OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN ISAKSON

        Chairman Isakson. Thank you very much, Chairman Takano, and
    congratulations to rising to Chair of the House
        Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and to Phil Roe, I want to
    tell you what a great pleasure and privilege it was for me to
    work with you for four years as your chairmanship in the House.
    I appreciate the things you did to support us. We have been a
    great team for the VA for the last four years. Jon Tester, who
    is my Ranking Member in the Senate, is my partner. We are not
    adversaries. We are not in different parties. We are Americans,
    just like our soldiers are on the battlefield. We recognize
    heroism not by party.
        [Applause.]
        And we particularly appreciate all you are doing.
        I have to tell you, I want to thank you and Mr. Reistad,
    Commander, and the others for the four corners Fireside Chat
    that we celebrated two days ago with you at the Washington
    Hilton.
        [Applause.]
        That was a great way for us to be able to talk you in a
    setting that is much better than standing up at a podium and
    speaking, which ends up being a lecture and that is not any fun
    for anybody. But to sit there in a nice overly soft chair, I
    might add for an hour, and stay awake and be cogent, that is a
    good challenge for old men anytime, so we are glad to do it.
        I want to congratulate you on your 100th anniversary. I
    mean, that is a great milestone. My wife and I celebrated our
    50th wedding anniversary last year. I know what big
    anniversaries mean. I hope I make 200 on that, but if I do not,
    I am glad you all made it to 100 in terms of the American
    Legion. I appreciate very much your organization and what you
    mean to all of us.
        We have a big agenda this year and our agenda in the
    Senate, from my standpoint--and I think it is shared by all--is
    to see to it that all the things we did the last three or four
    years--the new GI Bill, the accountability bill, the appeals
    bill, the Whistleblower Act--all of the things that we did, now
    is the time to see to it they are in place and working. You do
    not want to go pile a whole lot of new stuff on somebody until
    they swallow what you have just given them, and we just gave
    them a lot to swallow.
        My last conversation before I came in here was with Mr.
    Wilkie, who is going to see you this afternoon, hobbling in on
    his bad Achilles' heel, so do not give him too much trouble. He
    is in agony, in pain. Any of you who have had an Achilles
    problem know that is not comfortable. But he is a great leader
    at the VA and we appreciate him very much.
        And I have told him we will share the same commitment to
    all of you. We will do everything we can to make the promises
    that we made reality, make them reality as fast as possible. We
    will make mistakes, but there are a couple of mistakes we will
    not make. One, we are not going to make the mistake of
    privatizing the VA. I can guarantee you that. We are not going
    to do that.
        [Applause.]
        But we are going to see that we empower the private sector
    to be a force multiplier for the VA so people can have timely
    appointments, the best of care that is available in the United
    States of America goes to our veterans, and we will not stop
    until we get that done for everybody. It is important that we
    make sure the VA, all the things we have bragged about for two
    years, become a reality that you expect every day when you go
    to the VA.
        We appreciate the people who volunteered and fought for
    this country, risked their life for this country, and stand for
    this country to support it. When you come to Washington to
    advocate for the American Legion, there are a lot of things you
    could do. But you are not just advocating for yourself. You are
    advocating for all those who went before you, in the military,
    in service to the country.
        So thank you for what you have done, thank you for being
    here today, and thank you for being part of the greatest
    country on the face of this Earth, the United States of
    America.
        Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
        [Applause.]
        Chairman Takano. Thank you. Thank you, Chairman Isakson.
    And I now yield to the Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans'
    Affairs Committee, Senator Tester from Montana.

                  OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR TESTER

        Senator Tester. Thank you, Chairman Takano, and thank you
    for being here.
        Commander Reistad, let us see. I saw you on Monday and I
    saw you on Tuesday. Hell, I see you every day, more than I have
    got fingers to count with. So it is great to have you hear
    today.
        Look, I have enjoyed working with you and your legislative
    staff and great Legionnaires like Mike Shepard, Cliff Larson,
    Bill White in Montana. You guys have been great and I want to
    thank you for your leadership, Commander Reistad, as the
    American Legion is here before us, because we have accomplished
    a lot but we still have a lot to do.
        As I have said before, as I said Monday, and I think I said
    it again yesterday, Congress needs to take its cues from you.
    You know better than anyone how VA is performing across this
    country. You know what improvements should be made on behalf
    veterans and their families. Your members are beneficiaries of
    the VA health care and utilize VA programs every day. Listening
    to veterans should not be a courtesy from the VA. It should be
    mandatory.
        Commander, we need to hear your view on gender disparities
    at the VA, what can be done to provide more equitable treatment
    for our women veterans; on whether the VA is doing enough to
    address the unacceptable rate of veteran suicides; on
    implementation of the Harry Colmery Act, a law which builds
    upon 75 years of the GI Bill and American Legion history.
        But most importantly today, we need to know whether you
    believe the implementation of the VA Mission Act, the largest
    overhaul of veterans health care in a generation, is being
    carried out as Congress intended, and more importantly, as
    veterans deserve. There is very real concern from the veterans
    community and Congress that the recently proposed access
    standards will steer a disproportionate amount of veterans and
    taxpayer dollars to the private section.
        And despite language in the Mission Act, it is clear that
    the VA does not intend on holding community providers to the
    same standards as VA providers. We need to make sure that does
    not happen. So we will end up sending more veterans into the
    communities for lower-quality care while being unable to ensure
    they get it done in a timely manner. These are all challenges
    but challenges that we can fix.
        To top it off, nobody can tell us how many veterans will
    ultimately be impacted by these access or standards, or how
    much it will cost. All we know is that community care is more
    expensive than VA care and that billions have been paid to
    third-party administrators that should have gone directly to
    improving the lives of veterans across this country.
        VA refers to concerns about the hollowing-out of the VA
    care is false and predictable, but everyone in this room, I
    believe, knows that they are real. Veterans deserve more than
    that. They deserve the truth and they deserve a system that
    will work, a system that is built and improved with the input
    from the American Legion and others.
        Commander Reistad, it is great to have you here today. We
    need to keep meeting like this, quite frankly. And I want to
    welcome you and I want to welcome everybody you represent on
    behalf of the American Legion, their families, and the veterans
    you serve. Thank you.
        [Applause.]
        I would now like to--thank you, Ranking Member Tester, and
    now I would like to recognize my colleague on the House side,
    the Ranking Member, Dr. Phil Roe. You are now recognized for
    your opening statement.

                      OPENING STATEMENT OF DR. ROE

        Dr. Roe. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I also want to
    associate my comments with Senator Isakson. In the last two
    years we were able to accomplish a lot of great things for our
    veterans, and it would not have happened without the leadership
    up here. And I said this yesterday. One of the reasons I do not
    think this is going to be as long a meeting as some of them are
    is that Tim Walz, who you all know, who is now Governor of
    Minnesota, used to bring either one or two 20-ounce Mountain
    Dews. So this is not a two-20-ounce Mountain Dew hearing, I
    hope.
        Commander Reistad, to you and all your members of the
    American Legion and the American Legion Auxiliary and Sons of
    the American Legion who are with us today--and I want to thank
    the auxiliary members. And I said this yesterday. You know, I
    was deployed, and when we get deployed we forget about the
    responsibilities we leave the family. We have a mission and we
    go accomplish that mission. But there is another mission too,
    and that is to keep your family together, to look after your
    family, and all the things at home. So thank you, auxiliary
    members, for being our wingman and our backup. Thank you very
    much for that.
        [Applause.]
        It is an honor for me to be here today, and if there are
    any Legionnaires--I think there are--my fellow Tennesseans,
    would you please stand up and be recognized, or hold your hand
    up, either one, if you are here?
        Yep, there they are in the back. Thank you, guys.
        [Applause.]
        I know from personal experience the commitment to country
    and to service that the American Legion members exemplify in
    communities, including mine, across this great nation. I also
    know, from personal experience, that the leadership that the
    American Legion's top-notch executive and legislative team
    exemplify are right here in our nation's capital.
        Last Congress saw a record number of transformative pieces
    of legislation signed into law to reform the Department of
    Veterans Affairs in both large and small ways, and that would
    not have been possible without the dedication, partnership, and
    support of the American Legion. And one of the things that I
    did as I began to work through this was that you all--and we
    did not always agree, as you well know--but we came in and
    worked these differences out. It was a model for how
    legislation could go. You have a different viewpoint than I
    might have, we got in a room and worked out those differences,
    and I think we can all be proud of what we did.
        I look forward to continuing the collaboration with you,
    Commander Reistad, to ensure that the legislation we worked so
    hard to see signed into law is implemented as we intended, and
    serves to further our common mission to uphold President
    Lincoln's promise to care for those who have borne the battle.
        Last week the Veterans Appeals and Improvement and
    Modernization Act, or AMA, went live. The AMA completely
    revamped the way disability claims and appeals are processed at
    the VA and critically gives the veterans greater choice and
    control over how their appeal is handled at the VA.
        Let me give you just a personal story. About a month ago I
    was in Nashville. I went to the RO, went to the VA hospital
    there. On the way out the door I met, I think, an eight-year
    Marine reservist who served in the '70s. He did not go to
    Vietnam but he served in the '70s. He had tried for seven years
    to get his claim done. He had decided to go with the RAMP
    program. In 90 days he had what took seven years. I mean, this
    man was grinning from ear to ear. He could be a poster child,
    and I hope it works that way for many other veterans. I was
    really pleased when I just bumped into him sort of accidentally
    there at the VA.
        As you know, another thing very near and dear to my heart,
    and I know to yours as well, is the fight for our Blue Water
    Navy veterans. I have carried that fight for almost 10 years. I
    want to get that done, get that off, and treat these veterans
    the same as very other veteran that has served in Vietnam was.
    So I would appreciate your help with that.
        [Applause.]
        And I know Senator Isakson and Senator Tester, they were
    great partners with this and worked very hard to get that done,
    and I feel confident that I know Chairman Takano is ready to
    get it done also, and we both already dropped legislation for
    that.
        Another top priority of mine, as others have said, is
    effective and ongoing oversight of the VA Mission Act. The
    Mission Act is a wide-ranging piece of legislation, and when it
    was enacted it impacted virtually every facet of the VA health
    care system and increased access to high-quality care in VA
    medical facilities in the community and via telehealth. It
    resulted in a VA health care system that is stronger, that are
    able to care for veterans and their caregivers both today and
    for generations to come, and this will not privatize the VA.
        That said, a law as transformative as the Mission Act does
    not come with an instruction manual, and I anticipate there
    will be some stumbling blocks and struggles in the weeks and
    months ahead that will once again require our effort to
    overcome.
        I remain committed to that process and to keeping my door
    open to the American Legion throughout the process. I will also
    continue to hold Secretary Wilkie's feet to the fire with
    regard to the implementation of the Harry W. Colmery Veterans
    Education Assistance Act of 2017, until I am confident that
    every veteran has received the benefits of which they are
    entitled and the implementation of the Department of Veterans
    Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protect Act of 2017,
    until I am confident that the VA is appropriately adjudicating
    allegations of misconduct or poor performance and treating
    whistleblowers with respect and seriousness that they are
    entitled.
        Last, but certainly not least, I am committed to closing--
    closely overseeing the electronic health record modernization.
    Greater information technology support generally, and improved
    coordination between VA and DoD, particularly, are a key to
    VA's future on every front.
        Also, I know that the Chairman is very much committed to
    this, is to work on our homeless veterans and suicide. I know
    that is very near and dear to the Legion. I know that is one of
    your top priorities. I commend Chairman Takano for attaining
    the Technology and Modernization Subcommittee that we
    established last Congress and I look forward to significant
    work this Congress to address VA's technology needs.
        Commander Reistad, we should all be extremely proud of the
    work that we have accomplished together in the last two years.
    However, as you can see, we still have a lot of work ahead of
    us. And I am glad that you and your fellow Legionnaires are
    steadfast partners in that work, and thank you once again for
    being with us here in Washington this morning, and all the
    Legionnaires that are here. I look forward to receiving your
    testimony and I yield back my time.
        Chairman Takano. Thank you, Ranking Member Roe.
        Let me just say a few words about the Commander before I
    introduce--before I accord him the time to give his opening
    statement.
        Brett P. Reistad was elected National Commander of the
    American Legion on August 30, 2018, in Minneapolis, during the
    organization's 100th national convention, and I was very
    honored to actually be able to address that convention myself,
    in Minneapolis.
        He has been a member of the nation's largest veterans'
    organization since 1981. He is former law enforcement. He
    retired as a lieutenant with the Fairfax County Police
    Department after 26 years of service--my goodness;
    congratulations on that--and began a second career as a law
    enforcement services coordinator for the Regional Organized
    Crime Information Center of the Regional Information Sharing
    Systems Program, a congressionally funded law enforcement
    investigative assistance program.
        The Commander's American Legion membership eligibility is
    through his honorable Vietnam War-era service, from 1974 to
    1978, as an active duty U.S. Army infantryman, where he served
    with the Presidential Salute Battery of the 3rd U.S. Infantry
    Regiment, the Old Guard, at historic Fort Myer, Virginia. He
    participated in the inaugural ceremony for President Carter and
    other high-profile ceremonies, and he has since been honored as
    a Distinguished Member of The Regiment.
        Commander, we are very honored to have you here today, and
    I now give you time to present your opening statement.
        Oh, excuse me. Okay. Commander, we will need just to hold
    off here. I made that introduction because I was not
    anticipating that the gentleman from Louisiana would be here to
    introduce you himself. So I want to make sure that I accord him
    time.
        Mr. Clay Higgins, the gentleman from Louisiana, you are
    recognized to introduce the commander.

                     STATEMENT OF HON. CLAY HIGGINS

        Mr. Higgins. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Ranking Member, thank you
    for this gathering today. The commander I sit next to is a
    great and humble servant of his nation, and by extension all
    our fellow men. I thank him.
        And, Mr. Chairman, as a former member of the House
    Veterans' Affairs Committee it is my honor to join you this
    morning and my great privilege to introduce our guest of honor,
    the National Commander of the American Legion, Mr. Brett P.
    Reistad.
        I have had the opportunity to get to know Mr. Reistad over
    the past few years, and as a fellow Army soldier and law
    enforcement officer I was pleased to hear of his election to
    the position of National Commander at the American Legion's
    100th annual convention last August.
        Mr. Reistad is a patriot American of the highest order. As
    a young man, he served his country with honor, and as an
    infantryman in our nation was engaged in the Vietnam War, a
    true servant of the people. Mr. Reistad stayed in uniform after
    his Army service ended, becoming a police officer in Fairfax
    County, Virginia, and retiring at the rank of lieutenant after
    26 years of service.
        Mr. Reistad's service and dedication to our men and women
    in uniform is evident in his exceptional leadership at the
    American Legion. Having joined the organization in 1981, he
    rose to the ranks, serving at every level of the American
    Legion, becoming commander of Post 270 in McLean, Virginia, and
    eventually Department Commander for the Commonwealth of
    Virginia in 2005, where membership reached an all-time high.
        He recently completed his second term as gubernatorial
    appointee to the Commonwealth of Virginia's Joint Leadership
    Council of Veteran Service Organizations, where he helped
    coordinate the input of 23 VSOs in crafting legislation on
    behalf of our veterans.
        The American Legion is among the nation's largest wartime
    veteran service organization, recognized as the nation's
    largest wartime veteran service organization. With 12,806 posts
    in communities from sea to shining sea, members advocate
    patriotism and honor and promote national security and
    continued devotion to all those who served. As the organization
    celebrates its centennial and storied past, Mr. Reistad has
    emphasized the theme of celebrating our legacy and remains
    committed to carrying out his duties on behalf of our veterans,
    men and women in uniform, and their families.
        I am proud of the job he has done, excited to see what he
    will continue to do, and proud to call him a friend.
        [Applause.]
        Chairman Takano. Commander, you are now recognized to
    deliver--to present your opening statement.

                     STATEMENT OF BRETT P. REISTAD

      THE AMERICAN LEGION; ACCOMPANIED BY JOSEPH SHARPE, VINCENT
     TROIOLA, MATTHEW SHUMAN, CHANIN NUNTAVONG, RALPH BOZELLA, AND
                             RANDALL FISHER

        Mr. Reistad. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is great to see
    all of you here.
        Before I begin my opening statement I would first like to
    introduce a few critical members of the American Legion family.
    I ask the following people to please stand, if able, and be
    recognized, the American Legion national officers who were
    serving with me this year.
        [Applause.]
        Our distinguished American Legion Past National Commanders.
        [Applause.]
        Kathy Dugan, president of the nation's largest patriotic
    women's organization, the American Legion Auxiliary.
        [Applause.]
        Past national presidents of the American Legion Auxiliary.
        [Applause.]
        Greg Gibbs, National Commander of the Sons of the American
    Legion.
        [Applause.]
        Past National Commanders of the Sons of the American
    Legion.
        [Applause.]
        And for the rest of us, we are----
        Multiple Speakers. --Team 100.
        Mr. Reistad. Thank you.
        [Applause.]
        Mr. Reistad. Good morning, Chairman Takano, Chairman
    Isakson, Ranking Members Tester and Roe, members of the House
    and Senate Committees on Veterans' Affairs, and distinguished
    others among us. Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the
    American Legion's legislative priorities with you.
        I also would like to thank Congressman Higgins, a former
    member of this Committee, for his kind introduction, for his
    military and law enforcement service, and for being a member of
    the American Legion.
        During the last Congress, these two committees played a
    pivotal role in the passage of the most significant veterans'
    health care legislation in many years, the VA Mission Act. It
    was aptly titled. While there is still much work to be done
    regarding implementation, let me tell you about our mission.
        Mission is a word that we take very seriously, something
    that has been forged into us since our first day of military
    training. It is an inner fortitude that tells us that no matter
    what it takes, we will accomplish the task at hand. It is
    synonymous with being a veteran. We have seen this clearly
    demonstrated by the men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard, who
    despite its stoppage of pay continued to deploy more than 2,000
    members a day at sea and ashore. Yet they were treated
    differently than their DoD counterparts. Pay uncertainty is
    difficult for everyone impacted, but especially those who, by
    contact, are required to continue working and risking their
    lives in an occupation that provides, at best, modest pay.
        The American Legion did not fall short of our mission in
    January when, in just a two-week period, we provided more than
    $1 million of financial assistance to Coast Guard families with
    young children.
        [Applause.]
        It is times like this, Mr. Chairman, when it is not about
    what we did but rather what we do. This is where we hope
    Congress and the administration can live up to its
    constitutionally mandated mission to support our military.
    Whether it is through the Pay Our Coast Guard Act or advanced
    appropriations for Coast Guard payroll, we should all abide by
    the Semper Paratus motto, "Always prepared."
        Another special population that takes its mission seriously
    is our nation's law enforcement officers. Last year, 150 of
    these heroes died in the line of duty, protecting and serving
    our communities. It is not surprising that many military
    veterans continue to serve their country through careers in law
    enforcement. Service before self, even to the point of
    sacrificing one's life, if necessary, is just one of the many
    commonalities shared between military members and first
    responders.
        From an epidemic of opioids to criminal gang activity and
    domestic terrorism the life of a law enforcement officer is
    fraught with danger. We ask Congress to always consider how
    legislation impacts members of these special communities.
        Further, there are many constituencies that deserve our
    support but none more so than Gold Star families. I am proud to
    announce that the American Legion has recently created a full-
    time staff position dedicated to advocating for the needs of
    these families whose loss is immeasurable.
        Again, Mr. Chairman, it is not about what we did but rather
    what we do. President Lincoln referred to this loss as, "so
    costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom." And perhaps
    nothing is more important than preventing the number of Gold
    Star families from growing.
        That said, not all of America's war casualties come from
    enemy bullets. In 2017, the VA reported that the suicide rate
    among 18- to 24-year-old male Iraq or Afghanistan U.S. war
    veterans had risen fivefold. For 18- to 29-year-old female
    veterans the suicide rate doubled. We also know that PTSD, TBI,
    and feelings of a loss of purpose or belonging are frequently
    found among those who attempt such tragic and permanent
    endings.
        These feelings and conditions are either preventable or
    treatable. It must be the mission of every Legionnaire, every
    veteran, every employee of the DoD and VA, and I might add
    every Member of Congress, to stop such national tragedies.
    Simply put, access to timely treatment and quality health care
    saves lives.
        In 2017, the American Legion commissioned a report that
    confirmed what we already suspected. VA performs as well or
    better than its private sector counterparts in areas such as
    patient safety, patient satisfaction, care coordination, and
    innovative medical practices. But we do recognize that
    geography and specialty care sometimes means the VA is not
    always the best option for patients. We support the
    administration's recent announcement that access to veterans'
    health care providers should be based on actual drive times as
    opposed to straight-line mileage. Moreover, we agree that
    veterans should not have to wait more than 20 days for primary
    care or 28 days for specialty care. The American Legion does
    not oppose Choice but we adamantly oppose any plan that would
    gut the best health care system in the country.
        The central fact remains that nobody understands the unique
    health care needs of the veteran population better than the
    professionals at the VA. Further, the VA Mission Act must live
    up to its mission of serving veterans as opposed to serving
    private health care providers.
        To varying degrees, anyone who has personally assisted a
    close family member through sickness or serious medical
    conditions understands the challenges facing caregivers. I
    know. I, too, have experienced this. We welcome the recent
    expansion of the VA Family Caregiver Program to equalize
    benefits so that family members providing care for Vietnam and
    other veterans are on par with those who provide it for members
    of the post-9/11 generation.
        However, gaps still exist. Regardless of when a veteran
    served, even if it was during a period of peace, caregivers
    still face the same challenges. They sacrifice career, time
    with others, and often their own health care needs to care for
    their loved one. The American Legion has always believed that a
    veteran is a veteran. Our gratitude for their service should
    not be measured by arbitrary date but rather by the simple fact
    that they swore an oath to defend our nation. It is time that
    loved ones who are providing care for their veterans achieve
    equality.
        And there is another area of equality that the American
    Legion would like to see addressed. A century ago, our
    organization was chartered by Congress to serve as the leading
    voice for the veterans of the Great War. The thinking at the
    time was that World War I was so horrendous, that it was the
    war to end all wars. As we all know, history proved that it was
    not. Even so, our charter was updated during World War II to
    reflect the service and sacrifice of that era.
        Subsequently, our charter and membership eligibility have
    mirrored the eras officially recognized by the U.S. government
    to include the wars and conflicts such as Korea, Vietnam, and
    the global war on terror. However, these recognized periods
    fail to take into account the hostilities that occur between
    official eras in which nearly 1,600 U.S. military personnel
    were either killed or wounded, in places like Cuba, Iran, and
    El Salvador.
        Because of these frequent engagements, the American Legion
    calls on Congress to declare what has demonstrably already
    occurred, that the United States has been continually engaged
    in a state of war from December 7, 1941, until such a date in
    the future that our government may declare an end to all armed
    hostilities.
        Congress can provide this recognition by supporting and
    passing Senate Bill 504, or the Legion Act. The Legion Act will
    authorize the American Legion to expand our membership
    eligibility requirements. We sincerely thank Senator Kyrsten
    Sinema of Arizona for making this the first bill she introduced
    as a member of the United States Senate. We also thank Senator
    Thom Tillis of North Carolina for joining Senator Sinema in
    introducing this bipartisan legislation. The veterans that the
    Legion Act will recognize have carried out their missions. Now
    it is our turn.
        In 16 days, the American Legion will officially turn 100
    years old. You have heard me discuss mission quite a bit this
    morning. That is because the founders of our organization had a
    post-war mission. Their mission, one that continues today, was
    to care for veterans, provide patriotic youth programs,
    advocate for a strong national defense, and instill pride about
    what it means to be American. It is not just what the American
    Legion did. It is what we do.
        It is tempting to say "mission accomplished," but that
    implies that our work is done. It is not. So I prefer to say
    "mission still being accomplished" and I invite all Members of
    Congress to join us in a mission to make a better America.
        Chairman Takano, Chairman Isakson, Ranking Members Tester
    and Roe, and members of the critical committees, thank you for
    holding this hearing, thank you for all that you do for our
    nation's veterans and families, and thanks also to your amazing
    and talented staff.
        Mr. Chairman, I would happily answer any questions you may
    have, but I would like to let you know that I am blessed to
    have sitting with me some subject matter experts who are
    available, and in the event that they can answer a question
    better than I can I will defer to them, with your permission.
        Chairman Takano. Thank you.
        [Applause.]
        Chairman Takano. Thank you, Commander, for your testimony.
    We will now begin with questions from the Chairman and then
    Ranking Members and then members from the Committee in the
    order of arrival.
        I would like to begin by recognizing my colleague from the
    Senate, Chairman Isakson, for five minutes.

                        CHAIRMAN JOHNNY ISAKSON

        Chairman Isakson. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I
    appreciate the opportunity and I again want to thank the Legion
    for the Fireside Chat that we did on Monday, which was so
    effective of a way for us to communicate and get to talk to so
    many of your members. Congratulations again on your 100th
    anniversary. And for my benefit and my humoring, all the
    Georgia Legionnaires please stand.
        [Applause.]
        We are all on the same team and we are all in the same rank
    when it comes to being Americans and to being Legionnaires and
    to being veterans of the United States military, but we are
    always glad to have the Georgia veterans here. Congratulations
    on being here today.
        I only have one--I am not going to ask a big question. I am
    going to kind of make more of a statement because I think it is
    important that I repeat myself in the remarks I made first of
    all.
        Commander, do you have a successor here? Do you all have a
    line of succession for commanders?
        Mr. Reistad. Sir, we do have candidates that are following.
    So there is a leading candidate for National Commander that is
    behind me.
        Chairman Isakson. Is there a leading candidate--who is that
    person?
        Mr. Reistad. That person can stand. It is Bill Oxford of
    North Carolina.
        Chairman Isakson. Good.
        [Applause.]
        I want to tell you why I am doing this. This is really
    important. Mr. Oxford, and to yourself, Commander, your terms
    are two years or one?
        Mr. Reistad. One year, sir.
        Chairman Isakson. Over the next 24 months the future of the
    VA's health care services and operation depends on our
    supporting the changes in the Mission Act, the implementation
    of the Mission Act, and holding everyone accountable, us, in
    Congress, the physicians and nurses and assistants in the VA,
    and the VA administration itself.
        So I want to tell everybody in a leadership position,
    either on these committees or in your organization, the Legion,
    nothing we have done is going to work unless you help us make
    it work. We are going to have to give the VA some time and some
    latitude to make a few mistakes. But as long as they are making
    mistakes of the heart, making mistakes trying to do better,
    that is fine. But when they make mistakes we want to call them
    out, have them correct them, and then support them for the
    changes they made.
        I fear sometimes that bureaucracies wait for elected
    officials' terms to expire. So, in other words, once I am in
    office, I am in office for six years, as a Senator. When they
    go to work for the VA, unless they do something really bad,
    they are there for life. So they can outwait me. I do not want
    that to happen. We cannot afford to spend a day waiting for the
    promise of the improved appeals process, accountability
    process, positions of the numbers sufficient to have VA health
    care reach every veteran in the country. We need all these
    things to become reality and not just promises.
        I am pledging my part to support that. I know the members
    of the Committees will pledge that. And if you, Mr. Oxford, and
    you, Commander, will see that starts in the chain of command in
    your organizations, a few years from now we will look back on
    this being one of the great times of all for the VA and for
    veterans in America.
        Thank you all for your service.
        [Applause.]
        Mr. Reistad. Thank you, sir.
        Chairman Takano. Thank you, Senator Isakson. I will-- both
    Senator Tester and I will take our question time later. But I
    want to now move to recognize a member of the House Committee,
    Mr. Cisneros of California, who himself is a Navy veteran.
        Mr. Cisneros, you are recognized for five minutes.

                      REPRESENTATIVE GIL CISNEROS

        Mr. Cisneros. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Commander Reistad,
    thank you, and all of you, thank you for being here today. I
    especially want to thank the members from California who have
    made that long cross-country trip, especially I understand I
    have two members from my district, Martha Huff and Robert
    Brower, who are here representing California's 39th. So thank
    you all for being here today.
        I am a proud member of the American Legion Post 277 in
    Placentia. In fact, this hearing today is actually reminding me
    that I have to pay my dues this year.
        [Laughter.]
        So thank you for doing that.
        But I am also the grandson of veterans, the son of
    veterans, and as the Chairman said, a Navy veteran myself. And
    I understand the importance that the VA plays serving veterans.
    My father is a veteran, a Vietnam veteran, who is suffering
    from the side effects of Agent Orange, and I hope one day his
    Navy counterparts will be able to get the same treatment that
    he is receiving from the VA right now.
        [Applause.]
        But it is also--the important thing for me that I worry
    about is the transition of our servicemembers out of the
    military into the VA. My father also went over 30 years without
    being diagnosed that he was suffering from PTSD, and I do not
    want that to happen again to our current veterans that are
    serving in the service.
        So how, Commander Reistad and any of you, how can Congress
    support the VA as to make sure that we get a smooth transition
    from those that are leaving the military active duty service,
    that they are transitioning and making sure that they are
    getting the medical attention that they need and deserve in the
    VA, once they leave service?
        Mr. Reistad. Well, Congressman, thank you first for your
    question and for your service to our country. I believe it is
    essential that our military services promote transition at the
    end of a person's service, and I would like to ask our Director
    of Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation to respond to your
    question please.
        Mr. Nuntavong. Congressman, thank you for your question. I
    served 22 years as a Marine, and I saw the great care that our
    active duty folks get while they are serving in the military.
    What we hope is that they continue to get that great care
    through the VA. Nine million servicemembers or veterans are
    enrolled in VA. We have 20 million veterans out there. We need
    to get them enrolled in VA.
        So what you can do to help us, to help our veterans, is to
    get them. VA care is the best care. Our members, our veterans
    prefer VA care over local care, and we believe that if we get
    them into the VA system that they will get that continued care
    that they deserve.
        Mr. Cisneros. Thank you. So the other question I have is
    how we can be supportive. VSOs, veterans' organizations like
    yourselves, the American Legion, and other organizations are
    out there. How can Congress be supportive in helping to grow
    your membership, to make sure that you have advocate that,
    continuing going on into the future they will be advocating for
    our veterans into the future?
        Mr. Reistad. I mentioned in my testimony, sir, the bill
    that we refer to as the Legion Act. It is currently Senate Bill
    504. Hopefully we will see the same in the House of
    Representatives. That will enable us to be able to grow our
    membership.
        I think the American Legion is challenged in the coming
    years to grow, but we have great programs and great people in
    our organizations and I am very fortunate to know many younger
    veterans that are getting involved in our organization and
    moving up the ranks and promoting our organization to their
    colleagues, families, and friends. And I believe that we will
    have another 100 years of strong service to our country ahead
    of us.
        But I would like to ask our legislative director, Matthew
    Shuman, to elaborate please.
        Mr. Shuman. Thank you, Commander, and thank you,
    Congressman, for the question, and thank you for your service,
    with the time we have left. I would agree, we are certainly
    looking for a member of the House of Representatives to
    introduce the House version of the Legion Act, and I am happy
    to chat with you after this hearing to see if we can make that
    work.
        Mr. Cisneros. And I would be happy to do that.
        I just want to thank you all again for your service to our
    country and thank you all for being here today.
        Mr. Reistad. Thank you for your question, sir.
        [Applause.]
        Chairman Takano. The gentleman yields back. I know
    recognize Senator Tillis of North Carolina for five minutes.
        Mr. Tillis. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you all for
    being here. I guess I have to start--I already heard--did I
    hear somebody mention somebody from North Carolina is coming up
    in leadership somewhere? Do we have any other folks from North
    Carolina here?
        [Applause.]
        There you go. Well, good morning.
        I want to cover a couple of things that I covered yesterday
    in the DAV meeting, because I think that you all are a very
    important part of us getting the Mission Act implementation
    right. One thing that is very important to me is that you all
    understand that Ranking Member Tester and I, with the
    encouragement of the Chair Isakson, have been meeting with the
    VA, literally, for about every six weeks since I have been
    here, to try to figure out what they are doing, what they are
    addressing as they have implemented new programs.
        So as we are moving forward we are always looking forward
    to your input on things that we should cover and progress, any
    concerns, and then again, conveying information that we get
    from those meetings to you all is very important. The Director
    does a good job of staying in touch with our office. In fact,
    we ran into each other on the sidewalk today. But he is always
    walking the halls here and doing a good job.
        So we just need your feedback, in a very constructive way,
    because I think--I believe the VA is moving in the right
    direction. We actually have a Secretary of the VA who I have a
    little bit of history with, who is also from North Carolina. He
    is the son of a gravely wounded combat veteran from the Vietnam
    War, and I think that he gets it. He has got a big organization
    to run so I am sure constructive feedback from everybody,
    particularly you guys, would be welcome.
        I will tell you a funny story that I had yesterday, because
    it relates to the implementation and what the VA looks like,
    say, 20 years from now. Senator Sullivan, who is a Marine, and
    I are good friends. He is from Alaska. We were, I think, at
    dinner one night and he told me, he said, "Thom, do you know
    that Alaska has more veterans per capita than any other state?"
    And I said, "Dan, do you know that North Carolina has got more
    veterans than you have got people?"
        [Laughter.]
        And the reason I tell that story was, one, I was jabbing a
    buddy of mine, but the other reason was to explain the vast
    differences and challenges we have from state to state. We need
    a brick-and-mortar presence and we need, as the Commander said,
    one of the greatest medical systems to continue to operate, in
    the mode that it operates today.
        But then again, we have also got to look at the unique
    challenges of a veteran who is in western North Carolina that
    may be 40, 50 miles away from a health care provider, and there
    are winding roads up in the mountains, or a veteran who is in
    Alaska, in the far reaches. So we have got to figure out what
    fits for those states and have the flexibility to do that. But
    I do not believe--I always say in these meetings, anybody that
    says this is the year and this is the Congress where everybody
    is going to move to privatization, I do not get it. I do not
    believe anybody in their right mind is going to do that. But
    what we are going to do is make sure that when you have a need
    that you get quality health care, and we want to give you every
    single option that we can to get it as quickly as possible. And
    I believe that is at the heart of what Secretary Wilkie and the
    VA are trying to do.
        Also, I am glad to hear that Congressman Cisneros is
    interested in trying to figure out how we increase your
    legions, because I am kind of interested in that too. That is
    what Senator Sinema and I have sponsored, Senate 504, the
    Legion Act, and we look forward to getting our colleagues in
    the House to get on board with it. I think it makes sense and
    we are happy to see that get to the President's desk.
        And then, finally, I want to talk about the unique position
    I am on. I have got a personnel subcommittee later today in
    Senate Armed Services, and I also agree with Congressman
    Cisneros. We have got to figure out a better way to connect the
    dots through transition, and we have got to find out a better
    way to identify what we consider to be traumatic events, maybe
    not rising to a level of being recognized, but the cumulative
    effects of concussions and other sorts of injuries that could
    ultimately have an effect on someone's behavior who served
    admirably until something clicked, and now they are discharged
    with bad paper.
        We have got to figure out a way how to actually deal with
    that in a fair and just manner. And I think that begins by
    spending a lot more time over the lifecycle of the active duty
    reservist, National Guard, to make sure that we really
    understand what may have happened to cause that sad outcome, to
    give them the care that they deserve, because they also are
    disproportionately high on the suicide list and we have got to
    change that.
        So I am not going to ask you all any questions but to say I
    appreciate you all being here today. The Director does a good
    job. I think the best meetings are the meetings that we have in
    our office so we can get back and get into the weeds with it,
    and I welcome you in my office every time. And next year, if
    you are stuck in a long line out at the sidewalk, trying to get
    through, if you come to the Dirksen entrance over here on the
    first floor, I will give you a big pass and make the Capitol
    police a little bit nervous. We let about 30 or 40 in a day.
        [Laughter.]
        Kind of shortens the line. Thank you all for being here.
    God bless you and thank you for your service.
        [Applause.]
        Mr. Reistad. Thank you very much, Senator.
        Chairman Takano. The Senator yields back. I now recognize a
    new member of Congress, the gentlewoman from Illinois who
    brings a tremendous background of nursing and public health
    policy knowledge to this Committee, Ms. Underwood from the
    state of Illinois. You are recognized for five minutes.

                    REPRESENTATIVE LAUREN UNDERWOOD

        Ms. Underwood. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Chairman
    Isakson, Ranking Member Tester and Ranking Member Roe for
    organizing this important presentation from the American
    Legion. I also want to thank Commander Reistad and the Legion
    for being here and your presentation today, because of your
    invaluable insight and guidance that you provide into solving
    the challenges that our veterans face, and their families
    experience across our nation.
        So since we are doing some shout-outs, are there some
    Illinois veterans here today?
        [Cheers.]
        Ms. Underwood. Oh yes. Thank you so much. It is so good to
    see you. And thank you for your continued service. I look
    forward to learning from all of you today and hope to meet with
    you in the days and months to come.
        I represent a community in northern Illinois outside of
    Chicago, the Illinois 14th, and in our community we have 36,000
    veterans, 2,300 of whom are female veterans. And women veterans
    now comprise about 10 percent of the total veteran population
    and those numbers are expected to grow in the coming years.
        And so my question, really, is in the Legion's view, what
    does the VA need to be doing to ensure that female veterans are
    receiving the care that they need?
        Mr. Reistad. Well, thank you, Congresswoman, for your
    question and thank you for being so gracious this morning to
    let me tell you, I thought you were from Michigan.
        Ms. Underwood. That is okay. I went to Michigan, though.
        Mr. Reistad. But I will say this. I got wrong information,
    but I did live in Illinois as well. So I appreciate your
    representation of Illinois.
        And to give you a little bit of background, you know, our
    focus with women veterans is to ensure that they get the
    equality of services that they deserve. As I mentioned in my
    testimony, we are of the belief that a veteran is a veteran,
    and our female veterans deserve only the best quality care. And
    this would include gender-specific medical resources,
    mammography, gynecology, private treatment and exam areas,
    education and enrollment of more women veterans, and
    improvement of our outreach to them.
        And I would like to ask our Director of Veterans Affairs
    and Rehabilitation, Mr. Nuntavong, to respond further to your
    question.
        Mr. Nuntavong. Thank you, Commander. Congresswoman, the
    largest-growing population of veterans is the women's
    population and it is important that they receive the gender-
    specific care, as the Commander mentioned, that they deserve.
    But we hope that you can encourage VA to provide child care
    services in VA facilities and help VA find access to privacy
    needs that women veterans need as they come into medical
    facilities.
        Ms. Underwood. Thank you. And did you have any non- health
    care related issues that you wanted to just highlight related
    to the female veterans and any specific issues that we should
    be working on here in the Congress?
        Mr. Shuman. Yes, Congresswoman. Thank you for that. I think
    we need to do a better job of ensuring all veterans get better
    access to VA, but, in particular, female veterans. As you
    stated, this is the fastest-growing demographic and we need to
    certainly take care of our female veterans.
        I also certainly want to thank Congresswoman Brownley and
    Chairman Takano for creating a new staff position that will
    take care of this.
        Ms. Underwood. Excellent. And I would also like to commend
    Congresswoman Brownley for her excellent leadership in passing
    this important child care bill.
        My next question is about the advancement of medical care,
    particularly related to the traumatic brain injuries and the
    post-traumatic stress disorder to diagnoses that have become
    signature injuries from the global war on terror. Your
    organization has been studying these injuries for nearly a
    decade, and can you share any key policy recommendations that
    you have--I know you mentioned it, sir, a little bit, in your
    opening comments--on TBIs and PTSD that you would hope that the
    Congress can support your efforts in?
        Mr. Reistad. I would like to ask our Chairman, Ralph
    Bozella, of our Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation Commission
    to respond to your question, Congresswoman.
        Mr. Bozella. Thank you, Commander. Thank you,
    Congresswoman. That is a very important issue, certainly, for
    all veterans, certainly including women veterans. And one of
    the reasons for the mental health issues deals with the MST,
    TBI, PTSD, all the pressure that go with returning from a
    combat situation.
        In the American Legion, we have a TBI PTSD committee. We
    are studying the issues. We have some publications on the
    issues, a booklet called "The War Within and the Road Home" and
    we would be glad to share that information with you as well as
    a white paper on suicide prevention.
        Although suicide prevention is a problem we talk about at
    the national level, it is a personal level, a family issue, a
    community issue, and I think all of us--Congress, the American
    Legion, VA--need to figure out how do we get this national
    issue down to that community level. That is where the work
    needs to be done. Thank you.
        Ms. Underwood. Thank you so much, and I yield back my time.
        Chairman Takano. The gentlewoman yields back. I would now
    like to recognize, for five minutes, the gentleman from
    Michigan, a former Marine lieutenant general, helicopter pilot
    in the Vietnam War, General Bergman, you are recognized for
    five minutes.

                       REPRESENATIVE JACK BERGMAN

        Mr. Bergman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In Marine terms that
    introduction is getting a little long.
        [Laughter.]
        But that is another way of saying the Chairman is
    acknowledging that I probably, as a young second lieutenant
    flying infantry around Vietnam, I probably earned every one of
    these white hairs. So, you know, there was a mutual admiration
    society between the helicopter pilots and the grunts. They
    thought we were crazy for flying them. We thought they were
    crazy for getting out.
        So anyway, I would like to ask--this is kind of a generic,
    you know, question. I am a member of the Legion post in
    Watersmeet, Michigan, a life member, and I am curious--this is
    kind of off the subject matter but yet it is very germane when
    you start talking about veterans and isolation after their
    service and where they go and reside. It is one thing to be in
    a big city and another thing to be in a very rural community.
    How is the Legion doing as far as propagating your membership
    on your rolls, not necessarily the folks who come to the
    Legion, you know, the Legion hall or whatever, these days,
    because the younger generations do differently. What is your
    plan to make sure those young veterans see the value in the
    Legion and get involved?
        Mr. Reistad. Well, thank you very much for your question.
    Mr. Chairman, our efforts to reach out to young veterans
    involve our own young veterans reaching out to them directly,
    and to speaking to them about what the American Legion brings
    to the table to benefit them in their life and provides them
    with resources and programs that might benefit them.
    Camaraderie is very high on the list, but the American Legion
    has programs in four pillars, which include veterans affairs
    and rehabilitation, it includes our children and youth and
    their children.
        Mr. Bergman. Are you still doing Legion baseball?
        Mr. Reistad. Legion baseball is part of that program, the
    children and youth, correct.
        Mr. Bergman. Has there been any talk about expanding,
    because I know baseball has always been a great sport. But has
    there been any talk within the Legion of expanding it to things
    like maybe soccer or lacrosse or anything? Again, I am looking
    at--we have got eight grandkids, 17 down to 10--
        Mr. Reistad. Understood.
        Mr. Bergman. --and we look at their involvement. And the
    beauty of what the Legion and the leadership does with-- as a
    young 16-year-old, I mean, had the--I was the benefactor of
    some guidance by some Korean War vets and some World War II
    vets. It was a little direct guidance, but----
        Mr. Reistad. Yes, sir. Mr. Chairman, for the last six
    months I have had the opportunity to present this organization
    and travel nationally, and one of the great things that I get
    to do in my travels is meet with the local American Legion
    posts. And it allows me to compare from one to the next and
    from one state to the next the different programs that we have.
    And it is not unusual at all for me to go an American Legion
    post that sponsors sports outside of American Legion baseball--
    little leagues, soccer leagues and such.
        But also the beauty of our organization is that the posts
    are autonomous, which means they are given the breadth to be
    able to create their own programs.
        Mr. Bergman. I do not want to cut you off here because I
    appreciate your answer. And the autonomy of the posts-- because
    what we might do in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan may be
    different than what someone might do in downtown Dallas.
        Mr. Reistad. Right.
        Mr. Bergman. Whatever it happens to be.
        And I apologize if someone has already asked this question
    but I want to go--it goes back to the isolation in rural areas,
    the subject of--I would like to hear your thoughts on
    telehealth when it comes to delivery of health care, whether it
    be physical, psychological, whatever it happens to be. Any
    thoughts from a Legion perspective on where we are in
    telehealth and where we need to go?
        Mr. Reistad. Yes, sir. I have had the benefit of actually
    seeing the telehealth program personally out of the Minneapolis
    Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and it is truly a phenomenal
    program. And I have seen it also from the hospital room and how
    it functions.
        But I would like to ask our Chairman, Ralph Bozella, to
    respond in more detail to you regarding your question.
        Mr. Bozella. Thank you, Commander. Mr. Bergman, I am one of
    those grunts you used to drop off in Vietnam. Yes, we did get
    out of those birds.
        And the telehealth program we are finding is an excellent
    tool to be used, obviously, to cut distance for cert
    examinations, primary care, mental health treatment, actually,
    in mental health, general examinations, and other more specific
    things. They are using telehealth centers, much easier to
    build, much less expensive to run, with a nurse practitioner or
    a PA and then connected to a provider, you know, hours away. So
    it works well and we think it is a great program. We want to
    continue to see the development of that program.
        Mr. Bergman. Thank you. And, Mr. Chairman, I apologize for
    going over my time but I yield back.
        Chairman Takano. The gentleman yields back. I would now
    like to recognize my fellow Californian and Chair of our
    Economic Opportunity Subcommittee, Mr. Levin, for five minutes.
        Mr. Levin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am so grateful for
    the opportunity to be here today and so grateful to all of you
    for everything you have done for our country. And thank you,
    Commander, in particular.
        I take my new responsibility as Chair of the subcommittee,
    House Veterans' Affairs Committee on Economic Opportunity
    extremely seriously, at a time of rancor and partisanship in
    our country. This subcommittee and the greater work of the
    Veterans' Affairs Committee provides us the great opportunity
    to get things done on a bipartisan basis, and I am very
    grateful to be able to work with you and your team in the
    months and years ahead.
        My district is in Orange and San Diego counties. Right in
    the middle we have got the amazing Marine Corps base, Camp
    Pendleton. It is an absolutely essential part of our district,
    and many who serve at Camp Pendleton really like the weather
    and decide to come back, so we have one of the largest veteran
    populations in the entire United States. And there are a lot of
    our veterans who are instrumental members of our cities, of our
    communities. There are others who need help as they transition
    to civilian life after their service.
        And my district has a lot of exceptional organizations
    doing that work. I think in many ways we are a standard for
    what can be achieved when we see our veterans as part of an
    integrated whole for our communities and our economy.
        I hope that together we can make progress on all sorts of
    opportunities for veterans--the GI Bill, issues around
    vocational rehabilitation, homelessness, home loans, and a lot
    more. And with that in mind I just had a couple of questions
    for you.
        I am concerned, and one of the things I hear a lot from our
    local veterans is the targeting of servicemembers and their
    families by for-profit schools, specifically incentivized by
    the 90/10 loophole that does not count GI Bill payments as
    federal payments but rather has them count towards the 10
    percent of funds that for-profit schools need to receive as
    non-federal payments. This can and has led to for-profit
    schools pushing for enrollment of students veterans to the GI
    Bill but not providing the quality education those student
    veterans need and deserve to success in their transition from
    military to civilian life.
        So, Commander, has your organization seen these or similar
    issues and do you support the closing of the 90/10 loophole?
        Mr. Reistad. Thank you for your question. I would like to
    defer your question to one of our experts here at the table,
    and that would be Chairman Troiola of our Veterans Employment
    and Education Commission.
        Mr. Troiola. Thank you, Congressman Levin, for your
    question. I am pleased that you asked that question. We, right
    now at the American Legion, have a resolution in place to close
    the loophole for the 90/10 discrepancy. The American Legion
    looks forward to working with you to try and close that
    loophole.
        Mr. Levin. Fantastic. And, you know, obviously we are also
    concerned about some of the issues surrounding the
    implementation of some of the provisions in the Forever GI Bill
    last fall, and will be following the implementation this year
    very closely.
        I am focused on the underlying problems that created the
    situation, specifically the aging information technology
    infrastructure in the Veterans Benefits Administration, the
    poor communication, at times, between the Office of Information
    and Technology and the business line customer, which resulted
    in inaccurate contract requirements that did not accomplish
    what was needed to implement Sections 107 and 501 of the
    Forever GI Bill.
        My question for you, Commander, is do you have any
    recommendations on what our subcommittee, the Economic
    Opportunity Subcommittee, should focus on as we ask the VA for
    its plan to modernize the Veterans Benefits Administration's IT
    systems?
        Mr. Reistad. Yes, sir. With your permission I would like to
    ask our Chairman, our Director of Legislation, Matt Shuman, to
    please respond.
        Mr. Shuman. Thank you for that question, Congressman. I
    think it is incredibly important for the Colmery GI Bill, which
    was named after the American Legion Past National Commander who
    wrote the original GI Bill, to be implemented correctly. That
    is certainly the intent of both of these committees.
        Focusing on the IT side of things, which is where we
    believe the errors took place, is absolutely critical. I think
    we need to focus and make sure that the new IT systems are
    implemented and that there is one system that works instead of
    hopping between multiple systems to be able to process the GI
    Bill benefit.
        Mr. Levin. Terrific. Well, I am really excited to be
    working with you and look forward to subsequent discussions and
    I am very grateful to you all for your service. Thank you so
    much.
        Mr. Reistad. Thank you for your question, sir.
        [Applause.]
        Chairman Takano. The gentleman yields back. I would now
    like to recognize the gentleman from Alabama, Mr. Sullivan, for
    five minutes.

                          SENATOR DAN SULLIVAN

        Senator Sullivan. Mr. Chairman--
        Chairman Takano. I am sorry. Alaska.
        Senator Sullivan. --So, Mr. Chairman, I am going to ask a
    little bit about--any of my fellow veterans from Alaska here,
    can you raise your hand? How about a round of applause. Now
    these guys--I know Senator Tillis, my colleague from North
    Carolina, was here a little bit earlier, talking about size and
    numbers. So, look, I will just be honest. My fellow Senators
    get a little nervous when I broach the subject of size, being a
    Senator from Alaska. So my fellow Alaskans flew about 5,000
    miles to get here so I appreciate that. And we do have more
    vets per capita than any state in the country, which I am also
    very proud of, but I think it makes guys like Senator Tillis
    nervous so I will not talk about the fact that Alaska is
    actually 13 times larger than the state of North Carolina.
        [Laughter.]
        So for you North Carolinians here, I am sorry, but you can
    send that back to your Senator.
        And General, I appreciate your comments. Being a grunt
    myself in the Marines, not a Vietnam vet, but somebody who has
    been taken around by a lot of our amazing pilots. I want to
    thank you for your service, and all of our Vietnam veterans,
    because they have done such a great job, and so we want to
    thank you.
        [Applause.]
        But I wanted to touch, Commander, on this topic that I
    think we are all--we all care quite a lot about. Actually, it
    was the first bill I co-sponsored as U.S. Senator four years
    ago, the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention Act, which was named
    after a Marine who, unfortunately, took his life.
        What, in your view, are we doing in terms of suicide
    prevention programs that is positive, and then where are we
    still falling short? Senator Blumenthal and I are introducing
    the Reach Every Veteran in Crisis Act today, which, again,
    looks at filling some of the gaps as it relates to suicide. But
    can you expound upon what more we should be doing?
        Mr. Reistad. Yes, sir. Thank you for your question. We are
    trying to promote the enhancement of outreach and awareness to
    our veterans, not only externally but also within the VA. We
    want to promote the education of signs of potential suicide,
    and to promote the resources that are available so we can refer
    those at risk to the appropriate places to get health
    assistance and mental health assistance.
        Expanding and promoting mental health care treatment and
    increasing staffing for the VA's Integrative Health and
    Wellness Program. And I would like to ask Chairman Bozella if
    he can add to that list.
        Mr. Bozella. Thank you, Commander. Senator Sullivan, this
    is a problem that everybody has the greatest concern about.
    This is certainly the top of our list at the American Legion
    too. And earlier there was a discussion here about the 14
    veterans a day out of the 20 that commit suicide, those 14 who
    are not even connected to VA.
        Senator Sullivan. Yeah. Yeah.
        Mr. Bozella. You know that some of those veterans, the
    reason they are not connected to the VA, they are reserve and
    guardists. They do not have the benefit, or other veterans that
    may not be eligible for the benefit of mental health through VA
    vet centers and so on. So that is one.
        We have to look at why do people commit suicide. Mental
    health issues, certainly, a loss of purpose, a loss of a sense
    of belonging, and that is where VSOs can certainly help with
    that. We have to get this, as I said earlier, to that community
    level. I think one of the ways we can do that is through
    American Legion and VSO post homes.
        There is the initiative out there right now, the Governor's
    Challenge, seven pilot states. I know Montana, Colorado,
    Kansas, and Texas are among those. And that effort is to get VA
    to train people. How do we recognize someone is at risk? How do
    we then connect them to a VA service? So we are working closely
    with that. I personally will be involved with that in Colorado,
    and I am looking forward to working on an effort that will
    bring it locally.
        Senator Sullivan. Great. Well, listen, you know, I like to
    brag about my state with regard to our veteran population, but
    we also, like a lot of states, like a lot of big rural states,
    have a big suicide problem in Alaska. And so I would be honored
    if all of you gentlemen could take a look at our Reach Every
    Veteran in Crisis Act that we are introducing today and just
    give us your view and thoughts on what you think is good in it,
    what you think needs to be improved in it.
        But we can always improve on this issue, and it is
    heartbreaking issue. And no American wants this to happen and I
    appreciate the VSOs for all your attention to it, and I think
    you see here a lot of bipartisan support for addressing this
    challenge, which we have got to do better at.
        So thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        [Applause.]
        Chairman Takano. The Senator yields back, and I wanted to
    acknowledge the Senator's service to our country, his military
    service. So thank you, Senator.
        I would now like to recognize my fellow Californian and
    chair of our subcommittee on health and chair of our new
    Women's Veterans Task Force, Ms. Brownley, of California. You
    are recognized for five minutes.

                     REPRESENTATIVE JULIA BROWNLEY

        Ms. Brownley. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I want to add my
    voice to welcoming all of the California Legionnaires who are
    here today. And, Commander, I want to thank you for your
    leadership, all your past commanders, the American Legion
    Auxiliary, thank you for your leadership and the leadership,
    really, quite frankly, throughout the country that the American
    Legion does for serving our veterans across the country.
        And I certainly appreciate, Commander, when you talked
    about your mission that we cannot say "mission accomplished"
    but perhaps "mission still being accomplished." Because I think
    we have accomplished a lot but we still have a lot of work to
    do, and I think it is important that we need to do more than
    simply thank you for your service. We need to ensure that we
    are servicing every single veteran appropriately and positively
    across our country.
        And I am very excited, and I am grateful to Chairman Takano
    for allowing me the opportunity to led this Women's Task Force,
    and I think we are going to do some very good work and I look
    forward to working with the American Legion on this, and I know
    you are going to be very helpful in our mission to make sure
    that we are meeting the needs of our women veterans and their
    unique needs.
        I know Congresswoman Underwood talked and asked some
    questions, and I know that women veterans are a high priority
    for the American Legion. And, as I said, I am looking forward
    to doing that work.
        I think there are, when we are talking about women veterans
    and meeting their needs, I think there are probably challenges
    that cannot necessarily be fixed by legislation, but perhaps
    can be improved upon in terms of, you know, cultural changes.
    And I think one of the bigger challenges that I see, other
    than, you know, gender-specific health care and other issues is
    how do we make sure, how do we reach out, how do we make sure
    that our women veterans are actually identifying as veterans
    and coming to the VA for services?
        And I do not know if anyone can really speak to that but I
    think about--we just talked about the suicide rate amongst our
    veterans, both men and women. Commander, you talked about the
    women's suicide rate being twice what it is in terms of
    civilian suicide. The Chairman talked about the amount of
    veterans who are not using the VA who are committing suicide,
    and we obviously know what that gap means. I am wondering if
    you have a similar statistic with the women veteran population
    in terms of their suicide rate. I am assuming that the
    population is even greater in terms of the women committing
    suicide that have not reached out to utilize services from the
    VA, but I am just wondering if you actually have that
    statistic.
        Mr. Reistad. Senator and Chairman, I am afraid we do not
    have that information available to us right now but we would be
    more than happy to obtain that and get it to your office as
    quickly as possible.
        Ms. Brownley. Thank you. Thank you very much. And I just
    think that--I am really looking forward to this work on the
    task force and we hope to culminate that work by having a large
    piece of legislation articulating to better meet the needs of
    women veterans. But I think women suicide is of particular
    concern and a very, very high priority.
        Can you speak a little bit to some of the barriers that you
    see in terms of women reaching out to the VA for their
    benefits?
        Mr. Reistad. With your permission I am going to ask
    Chairman Bozella to answer your question. He has more expertise
    in that area.
        Mr. Bozella. Thank you, Commander. Representative Brownley,
    you have taken care of one of the barriers with the Child Care
    Act. In 2013, our American Legion system, we are saving
    program--dedicated the whole year of visiting VA hospitals for
    the purpose of assessing the women veterans' health care
    situation at the time. Even though that was six years ago, some
    of those barriers still exist--the privacy issues, the lack of
    gender-specific care, the entrances, the three levels of
    women's health care, which we are not going to go into right
    now, and how those are set up in a VA.
        But VA did authorize a mandate, a women's veterans
    coordinator in every VA medical center. That was a key
    component to getting things moving. Things are absolutely
    improving. Are they were they need to be? No. But that process
    has to continue.
        I think your task force is a great idea, and we still do
    System Worth Saving visits, of course. We do not dedicate it to
    one subject. But on every visit we do we have a women's
    veterans coordinator interview and we check their program out.
    And I would like to invite you or a task force member to
    accompany us on some of our System Worth Saving visits, or
    more, and you can see firsthand how we conduct that and how we
    can interact with women veterans. That will provide you with a
    great deal of insight.
        Ms. Brownley. That is excellent. And, Mr. Chairman, I know
    I am over my time but I would be remiss--I want to make sure
    that the Commander knows how well Director Shuman and his
    colleagues represent the American Legion here on Capitol Hill
    every single day. So thank you for that and thank you. I yield
    back.
        [Applause.]
        Mr. Reistad. Thank you.
        Chairman Takano. The gentlewoman yields back. I would now
    like to recognize the Senator from Arkansas, Mr. Boozman.

                          SENATOR JOHN BOOZMAN

        Senator Boozman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you all
    for being here. As I said, with the Disabled Veterans, we work
    hard in a very bipartisan way to push things forward. Nothing
    helps more than having a full room. And so thank you all for
    being here. Thank you for taking the time, traipsing these
    halls, getting lots of steps in, you know, in the last few
    days. But there is simply no substitute for that.
        And we appreciate you so much, Commander Reistad, and then
    also your team. Not only your team that is assembled here today
    but the team that has been assembled for many, many years, year
    after year, you know, doing the great work. And we can be very,
    very proud of the fact that we have been able to keep more and
    more promises that are being made. We always have to remember
    that these are not give-mes. These are earned benefits. And so,
    again, we appreciate your service.
        Nobody does a better job than those from Arkansas, and we
    appreciate their efforts. Wave to me if you are--I will not
    make you call the hogs, but we do appreciate you being here, so
    thank you so much.
        [Applause.]
        Senator Boozman. I would like to talk about just a couple
    of things real quickly, and, you know, the themes are here. One
    of them is suicide. We have been talking about that all day. It
    is so, so very important. One of the things that I would really
    like to concentrate on, this Committee and then on the
    Appropriations Committee, we are spending lots of money on
    suicide. That is a good thing. But we do not seem to be moving
    the needle, you know, a whole bunch. Every year the statistic
    seems to be the same.
        So one thing that we would really like to concentrate on is
    evidence-based, you know, things that are actually making a
    difference, you know, putting the metrics in place. So I really
    do not have a question about that. What I would like is a
    commitment just that you can help us in that regard, again, to
    insist that we make sure that the dollars that we are spend--
    and we are spending lots of dollars in this area--making sure
    that we have the evidence and this and that that are backing
    that up so that we can move the needle in the future. Suicide
    is such a difficult problem. You know, it is just a--it is a
    hard nut to crack. But I do think that that would be helpful.
        The other thing I would like to talk a little bit about is
    homelessness, and in your testimony you talked about, you know,
    PTSD, people that, you know, felt like they were not a part,
    you know, all of the different things that contribute to that,
    not only with suicide but also with homelessness too.
        And so I guess my question in that regard is, as I said, we
    are spending a lot of money in that area. Can you talk to us a
    little bit about any ideas you have got as to how we can do a
    better job in that regard?
        Mr. Reistad. Yes, sir. There are several things that we can
    do. As far as homelessness is concerned we can invest in
    affordable housing, supportive services for our veteran
    families, and transitional resources to help our homeless
    veterans get back on their feet in their communities.
        But I would like, with your permission, Mr. Chairman, to
    ask Chairman Troiola of our Veterans Education and Employment
    Commission to respond to that question as well.
        Mr. Troiola. Thank you for your question, Senator. The
    American Legion focuses more on prevention than the actual
    homelessness itself. We feel that if we get them before they
    hit the streets that we have a better success rate. We offer
    support for at-risk veterans during the transition process and
    also homeless veterans that have been out there for a while.
    What we ask--what we try to do is we try to get them help with
    health care, help with veterans' benefits, counseling, advice
    that they may need.
        We recommend that Congress continue to fund the homeless
    veterans transitional housing program at the level of needed
    demonstration in their local communities.
        Senator Boozman. Very good. Commander, we have got the
    access standards, you know, the proposed access standards
    regarding the Mission Act, and it seems like, you know, that
    that is being something that, you know, is accepted, you know,
    moving in the right direction.
        One of the promises that was made in regard to--as we went
    forward with these things is having the ability from input, you
    know, from you and others. Have you all been pleased with that?
    Have been able to give any input in regard to the standards? I
    do think--you know, this--you all are the ones--the answers
    need to come from the bottom up, and I have had a little bit of
    concern in that regard. Can you address that very quickly?
        Mr. Reistad. Yes. Mr. Chairman, if I can defer to one of
    our resident experts here at the front table I would like to
    ask Director Shuman of our Legislative Division to respond to
    that question.
        Mr. Shuman. Thank you for the question, Senator. We have
    been engaged. Secretary Wilkie himself has come over and met
    with our executive director and our Veteran Affairs and
    Rehabilitation team to be involved. We very much look forward--
    you will find no greater friend to the American Legion to
    vigilantly be aware and watch how these access standards are
    being implemented, and the first second we see veterans not
    being treated and receiving the care they need we will be
    knocking on your door.
        Senator Boozman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Chairman Takano. The Senator yields back. I would now like
    to recognize the Senate Ranking Member of the Veterans' Affairs
    Committee in the Senate, the gentleman from Montana, Senator
    Tester.

                           SENATOR JON TESTER

        Senator Tester. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman, and once
    again thank you all for being here.
        We have talked about suicides and there was a point brought
    up earlier, I think, by you, Chairman Bozella, that guardsmen
    and reservists are not eligible for mental health care or vet
    centers. I have got a bill that will take care of that, and it
    applies to both reservists and guardsmen.
        [Applause.]
        And it applies to them even if they have not been deployed,
    which I think is also critically important. We have not
    introduced it in the 116th yet. I need a partner on the
    Republican side before we are going to drop this bill in
    because it needs to be bipartisan. So I just want to bring that
    out and hopefully we can get some folks to jump on board,
    because one suicide is too many and we have got far more than
    that.
        Commander Reistad, I just kind of want to get your general
    views on VA health care. Would I be correct in saying that a
    majority of your members prefer care directly from the VA?
    Would that be a correct statement?
        Mr. Reistad. Yes, that would be a correct statement.
        Senator Tester. Okay. Do they believe that--do you believe
    or they believe that community providers should be held to the
    same standard as VA providers?
        Mr. Reistad. Absolutely, they should.
        Senator Tester. And when it comes to expansion of care,
    would the American Legion be alarmed if access in the community
    meant a reduction in quality or timeliness of care for your
    membership?
        Mr. Reistad. Well, with all due respect, sir, whether you
    know it or not, today is National No-Brainer Day.
        [Laughter.]
        And I would have to say that that is a no-brainer.
        Senator Tester. Perfect. That is what I was hoping for.
    Well, I mean, those are things we have got to be aware of,
    because the truth is that the VA does get a lot of criticism
    but they do a lot of stuff really well.
        Mr. Reistad. Absolutely.
        Senator Tester. And the fact is that when we go into the
    private sector, if we are increasing--if we are making wait
    times better but decreasing quality of care we did not win. If
    we are making wait times longer we did not win. So those are
    important things moving forward, because I think the VA, we
    need to--my personal opinion, I think most people's opinion,
    and I think certainly the American Legion is build capacity
    within the VA, make it all it can be, and then if it cannot
    meet the needs put them out in the community.
        I want to talk about the budget for a second. Normally we
    have the budget by now. We do not have it quite yet. But I
    would like to give the American Legion an opportunity to talk
    about what their priorities should be in this fiscal year's
    budget.
        Mr. Reistad. Well, thank you for the question, and, Mr.
    Chairman, I think this question would be better answered by our
    Legislative Director, Mr. Shuman.
        Mr. Shuman. Well, thank you for the question, Mr. Ranking
    Member. I think all of our priorities are right here. I think
    when it comes to the VA budget there was--it was shared several
    months ago that the President's administration asked for a 5
    percent cut to all federal agencies and instantly the American
    Legion began engaging senior leadership at VA and, of course,
    the White House to say this is not a time to be cutting any
    budget from the Department of Veterans Affairs. This is a time
    to ensuring that we keep the promises made to the men and women
    who have selflessly raised their right hands.
        [Applause.]
        Senator Tester. Well, thank you, and thank you all of what
    you do, representing the fighting men and women in this
    country. I appreciate your testimony. Thank you, Commander
    Reistad.
        Mr. Reistad. Thank you.
        Chairman Takano. The Senator yields back. I now would like
    to recognize the gentleman from Louisiana, Senator Cassidy, for
    five minutes.

                          SENATOR BILL CASSIDY

        Senator Cassidy. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Any of my folks
    from Louisiana still here? I think I saw--oh yeah. Thank you.
        So if Sullivan was still here I would tell him every Sunday
    I teach Sunday School. I actually teach first- graders so it is
    more riot control. But one of the fellows goes up to Alaska
    regularly, and we always look at the weather in Nome and
    Anchorage and compare it to Louisiana. I can tell you, folks in
    Alaska, come down to Mardi Gras this time of year, you know,
    and I think you will be less likely to die from cold exposure.
        I am a doctor, and so as we have spoken of suicide and
    mental health it matters a heck of a lot to me. But I am going
    to take it from a little bit of a different approach. Chairman
    Bozella, you said something earlier. You spoke of that sense of
    purpose that some folks leave. Now the literature shows that
    the greatest risk for suicide is within the first year or so
    after separation from the service, and one thing that is great
    to see is some young folks in your audience, because obviously
    you need that connection with those who are just leaving the
    service.
        But I remember seeing a video of one man who had attempted
    to commit suicide and his wife found him. And he was hanging
    himself and she picks him up and somehow gets him off.
    Incredibly moving. And they are interviewing him afterwards and
    he said, "I did not quite know what I was doing. All I know is
    that a year ago I was a Marine and now I was fill-in-the-
    blank." There was not that sense of purpose.
        Now then, go to another conversation I had this past week
    with a major employer in my hometown of Baton Rouge, and I
    think they tell me that they are the leading employer of
    veterans. They do construction work, pipelines, and civil
    engineering, and they find it is a team, it is a goal, it is
    responsibility, it is a mission, it is authority. And so
    everything that gives that sense of purpose.
        Now why do I go into this? One, it is important, but
    secondly, the way they have achieved this is they have hired
    someone who was experienced with the bureaucracy that knows how
    to get a veteran about--excuse me, a serviceperson about to be
    released and put them through the training program they may
    need in order to have the skill set in order to then join their
    company. And I thought to myself, I am so glad you are doing
    it, performance contracting, but why do you have to hire
    somebody specifically to make it happen? What can we do to
    streamline it so that that veteran--excuse me--the person who
    is about to be a veteran does not need someone to guide them
    through any more than as you check out, this is what you can
    do? Do you follow what I am saying there? Any comments on that?
    Commander?
        Mr. Bozella. Thank you, Commander, and thank you, Senator
    Cassidy. You know, with the sense of purpose also comes a sense
    of belonging.
        Senator Cassidy. Yes.
        Mr. Bozella. There were two issues there, and they go hand
    in hand. And that Marine, a year later, is wondering "Who am I?
    What am I doing?" One of the ways you gain that sense of
    purpose is to continue to serve, and people who have joined our
    military, they serve. And when you get involved in the veteran
    service organization, the American Legion, believe me, we will
    put you to work. You will find a way to serve. That is one way.
    That is a streamlined, one of the ways that I see it.
        I am a combat veteran to Vietnam. When I came home I went
    through that. I know what it is to live it and it took a while
    to find myself through that. And one of the greatest ways I
    found myself was through being able to serve other veterans.
    That became my sense of purpose, even though I was employed in
    a different field, and I was able to develop that. And I see
    that with a lot of younger veterans when we are able to talk to
    them.
        So how do we connect them to those kind of employment
    opportunities? I believe that probably would be something that
    our employment people at this table could answer that better.
        Mr. Reistad. With your permission, Mr. Chairman, I am going
    to ask Chairman Troiola to respond to that.
        Mr. Shuman. So, Senator, we spend quite a bit of time with
    our Small Business Task Force in terms of engaging and
    certainly credentialing as well. We meet with and work with the
    Department of Defense, really. We just had a meeting with the
    Sergeant Major of the Army Dailey who is doing a wonderful job
    in transitioning and finding credentialing programs. We want to
    be able to make sure and really in partnership with small
    businesses and our credentialing roundtables that we find the
    best practical ways to transition so when these servicemembers
    leave they have a certificate and really a means to be able to
    find that purpose that you were mentioning.
        Senator Cassidy. Well, thank you for that. One bill I
    sponsored and passed when I was in the House was to allow those
    folks trained as EMTs in the military to get credentialed,
    whichever state they went to, with minimal hassle, figuring
    this great training they have had would help address a shortage
    that we have in our person power, if you will.
        So if you have those paradigms, Director Shuman, or
    Commander, please share them with me.
        Again, I thank you for all you do. Our country would not be
    what it is without you. I appreciate it.
        I yield back. Thank you.
        Chairman Takano. The Senator yields back. I now would like
    to recognize the Member of Congress from the state of New
    Hampshire, Mr. Pappas, for five minutes.

                      REPRESENTATIVE CHRIS PAPPAS

        Mr. Pappas. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you to Ranking
    Member Roe and Commander Reistad, it is a pleasure and an honor
    to be with you. As the grandson of three World War II veterans
    I honor the service of our men and women who have worn the
    uniform of this country and it is an honor to be a part of this
    Committee and to be working with you, your leadership, your
    members, and veterans' advocates across this country to ensure
    that we get implementation right of so many of the key
    strategies that have been put into law in the recent past. And
    I think that is a common theme you are hearing here. This is
    where the rubber hits the road in this term.
        As the Chair of the Oversight Subcommittee of the House
    Veterans' Affairs Committee I want to ensure that we are doing
    that in a responsive way for the veterans of this country, that
    we are honoring their service and ensuring that we are
    providing the best care possible.
        One of my concerns, as, you know, someone from the Granite
    State, which is not as big as Alaska but is mighty in terms of
    its veteran population--we have 14,126 members of the Legion in
    my state--is that we are meeting their needs in terms of pain
    management and ensuring that we are not seeing the type of
    over-prescribing and linkages to the opioid crisis that have
    been unfolding in tragic ways across this country. We lost
    72,000 individuals in this country last year to overdose deaths
    because of opioids, and many of those are veterans.
        So I am wondering how you can assess the response of the VA
    to this crisis and what potentially community partners can
    learn from the VA's experiences.
        Mr. Reistad. Well, Congressman, thank you first for your
    question, and with the consent of the Chairman I am going to
    ask Chairman Bozella to respond to your question.
        Mr. Bozella. Thank you, Commander. Congressman, the pain
    management issue is a major issue across our country. Obviously
    opioids, some people think, is the number one problem in this
    country because of the addiction that comes along with that.
    Also, the psychotropic drugs that are used for PTSD--and, by
    the way, there is not a magic PTSD pill, and most of those
    drugs have adverse effects on people too. So we need to do a
    better job of finding the treatments that will work for people.
        One of the aspects that we are looking at, that we
    investigate in the American Legion through the VA, are the
    complementary and alternative medicines--the yoga, music,
    equine therapy, fly-fishing. I mean, it may sound trivial. It
    is not. That is one of the ways that people can manage their
    pain. Pain management clinics, VA has those kind of clinics.
        So the advocacy is to move in that direction and away from
    the kind of drugs that are causing a lot of problems with
    people these days.
        Mr. Pappas. Thank you. I appreciate the response.
        One of the issues that the Legion members from New
    Hampshire raised with me is a problem that they have seen with
    arbitration clauses that prevent reservists who are returning
    to their jobs after serving on active duty from getting back
    into the role that they once had. And I am wondering if you
    have seen this on a national scale.
        Mr. Reistad. Congressman, I would like to ask Director
    Shuman to please respond to your question.
        Mr. Pappas. Thank you.
        Mr. Shuman. Thank you for that, Congressman. We really
    appreciate the Granite State as well.
        I will say this. Yes, we have seen it as an issue and we
    need to find a way to create a partnership between you and us
    in terms of finding a way to prevent USERRA rights from being
    thrown away. If we do not have the ability, and private
    companies do not have the ability to take away our First
    Amendment rights they should not be able to take away our
    USERRA rights either. These people and these members of the
    Armed Forces serve honorably and we promise them that we will
    protect their jobs. Finding a way to--federal legislation to
    prevent arbitration clauses is probably the step in the right
    direction.
        Mr. Pappas. Thank you. One final question. In my state we
    have a 2.5 percent unemployment rate, which is great, but it
    makes it hard to recruit and retain medical professionals. And
    a recent GAO report found that over 10 percent of full-time and
    authorized budget positions are vacant, and that means about
    45,000 vacancies across this country.
        I am wondering if you know of some ways that the VA can
    continue to work to attract highly qualified medical
    professionals to fill positions and offer the care that
    veterans need?
        Mr. Reistad. Thank you for the question, sir. I am going to
    ask our Director of Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation, Mr.
    Nuntavong, to please respond to your question. Thank you.
        Mr. Nuntavong. Thank you for your question, Congressman.
    The pay disparities between VA physicians and physicians in
    private care is drastic. We need to find a way to fund the VA
    physicians and health care providers better. That is the bottom
    line.
        Mr. Pappas. Dollars and cents. Thanks so much.
        Chairman Takano. The gentleman yields back. I now would
    like to recognize the gentleman from Kansas, Senator Moran.

                          SENATOR JERRY MORAN

        Mr. Moran. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you,
    Commander, for your presence here and for your colleagues with
    you. I had the opportunity to meet with members of the Kansas
    American Legion yesterday in my office--Dan Wylie [phonetic],
    Dave Wornkin [phonetic], and Gaylord Sandeman [phonetic]. We
    previewed the conversation we might have today, and I
    appreciate every year that you and the members of the American
    Legion come see me.
        I also know, Commander, I know former National Commander
    Mike Helm very well, a Kansan, and I recognize the tremendous
    amount of work that goes into the job that you have, and we
    welcome you when you visit our state.
        You have more credibility, Commander, than I do, but I
    think the American Legion and I are on a mission together. You
    have been--American Legion has been an ally in everything that
    I can think of we worked on in regard to veterans for as long
    as I have been in Congress. But I want to give you the chance
    to help me get a piece of legislation passed.
        Today I introduced, with a number of my colleagues,
    legislation called the Fairness For Korean DMZ Veterans Act.
    What we have learned is that there are veterans who had
    exposure to chemicals, to Agent Orange, in the Korean DMZ prior
    to the current preemptive--I am sorry--the presumptive date of
    April 1968. Evidence from the Department of Defense shows that
    testing and spray of Agent Orange and other herbicides was
    being conducted prior to that April 1968 date, and yet the VA
    has not changed its current dates for that presumptive
    eligibility to reflect those instances of earlier exposure.
        So this legislation corrects that mistake, that error. It
    requires the VA to recognize the facts as we now know them, and
    in the process take care of many veterans, many military men
    and women who were exposed to something that is very dangerous
    to them, and I might add something that can be very dangerous
    to their children and grandchildren. It is--I have every
    expectation that every man and woman who served in our military
    knew that they were risking themselves, their own lives, and
    their own futures. What a tremendous burden it must be to know
    that your actions in serving our country could have caused harm
    to your children and grandchildren, something that no one would
    ever want.
        So we have worked on a number of instances to try to deal
    with Agent Orange and other chemicals. Commander, I believe
    that the American Legion supports this legislation. If you say
    yes I am going to ask you to explain to me and to my colleagues
    why.
        Mr. Reistad. Well, Senator Moran, absolutely yes, and let
    me just go back about a week in time to my travels in
    Mississippi. I had the occasion to sit with a veteran at a
    function that we were at, who began a conversation with me
    regarding this very issue. He served in the United States Army
    in 1967 along the DMZ, and he informed me that while he was
    there he observed the defoliant Agent Orange being sprayed
    along the areas that he was situated at the DMZ.
        And he inquired about the status of the legislation, the
    prior legislation that you had introduced into Congress, and I
    did some quick searches on my smart phone and came up with the
    legislation and the information he requested, and noticed that
    there was no traction on that. I guess it never got out of
    committee for a vote. And he was very disappointed to hear
    that. And the man obviously had obvious Parkinson's. He was
    shaking and he expressed great concern over that.
        And that, I think, is where the wheels went in motion, and
    I made it a point to convey those concerns to our legislative
    director sitting beside me. And it was through his efforts that
    your office was contacted and this legislation will again be
    introduced. And I am so thankful for that and I assure you he
    will be as well.
        Mr. Moran. Thank you for relaying that story. I would tell
    you our previous efforts, our continuing efforts in regard to
    Agent Orange and other toxic chemicals. We have had some
    success, and portions of that legislation have become law,
    pulled out of that legislation and passed with other pieces of
    legislation, including the declassification, more
    declassification of Department of Defense records, so that a
    veteran can better access and prove his case, or her case, of
    where they were stationed and what their chances of exposure to
    those toxic substances were. And the medical research has now
    been conducted that further demonstrates the connection between
    generations and exposure to Agent Orange.
        So we are setting the stage for additional opportunities
    for Congress and for the American people to support those who
    served our country and served it in a way that caused them to
    be exposed to chemicals very dangerous to their health, and
    perhaps to their families' health.
        So, Commander, thanks for being an ally in this regard and
    thank you for your endorsement of that legislation.
        Mr. Reistad. Thank you, sir.
        Chairman Takano. The Senator yields back. Senator, I want
    you to know that the Korean War veterans exposed to Agent
    Orange are covered under Section 3 of my bill, H.R. 299, so I
    look forward to working with you.
        I now would like to recognize the gentlewoman from Hawaii,
    Senator Hirono, for five minutes.

                          SENATOR MAZIE HIRONO

        Mr. Hirono. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I join all
    my colleagues in thanking all of you for being here today, for
    your service, and I would like to give a shout- out to the
    folks from Hawaii. And if you are still in the audience and can
    stand I would like to recognize John Williams and David Carlson
    from Hawaii. They came a long way to be with us. Mahalo.
        [Applause.]
        Mr. Hirono. Commander, last year, as you mentioned, we
    passed very important legislation, the VA Mission Act, to
    overhaul the Choice program. And we want to make sure, though,
    that we are not heading toward privatizing, as you put it, the
    greatest health care system in the country.
        So I wanted to get your thoughts on a specific thing that
    is happening under the implementation of the Mission Act. The
    VA recently released the proposed access standards for
    community care under the Mission Act. Are you at all concerned
    that the access standards, which I assume you are familiar with
    what I am talking about, as it is proposed, could move us
    toward privatizing the VA system?
        Mr. Reistad. Senator, thank you for your question, and with
    the consent of the Chairman I would like to ask Chairman
    Bozella to respond.
        Mr. Bozella. Thank you, Commander. Thank you, Senator. The
    Mission Act, of course, is on everybody's radar screen, very
    high. The American Legion worked hard on the Mission Act with
    other entities of Congress and VA to make this a reality.
        I think the first thing that we always need to keep
    foremost in all of our minds is all care through VA is VA care.
    We sometimes seem to forget that when we talk about care of the
    community or non-VA care, those kind of terms. And when it
    comes to--whether or not that is privatization, we are
    carefully monitoring every aspect of that to ensure that if it
    turns into privatization we will raise the flag.
        The thing about VA care is as long as we know that it is VA
    care, if there are problems, and somebody was mentioning
    earlier there are always going to be problems, a new system
    coming on and all that, we know where to go. We are going to go
    to VA as a VSO, as a leading VSO, to work with them to help fix
    that problem. We are going to be here to testify before you
    about those problems. If it is all privatized, who do we go to?
    So we have to remember----
        Mr. Hirono. Exactly.
        Mr. Bozella. ----we have got to work hard to keep it VA
    care. And we are familiar with the access standards. We had
    some input into that. And the one concern that we have is
    urgent care and the $30 copays on the third visit. We are not
    going to be in acceptance of any copays for service- connected
    disabled veterans.
        Mr. Hirono. Thank you very much.
        Commander, I am glad that you mentioned that suicide
    prevention is still a major factor, a major concern, and that
    suicide rates are going up. So there was a GAO study regarding
    what the VA is doing in preventing suicides, and so I do thank
    Senator Blumenthal, who is right here with us--not to steal his
    thunder--but under his leadership Senators Boozman, Tillis, who
    you heard from earlier, and I will be introducing tomorrow
    Reach Every Veteran in Crisis Act. And this bill does make
    reference to the GAO report and the shortcomings in the VA. So
    we are on that page with you, Commander.
        There was also a reference to the telehealth services,
    because much of our country is in rural areas. It is an issue
    that Senator Harris and I took up and there is a provision--
    there was a provision in the Mission Act to allow for more
    telehealth, and I am glad to know that it is working out and
    that you would like to see that further developed.
        So, the other questions were already asked, but we are on
    the page with all of you. Thank you so very much for being
    here. Mahalo. I yield back.
        Mr. Reistad. Thank you.
        Chairman Takano. The Senator yields back. I would now like
    to recognize the gentleman from Vermont, Mr. Sanders.

                         SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS

        Mr. Sanders. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and let me
    thank Commander Reistad for being here and your fantastic
    staff.
        Mr. Reistad. Thank you.
        Mr. Sanders. And let me thank all of the men and women in
    the room. You have done something above and beyond what human
    beings are normally asked to do. You have put your lives on the
    line to defend this country, and all of us are deeply grateful
    to you. And it seems to me, having made that commitment to this
    country, we owe you nothing less than, among other things, the
    best quality health care that this nation can provide to
    anybody. You have deserved that and we thank you for that.
        [Applause.]
        And I also want to thank the Legion not only for the great
    work you do on veterans' issues but what you do in our
    communities. In Vermont, for example, your Boys State and Girls
    State programs are very, very important. I worry very much that
    a lot of the young people in our country, the kids in this
    country do not understand what you put your lives on the line
    to defend. They do not know what the Constitution of America is
    about. They do not know what democracy is about. And you do a
    great job, in a very nonpartisan way, in Vermont, in getting
    kids to think about these important issues. So thank you very
    much for doing that.
        I had the honor of being Chairman of this Senate Committee
    a number of years ago, and we tried to do our best to expand VA
    health care. We did not quite get the support that we wanted,
    the bipartisan support that we wanted. But there was one
    issue--two issues, actually--that we raised, one where I think
    we have had some success, one not so much success.
        When we talk about health care it has always seemed to me
    that dental care is part of health care. All right?
        [Applause.]
        Mr. Reistad. Absolutely.
        Mr. Sanders. And I can tell you that in Vermont you have
    got a lot of veterans who have serious problems with their
    teeth, and if you have dental problems that could lead to other
    health problems. And one of the things we tried to do is to
    make dental care a part of VA health care, not just for
    service-connected folks but for every veteran who accesses VA
    health care. Commander, is that something that makes sense to
    you?
        Mr. Reistad. Mr. Chairman, thank you for your question.
    Absolutely it makes sense to me, and I would like to ask
    Director Nuntavong to please elaborate on that.
        Mr. Nuntavong. Thank you for your question, Senator. As I
    testified before the Senate Committee a few months ago, dental
    care is health care. Our veterans deserve that health care.
    When I was on active duty I saw the dentist twice a year
    regularly to receive my care, and that care needs to continue
    on as I am a veteran of these United States.
        Mr. Sanders. All right. So I look forward--we will
    introduce legislation, and have in the past, to make dental
    care part of VA health care, and we look forward to working
    with you on that.
        Let me touch on the broader issue that Senator Hirono and
    Senator Tester and others have raised. And I can recall like it
    was yesterday, I think it was right in this room, when I was
    Chair we had a hearing and we had all of the veterans'
    organizations. We had the Legion there, we had the VFW, the
    DAV, and so forth. And I went down the list and I asked them
    whether they thought VA health care was of high quality. And
    without exception, including the American Legion, the answer
    was yes, we are proud of what the VA does. Could it be better?
    We all agree it can.
        But one of the things we are also aware of, because the VA
    is government program, that every time there is a problem in
    the VA it makes the front pages of the newspapers. When there
    is a problem in a private hospital, somehow it does not make
    the front pages of the paper.
        Now one of the concerns that I have is we have a national
    health care system with a lot of problems. We have got 30
    million people uninsured. We have even more underinsured with
    high deductibles and copayments. We pay the highest prices in
    the world for prescription drugs. And in many ways the VA has
    dealt with that issue. It has said, "Come on in to the VA. We
    are going to give you holistic health care, and the door is
    open to you, and the cost of prescription drugs will be lower
    than in the private sector."
        It is no secret to you, or to any American--now there are
    big differences of opinion here in Congress. There are people
    who do believe in privatization. And what I fear very much is
    if we continue to put all kinds of money into the private
    sector you are going to be taking money out of the VA. And I
    worry very much that as we speak today there are 46,000
    vacancies in VA health care, and we cannot expect VA to provide
    the quality care they should if there are those kinds of
    vacancies.
        Do you share the concern that some of us have raised about
    the fact that we are not adequately funding the VA in making
    sure that we fill those vacancies? Is that a concern,
    Commander, that you have?
        Mr. Reistad. Senator Sanders, I would like to ask Director
    Shuman to please respond to your question.
        Mr. Shuman. Thank you so very much, Senator. It is
    absolutely crucial that we fill the 46,000 vacancies at VA. As
    I have said, you have no greater friend than the American
    Legion in really working on reforms and legislation to make
    that happen.
        Mr. Sanders. Okay. And, by the way, thank you, Matt, thank
    you very much for coming to Vermont for that very great town
    meeting we did.
        Mr. Chairman, my time has expired. Thank you very much. I
    yield.
        Chairman Takano. The gentleman yields back. I am informed
    that Dr. Roe, the Ranking Member of the House Committee would
    like to--I would like to recognize him for five minutes.

                        REPRESENTATIVE PHIL ROE

        Dr. Roe. Well, it looks like the news story today is that
    Senator Sanders moved over to the Republican side.
        [Laughter.]
        Chairman Takano. Mr. Chairman, he is still to the left.
        Mr. Sanders. Not very likely.
        [Laughter.]
        Chairman Takano. But he is still seated to the left.
        Dr. Roe. Glad to have you here, Senator. First of all,
    Matt, thank you--excuse me, Mr. Shuman. You have a great staff,
    Commander, it is a pleasure to work with you guys, so thank you
    for that.
        I want to go through a few things very quickly. As the
    Chairman just said, the bill we passed in the House last year
    did cover the Korean--the area in Korea that was sprayed by
    Agent Orange, for the Blue Water Navy. I have some empathy with
    that because I stomped around that piece of ground for about a
    year of my life.
        I also want to congratulate the Legion on its 100th
    birthday. My old division, Second Division, stood up 101 years
    ago, so it is basically the same age of the Legion. And I also
    want to thank the Legion. One of the pieces of legislation that
    I carry with some pride from this is the Harry Colmery Forever
    GI Bill. That is a great--I used the GI Bill in 1975, when I
    got out of the Army, and I am grateful, Commander, to this day,
    of the $300 a month that my country invested in me at that time
    to finish my education. And now that you can use it the rest of
    your life, technology is changing so rapidly, that I thought
    that was--and we fully paid for that.
        I do want to mention just one thing, and, Matt, you were
    very clear on that. Those 46,000, they are funded positions.
    When I got here in the Congress, in 2009, we spent $97.5
    billion on all VA care. That is health care, disability
    benefits, and cemeteries.
        And I also want to say one thing about cemeteries. Nobody
    in the world does it better than the VA. The VA cemeteries are
    phenomenal. I visited, I do not know how many. I have one a
    mile from my home in Johnson City, Tennessee. I tell you, if
    you ever go to sacred ground it is a VA cemetery, or a national
    cemetery, this government does. And we went--last year we took
    a group to Europe to see the World War II and World War I
    cemeteries. It was an extremely moving time for me to have
    visited those areas and to see how sacred that ground is.
        We were spending 97.5. Our budget last year was north of
    $200 billion. So the VA has been funded, and everywhere I go
    ask them, "Do you have adequate resources to carry out your
    mission?" And basically what they tell me at the VA medical
    centers and other places, they do have adequate funding to do
    that. Are there areas that need more funding? Sure. But I think
    right now that the VA, at least what I hear from the central
    office and from going down to various places that they have
    that.
        Suicide, to me, is one of the things I think that has
    bothered me the most--a young person, or even someone my age
    now that sees that as their only out in life. I mentioned, when
    Commander Hastings, the Tennessee Guard was here before, he,
    when he commanded--he has been replaced now--but they started a
    program called Guard Your Buddy, and he had four suicides in
    the first 40 days he was the commander of the Tennessee Guard.
    We have got to do something.
        So they put this program in and they have reduced suicide
    in the Tennessee Guard by almost 70 percent. And I asked, "Is
    this scalable?" It is, to our guard and reservist members and
    we should look at programs that work like that, and do not
    reinvent the wheel. Do that across the country. I think that is
    doable and it is not very expensive.
        And I asked last year--we were spending $8 billion a year--
    Senator Boozman talked about this--on mental health issues and
    suicide, and we had not moved the needle at all. So I said,
    ``Why do not we do something different?'' And we had our
    hearing last September, and then a roundtable following that,
    and the Chairman is going to continue this, I know, and work
    with us on trying to find out what works. And let us quit doing
    the same thing. Let us do something different.
        Lastly, and basically I want to ask you guys, on the
    Appeals Modernization Act. I guess our office is probably the
    most common thing we deal with are appeals that are backlogged.
    How do you guys see the new AMA program working? And it just
    went live last week for everybody, and which--how do you advise
    a--one of your members which lane to get into?
        Mr. Reistad. Well, thank you for your question,
    Congressman, and I would ask our Chairman, Ralph Bozella, of
    Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation to respond to your question
    please.
        Mr. Roe. Thank you.
        Mr. Bozella. Thank you, Commander. Thank you, Dr. Roe. Of
    course, the American Legion worked with Congress, with VA, with
    the Board of Veterans Appeals to design and develop that
    legislation. It was signed by the President on our stage at our
    national convention in 2017, and we believe it will work.
        And the key to that is training--training our service
    officers how to do this in the best way, how to give that
    advice to that veteran, making that choice of the higher
    review, the supplemental claim, or going directly to the Board
    of Veterans Appeals. And that is where we are going to focus
    our efforts. There is not a simple answer for everybody. It is
    up to that veteran to make that choice, based on the
    information that we can provide them.
        Dr. Roe. Thank you. I yield back. Thank you, Mr. Bozella.
        Chairman Takano. Thank you. Chairman Roe yields-- Ranking
    Member Roe yields back. I would like to now recognize the
    gentleman from Connecticut, former Marine veteran, Senator
    Blumenthal, for five minutes.

                       SENATOR RICHARD BLUMENTAL

        Mr. Blumenthal. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to
    you and members of the House Committee for being here today. We
    appreciate your coming over to the Senate side, whether it is
    the left or the right part of the dais and podium. And thank
    you, Commander, for you and your team being here and your
    leadership day in and day out. I know from my experience in
    Connecticut, as a proud member of the Legion, that you are
    involved in so many community activities, and particularly the
    Boys State activities where two of my sons--three of my sons
    have participated, I believe, two of them now veterans
    themselves. And they better be members of the American Legion,
    as a matter of fact, if they know what is good for them.
        I want to thank Tom Flowers--I think he is here today-- the
    commander of the Connecticut department. Thank you very much,
    and everyone from Connecticut who is here. This is a great day
    for you to be here, when we are introducing legislation in
    honor of your being here, the Reach Every Veteran in Crisis
    Act, which I am helping to lead along with my colleagues,
    Senators Boozman, Sullivan, Hirono, and Brown--you heard
    Senator Hirono talk about it--because the VA has failed in
    reaching out to veterans who are at risk of suicide, spending
    only a tiny fraction of the money appropriated by the United
    States Congress for them to do their job.
        There has not been a lot of talk this morning about the
    Blue Water Navy Act. We came literally within a hair in the
    Senate. One or two members blocked unanimous consent from our
    proceeding with the House bill. Thanks to the House, which was,
    I think, near unanimous in supporting it. Unfortunately, here
    in the Senate we dropped the ball. And again, coming to the VA,
    I must say we all regret that Secretary Wilkie has been
    equivocal. Members of his team have been less than forthcoming
    in their support. I think that is an understatement. I am here
    to ask for your continued support in passing the Blue Water
    Navy Bill.
        [Applause.]
        Mr. Reistad. Thank you, Senator. We absolutely are in
    support of that, and let me take a moment of personal
    privilege. My Legion cover may say Virginia but I entered the
    United States Army out of New Haven, Connecticut.
        Mr. Blumenthal. Thank you for your service, and thank you
    for that Connecticut connection. We are proud of it. Thank you.
        The Agent Orange Exposure Fairness Act. I am the co-
    sponsor of the measure that Senator Moran mentioned earlier,
    because our battlefields are so rife with toxics and poisonous
    substances, whether it is burn pits or the nerve gas that are
    found literally on today's battlefield in Iraq, Afghanistan,
    and Syria, where our men and women are exposed to those risks.
        The Agent Orange Exposure Fairness Act looks to the time
    that is necessary for diseases to manifest themselves. One of
    our fellow American Legion members, Gerry Wright, has
    championed this step. He was my guest at the State of the
    Union. We spoke to a lot of my colleague about the need for the
    Agent Orange Exposure Fairness Act, not only for the Vietnam
    veterans but also for veterans elsewhere in the world--the
    Korean DMZ, for example, where they have been similarly exposed
    to Agent Orange, which is a pesticide. It is a toxic chemical
    that has caused illnesses that we have not properly accounted
    for, and I hope for your support of that measure as well.
        Mr. Reistad. Senator, I believe we approved a resolution
    for that at our last national convention. Mr. Wright has been
    in continual contact with me about that, and I know he has been
    traveling around the country asking for support of that
    legislation and doing a dynamite job at it. So you have our
    support.
        Mr. Blumenthal. He has been tireless. As you know, he
    traveled across the country on his motorcycle with the insignia
    "Sprayed and Betrayed," which is a powerful way to put the
    betrayal of trust by the VA in those veterans who suffer from
    those diseases, as he does. And he is a real champion and I
    know he has been in touch with you, probably quite frequently.
    He is a great advocate.
        And again, I just want to finish by thanking all of your
    team. They do just a remarkable job here in the Nation's
    Capital and all around the country. Thank you so much.
        Mr. Reistad. Thank you.
        Chairman Takano. The Senator yields back. I want to now
    recognize the gentleman from Texas, a new member of Congress,
    Mr. Allred, for five minutes.

                      REPRESENTATIVES COLIN ALLRED

        Mr. Allred. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and if there are any
    Texans who have hung in there I would love it if you could
    raise our hand or stand up. Just let me see you up there. Thank
    you so much to the Texans for your incredible service. I am
    incredibly honored to be representing Dallas. Commander
    Reistad, thank you so much for being here today and to your
    incredible staff.
        I understand that I owe you a happy birthday coming up
    here, nearly 100 years of incredible service to our nation's
    combat veterans, and to really all of our veterans. And so on
    behalf of the 34,000 veterans in my district, and really, all
    of the people who live in my district, I want to thank you and
    everybody at the Legion for all of your incredible service to
    our country.
        Mr. Reistad. Thank you.
        Mr. Allred. I had the honor of being an appointee in the
    Obama administration at the Department of Housing and Urban
    Development before I sought this office, and we placed a large
    focus on combating and ending veterans' homelessness, through
    the HUD and VA supportive housing program. And I was concerned
    to see, in 2017, a rise in veterans' homelessness. I am happy
    to see that there was a slight reversal of that in 2018.
        And I would like to just ask you where we stand how HUD and
    the VA are working together with you and with other VSOs to
    combat veterans' homelessness, moving forward.
        Mr. Reistad. I would like to ask our legislative director,
    Matt Shuman, to elaborate, please.
        Mr. Shuman. Thank you for the question, Congressman. Making
    sure that there is not one homeless veteran on the street is
    absolutely the critical mission, one of the critical missions
    of the American Legion. The point in time, in December, just a
    few months ago, roughly we had about 30,000 veterans at any
    given point who were homeless, and I think we have already said
    this, that is too many.
        The HUD-VASH program and the SSVF programs really need to
    be made permanent. We need the staff that run those programs,
    do not need to be worrying about if they are going to have a
    job in six months. If they are worrying about themselves, how
    are they worrying about providing quality services and
    wraparound services to veterans?
        Further, it is not just about giving a homeless veteran
    home. We can give them the biggest mansion in America. Unless
    we also provide those wraparound services, from health care to
    job placement and mental health, they are going to end up back
    on the street. So we really need to take care of those
    veterans.
        Mr. Allred. Thank you, Mr. Shuman. I completely agree with
    you and I think that your recommendation is right on. It is
    hard for us to plan long-term around a temporary program, and
    also, homelessness often has so many factors that go into it
    and providing a home is only one step in combating that. So
    thank you for that. We will certainly be working towards that.
        Chairman Bozella, I wanted to thank you for mentioning some
    of the creative therapies that are out there for veterans. We
    have a great organization in Dallas called Equest that does
    great work with our veterans through equine therapy, which you
    mentioned specifically. And I am deeply concerned, as many of
    the members who have spoken here today are, about suicide
    prevention and what we can do to use creative methods to
    provide our veterans with the care that they need.
        And when I visited with the VA in Dallas, which is the
    second-largest VA in the country, they expressed interest in
    having some help in working with some of the outside groups to
    kind of better form other forms of therapies and to use some of
    the resources that are at their disposal in a more efficient
    way. What can we do, in Congress, to help those organizations,
    work with our VA to make sure that all of the resources that we
    have out there--and there are a number of great groups out
    there that are doing this kind of work-- that they are actually
    at the fingertips of the VA?
        Mr. Reistad. Chairman Bozella.
        Mr. Bozella. Thank you, Commander. Thank you, Congressman
    Allred. The number one thing that needs to happen is for VA to
    believe that alternative therapies are, in fact, viable, that
    they do work for people. One of the things that they do is they
    help veterans stay in the evidence-based therapies, the
    cognitive-based therapies, the prolonged exposure. Some of that
    therapy can be very difficult for people, and I am sure Dr. Roe
    would understand that, how tough it is to relive a traumatic
    experience.
        And sometimes they want to leave, and the CAM, we call it,
    complementary and alternative medicines, keeps them engaged. It
    does give them a sense of belonging and a sense of purpose. The
    equine stuff I think you are referring, it is almost magical
    what happens when veterans are teamed up with a horse and they
    have to care for that horse. That is a sense of purpose. That
    is a sense of belonging, having to care for another being. And
    those kind of things work tremendously.
        So I think VA, they--and, by the way, they are coming
    around to this stuff now, and it has taken a while but they are
    getting there. I am glad to hear Dallas is interested. You can
    talk to the American Legions, the VFWs in your areas. You can
    get that kind of support from VSOs, and I am sure they will be
    there for you.
        Mr. Allred. We will do that. My time has expired but I just
    wanted to again thank all of you for being here. Thank you for
    your service to our country, and thank you so much for helping
    us understand things that we need to be working on to make sure
    that we keep our commitment to our veterans.
        Chairman Takano. The gentleman yields back. I would now
    like to recognize myself for five minutes and just ask a few
    questions.
        Commander, the 2017 Government Accountability Office report
    found that VA faces significant challenges in recruiting and
    retaining employees. As we have said earlier, as was said
    earlier in the hearing, over 10 percent of full-time authorized
    and budgeted positions, funded positions, amounts to about
    45,000 vacancies, and most of these being health care
    providers.
        Does the Legion have some specific recommendations about
    how VA can attract high-quality applicants and recommendations
    on how to reduce the long and cumbersome hiring and onboarding
    process at VA?
        Mr. Reistad. Absolutely. Absolutely we do, Mr. Chairman,
    and I would like to ask Chairman Bozella to please address that
    question.
        Mr. Bozella. Thank you, Commander. Representative Chairman
    Takano, that is one of the--the number one causes we see for
    the number of vacancies there are in VA health care is the
    onboarding process. Yeah, there is a gap with money, certainly,
    but the process, it takes three months or longer to recruit, to
    interview, to do paperwork, to actually bring that person on
    board is a very difficult process.
        I believe that Senator Cory Gardner from Colorado would
    like to introduce legislation that is calling for a pilot
    program in at least 10 VA sites to reduce the onboarding
    process. That would make a difference.
        Chairman Takano. So it is not my imagination. It is not--
    you are verifying or validating some of the anecdotal stories I
    am hearing about internists or specialists saying they have not
    even received an acknowledgment they have applied to the VA,
    and that these are people that want to work for the VA and are
    highly employable, but the VA's lengthy process of hiring has,
    you know, forced these individuals to just take other
    employment before they accept employment or even get
    interviewed at the VA.
        Mr. Bozella. If I may, Commander--
        Mr. Reistad. You may.
        Mr. Bozella. --Mr. Chairman, if you think about some of the
    really competitive health care environments in certain cities--
    the Bay Area, Chanin and I were there just a few weeks ago, and
    New York City, Denver, places that are growing like that. And
    you have a competitive health care environment and people are
    coming there applying for jobs, and if it takes three to four
    month to get hired with the VA for less money, or if they can
    get hired at a private hospital much sooner, at more money,
    which way do you think they would go?
        Chairman Takano. Yeah. Well, one other question related to
    this. Senator Sanders and I, in the Choice Act, we were able
    to, along with other members and also the help of the
    Republican--my Republican colleagues, we inserted about 1,500
    medical residencies into that bill, newly funded medical
    residencies across the country. Do you believe that the overall
    physician shortage is contributing to our difficulties in
    hiring and retaining?
        Mr. Bozella. Thank you, Commander. Mr. Chairman, yes, the
    overall physician shortages, especially in rural areas,
    absolutely does contribute to this particular problem.
        Chairman Takano. Great. Well, I am going to yield-- cut my
    questions short. I want to give now Ranking Member Roe his
    opportunity to give his closing statement.
        Dr. Roe. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. A couple of things on
    alternative therapy, Mr. Bozella. I asked some wounded
    warriors, would they like to fish. And so the people that were
    doing that, they said, "Yeah, but are they going to catch any
    fish?" I said, "I can guarantee you they will. I have a fish
    hatchery in my district, so we have worked that out pretty
    well." They caught a lot of fish.
        And back to hiring, as the Chairman is speaking of, he is
    absolutely right. Look, I can hire someone in my practice
    before VA can lick a stamp. They have got to get their act
    together on hiring people quicker, these qualified people, and
    especially on medical professionals--nurses, PAs, all of that.
    You are 100 percent correct on that.
        Thank you, and as we finish today I want to thank all the
    Legion members who have taken their time away from their
    families to come here today to be with us. I want to thank you
    for that.
        I would like to bring something to your attention,
    Commander, and the folks in the room, and ask for your help.
    And I know the VA--the Legion is an ardent supporter of all
    constitutional rights.
        Yesterday, we in the House voted on a rule that would
    permit limited debate on legislation that would impact
    veterans' Second Amendment rights. This bill, H.R. 1112 will be
    considered in the House later today, this afternoon, a bill
    that unfortunately has had very little debate, minimal
    committee process. A little-known and poorly understood
    provision of this bill would amend the law to read as follows:
    "It shall be unlawful to sell any firearm or ammunition to any
    person knowing or having reasonable cause to believe such
    person has been adjudicated with mental illness, severe
    developmental disabilities, or severe emotional instability."
        To put this in perspective, there are over 1.6 million
    disabled veterans with a service-connected adjudication by VA
    of mental illness, including nearly 1 million with PTSD. H.R.
    1112 has the potential to add all names of those veterans to
    the FBI's NICS list and prevent those veterans from being able
    to purchase or possess a firearm. I offered that amendment to
    clarify that veterans with VA mental illnesses and other
    affected adjudication to be exempt from the bill's standard,
    but that was ruled out of order.
        Many people do not realize that the VA already regularly
    sends the names of veterans who have a VA fiduciary for
    inclusion on the NICS list, not because there is a concern that
    the veteran might be a harm to themselves or others but because
    VA has determined that that veteran needs assistance in
    handling his or her financial benefits.
        I am concerned that the expanded definition proposed in
    H.R. 1112 would infringe on the Second Amendment rights of
    millions of veterans solely because they sought the benefits
    from VA that they have rightly earned to their service to our
    country and now have been adjudicated with a service- connected
    mental illness. But like those veterans with fiduciaries, even
    though there may not be--there may not have ever been a finding
    by judicial authority, a judge, that the veteran possesses a
    danger to themselves or society, these veterans would be told
    that they were good enough to use a firearm to fight for our
    freedoms but not good enough to bear arms as a civilian.
        The last thing I want to do is discourage veterans from
    seeking VA benefits because they are afraid it might cost a
    constitutional right if they receive a rating decision for a
    service-connected mental illness.
        And look, we need your help with this, just to slow this
    down and debate it, and everyone up here wants people who are
    mentally unstable not to have a firearm. There is not a person
    in this room that does not want that. But we do not want
    veterans who protect the rights of the Constitution to give up
    those rights.
        Please, I ask for your help just to slow this down. I do
    not think it was intended. I do not think that was an intention
    with this bill, but I think that certainly is going to be what
    happens.
        Again, Mr. Chairman, thank you. It is a privilege to serve
    with you on the Committee and I look forward to working in the
    next--this Congress to carry out all the things we talked
    about, and hopefully more, and with that I yield back my time.
        Chairman Takano. I thank the gentleman. I just want to
    address briefly the concerns raised by my friend and colleague,
    Phil Roe, about the bill that he mentioned. That bill will not
    come up for a vote today. It will come up for a vote tomorrow,
    scheduled for tomorrow.
        I want to say that the concern arises out of, actually,
    language that was meant to replace a more offensive, current
    language, language in the current law, which refers to people
    who are mentally defective. That is obviously outdated,
    offensive language, and the Judiciary Committee looked for--
    struggled to find language that would replace the current
    language of "mentally defective." That is wrong, that is
    terrible language, and that is actually in the current law.
        The language that is currently in the bill is meant to be
    placeholder language. They are trying to find the right terms,
    so that what Dr. Roe talked about--and he actually said--he
    used the word "potentially," potentially. And we are talking
    here about getting the language right so that it cannot be
    interpreted in such a way that veterans who have financial
    difficulties are not put on the NICS list. We want to avoid
    that from happening. You know, people on my side of the aisle
    are interested and committed to protecting the Second Amendment
    rights, especially of our nation's veterans.
        And so the Chairman, Chairman Nadler, my understanding is
    that he is writing a letter assuring that any final language of
    the bill, before it is sent over to the Senate, is corrected,
    and he is committed to working with the veteran service
    organizations and getting this language correct.
        So stay tuned. We will be in communication. I have been--as
    soon as I heard Dr. Roe bring this concern to yesterday's joint
    hearing I immediately went into work, as the Chairman of the
    Veterans' Affairs Committee in the House, to work with the
    Democratic leadership to problem- solve this particular issue.
        But let me just say that I always, always enjoy these joint
    hearings and hearing the priorities of the American Legion. We
    will be meeting with the Secretary of the Veterans Affairs
    Department today, Secretary Wilkie. I will be pressing him on
    the question of will he be appealing the Blue Water Navy
    decision, and I will encourage him to desist from doing that.
    And regardless of his answers, we are going to move forward
    with the Blue Water Navy bill, as I have introduced it in this
    session of Congress, and we are going to pass that bill, and we
    are going to press the Senate to get it done, and we are going
    to get this issue off the table in the 116th Congress.
        [Applause.]
        And I want to acknowledge that Dr. Roe had taken this over
    the finish line in the House, and to clarify there was some
    doubt about whether the vote was unanimous. It was unanimous.
    Thank you, Phil Roe, for that unanimous vote in the last
    Congress, and we are going to get it done--we are going to get
    it done in the Senate, and what I need your help with is to
    make sure that no Senator stands in the way of Blue Water
    Navy--the Blue Water Navy bill solution. So thank you.
        Let me also say that I do appreciate the Legion's stance on
    the 30-minute access standard. I do think it still raises
    questions. It is potentially a good thing, also potentially
    something that could result in a diversion of precious health
    care dollars away from the existing internal capacity of the VA
    to serve veterans.
        It is potential. It is all a matter of how this
    administration, you know, rolls out and implements the Mission
    Act. And, of course, we will be working very closely with the
    VA--with the American Legion, to make sure that the rollout of
    the Mission Act and its implementation is done in such a way
    that we build capacity, internal capacity, and we are flexible
    enough to reach the veterans where they are and to make sure
    they get health care that is second to none.
        We will also be doing our level best to make sure that the
    Forever GI Bill is implemented, and I certainly do appreciate
    the American Legion stance on closing the 90/10 loophole. That
    will do much to protect our student veterans and to ensure that
    they are on their way to success in our economy and the job
    market.
        And with that----
        Dr. Roe. Mr. Chairman, may I be recognized for just one
    minute?
        Chairman Takano. I will yield for--
        Dr. Roe. Thank you. Just to clarify a few points on this
    1112, I am not trying to engage in fear-mongering but I am
    concerned where H.R. 1112 may take us. It is my belief that the
    Judiciary Committee did not mean to have this negative impact
    on veterans. However, I do think that the process of 1112 has
    been rushed and that is an unintended consequence.
    Additionally, we cannot ignore the very real implications for
    our veterans, even if that is not the intent of the bill. It
    can happen.
        I am also not saying that a simple diagnosis of a mental
    health condition alone would amount to a veteran's name being
    sent to the NICS list. On that, I think that the NICS
    Improvement Act of 2007 is fairly clear. But right now, via
    adjudications that certain veterans require a fiduciary to
    handle their financial benefits are deemed to meet adjudication
    as a mental defect, requirement under Title 18, and those
    veterans are placed on the NICS list.
        The process itself would not change as a result of H.R.
    1112, only the definition. Under current law, quote, mental
    defective definition is already binding on VA and based on
    current law, VA regularly sends veterans' names to the FBI. And
    again, under H.R. 1112, nothing about that process would
    change, but the definition of who should be added to the NICS
    list would be significantly expanded.
        That is why I think it is a very real possibility that VA
    ratings decisions that award service connection for PTSD or
    other mental illnesses, just like current VA adjudications that
    a veteran requires a fiduciary would cause our nation's brave
    men and women who serve to lose their constitutional rights to
    bear arms.
        And to be clear, I am not saying that no veteran should not
    be placed on this NICS list. We all know that is true. But I do
    believe that we must tread very carefully and ensure that
    proper due process is given and that a judicial authority, not
    a VA rater or a bureaucrat, should be the one who decides
    whether or not a veteran is a harm to themselves or others
    before we look at infringing on their constitutional rights. It
    is a slippery slope we are on.
        Chairman Takano, I appreciate your indulgence. You have
    been very good about this, and I yield back my time.
        Chairman Takano. Well, I do believe in a robust and
    thorough and complete discussion of the issues of the day,
    including--and especially including the fundamental issues of
    our constitutional rights and of the Second Amendment.
        But let me just say that 90 percent of Americans--90
    percent of Americans, including overwhelming majorities of
    those who belong to the National Rifle Association, believe
    that background checks are reasonable, and in order to make
    those background checks effective we need to have, you know,
    the NICS list also complete.
        And that being said, we are working--I think working with
    VSOs like the American Legion. The Chairman and the parties can
    get this language correct. We are talking about trying to
    replace outmoded, offensive language that already exists in
    law, and to find that sweet spot in a law that makes the NICS
    list complete but also does not unfairly--unfairly and unjustly
    put our nation's veterans on those lists.
        So with that I would like to call--to adjourn these
    proceedings, and thank you, the American Legion, for another
    great year of testimony.
        Mr. Reistad. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        [Applause.]
        [Whereupon, at 12:36 p.m., the Joint Committees were
    adjourned.]

                                    APPENDIX

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                   Material Submitted for the Hearing Record

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