[Senate Hearing 117-693]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       S. Hrg. 117-693

                    LEGISLATIVE PRESENTATION OF THE
               DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS AND MULTI VSOs:
                   SVA, BVA, MOAA, NASDVA, MVA, NCHV

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

                             JOINT HEARING

                                 OF THE

                     COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS

                               BEFORE THE

                     U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                                AND THE

                              U.S. SENATE

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________

                             MARCH 3, 2021

                               __________

      Formatted for the use of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
      
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]      


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

                                
                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
52-808 PDF                 WASHINGTON : 2023                    
          
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              SENATE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS

                     Jon Tester, Montana, Chairman

Patty Murray, Washington             Jerry Moran, Kansas, Ranking 
Bernard Sanders, Vermont                 Member
Sherrod Brown, Ohio                  John Boozman, Arkansas
Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut      Bill Cassidy, Louisiana
Mazie K. Hirono, Hawaii              Mike Rounds, South Dakota
Joe Manchin III, West Virginia       Thom Tillis, North Carolina
Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona              Dan Sullivan, Alaska
Margaret Wood Hassan, New Hampshire  Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee
                                     Kevin Cramer, North Dakota
                                     Tommy Tuberville, Alabama

                      Tony McClain, Staff Director
                 Jon Towers, Republican Staff Director

                              ----------                              

        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS

                   Mark Takano, California, Chairman

Julia Brownley, California           Mike Bost, Illinois, Ranking 
Conor Lamb, Pennsylvania                 Member
Mike Levin, California               Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, 
Chris Pappas, New Hampshire              American Samoa
Elaine G. Luria, Virginia            Jack Bergman, Michigan
Frank J. Mrvan, Indiana              Jim Banks, Indiana
Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan,      Chip Roy, Texas
    Northern Mariana Islands         Gregory F. Murphy, North Carolina
Lauren Underwood, Illinois           Tracey Mann, Kansas
Colin Z. Allred, Texas               Barry Moore, Alabama
Lois Frankel, Florida                Nancy Mace, South Carolina
Anthony G. Brown, Maryland           Madison Cawthorn, North Carolina
Elissa Slotkin, Michigan             Troy E. Nehls, Texas
David J. Trone, Maryland             Matthew M. Rosendale, Montana
Marcy Kaptur, Ohio                   Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Iowa
Raul Ruiz, California
Ruben Gallego, Arizona

                       Matt Reel, Staff Director
               Maria Tripplaar, Republican Staff Director
                            
                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              

                             March 3, 2021

                            REPRESENTATIVES

                                                                   Page
Takano, Hon. Mark, Chairman, U.S. Representative from California.     1
Bost, Hon. Mike, Ranking Member, U.S. Representative from 
  Illinois.......................................................     5
Brownley, Hon. Julia, U.S. Representative from California........    17
Bergman, Hon. Jack, U.S. Representative from Michigan............    19
Lamb, Hon. Conor, U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania..........    20
Pappas, Hon. Chris, U.S. Representative from New Hampshire.......    22
Rosendale, Hon. Matt, U.S. Representative from Montana...........    23
Mrvan, Hon. Frank, U.S. Representative from Indiana..............    24
Levin, Hon. Mike, U.S. Representative from California............    27
Murphy, Hon. Greg, U.S. Representative from North Carolina.......    29
Kaptur, Hon. Marcy, U.S. Representative from Ohio................    30
Miller-Meeks, Hon. Mariannette, U.S. Representative from Iowa....    31
Underwood, Hon. Lauren, U.S. Representative from Illinois........    33
Nehls, Hon. Troy, U.S. Representative from Texas.................    34
Cawthorn, Hon. Madison, U.S. Representative from North Carolina..    35
Luria, Hon. Elaine, U.S. Representative from Virginia............    36
Mann, Hon. Tracey, U.S. Representative from Kansas...............    39

                                SENATORS

Tester, Hon. Jon, Chairman, U.S. Senator from Montana............     4
Moran, Hon. Jerry, Ranking Member, U.S. Senator from Kansas......     6
Manchin III, Hon. Joe, U.S. Senator from West Virginia...........    18
Cassidy, Hon. Bill, U.S. Senator from Louisiana..................    19
Blumenthal, Hon. Richard, U.S. Senator from Connecticut..........    25
Tuberville, Hon. Tommy, U.S. Senator from Alabama................    26
Hassan, Hon. Margaret Wood, U.S. Senator from New Hampshire......    32
Blackburn, Hon. Marsha, U.S. Senator from Tennessee..............    38
Boozman, Hon. John, U.S. Senator from Arkansas...................    39

                  INTRODUCTION OF COMMANDER WHITEHEAD

The Honorable Jon Tester, U.S. Senator from the State of Montana.     8

                               WITNESSES
                                Panel I

Stephen ``Butch'' Whitehead, National Commander, Disabled 
  American Veterans..............................................     9

  accompanied by

  Edward R. ``Randy'' Reese, Jr., Executive Director of the 
    National Service and Legislative Headquarters

  Jim Marszalek, National Service Director, Disabled American 
    Veterans

  Joy J. Ilem, National Legislative Director, Disabled American 
    Veterans

                                Panel II

Thomas A. Zampieri, Ph.D., National President, Blinded Veterans 
  Association (BVA)..............................................    41
John Hilgert, Director, Nebraska Department of Veterans' Affairs, 
  President, National Association of State Directors of Veterans 
  Affairs (NASDVA)...............................................    47
Cory Titus, Director, Government Relations for Veterans' 
  Benefits, Military Officers Association of America (MOAA)......    43
Jared Lyon, National President and CEO, Student Veterans of 
  America (SVA)..................................................    45
Lindsay Church, Executive Director/Co-Founder, Minority Veterans 
  of America (MVA)...............................................    49
Kathryn Monet, Chief Executive Officer, National Coalition for 
  Homeless Veterans (NCHV).......................................    50

                                APPENDIX
                          Prepared Statements

Stephen ``Butch'' Whitehead, National Commander, Disabled 
  American Veterans..............................................    69
Thomas A. Zampieri, Ph.D., National President, Blinded Veterans 
  Association (BVA)..............................................   101
John Hilgert, Director, Nebraska Department of Veterans' Affairs, 
  President, National Association of State Directors of Veterans 
  Affairs (NASDVA)...............................................   113
Cory Titus, Director, Government Relations for Veterans' 
  Benefits, Military Officers Association of America (MOAA)......   118
Jared Lyon, National President and CEO, Student Veterans of 
  America (SVA)..................................................   135
Lindsay Church, Executive Director/Co-Founder, Minority Veterans 
  of America (MVA)...............................................   157
Kathryn Monet, Chief Executive Officer, National Coalition for 
  Homeless Veterans (NCHV).......................................   189

 
                    LEGISLATIVE PRESENTATION OF THE
                  DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS AND MULTI
                VSOs: SVA, BVA, MOAA, NASDVA, MVA, NCHV

                              ----------                              


                        WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2021

             U.S. House of Representatives,
                                   and U.S. Senate,
                            Committee on Veterans' Affairs,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The Committees met, pursuant to notice, at 10:04 a.m., via 
Webex, Hon. Mark Takano, Chairman of the House Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs, presiding.

    Present:

    Representatives Takano, Brownley, Lamb, Levin, Pappas, 
Luria, Mrvan, Sablan, Underwood, Allred, Frankel, Brown, 
Kaptur, Ruiz, Bost, Bergman, Banks, Murphy, Mann, Moore, Mace, 
Cawthorn, Nehls, Rosendale, and Miller-Meeks.

    Senators Tester, Sanders, Brown, Blumenthal, Manchin, 
Sinema, Hassan, Moran, Boozman, Cassidy, Rounds, Tillis, 
Sullivan, Blackburn, and Tuberville.

        OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. MARK TAKANO, CHAIRMAN,
              U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM CALIFORNIA

    Chairman Takano. Good morning. I call this hearing to 
order. I want to welcome all members, witnesses, and guests to 
this hearing today.
    I know this event, which we hold every year, looks a bit 
different this time, so I want to go over some items to ensure 
we have as smooth and engaging a presentation as possible.
    First, if you are experiencing connectivity issues, please 
make sure you or your staff contact our designated technical 
support so those issues can be resolved immediately.
    To ensure our members and participants can have robust 
engagement, I ask that members participating remotely continue 
to remain visible on camera for the duration of their 
participation in the hearing, unless they experience 
connectivity issues or other technical problems that render the 
member unable to fully participate on camera.
    We have a lot of participants and members in this hearing 
today, so I will follow the House Committee on Veterans' 
Affairs' policy that members remain muted when not recognized, 
just like turning your microphone on and off during an in-
person hearing. This is out of courtesy to all members on the 
committee, our witnesses, and guests, and so that background 
noise does not interfere with another member who is recognized 
to speak.
    As previously noticed, we will recognize members in two 
groups today. First, in order of seniority, we will recognize 
members who are present before the gavel; second, in order of 
seniority, we will recognize members who are present after the 
gavel. Questions will alternate between members and between the 
majority/minority members present. Finally, members will be 
recognized for 3 minutes during each panel.
    Today, we will be using a virtual timer to keep time. To 
keep the timer in your view on your main screen, select grid 
and focus--grid or focus view, you can select either grid or 
focus view, move your mouse over the second thumbnail from the 
right, click on the white circle, and select ``Lock 
Participant,'' and from the list of participants choose 
``Hearing Timer.'' This will keep the timer in your view.
    When you are recognized, you will need to un-mute your 
microphone, pause for 2 or 3 seconds before speaking so that 
your words are captured on the live stream.
    If you wish to have a document inserted into the record, 
please ask for unanimous consent, and have your staff email the 
document to [email protected]. It will be 
uploaded to the committee document repository.
    Does any member have a question about the procedures for 
this hearing?
    I see none and I hear none, so we will proceed.
    First of all, I just want to ask Ranking Member Bost to 
give me a thumbs-up if the Marines plaque is positioned 
correctly behind me in its proper place. Ranking Member Bost, 
give me a thumbs-up if that is the case. Thank you, thank you.
    Well, welcome, everyone, to the Joint Hearing of the House 
and Senate Committees on Veterans' Affairs to receive the 
legislative presentations of Disabled American Veterans and 
multiple Veterans Service Organizations. It is an honor to join 
all the members of the House and Senate Committees on Veterans' 
Affairs virtually to hear directly from Veterans Service 
Organizations that represent millions of veterans and their 
families.
    I would like to welcome all DAV members and members of the 
Auxiliary who have joined us online today. We will hear DAV's 
testimony on our first panel.
    I would also like to welcome the Blinded Veterans 
Association; National Association of State Directors of 
Veterans Affairs; Military Officers Association of America; 
Student Veterans of America; Minority Veterans of America; 
National Coalition for Homeless Veterans; and who we will hear 
from on today's second panel.
    I especially want to welcome MVA and NCHV, who will be 
testifying for the first time at our yearly legislative 
presentations. Inviting groups that specifically advocate for 
minority and under-served veterans is a crucial first step 
toward our goal to create a more welcoming VA.
    I would also like to specifically welcome any members from 
my home State of California. Normally, we would have a room 
full of visiting veterans and we would hear a raucous cheer 
from our home State. We may not be in the same room like in 
years past due to the ongoing pandemic, but I want to welcome 
you and thank you for joining us today virtually.
    The opportunity to hear from our VSO partners is incredibly 
important to me. Our VSO partners represent veterans and their 
families at all stages of life and service, and hearing from 
these partners allows the committee the opportunity to hear 
directly from you about what is most important to you and how 
we can best be of service to our Nation's veterans. This is 
another way we can also hear from veterans directly as many of 
those participating today bring their own veteran's experience 
to the table.
    While this is one platform that allows us to hear many 
voices, we plan to continue to promote the inclusion of more 
diverse voices, more diverse veteran voices beyond today's 
hearing. This point is incredibly important as we face the 
challenge of a global pandemic, and it gives us the opportunity 
to discuss ways to build better veterans programs that can 
overcome the difficulties of future crises and address problems 
for all veterans.
    In the last Congress, together we secured several important 
wins for veterans, including the passage of the Blue Water Navy 
Vietnam Veterans Act, the Deborah Sampson Act, the Veterans 
COMPACT Act, and the Commander Hannon Act. And I am very proud 
of these accomplishments, but they are only the beginning. We 
need to build on these achievements and continue our fight for 
better veterans programs in this Congress and beyond.
    Now, already we are making critical fixes to expand VA's 
ability to provide COVID-19 vaccines to veterans and their 
caregivers. I want to thank my colleague Ranking Member Bost 
for introducing the VA Vaccine Act with me, which will make 
this essential fix to expand VA's authority and allow them to 
provide access to all veterans regardless of VA enrollment, as 
well as the authority to administer the vaccine to their 
caregivers.
    Additionally, we are close to closing the 90-10 loophole to 
provide more education protections for servicemembers, 
veterans, and American taxpayers.
    Reading your testimony, it is clear your priorities are 
aligned with my own. And my committee's top priorities for this 
Congress include creating a more inclusive and welcoming VA; 
building equity for an increasingly diverse veterans community; 
reducing veteran suicide; addressing toxic exposure; ensuring 
student veterans receive quality education; advocating for 
women veterans; modernizing VA; supporting VA's long-term care 
facilities; improving VA's management and oversight; and 
ensuring our legislative accomplishments are implemented 
effectively.
    Our diverse veterans community includes more women, LGBTQ-
plus veterans, Black, Asian, Hispanic, and Native veterans than 
ever before. Our country's diversity strengthens our armed 
forces and veterans communities and they deserve to have a 
place at VA, and to feel safe and welcomed when they walk 
through VA's doors.
    Additionally, the VA must acknowledge the diversity of its 
workforce to address systemic discrimination in the workplace. 
We must ensure that health care and benefits are fairly and 
equitably distributed to all eligible veterans and, to do that, 
we must also ensure a safe and equitable workplace for VA 
employees.
    Our work to prevent veteran suicide continues, and we must 
continue to pursue well-researched and scientifically sound 
policies that have been proven to prevent suicide.
    This Congress, we must also focus on toxic exposure. So 
many veterans are suffering from health effects due to exposure 
to toxic substances during military service. In the 116th 
Congress, we made major strides in providing benefits to 
veterans with Agent Orange exposure. We will continue our 
efforts in this Congress by improving VA's claims process for 
toxic exposures and looking to provide support to the many 
veterans who are suffering from other toxic and environmental 
exposure such as burn pits.
    We have big goals, but I know that with your support and 
insight here today, as well as with the support of the 
administration, we will be able to deliver on them and fulfill 
the promises we have made to our Nation's veterans. I look 
forward to hearing your testimony today, and thank all the 
organizations here today for their continued advocacy and 
support for the veteran community.
    So, thank you.
    And now, Chairman Tester, I want to recognize you for your 
opening remarks. Chairman Tester.

        OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JON TESTER, CHAIRMAN,
                   U.S. SENATOR FROM MONTANA

    Senator Tester. Thank you, Chairman Takano, and good 
morning to everybody.
    Welcome to the leadership of the Disabled American 
Veterans. We are grateful to have you here today. And I want to 
thank the leaders and advocates who will be joining us on the 
second panel today. We all look forward to hearing from you 
also.
    This is undoubtedly a critical and unprecedented time for 
our Nation and for our Nation's veterans. At the top of our 
challenges is the pandemic and getting shots into the arms of 
as many veterans as soon as possible. And, as the Chairman of 
the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, my focus is bolstering 
the vaccine supply chain, ensuring there is a system in place 
to efficiently and equitably distribute vaccines to all 
veterans, regardless of where they live. But we need your help 
getting the word out to your fellow veterans. That is, when it 
is their turn to get the vaccine, they should get one. That is 
the only way we will get beyond this pandemic and get our 
communities and our economies back on track.
    Commander Whitehead, thank you for all the work that you 
have done on behalf of disabled veterans while serving as 
National Commander. We need to hear from you whether the VA is 
operating in a transparent manner as they execute legislative 
priorities, including the expansion of the caregivers program, 
the John Scott Hannon Mental Health Improvement Act, and the 
Deborah Sampson Act.
    To the second panel, I want to hear about how VA's numerous 
programs are affecting the members of your various 
organizations. There are a wide range of veterans represented 
here today. Your testimony will cover a variety of issues vital 
to ensuring we know what your priorities to work on are this 
year. Tell me how well-transitioned programs are working; what 
inequalities minority veterans are facing when it comes to 
receiving VA services; what VA needs to do to improve its 
support of State programs; and what we can do to end veteran 
homelessness, among other issues.
    And I want to know how toxic exposure impacts your members. 
Last year, we worked hard to expand presumptive lists for Agent 
Orange-related conditions, now I want to hear your ideas for 
how we can change the presumptive process to better serve 
veterans.
    We are here to listen to you. The voice you and your 
members provide is an important source of information as we 
attempt to do right by all veterans.
    Welcome again. Thank you for all that you and your 
organizations do on behalf of disabled veterans and their 
families.
    With that, I will turn it back to you, Chairman Takano.
    Chairman Takano. Mr. Bost of Illinois. Mr. Bost and his 
family have a rich tradition of military service, and I would 
like to extend my thanks to him and his family for their 
tradition of service to our country.
    Ranking Member Bost, you are now recognized for your 
opening remarks.

              OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. MIKE BOST,
       RANKING MEMBER, U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM ILLINOIS

    Mr. Bost. Thank you, Chairman, and good morning.
    It is an honor to join Chairman Takano, Chairman Tester, 
Ranking Member Moran, and welcoming you here today in joining 
this hearing. These hearings are unique and one of the 
highlights of our yearly work.
    The opportunity to meet in person with VSO leaders and 
members from across the country is vitally important. I wish we 
could do that together today, but I am sure by next year we 
will be through this and we will be able to do that next year. 
I am also looking forward to shaking your hands and listening 
to your stories.
    In the meantime, it is a privilege to be a participant in 
this hearing and for the first time as the Republican for the 
House Committee on Veterans' Affairs as the ranking member. I 
am looking forward to this visit, but I am also looking forward 
and letting you know that I have big shoes to fill. My 
predecessors served this committee with the entire veteran 
community with distinction. They left an incredible legacy of 
achievement behind. I am excited to continue the work they 
started and to get things done for veterans and their families.
    Please know this: I am committed to working with each and 
every one of you to find common ground and address the tough 
issues that affect the men and women of your organizations 
every day. My door is always open.
    As Chairman Takano mentioned, I am a Marine veteran. My 
father and grandfather served before me, my son and grandson 
are serving now. This work is deeply personal to me and my 
family, just as it is for all of you and your families. I do 
not take this responsibility or this role lightly.
    Before I continue with my opening remarks, I did want to 
take a moment, though, to thank each and every one of you for 
your service both in uniform and out. Our communities rely on 
your Washington, DC staffs to offer key insight on legislation 
and oversight. As important as that is, I know that that is 
just a fraction of the work that your organizations do every 
day to serve veterans and their families all across this 
country. And I want to say thank you. It is because of the 
support from organizations like yours that there have been so 
many positive changes underway at the VA in the last several 
years. I have seen the rising veterans' trust and satisfaction 
scores and I don't think they are exaggerated. Your advocacy 
and input is essential. Your policies you have helped us put up 
and put forth are working. But, like all virtuous endeavors, 
our work is never done. We must continue to build on the 
changes that are underway.
    As ranking member, my priorities to this Congress include 
overseeing VA's continuing response to the COVID-19 pandemic; 
overseeing the implementation of our recent legislative 
successes; creating a pathway to care and benefits for our 
veterans exposed to burn pits and/or any other toxins; 
strengthening services for women veterans; preventing veteran 
suicide; improving the transition process; preserving veterans' 
choice and increasing access to care; protecting veterans' 
Second Amendment rights; and modernizing the VA's outdated IT 
system. I am aware that it is an ambitious agenda and not one 
that I can do alone.
    We will never know all the names or hear all the stories, 
but it is our duty to work together to deliver real results for 
the men and women who raise their right hand in service to this 
great Nation. We have a responsibility to serve them once they 
return home. We have a responsibility to put their needs above 
partisan politics. We have a responsibility to get things done 
because in many cases we are the only advocates they have got. 
On behalf of them and the future generations of warriors to 
come, I look forward to working with you to be the best that we 
can be.
    Thank you all for being here today.
    And, with that, I yield back.
    Chairman Takano. Thank you, Ranking Member Bost.
    Ranking Member Moran, before I recognize you for your 
opening statement, let me just say that I appreciated the 
bipartisan common ground we found in the last Congress; it was 
very productive. So I recognize you for your opening remarks.

             OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JERRY MORAN,
            RANKING MEMBER, U.S. SENATOR FROM KANSAS

    Senator Moran. Chairman Takano, thank you very much, and I 
appreciate our working relationship when you and I were both 
chairman for the last 2 years. And to my new chairman, we are 
working together, as we have in the past, which is a good 
thing.
    I congratulate Ranking Member Bost on his arrival as the 
ranking member. I thank him for his service and now his service 
in even a broader opportunity to veterans.
    And I welcome my new Kansas colleague to the House 
Veterans' Affairs Committee, Tracey Mann. Tracey, 24 years ago 
when I joined the House of Representatives, I became a member 
of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee. And I wish you well 
and thank you for your efforts to care for Kansans who have 
served our Nation.
    I welcome all of our witnesses to this morning's hearing. I 
know that the virtual format, as we have talked, is a bit 
unusual. We are all anxious for the opportunity to return to 
that moment in which we can press the flesh, say our words in 
person, and congratulate and thank those who have served our 
Nation.
    We are anxious to hear from each of their organizations, 
their leadership today. They have great passion and expertise; 
they represent many veterans across the country. And your input 
is of value to me and to my colleagues.
    I also extend my gratitude to veterans around the country 
and especially in Kansas who are watching today and I thank 
them for paying attention, and I would welcome their input when 
the hearing is over to tell me what I should have learned and 
what I should take away from this opportunity to hear from 
veterans across the Nation.
    We have accomplished a lot working together in recent 
years: legislation to help reduce veteran suicide, improve 
access and choice in health care, and provide resources and 
flexibility to assist veterans during this COVID-19 pandemic. 
That is just a few examples. I expect that bipartisan effort to 
continue in the 117th Congress, and I will continue to look to 
your organizations for guidance on the issues that you think 
are most important.
    As most of you all know, however, the real measure of 
success is not simply passing legislation, but it is ensuring 
effective execution of the law and seeing concrete results. Our 
committees remain engaged in providing oversight of the 
Department implementation of laws and its use of scarce 
resources, but the membership of your organizations are our 
eyes and ears on the ground, indispensable to that oversight.
    One example of what I am talking about came last year from 
Student Veterans of America. Through a quirk in the law, 
veterans attending school in person who were told because of 
COVID to shift to a virtual learning environment were on the 
verge of having their educational assistance benefits reduced 
even though their living expenses remained the same. Because of 
SVA's advocacy, we changed the law and helped thousands of 
students who otherwise may have had to have dropped out of 
their educational experience. To Jared Lyon and SVA, I say 
thank you.
    To Commander Whitehead, the DAV's advocacy has been just as 
invaluable. Your focus on improving health care for women 
veterans and monitoring the expansion of family caregiver 
assistance is critical to our oversight work.
    I could go on and on citing examples of how each of the 
organizations that are with us today have aided our collective 
efforts, but your testimony this morning will make an account 
of the work that needs to be done today to care for your 
brothers and sisters in arms that served before you, those that 
served alongside you, and those that will answer the call to 
serve after you.
    All of us should recognize that we are able to enjoy the 
freedoms and liberties as Americans because of men and women 
who have served. Part of our collective responsibility is to 
make clear to the public what our commitment to veterans is and 
what role the VA and other governmental entities, and even the 
private sector, should play in fulfilling our commitment. I 
know Secretary McDonough feels passionately about this and I am 
grateful to each of your organizations for making it central to 
your daily work.
    In concluding, my thank you to each of you again for your 
testimony. I am hopeful that this will be our last virtual 
hearing together, and that we come back in 2022 and have a 
hearing room packed again with Kansans and veterans from across 
the country.
    Chairman Takano, I thank you, and I look forward to our 
witnesses' testimony.
    Chairman Takano. Thank you, Senator Moran. I too hope that 
this year will be the last year that we do virtual hearings. We 
still have a few more to do this session of Congress, but with 
the President's announcement that every American--President 
Biden's announcement that every American who wants to be 
vaccinated by the end of May, that will be possible. So we have 
a lot of reasons to be optimistic.
    With the introduction of our first panel, let me begin to 
announce who will be here today.
    Today, we have Commander Stephen ``Butch'' Whitehead, 
National Commander, Disabled American Veterans. Accompanying 
Commander Whitehead is Mr. Edward R. ``Randy'' Reese, Jr., 
Executive Director of the National Service and Legislative 
Headquarters; Mr. Jim Marszalek, National Service Director, 
Disabled American Veterans; and Ms. Joy J. Ilem, National 
Legislative Director of the Disabled American Veterans.
    Senator Tester has offered to introduce our first witness. 
So, Senator Tester, please go ahead.

            INTRODUCTION BY THE HONORABLE JON TESTER

    Senator Tester. Thank you, Chairman Takano, and it is 
indeed my honor and privilege to introduce the National 
Commander of the Disabled American Veterans, Stephen ``Butch'' 
Whitehead.
    Commander Whitehead comes to us from Trimont, Minnesota. He 
served in the Minnesota Army National Guard from 1991 until 
2019, deploying twice overseas and earning a Bronze Star for 
combat service in Iraq in 2007. He retired at the rank of 
Command Sergeant Major.
    Commander Whitehead currently serves as Executive Director 
of the Disabled American Veterans of Minnesota Foundation, and 
has served as National Commander of the DAV since 2019. During 
that time, along with his top-notch policy team and network of 
advocates, he has worked with us in Congress to pass some of 
the most impactful reforms for veterans in generations.
    Commander Whitehead, thank you for your service, thank you 
for being here to advocate for the needs of your fellow 
veterans. I look forward to your testimony and to working with 
you in the upcoming Congress to further build on the work that 
we have done to ensure that no veteran is left behind.
    Thank you and I yield back, Chairman Takano.
    Chairman Takano. Thank you, Senator Tester.
    And welcome, Commander Whitehead. You are now recognized 
for your opening comments.

                            PANEL I

                              ----------                              


           STATEMENT OF STEPHEN ``BUTCH'' WHITEHEAD,

         ACCOMPANIED BY EDWARD R. ``RANDY'' REESE, JR.,

                 JIM MARSZALEK; AND JOY J. ILEM

    Mr. Whitehead. Thank you, Chairman Tester, for your kind 
introduction.
    Chairman Takano and all members of the Committees on 
Veterans' Affairs, thank you for providing me the opportunity 
to present the 2021 Legislative Program of DAV, Disabled 
American Veterans, an organization of more than one million 
members forever changed in wartime service.
    My full written statement thoroughly details DAV's 
legislative priorities for the 117th Congress and reports on 
our many programs and accomplishments. So, today, I will just 
highlight some of our most critical policy goals. But, before I 
do, I would like to introduce my DAV colleagues joining me 
today: DAV Washington Headquarters Executive Director Randy 
Reese, DAV National Service Director Jim Marszalek, and DAV 
National Legislative Director Joy Ilem.
    I also want to thank the many DAV leaders watching this 
hearing at home who are vital to our organization's success, 
they include DAV's Senior Engineer Vice Commanders and the 
leaders of the DAV Auxiliary. I also want to extend my 
gratitude to DAV's National Adjunct, our National Headquarters 
Executive Director, our National Executive Committee, our 
National Legislative Interim Committee, as well as my chief of 
staff.
    Of course, I also want to recognize our dedicated DAV 
members across the country, hundreds of whom would have been 
here in person to support me at this hearing if not for the 
ongoing pandemic.
    And, finally, I want to thank my wife, Kim, who remains my 
most steadfast supporter and partner.
    Messrs. Chairman, this past year, DAV commemorated a 
century of dedicated service to America's veterans, their 
families and survivors. While it looked and felt different than 
we had planned, it gave us an important opportunity to reflect 
on our organization's history and the lessons we have learned 
in the face of adversity.
    DAV was formed in 1920 in the wake of World War I as the 
influence of the pandemic of 1918 drew to its end. We can find 
many parallels between the time of our establishment and our 
centennial anniversary: a viral outbreak sweeping the globe; 
overrun and overburdened health care systems; economic 
downturn; soaring unemployment; and, underlying it all, a 
pressing need to address critical issues affecting our Nation's 
wartime disabled veterans.
    I am proud to say that despite the significant challenges 
of this past year and thanks to the dedication and adaptability 
of our teams in Kentucky, Washington, DC, and across the 
Nation, DAV's mission did not change and our commitment did not 
falter.
    Messrs. Chairman, at our core, DAV is rooted in service. 
When veterans needed us most, as many lost their jobs, fell 
ill, or became isolated in their homes, DAV members, 
volunteers, and staff quickly pivoted to provide necessary help 
and resources. Although our offices across the Nation were 
closed to foot traffic to help limit the spread of the virus, 
DAV rapidly set up and staffed a new toll-free hotline for 
veterans so our experts could assist them with claims and 
benefits. Since the pandemic began, we have fielded nearly 
190,000 calls, and last year DAV service officers filed 140,000 
new claims for veterans benefits.
    DAV also established a COVID-19 Unemployment Relief Fund in 
April to provide financial aid to service-connected disabled 
veterans who lost employment or small business income in the 
wake of the outbreak. So far, DAV distributed more than $2 
million in unemployment relief nationwide to veterans. And as 
we watched our unemployment numbers soar last year and hundreds 
of thousands of veterans were without work, DAV transformed all 
of our in-person career fairs to virtual events.
    Since 2014, our employment program has hosted 700 
traditional and virtual career fairs, which has resulted in 
over 150,000 job offers for active duty servicemembers, Guard 
and Reserve members, veterans, and spouses who attended.
    As many of you know, DAV's transportation network has 
become a resource that veterans rely on for free transportation 
to their VA medical appointments. Though safety precautions 
required the program to be halted as the pandemic began, DAV 
volunteers in my home State of Minnesota and nationwide have 
proven it is possible to carry on through challenging times by 
implementing new measures to keep themselves and the veterans 
they serve safe. Despite COVID-related challenges last year, 
our volunteers logged almost 10 million miles and provided 
veterans nearly a quarter million rides to VA hospitals, saving 
taxpayers more than $18 million.
    Messrs. Chairman, although the full and lasting impact of 
this pandemic is not yet clear, we do know that there are many 
issues our Nation must stand ready to address; health care is 
chief among them. Over the course of this pandemic, the VA had 
to make drastic changes in health care delivery. We saw a 
significant increase in telehealth services, as VA adapted to 
the ever-changing landscape.
    There have also been serious economic impacts. Nearly 
800,000 veterans were left searching for work last summer, with 
disabled veterans disproportionately affected. How many of 
those veterans today are still unable to pay their bills, feed 
their families, and make ends meet? We know that before the 
pandemic many veterans were already struggling with post-
deployment challenges, mental health issues and, in some cases, 
thoughts of suicide. While the VA has worked hard to keep 
veterans connected with their mental health providers, we are 
concerned that many face dark times. Many have been without 
access to the support system and resources they had before the 
pandemic. We will all need to work together to ensure that we 
do not lose ground in the battle against veteran suicide, and 
we must also explore the future of what VA health care will 
look like in the post-pandemic world.
    While we have many challenges ahead of us, we know that 
when we work together, despite obstacles we face, we can make 
progress. For example, led by your committees, Congress 
expanded access to benefits and health care for Vietnam 
veterans suffering from the impacts of Agent Orange. Last year, 
more than 30,000 Vietnam veterans gained access to long-overdue 
VA health care and received almost $800 million in retroactive 
benefit payments due to the passage of the Blue Water Navy 
Vietnam Veterans Act.
    In addition, this past December, Congress approved 
legislation to expand the list of presumptive Agent Orange 
diseases, extending health care benefits to thousands more 
Vietnam veterans and their survivors. We are grateful for this 
progress, but we must not allow other generations of veterans 
like those exposed to burn pits, hazardous chemical agents at 
K2 base in Uzbekistan, or contaminated water stateside to 
endure similar unnecessary delays getting health care and 
benefits.
    DAV is proud to be the organization that first brought the 
issue of burn pits to light more than a decade ago. While 
further research will help us examine the health impacts of 
these exposures and help determine whether to create 
presumptive disease associations, there is action Congress can 
take now to help veterans who served near burn pits. We want to 
thank Senators Sullivan and Manchin for reintroducing the 
bipartisan Veterans Burn Pit Exposure Recognition Act last 
week. This bill will create a concession of exposure to burn 
pits to help veterans more easily prove claims for benefits. We 
call on Congress to once again take this legislation up and 
quickly approve it.
    Messrs. Chairman, we know that when veterans are injured or 
became ill in service, their families are affected as well. We 
must ensure that they continue to receive recognition and 
support, particularly when the veterans pass away. As we all 
know, thousands of veterans have died during this pandemic. 
Although their official cause of death may be listed as COVID, 
it is vitally important for survivors to have the relevant 
service-connected conditions identified as principal or 
contributing factors in order to file claims for survivor 
benefits. We ask Congress to pass the Ensuring Survivor 
Benefits During COVID-19 Act to require identification of these 
conditions on veterans' death certificates so we can properly 
care for these families.
    Another important issue that requires urgent congressional 
action is the expansion of VA's Comprehensive Caregivers 
Program. As you know, Congress mandated the expansion of 
caregiver assistance to all generations of severely disabled 
veterans in two phases. However, the first phase was delayed by 
a full year due to the VA's failure to certify a new caregiver 
IT system on time. While veterans of World War II, the Korean 
and Vietnam War eras became eligible in October, the delay 
pushed back the start date for the second phase of expansion. 
That impacts Persian Gulf war veterans and others who were 
injured or became ill between May 7th, 1975 and September 11th, 
2001. We ask Congress to pass legislation and provide full 
funding to mandate that phase two of the expansion be completed 
this year as the law intended.
    Another critical policy goal for DAV is ensuring that the 
VA health care system has the resources, personnel, and 
facilities necessary to provide timely, high-quality care to 
all enrolled veterans. VA has begun asset and infrastructure 
review to develop a long-term plan to rebuild and realign VA's 
facilities to serve veterans where they live. In order to be 
successful, VA must consult closely with VSOs and veterans who 
use the VA health care system as they design this plan. In 
addition, Congress must be willing to fully fund the cost of 
maintaining all of VA's health care facilities.
    Messrs. Chairman, this past year has challenged us as a 
nation in ways none of us could have imagined, but, like 
President Abraham Lincoln, I have faith in America's resilience 
in such difficult times. He said, quote, ``If given the truth, 
people can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The 
great point is to bring them the real facts.''
    Undoubtedly, we will be experiencing the impact of this 
pandemic for years to come and must stand prepared to address 
the long-term ramifications for America's veterans by 
preventing these new realities. But together, moving forward 
with candor and transparency, we can work to overcome the 
challenges and setbacks this past year has laid at our Nation's 
doorstep.
    Thank you for the opportunity to present DAV's 2021 
Legislative Priorities, and highlight the many programs and 
services we provide to our heroes forever changed in service.
    May God continue to bless DAV, the men and women who serve 
our great nation, and the United States of America.

    [The prepared statement of Mr. Whitehead appears on page 69 
of the Appendix.]

    Chairman Takano. Thank you, Commander Whitehead. Your full 
written testimony will be included in the hearing record.
    So that we can ensure every member here in this hearing has 
an opportunity to ask questions, I ask that everyone limit 
their questions to 3 minutes.
    I now recognize myself for 3 minutes of questioning.
    Many Americans watched and the investigations later 
confirmed that current and former military participated in the 
January 6th attack on the Capitol and this institution. I know 
that the DAV responded with some very specific actions and 
guidance for your membership with regard to those events.
    Can you tell the joint committee here today about your 
response and why you made the decision you did, why the DAV 
made that decision?
    Mr. Whitehead. Chairman, thank you for the question.
    I would like to have my Executive Director kind of take the 
overview on that one.
    Randy, please?
    Mr. Reese. Thank you, Chairman Takano. We certainly were 
concerned when the events unfolded. It is a national tragedy 
and should never be repeated. And for those who participated, 
we think that the full burden of responsibility is theirs to 
bear. And any members of DAV would be thoroughly vetted and due 
process provided and, if necessary, their expulsion from DAV.
    Chairman Takano. Well, I certainly appreciate the actions 
that DAV took, the leadership that DAV exerted, and the example 
that DAV set. I hope other Veterans Service Organizations will 
follow DAV's lead.
    As an ambassador for the PREVENTS task force, we know that 
you are a strong advocate for suicide prevention. As the 
suicide epidemic among veterans continues to take its toll, 
what more can be done and how can we work together to do it?
    Mr. Whitehead. Chairman, thank you for that, because that 
is a very important topic for me. You know, being an ambassador 
for PREVENTS, I was honored to be included in that, because 
suicide is something that is very important to me and it is 
near and dear to my heart for losing friends and also family 
members to suicide. But I would like to have Legislative 
Director, Joy Ilem, kind of elaborate a little more on that.
    Joy?
    Ms. Ilem. Thanks, Commander.
    Absolutely, you know, we want to thank Congress, the House 
and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees for the passage of 
those two major pieces of legislation last year, really 
comprehensive and will set the tone for this year in terms of 
new progress that can be made on suicide.
    I think two things that I would add that VA could do are 
two programs they have already started, but really to ramp them 
up. One would be the SPED Program, which is a program for 
veterans that are in crisis who come to an emergency room. The 
emergency provider should make a plan at that time with them 
where they have got follow up care after that visit and to make 
sure that that veteran gets all the services that they need and 
the support following that crisis.
    The other initiative that VA has started relates to lethal 
means safety storage, so both of medications and firearms, for 
veterans in crisis. Their training program, we want to make 
sure that VA providers feel comfortable to be able to talk to 
veterans about the issues that they are experiencing when they 
are in crisis, they want to keep them safe both from 
medications and firearms.
    So we would say those two programs are critical to really 
ramp up and to help reduce suicide in the veteran population.
    Chairman Takano. Well, thank you, Ms. Ilem, for your 
comments about firearms safety.
    My time has expired. I recognize Senator Tester for his 3 
minutes of questioning.
    Senator Tester. Thank you, Chairman Takano.
    And I want to thank you, Commander Whitehead, for your 
testimony and your input into our agenda for this next year.
    Look, the vaccine is critically important, as I said in my 
opening remarks. We had a hearing in Senate Veterans' Affairs 
last week with VHA and Dr. Stone, and learned that vaccine 
hesitancy is an issue for some veterans, especially in rural 
areas. And it is not just in places like Kansas and Montana, it 
is places all over the country.
    My question is, how can DAV help communicate to veterans 
about the importance of this vaccine and dispel any myths that 
may be out there about this vaccine?
    Mr. Whitehead. Well, Senator, thank you, because obviously 
this is important to me. Being a leader in the National Guard, 
I too have already taken my vaccine, and I have actually done 
videos and actually done messaging out there. So even in the 
military, our soldiers are getting it.
    But on the DAV side, I would like to have my Legislative 
Director, Joy Ilem, kind of highlight a few things that she 
says that we need to do.
    Joy?
    Ms. Ilem. I would just add that DAV and the VSO community 
in general can really help with this issue, especially in rural 
communities. Our leaders need to step forward, they need to 
lead. They need to make people feel comfortable, get the 
information that VA is making available when it is their turn 
to get the vaccine. We want to--as everyone has indicated this 
morning in their opening remarks, we want to see the pandemic 
in the rearview, and that means getting everyone vaccinated and 
feeling comfortable that there is a safe way to do that getting 
their vaccine.
    Senator Tester. Thank you for that.
    Look, toxic exposure is a huge issue. We did some good work 
last Congress. I had a bill for bladder cancer, hypothyroidism, 
and Parkinsonism. With help from Jerry Moran and others, we 
were able to get that across the finish line on the 
presumptives for Agent Orange, but we have more to do.
    And I want you to comment on hypertension and MGUS, 
monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, which is a 
mouthful in and of itself. It is my understanding that those 
two, hypertension and MGUS, have even a greater association 
with Agent Orange than the ones we added last year. Is that 
true from your perspective?
    Mr. Whitehead. Senator, that is a great point because it 
was--I want to first of all thank you and this committee, you 
know, for that hard work getting those added because that was a 
huge win for our Vietnam veterans and all those affected by 
these toxins. So, thank you for that work. But if I could have 
my Service Director, Jim, kind of highlight a few more on that.
    Jim?
    Mr. Marszalek. Thank you, Commander.
    Thank you, Senator, great question. And you are absolutely 
correct, hypertension and MGUS are at a much higher level than 
the three recent added conditions. So it is time, it is time 
for VA to act and to add hypertension and MGUS as a presumptive 
condition for these veterans. They have waited long enough, it 
is time to add them now.
    Senator Tester. Amen. And I look forward to working with 
the DAV and all VSOs on the presumptive issues. So, thank you.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
    Chairman Takano. Thank you, Chairman Tester.
    I now recognize Ranking Member Bost for 3 minutes.
    Mr. Bost. Thank you, Chairman.
    And, you know, if we can, last week, Chairman Takano and I 
introduced the VA Vaccine Act. This bill would expand the 
vaccine to all veterans and caregivers of those who are in 
certain categories for long-term and home-based care programs. 
Our bill requires enrollment of veterans to be prioritized 
first and provided the vaccine access, as long as it is 
available, and for the dependents, and also available for their 
caregivers.
    Do you support this bill? And, if so, why or why not?
    Mr. Whitehead. Ranking Member, thank you for that question 
because, you know, it is very important and as we have heard 
everybody's comments. Getting this vaccine in the bodies is 
what we need, you know, we need to do that right away. But if I 
can have my Legislative Director, Joy, kind of highlight a few 
more things that we see.
    Joy?
    Ms. Ilem. Yes, we absolutely are pleased to support the 
bill and appreciate the bipartisan introduction of it.
    We understand, especially for many of our caregivers, it is 
important they are there with that veteran every day. We want 
to make sure all veterans have the opportunity get vaccinated 
as soon as possible and we know VA is going to be a leader in 
this regard. As they get more supply, I am sure they will ramp 
up.
    Mr. Bost. Thank you.
    You know, one thing--and this kind of a personal question 
just to get you to direct toward me. In the last several years, 
we have had tremendous productivity and success on the 
committees. Now, as ranking member, where do you think my focus 
should be--I told you in my opening where our focus is at, but 
where do you think--where would you suggest my focus should be 
racking up the biggest wins that we can for veterans and their 
families?
    Ms. Ilem. I will go ahead and say, we do appreciate, I 
think, you and Chairman Takano working closely together. A 
number of priorities for--that he mentioned this morning I know 
are important to you as well and I think that are critical. You 
know, we have mentioned several of them here today. I think 
that we all agree that we can all work together on, you know, 
toxic exposures, making sure veterans don't have to wait, 
really looking at the framework of presumptive disabilities. 
And making sure COVID, first and foremost, that veterans get 
the care they need, we get this pandemic behind us. And, you 
know, caregiver support and other things that have been 
mentioned.
    So we look forward to working with both of you to 
accomplish those goals.
    Mr. Bost. Thank you. And, once again, I want to thank you 
for what you do.
    And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
    Chairman Takano. Thank you, Ranking Member Bost.
    I now recognize Ranking Member Senator Moran for 3 minutes.
    [Pause.]
    Chairman Takano. Is Senator Moran not here?
    Senator Tester. Chairman Takano, he has got another 
committee meeting. He will probably be back, so go ahead and 
move on.
    Chairman Takano. We will bring him back. Okay, thank you.
    Senator Moran. Chairman, I'm here.
    Chairman Takano. Oh, there you are. Okay.
    Senator Moran. I was here and went away.
    Chairman Takano. Well, we understand that. So go ahead, 
Senator Moran, you have 3 minutes.
    Senator Moran. Thank you very much.
    Again, thank you to the witness for the testimony. Let me 
ask just a couple of questions.
    The MISSION Act provided for the expansion of the Caregiver 
Support Program to all eras over time, yet the VA 
implementation of this expansion was delayed and they have 
implemented rules to discharge an estimated 8,000 caregivers 
from the program's comprehensive assistance. Do you believe the 
VA should expedite expansion and how will caregivers of your 
members be affected when VA discharges them on October 1, 2021?
    Mr. Whitehead. Senator, you know, you bring up a great 
point and you actually heard my speech, this caregiver thing is 
very important to me.
    You know, when you guys passed that law, you guys wanted it 
and implemented to be effective October 1st, 2021, and that is 
what we feel as well. That needs to be implemented on time, no 
more delays. These caregivers have been affected long enough.
    But if I could have my Legislative Director kind of 
highlight a few more.
    Joy?
    Senator Moran. Please. I knew this was an issue of 
importance to you.
    Ms. Ilem. Yes. So many caregivers, you know, have been 
waiting for this so long and we don't want any further delay, 
you know, due to those IT issues on the front end that sort of 
delayed the second part of the expansion, and we do hope that 
moves forward. and we think that a hearing is--this would be a 
perfect issue for a hearing.
    The question that you raise there, you know, that will be 
difficult for many of those caregivers with the changes in the 
law, but I do want to say that many of our members, severely 
disabled veterans who have applied for the comprehensive 
support program have gotten--we have gotten rave reviews from 
them. They have indicated it has worked well for them and they 
have gotten their benefits already. But we know there is many 
more that have been denied so far and there is a lot of work to 
do with regard to this and, you know, that many will be really 
looking for assistance and guidance on that issue.
    Senator Moran. Thank you for your support and your 
suggestions of a hearing.
    Let me see in the little time I have left. In the past 2 
years, Congress has passed legislation to eliminate the SBP and 
DIC offsets and allow DIC recipients to remarry at the age of 
55 and still retain their survivor benefits. Does the DAV have 
additional recommendations about how to support survivors of 
disabled veterans?
    Mr. Whitehead. Thanks for that question, Senator. I am 
going to ask my Service Director, Jim, to kind of take that one 
for me.
    Jim?
    Senator Moran. Thank you.
    Mr. Marszalek. Thank you, Commander. Excellent question.
    Yes, another idea would be to eliminate the 10-year rule. 
The DIC program would be more equitable for all survivors if 
they were eligible for a partial DIC benefit starting at 5 
years of the veteran being totally disabled, and we could 
increase that incrementally until reaching full entitlement at 
10 years.
    Another good one could be removing dependents' educational 
assistance delimiting date. Currently, surviving spouses only 
have a 10-year period to apply for those particular benefits 
and use them. So in many instances, most notably in the case of 
caregivers, family obligations and the need to care for the 
service-disabled veteran requires the spouses to defer using 
these benefits for years. So we see--we feel removing that 10-
year delimiting date will be a significant benefit for those 
survivors.
    Senator Moran. Thank you for your testimony.
    Thank you, Chairman Takano.
    Chairman Takano. Thank you, Ranking Member Moran.
    I now recognize the chair of our Subcommittee on Health, 
and also the chair of what I hope will be the re-authorized 
Women Veterans Task Force. You did a brilliant job.
    Representative Brownley, I recognize you for 3 minutes.

                      HON. JULIA BROWNLEY,
              U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM CALIFORNIA

    Ms. Brownley. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    And I wanted to just add my voice to express my gratitude 
to every veteran listening here today, to thank you and your 
families for your service to our country.
    I also, Commander, wanted to say to you what a great job 
Joy Ilem does representing your DAV and your membership and, 
quite frankly, all veterans. She just does an extraordinary 
job. So thank you for allowing her to do her good work.
    And I just want to say I appreciate you mentioning in your 
testimony the importance of the Deborah Sampson Act and the 
Women Veterans Task Force. I think we can all agree that there 
is still a lot more work to be done in this space.
    But my question really is, Commander Whitehead, what sort 
of long-term challenges does the VA face right now that will 
prevent it from providing adequate services to women veterans 
in the future?
    Mr. Whitehead. Well, Representative, thank you, because 
obviously, being a leader in the military, I have female 
soldiers around me all the time. And I think one of the things 
VA needs to understand is the increased number of females 
joining the military right now and that continues to grow each 
year. So the VA has to be prepared to be able to handle that 
increase as we continue to go down this road as well.
    Ms. Brownley. Thank you so much for that.
    And the other area that I wanted to ask you, you also 
mentioned, you know, the need for sufficient funding for 
veterans health care, which I couldn't agree more. I have a 
bill actually that requires GAO to verify the accuracy and 
adequacy of VA's budget for medical care in order to guarantee 
adequate funding for veterans health care.
    Can you explain the importance of adequate funding and the 
potential consequences of not having enough?
    Mr. Whitehead. Absolutely, Representative. So I would 
actually ask Joy to kind of take this one for me.
    Joy?
    Ms. Ilem. Sure. Funding for VA health care is essential for 
DAV members who are high users of the VA health care system. We 
want to make sure it is a strong, robust system for VA to be 
able to provide, you know, the comprehensive services that they 
have available. They need to be able to hire the staff, they 
need to be able to, you know, make sure that they have the 
infrastructure that they need. The research component is 
critical for service-disabled veterans and those connections 
between their military service and disabilities.
    So we want to make sure that, you know, that remains an 
emphasis. We see how important it is, especially during this 
pandemic, to have access to health care and the incredible job 
that VA has done.
    So we will support--we support that measure. We know the 
budget is critical. We are part of the independent budget 
requesting sufficient funding for VA year after year, and we 
know that having someone look at those requirements is an 
important piece of it.
    Ms. Brownley. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back.
    Chairman Takano. Thank you, Representative Brownley.
    Senator Sanders, if you are present, I recognize you for 3 
minutes. Otherwise--Senator Sanders, are you here?
    If not, we will move to Senator Manchin for 3 minutes.
    Senator Manchin, you have 3 minutes.

                       HON. JOE MANCHIN,
                U.S. SENATOR FROM WEST VIRGINIA

    Senator Manchin. Thank you very much.
    And, Mr. Whitehead, I want to take the opportunity to 
personally thank you for all the support the DAV has given to 
Senator Sullivan and myself in the 116th Congress and with our 
bill to get much-needed benefits to veterans exposed to open-
air burn pits. I am pleased this remains a priority for DAV in 
the 117th Congress as well. We have got to get this done.
    History has shown that even after surviving combat or 
hazardous duty, veterans coming home having been exposed to 
toxins that can end up leading to long-term health issues, and 
I think we all know this firsthand. We can't leave them behind, 
which is why Senator Sullivan and myself reintroduced Senate 
Bill 437, the Veterans Burn Pit Exposure Act of 2021.
    As the members DAV attend the meeting with their 
congressional representatives, I would encourage them to speak 
up about their experiences with burn pits, just as you have 
today.
    So, if you have any response to that, Mr. Whitehead, I 
would appreciate it.
    Mr. Whitehead. Senator, thank you, because obviously it is 
very important, you know, to our members, but even to me 
personally. You know, somebody that has served in the desert 
and been near burn pits, I am concerned about my future and 
what is going to have on me, the effects on me as well. So 
thank you for that work that you are doing and this committee, 
and we definitely look forward to working with everybody on 
this.
    Senator Manchin. Well, this is the year for us to pass it, 
it really is, and I think we are all committed and I think on 
both sides. This is a bipartisan amendment that brings us all 
together, which is what the veterans always have done and the 
military does today.
    So, thank you very much and all of you for working so hard.
    And I yield my time back.
    Chairman Takano. Thank you, Senator Manchin.
    I now recognize General Bergman for 3 minutes.

                       HON. JACK BERGMAN,
               U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM MICHIGAN

    Mr. Bergman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    And thanks to all of you for being on the virtual hearing 
today. And I echo the comments of my colleagues, it will be 
great when we can have a shout-out, whether it is hooah, oorah, 
or I am not sure what the Air Force says other than ``cool.''
    But, anyway, you know, Mr. Whitehead, you know as well as I 
do that we still have a tremendously unique, overburdening in 
some cases, problem among veterans with suicide. You and I are 
both members of the PREVENTS Task Force, you know, as national 
Ambassadors. Can you talk about the importance of PREVENTS, and 
its continuity and mission going forward within the new 
administration?
    Because we know, we know after some fits and starts over 
the last couple years the challenges in getting alternative 
opportunities for veterans to engage who might be at risk but 
are definitely outside the VA health care system. Could you 
just again elaborate on the importance of PREVENTS?
    Mr. Whitehead. That is an excellent point. And, you know, 
actually I am honored to be part of the PREVENTS Ambassador 
team, you know, because I think it is very important that as a 
society we all have to get comfortable talking about our 
struggles, talking about what's going on in our world, and 
being able to feel comfortable knowing that it is okay to reach 
out and ask for help. Being part of the PREVENTS Ambassador 
team, I think it is great that we are sharing our experience 
and our thoughts and getting that out to the general public--to 
our veterans and to the general public that it is a strength of 
us to be able to talk about it and ask for help.
    And that, you know, I think this current administration, if 
they can continue to push this and have it behind it, that is a 
great way for all of our veterans.
    Mr. Bergman. Thank you. And, again, we all, all of us, 
especially you all out there in the VSOs, you have to be that 
voice for the veteran and that direct voice so the 
administration hears of the importance of the PREVENTS Task 
Force.
    And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
    Chairman Takano. Thank you, General Bergman.
    I now recognize Senator Cassidy for 3 minutes.
    Senator Cassidy?

                   HON. SENATOR BILL CASSIDY,
                  U.S. SENATOR FROM LOUISIANA

    Senator Cassidy. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Sir, just--I'm a doc and you will understand where my 
question is coming from on this. During the pandemic, there has 
been such an issue with an increasing amount of opioid abuse in 
the general population. And Congress has attempted to address 
that by putting funding out there both to the VA specifically, 
but to the public in general. And we are hearing reports, 40 
percent of Americans are having symptoms of anxiety and 
depressive disorder. Intuitively, disabled veterans would be at 
greater risk for this because they are battling physical or 
emotional disability to begin with.
    So, I guess I am asking, are you seeing these same trends 
within the veterans community, and is there anything in 
particular you would suggest the VA do to attempt to address 
this?
    Mr. Whitehead. Senator, I appreciate the question. I would 
like to have my Legislative Director, Joy Ilem, kind of help 
elaborate on that.
    Joy?
    Ms. Ilem. Excellent question. I think our recommendation 
would be we really need to see a balance here. We know of VA's 
mission to really reduce the use of opioids in the veteran 
population, keeping veterans safe, making sure that addiction 
doesn't result. But we also have, of course, the service-
disabled veterans. You know, we have some people that have been 
really severely injured, dealing with chronic pain issues, 
which are, you know, really essential to deal with because that 
also leads to--you know, if they are unable to work, if they 
are unable to just function without serious pain, it can also 
lead to mental health issues and suicide.
    So we want to make sure that there is a good balance for 
VA, that they are dealing with this in a humane way, that 
providers are able to do what they feel is clinically 
appropriate. And they work with veterans that need to be, you 
know, not taking opioids anymore and they need to really 
understand their fear about that, their anxiety about that, and 
to work with them to, you know, step down from that, as well as 
why, you know, understanding about the safety issues.
    So we think there is still work that VA needs to do. We 
know that they have a good--you know, good intentions behind 
their program, but we do ask for a balance there.
    Senator Cassidy. Thank you.
    Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
    Chairman Takano. Thank you, Senator Cassidy.
    Representative Lamb, if you are present, I recognize you 
for 3 minutes. Representative Lamb?

                        HON. CONOR LAMB,
             U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM PENNSYLVANIA

    Mr. Lamb. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    And I want to thank you, Commander Whitehead, and all of 
our witnesses for helping us out today and the work you all do 
every day. It has a huge impact on my constituents.
    I wanted to return to the topic of January 6th for a 
moment. And, first of all, thank you for the active voice that 
you have had in the wake of that. I am a strong believer that, 
as veterans, we really need to police our own on this, 
regardless of what party you are in, regardless of who you 
supported in the election. The fact is that we all took an oath 
to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States, and 
the Capitol that is established by that Constitution was 
attacked that day. So, for me, it is a pretty easy one which 
side of this you fall on if you have taken that oath.
    I was hoping that maybe you could give us just a little bit 
more detail about any active measures you have taken since 
January 6th, for example, to identify whether there were any of 
your members involved in the attack itself. I am sure all of us 
saw how many military logos were in that crowd, particularly 
Marine logos, it was particularly painful for me to see.
    There have been reports of VSO logos as well, and I just 
wanted to know if you have seen that or identified any, and 
whether you have worked with law enforcement to aid their 
investigation at all.
    Mr. Whitehead. Representative, thank you for such an 
important question. And, again, I would like to ask my 
Executive Director, Randy, to kind of elaborate a little bit 
more on that.
    Randy?
    Mr. Reese. Thank you, Congressman Lamb.
    We take it quite seriously. We do review the Department of 
Justice investigation list against our membership data base. 
And then, based upon the investigation details in the complaint 
that is filed with the Department of Justice, we consider those 
facts and circumstances, and then once due process is relevant 
for our administration, we decide whether or not that person 
should be suspended. And obviously, if they are convicted of a 
felony of this nature, they would be expelled.
    Mr. Lamb. Thank you.
    So you are relying on the law enforcement cases to identify 
people among your membership. Are you also doing anything to 
search publicly available images or otherwise to identify 
members who were involved?
    Mr. Reese. We do rely upon the Department of Justice. We do 
not use a surveillance program for our membership or those who 
engage on our social media footprint just due to the size and 
scope, that is beyond the resources we have available to serve 
our members.
    Mr. Lamb. Okay. Thank you again for your participation.
    I expect that we will be staying on this issue throughout 
much of the year with an eye toward how we help protect 
veterans from the recruitment efforts that groups like the Oath 
Keepers and others have used to target veterans and to give 
them false and wildly misleading information about that, and I 
look forward to your partnership on that. And thank you again 
for everything you have done.
    Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
    Mr. Reese. We certainly look forward to your partnership as 
well.
    Chairman Takano. Thank you, Mr. Lamb.
    I now call on Senator Sanders, if he is present.
    Senator, are you here?
    Otherwise, we will move to Senator Hassan.
    Senator Hassan, you are recognized for 3 minutes, if you 
are here.
    If not Senator Hassan, then we will move to Senator 
Rounds--we will go to Senator Rounds next.
    Senator Rounds, if you are ready?
    Senator Rounds is not here.
    Senator Blumenthal?
    [Pause.]
    Chairman Takano. I don't see Senator Blumenthal.
    Representative Pappas, we will move to you then, as the 
Senators file back in. Representative Pappas, 3 minutes.

                       HON. CHRIS PAPPAS,
             U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE

    Mr. Pappas. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And I 
also want to add my comments about looking forward to next year 
and making sure that we are back in person together, especially 
so we can salute the veterans from our districts that make the 
trip down for these important hearings. And certainly I am 
thinking of all the veterans across New Hampshire, especially 
DAV members, as we proceed here.
    I want to thank Commander Whitehead for your comments, for 
your focus on toxic exposure in particular. We have been 
focused in my district on the issue of PFAS contamination at a 
former Air Force base, and we know that ATSDR is currently 
conducting a study there to firmly establish a connection 
between toxic exposure and certain health concerns that are 
linked to PFAS, but we also know that other health studies have 
already been done that make the linkage between chronic 
conditions, including cancer.
    And so, you know, as we wait for additional health 
information to come out, I think we have to move as quickly as 
we possibly can to make sure that we are meeting the needs of 
veterans and servicemembers with respect to the PFAS issue, so 
I appreciate your commitment to that.
    Another important point that you noted was the issue of 
discrimination faced by women and minority veterans at VA 
facilities. I am chair of the Oversight and Investigation 
Subcommittee in the House and we are working on legislation 
that would improve the sexual harassment-reporting process at 
VA, and this is an issue that our subcommittee is going to be 
focused on as we move forward.
    I am wondering if you could just talk about any next steps 
that you would hope our committee could take to ensure that our 
women and minority veterans feel comfortable getting care at 
VA.
    Mr. Whitehead. Representative, I appreciate that question. 
You know, when that first came out, I actually did some nice 
media outlet messaging on that, because it is important that 
every one of our veterans feels safe when they go get their 
care. And the veteran itself and also the employees at the VA 
need to feel safe where they work at.
    But if my Legislative Director, Joy Ilem, could maybe 
elaborate a little more on that.
    Joy?
    Ms. Ilem. And we were very pleased that the Commander 
really wanted to step out in front on that because we do need 
leadership regarding the harassment issue.
    We were, as an organization, very pleased to see Secretary 
of VA McDonough and Secretary of DOD Austin come out right 
after they were confirmed, both of them, to indicate they are 
going to be working together dealing with this issue. And the 
commitment from the VA Secretary was very welcome that they are 
going to take a, you know, top-down approach to this and that 
is serious.
    So we are looking forward for your committee to really hold 
them to that, that it can't just be a slogan or a message, but, 
you know, this behavior is so obstructive and deters veterans 
who really need the VA health care system from getting the care 
that they need if they, you know, feel that they are not in a 
welcome environment or being harassed while they are seeking 
care. So I appreciate the work.
    Mr. Pappas. Well, that is terrific. And my time is up, but 
I am wondering if just for the record you could get back to us 
on a letter that you had sent to VA asking it to withdraw its 
appeal of the Wolfe v. Wilkie case around emergency care. So if 
you have any more detail about how we can address that and a 
commitment from VA on that front, we would love to work with 
you on it.
    Ms. Ilem. Absolutely, we will follow up with you and your 
staff. Thank you.
    Mr. Pappas. Thank you. I yield back.
    Ms. Ilem. Another important issue.
    Chairman Takano. Thank you, Representative Pappas.
    I call on Representative Rosendale for 3 minutes.

                      HON. MATT ROSENDALE,
                U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM MONTANA

    Mr. Rosendale. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    And thank you, Commander Whitehead, and the Disabled 
American Veterans organization. Your organization is doing 
important work to ensure our veterans' needs are being met and 
we all greatly appreciate that.
    I also wanted to say thank you today for all the Montanan 
veterans that are watching today. I wish we could be together 
in person, but I am grateful for each of you and your service 
to our Nation. We will never be able to thank you enough for 
your sacrifices that you and your families have made to protect 
our freedoms.
    It has been a pleasure to hear from veterans back home in 
recent weeks. One item that has been repeatedly mentioned is 
the success of Freedoms Path at Fort Harrison in Helena, 
Montana, which is a residential community for veterans 
experiencing homelessness or at the risk of homelessness.
    As the son and brother of a Marine, I am incredibly honored 
to be here today for this hearing. Our veterans are truly our 
Nation's heroes. One in ten Montanans are veterans or in active 
service. I am honored to represent them in Congress and also 
here on this committee.
    We have made promises to our veterans and we must ensure 
that these promises are kept. Veterans must have access to 
high-quality health care and they must be able to efficiently 
access those benefits. Long wait times for care and barriers 
from receiving benefits is unacceptable.
    In order to establish these benefits and deliver them 
efficiently, we must have information systems that can easily 
transfer the appropriate information from the Department of 
Defense to Veterans Affairs networks. To date, billions of 
dollars have been spent and we have not begun to approach a 
reasonable level of success in this issue.
    Since the start of COVID-19, this has become even more 
critical. Difficulties and challenges veterans have faced have 
only been exacerbated by shutdowns and isolations, which leads 
me to my question.
    The Technology Modernization Subcommittee has made 
electronic health records a priority. However, nationwide we 
have seen a huge increase in telehealth use. What have your 
members' experiences been with accessing and utilizing 
telehealth services since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, 
and what improvements could be made to expand and improve that 
delivery?
    Thank you.
    Mr. Whitehead. Congressman, thank you for that question. 
And I would like to ask Joy to kind of take that for me as 
well.
    Joy?
    Ms. Ilem. Thank you. I think there are a couple of things.
    We do appreciate how quickly VA ramped to try to make sure 
that they could meet the needs of veterans throughout the 
country through telemedicine and their telehealth program. We 
still know in certain areas of the country like where you are 
from, you know, there can be broadband issues, veterans may not 
have had the equipment to use even if they do have access. So 
it is incumbent upon these partnerships that VA is trying to 
expand with community organizations that are willing to have 
sort of a hub where veterans may be able to go to have access 
to that, you know, to telehealth.
    So I think those are great starts on it. There is going to 
be a lot of lessons learned from this pandemic and the use of 
telehealth. We know there is going to be demand for being seen 
in person, but how this will impact is still--you know, the 
jury is out on that. So we need to watch and make sure that 
veterans are still getting high-quality care and we have 
learned the lessons from, you know, what worked and what hasn't 
worked.
    Mr. Rosendale. Thank you so much.
    Mr. Chair, I yield back.
    Chairman Takano. Thank you, Representative.
    I call on Representative Mrvan for 3 minutes of 
questioning. Representative?

                       HON. FRANK MRVAN,
                U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM INDIANA

    Mr. Mrvan. Thank you, Chairman. I greatly appreciate this 
opportunity.
    Commander Whitehead, I thank you for all that you have done 
for the DAV. As a freshman member or as the chair of technology 
and modernization, I want to let you know and all veterans know 
that we will work extremely hard in a bipartisan manner to make 
sure our veterans receive the healthcare necessary and have the 
infrastructure with technology and modernization in place to 
put the VA in a position to be able to handle all challenges 
post-COVID, and as we evolve into the next generation of making 
sure we are taking care of our veterans. With that, my question 
is, the VA has faced criticism over its lack of veteran 
engagement in the Electronic Health Record Modernization 
program.
    Mr. Whitehead can you or your staff discuss any 
communications the DAV has received nationally or, more 
specifically, in the Spokane area, regarding the transition 
from VistA to Cerner in the Millennium.
    Mr. Whitehead. I appreciate that question and I would 
actually ask Joy to elaborate on that.
    Joy?
    Ms. Ilem. Great question. I think, you know, the IT issue 
is such an important issue for now decades. There has been this 
attempt at IT modernization and moving forward, everybody is 
very anxious about this, but just no one wants this to fail. I 
think connecting with veterans in the area, I mean, we have 
seen the GAO report, but it is a very complex issue and I think 
we are really going to look to the committee, the subcommittee 
to make sure. I mean, there has to be the expertise of people 
that really understand the complexity of what they are doing.
    And when GAO puts out recommendations, but VA doesn't agree 
to them, you know, we would like to hear, make sure there is a 
hearing so we can hear the discussion back-and-forth before, 
you know, moving forward. So, we just, we look forward to your 
committee and work that you will be doing in the year ahead.
    Mr. Mrvan. Joy, I thank you very much.
    And as they say in Houston, ``Failure is not an option.'' 
Right? We have to make sure we get this right in a bipartisan 
effort and work.
    With that, I yield back my time.
    Chairman Takano. Thank you, Representative.
    Senator Blumenthal, you are recognized for 3 minutes.

                    HON. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL,
                 U.S. SENATOR FROM CONNECTICUT

    Senator Blumenthal. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    I really appreciate you being here, Commander Whitehead, 
and all your service to your fellow veterans and the great team 
that you have with you. I am honored, always, to be on this 
committee and to hear from veterans about how we should be 
doing better and more, most especially for our disabled 
veterans.
    I want to ask about an area of disability that may have 
been touched on briefly, but I want to emphasize: toxic 
exposures. The modern battlefield has been more poisonous and 
toxic than ever before with all of the chemicals that are found 
there.
    I have championed the cause of Agent Orange-afflicted 
veterans and made progress there. I have talked to Secretary 
McDonough about them and others who may be victims of exposure 
to chemicals and most especially, the K2 veterans. We have 
legislation that would advance their cause. I am concerned that 
we are repeating mistakes of the past.
    And we have discovered, obviously, the Karshi-Khanabad Air 
Base which was plagued with many of the chemicals that have 
caused cancer and other kinds of problems.
    Have you heard from veterans and have you noted the 
inconsistencies in presumption for different types of toxic 
exposure, and how would you recommend that Congress perform 
this area of our law?
    Mr. Whitehead. Senator, thank you for such an important 
question. I would like to have my service director, Jim 
Marszalek, kind of take that one for me.
    Jim?
    Senator Blumenthal. Of course.
    Mr. Marszalek. Thank you, Commander.
    DAV is always concerned when veterans are exposed to toxins 
and/or environmental hazards during their military service. VA 
should be equipped to provide healthcare and service-connected 
benefits for those exposures.
    One thing that could happen to make this process a little 
easier is the overall presumptive making process. We need a 
good framework to be established by Congress to provide 
consistency that must improve DOD and VA data collection and 
recordkeeping; establish a concession of exposure by requiring 
statutory, mandated future studies on known exposures; provide 
a time requirement for action by the VA secretary.
    That is a big one. That is where we are at with 
hypertension. You know, there is no time requirement for the VA 
to respond to these recommendations.
    We can maintain a standard of positive association versus 
causation. And then, finally, I think we can update the 
classifications of scientific association. This is a very 
serious topic and it is affecting, you know, countless veterans 
and we have to do better.
    Senator Blumenthal. Thank you for that answer. I would like 
to follow-up with you because I think this area is extremely 
important.
    I also have questions about the treatment of veterans with 
``less than honorable'' discharges. I know you are focused on 
the disabilities that may accompany the lack of access to 
healthcare and so forth.
    But my time is expired, so I yield back to the chairman. 
Thank you.
    Chairman Takano. Thank you, Senator. I appreciate your 
yielding back.
    I call on Representative Banks for 3 minutes. 
Representative Banks, are you present?
    Mr. Banks is not ready. We will move to Senator Tuberville.
    Senator Tuberville, are you present? There you are, 
Senator. Go ahead, 3 minutes.

                     HON. TOMMY TUBERVILLE,
                   U.S. SENATOR FROM ALABAMA

    Senator Tuberville. Yes, thank you very much.
    Thank you Commander Whitehead for your testimony and your 
service. You know, I would like to hear about the work your 
organization does to get disabled vets back into the workforce. 
These vets we are having now with all these endless wars we 
have had are younger and younger and working helps a lot of 
things.
    So, one thing I am passionate about is vocational training 
and trade schools. Are these options that you have, are they 
found useful to helping our disabled vets, and what can 
Congress do to help create more employment opportunities for 
these veterans?
    Mr. Whitehead. Senator, I really appreciate that question 
because employment is a very important thing for the DAV. You 
know, obviously, when our veterans leave the service, it is 
important that they have good quality jobs to come back to; 
that is schooling or straight to the workforce.
    But I am going to have my service director, Jim, kind of 
elaborate a little bit more on our employment program. That 
would be great.
    Jim?
    Mr. Marszalek. Thank you, Commander.
    And to your question, I am a proponent of VR&E. I went 
through the vocation rehabilitation program when I first was 
hired by Disabled American Veterans and next month, I hit my 
20-year anniversary. So, it is a wonderful program and it has 
led me down a path that has been very, very fulfilling.
    On our side, for the employment program, DAV is fully 
committed to ensuring veterans have the tools, resources, and 
opportunities they need to competitively enter the job market 
and secure meaningful employment.
    When the pandemic hit, we went to virtual job fairs. We 
were doing in-person job fairs. We went to the virtual job fair 
and over the past year, we are able to ensure that over 5,000 
veterans had job offers extended to them.
    So, we take this very serious and we want to make sure that 
veterans have the opportunity to enter the competitive job 
market for sure.
    Senator Tuberville. Well, thank you.
    I think it is important that we get them back in the 
workforce at all possible. I have friends that are disabled 
vets who have PTSD, which we are losing up to 30 veterans a day 
to suicide, and I don't think there is anything more important 
than to get them back into the real world as quickly as we 
possibly can, and I think Congress should fund some of that. We 
owe our veterans a whole lot and more than we can ever repay, 
and so I think it is important for us to get back in the game 
in a lot of areas to help our veterans get back to a normal 
life with them and their families.
    So, thank you for what you have done and hopefully we can 
help you in any way.
    I yield my time.
    Chairman Takano. Thank you, Senator Tuberville.
    I now recognize Representative Mike Levin for 3 minutes. 
Representative Levin, are you there?
    You are there. You are still muted, Representative Levin. 
Can we fix the audio. Why don't we try again, Mr. Levin. I 
think you are on now.
    I cannot hear Mr. Levin.
    Mr. Levin. How about now?
    Chairman Takano. I can hear you now, Mr. Levin. Go ahead.
    Mr. Levin. It works. Technology.

                        HON. MIKE LEVIN,
              U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM CALIFORNIA

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Well, I very much look forward to 
getting together in person as soon as we can safely, but I want 
to thank everybody today and particularly Commander Whitehead 
for joining us and just for all of your work on behalf of 
veterans with disabilities across the country.
    I want to give a special shout-out to DAV Chapter 95 in 
Oceanside, California, which does a wonderful job serving our 
veterans in my district in North County, San Diego. Commander 
Whitehead, in your testimony you emphasize how important it is 
that VA leaders commit to fostering a culture where all 
veterans are treated with dignity and respect, which has always 
been a key focus of our Womens Veterans Task Force. And one way 
VA can do this is by prominently displaying messages in 
facilities, making it abundantly clear that harassment is not 
tolerated and that includes comments about appearance or 
questioning and belittling veteran status.
    I have heard from veterans in recent years, posters with 
these messages have been taken down from the walls and public 
service announcements have been taken off the TVs in local 
facilities. The good news is that we are hearing that some of 
these displays have been restored in recent weeks, but it is 
important, nonetheless, to examine what happened and how it 
affected veterans.
    My question, Commander, is have you heard stories like 
these from your members and what message does it send to 
veterans when these displays are removed?
    Mr. Whitehead. Thank you for that question.
    You know, obviously, a safe environment, like I said 
earlier, is very important for our veterans when they go into 
these healthcare facilities to feel safe to go in and get the 
quality care that they deserve.
    But, Joy, if you could elaborate a little bit more on 
[inaudible] nationwide, that would be great. Joy?
    Ms. Ilem. Sure. I have not heard from DAV members 
specifically regarding that, but I think if that has happened 
somewhere, the message is clear. It is saying we don't have a 
problem, which is not the case.
    We know that many employees in VA have worked very hard to 
start work on, you know, their standup, stop harassment 
campaign, their White Ribbon Campaign. We hope now with the new 
VA Secretary McDonough's commitment that he just will not 
tolerate harassment in facilities from either veterans or from 
employees, that we are really going to see a culture change. 
But that will require, you know, a systemwide approach 
throughout the system and it will also require them to work 
with veteran service organizations, the users of the VA 
healthcare system, to really make that change.
    So, we look forward to helping to do that and standing 
ready to help make that change.
    Mr. Levin. Well, thank you for that.
    I am out of time, but I really look forward to working with 
you and our other VSOs to do all we can to end sexual 
harassment and assault at the VA.
    Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
    Chairman Takano. Thank you, Representative Levin.
    I now recognize Representative Murphy for 3 minutes.
    Representative Murphy?
    Hold on just a second. We are not hearing you through the 
audio.
    Mr. Murphy. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Are we good?
    Chairman Takano. There you go.

                       HON. GREG MURPHY,
            U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM NORTH CAROLINA

    Mr. Murphy. Yes, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    And thank you to all the panelists who have come today in 
representation of our veterans. My district has the sixth-most 
populous as far as veterans in the Nation, here in Eastern 
North Carolina, and I wanted to thank you for all the hard work 
that you are doing.
    One particular issue that is very, very critical to me and 
very, very important to me is the issue of PTSD and TBI. I am a 
physician and I understand the consequences that go along with 
some of these blast injuries and what a critical effort it is 
to support our veterans who come home after combat suffering 
from PTSD and TBI. I have toured our places in Camp Lejeune, 
our Intrepid Center and met with a lot of veterans who have 
suffered these illnesses.
    We are doing a great job, but we are not doing enough. You 
know, we still have 17 suicides in veterans a day. What I would 
like to offer and would ask that people actually also help 
support, you know, as a surgeon, I have used hyperbaric oxygen 
therapy for over 30 years to help treat wounds; wounds that 
need help healing. And I am a firm believer that the science 
shows, you know, in part, that PTSD and traumatic brain injury 
come from wounds to the brain itself.
    The brain is just like an organ, just like your pancreas, 
just like your heart, just like yours lungs. And in these blast 
injuries, I do believe that the brain is injured. And I think 
there is a mounting body of evidence, and as I will say as a 
physician, it is not 100 percent conclusive, but a mounting 
body of evidence that hyperbaric oxygen therapy can help some 
veterans get out of the trap that PTSD and TBI snares them 
into.
    Yes, we do have good treatments for them already, but we 
also have a fine line of a dead stop, a ceiling, if you will, 
when veterans really are not touched by other modalities. I 
have seen this make a life-changing difference in folks, in 
veterans who have TBI and PTSD, who no other modality has 
helped.
    And I have submitted H.R. 1014 to ask that the VA really 
look at this issue as something that can be offered to our 
veterans on a large scale. It has been offered privately on 
veterans on a small scale.
    You know, we are trying to help. We are really needing to 
do everything physically possible to help the brave men and 
women who have dedicated and sacrificed so much to save our 
country. They come back, in some instances, changed 
individuals, and it is not only our duty, but it is our 
obligation to do whatever we can to help these individuals get 
their lives back and help them lead productive lives. So, I 
would ask that you all look at that and hopefully support H.R. 
1014.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My time is up. I will yield back.
    Chairman Takano. Thank you, Mr. Murphy.
    I now call on Representative Kaptur for 3 minutes. 
Representative Kaptur?

                       HON. MARCY KAPTUR,
                 U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM OHIO

    Ms. Kaptur. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
    And I think this is the first bicameral Zoom I have 
participated in. I love it. I am glad to work with our 
senators, as well.
    And we want to thank Commander Whitehead so very much for 
your dedication and all of our service officers.
    I have two interests. One is in veterans housing and the 
other one I will follow on what Congressman Murphy just talked 
about, and that is brain injury and the functioning of the 
human brain, in general, and the VA's research protocols.
    First, on veterans housing, I am interested in your 
experience on that, particularly for the aging veteran and 
experience you only have around the country with how well or 
how poorly the VA is integrating the need for veterans housing 
as veterans age, with the HUD program for VASH, as well as 
their 202 program, Shelter Plus Care.
    Number two, in terms of research on the brain, when I was 
first elected to Congress, I was absolutely astounded that the 
nearly billion dollars a year that the VA spends on research 
involved very few protocols that involve the human brain. I am 
wondering if this is something you follow as we deal with blast 
injuries, PTSD, behavioral health onset during service, and 
what more we could do working with you to increase those 
research protocols to study the human brain and its function.
    I know that Congresswoman Napolitano from California and I 
are heavily involved in understanding the human brain on some 
of the subcommittees that we work on and I know that General 
Bergman is on the screen here and I know he has a deep interest 
in this. I think we could really make a difference for the 
country working together.
    Thank you very much, and I will wait for your replies.
    Mr. Whitehead. Congresswoman, thank you for those 
questions.
    And, Joy, if you could elaborate on those two questions, I 
would really appreciate it. Joy?
    Ms. Ilem. Very good questions, especially with regarding 
the brain injuries and the lifetime impact on veterans. One 
thing I think is interesting, we just saw VA was really looking 
to increase outreach regarding its brain bank. I am not sure if 
you are familiar, but, you know, that is some of the cutting-
edge, critical research that VA is doing and why we support so 
much VA's research program. It is such a part of VA care to 
these unique injuries that occur to veterans who have served. 
So, that is one critical issue and we do follow that research 
and we do look at all aspects, you know, access to the types of 
treatment that are available, compensation issues, but really 
that lifetime impact and how it impacts that veteran and what 
programs and services are necessary to really meet them at 
every step along their recovery process.
    Just very shortly on the HUD-VASH Program for homeless 
veterans, without question, VA has a homeless program second to 
none. They coordinate with HUD-VASH, making sure Housing First 
for veterans who are homeless and that is a critical piece of 
it.
    We always bring up the issue of making sure that women 
veterans also have access to these programs. Sometimes housing 
issues, there needs to be some sort of separation or access for 
the community for them because they may have their children 
with them. So, we always want to make sure that our veteran 
doesn't miss out on a really important program that VA offers 
just because they have the responsibility of caring for their 
children, as well, and we have to coordinate with the community 
on that.
    But two excellent programs that VA is outstanding and out 
front on.
    Chairman Takano. Thank you for the response, Ms. Ilem.
    Thank you, Ms. Kaptur, for your interest in housing and in 
brain research.
    I just want to urge all members that we might want to take 
a bipartisan look at the research that is being done in Boston. 
That is where the collection of brains, this very large 
collection of brains, and it would be well for all of our 
committee members to understand the extent to which the VA 
invests in research.
    I now call on Representative Mann for 3 minutes. 
Representative Mann, are you present?
    If not, I will call on Representative Miller-Meeks for 3 
minutes. Representative Miller-Meeks? Dr. Meeks?

                 HON. MARIANNETTE MILLER-MEEKS,
                 U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM IOWA

    Mrs. Miller-Meeks. Thank you so much Chair Takano. I 
appreciate this.
    Thank you also to Commander Whitehead. As a fellow veteran, 
I appreciate all that our veterans service organizations do and 
also I continue to be a commission member of my county's 
Veterans Affairs Commission. So, thank you very much for all 
you do.
    Our county commission was very happy when the Blue Waters 
Act went through, and I think you made some reference to this 
earlier, but my question or comments are in reference to the 
tremendous sacrifice all of our veterans have made in putting 
themselves at risk, especially in times of war, but also how 
that carries over into peacetime.
    And we have mentioned toxic substances, burn pits, the 
legislation that we are hoping to get passed on a bipartisan 
fashion this year, and so my question is utilizing the 
information we have from the National Academies of Sciences and 
other research organizations into environmental effects, such 
as the burn pits, Agent Orange, you know, should we establish a 
commission that would identify and be forward-thinking in 
identifying toxic substances, pesticides, other things that 
exposure now or in the future could have adverse both, physical 
and mental health adverse events upon our veterans and they 
serve, so that we do this in a proactive fashion, rather than 
in a retroactive fashion.
    As all of us know, to get legislation to get passed to 
address these issues and be classified as a disability is an 
extraordinarily cumbersome process, so something that is 
looking more forward-thinking to address these issues, I think 
might be helpful for our veterans.
    And with that, I will yield my time.
    Mr. Whitehead. Congresswoman, thank you for such a good 
question.
    You know, it is very important that we look forward and you 
are exactly right that we have to start looking in the future. 
We can't have our veterans who are currently serving or, you 
know, will be serving in the future, having to wait as long as 
we have in the past for the Vietnam-era veterans and stuff like 
that.
    But if my service director, Jim, could maybe elaborate a 
little bit more on the toxic exposure stuff. Jim?
    Mr. Marszalek. Yes. Thanks, Commander.
    As I spoke earlier, I think we are in this situation 
because we don't have a great framework to establish 
presumptive conditions and that is really what we need to 
concentrate on here. You know, the hypertension, the three new 
presumptives that were added where VA has taken no action on 
yet. It is just another perfect example of how we have to do 
better in improving the data collection, like you had 
mentioned, forward-thinking.
    Establish a concession of exposure. That is why we are 
trying to get legislation passed that will concede that 
exposure so down the line, if they do develop a chronic illness 
as a result of that exposure, then it is that much easier to 
secure a medical opinion and have a claim process so they can 
get the benefits they have earned based upon those exposures.
    So, we have a lot of work to do, but we are certainly 
willing and want to work with you and your staff to make sure 
that that happens this year.
    Chairman Takano. Mrs. Miller-Meeks, I know your time is up.
    Now we move to Senator Hassan. Senator Hassan, you are 
recognized for 3 minutes.

                   HON. MARGARET WOOD HASSAN,
                U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE

    Senator Hassan. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
    And I want to thank all the chairs and ranking members here 
today.
    And thank you to our witnesses for being here with us 
virtually today. I am deeply appreciative of your 
organizations' service and advocacy on behalf of Granite State 
veterans and veterans all across the country.
    So, to Mr. Whitehead, in your written testimony, you stated 
that 14 of the 20 veterans who die by suicide each day have not 
used VA healthcare services. In response to these numbers, the 
VA has established several programs to conduct outreach to 
transitioning veterans, including the Solid Start program, 
which aims to contact veterans 3 times during the first year 
out of transition of military service.
    Along with Senators Cramer and Cassidy, last Congress, I 
introduced the Solid Start Act. To strengthen and codify this 
important program, I will be reintroducing it shortly with some 
additional provisions.
    What else can the VA do to help veterans, especially newly 
separated veterans connect to VA health services and how can 
DAV and other veteran service organizations support these 
efforts?
    Mr. Whitehead. Senator, excellent question.
    Because as I stated earlier in my testimonial, any suicide 
is too many. One is too many. And we have to get out in front 
of this and the VA has to take part in that. And I do 
appreciate them trying to get in contact with our 
servicemembers as they are transitioning from DOD to now 
veterans and into the private sector.
    But, Joy, if you could elaborate a little bit more on that, 
I would greatly appreciate that.
    Ms. Ilem. Sure. Just briefly, I would say that the Solid 
Start program, we are happy to see that going to be 
reintroduced. It is a very important program. Having that 
connection right out of military service, whether it is 
through, you know, VA's outreach efforts, the veteran service 
organizations, like DAV, the programs where we are right there 
making sure that veterans understand about the benefits and 
services that are available to them when they get out, 
connecting them with employment opportunities.
    I think two things that would be, you know, the peer-to-
peer programs that VA has started are essential because 
veterans really connect with other veterans well, and it is 
important that nobody gets lost and outside the system by 
themselves in trying to figure things out. That they have a 
support system around them.
    And also, I think VA's public health model, we are really 
going to see this year, based on the legislation that was 
passed last year, two major public health models, suicide 
prevention, lots of provisions in there, and to see how those 
work with the connection with the community providers to see 
veterans that haven't yet connected with the VA. So, both of 
those are going to be critical.
    And we have a number of programs in DAV through our 
charitable service trust; one in Arkansas that we provided a 
significant grant to what they are doing suicide prevention on 
a really local level. So, those programs have to be explored, 
as well.
    Senator Hassan. Thank you very much.
    Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    Chairman Takano. Thank you, Senator Hassan.
    I now call on Representative Underwood for 3 minutes. 
Representative Underwood?

                     HON. LAUREN UNDERWOOD,
               U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM ILLINOIS

    Ms. Underwood. Well, thank you.
    I would like to thank the witnesses for being here with us. 
I am so delighted to be returning back to the Veterans Affairs 
Committee for another round of these conversations with our VSO 
groups. The work that you do around our communities has been 
extraordinary and I personally am so grateful that you have 
come once again to offer some recommendations to our committee.
    I look forward to working with you on issues related to 
suicide prevention and improving the quality of care extended 
to our women veterans, and I would invite you to offer any 
specific remarks that you would have on either area if anybody 
had anything that they would like to offer.
    Mr. Whitehead. Thank you for that question.
    Joy, would you like to add anything to that?
    Ms. Ilem. Sure. Maybe just connecting both of those issues 
on women veterans and suicide prevention, as well. We want to 
make sure that our women veterans have the services that they 
need. Often times they have to get that care in the community 
and we think it is essential as more access to community care 
is available to women veterans and veterans in general, we need 
to make sure that the providers in that community care network 
are meeting the same standards, quality standards as are 
required by VA, whether that is in mental health or just in 
their primary care. That they understand military culture and 
they also understand conditions that are common among veterans; 
for example, military sexual trauma or PTSD, other things that 
really may come up during their visit. They may need to have 
trauma-informed care or, you know, if the veteran notes that 
they are homeless or about to be homeless, we want to have them 
connect back with VA and those supportive services VA offers. 
So, I think that would be an important point, that care 
coordination piece.
    Ms. Underwood. Well, thank you for those comments.
    I certainly agree that care coordination is key and I hope 
that as we continue to make it more robust, particularly, for 
example, in an area that I work a lot in, maternal health, that 
we will be able to end the disparities that we see, not only in 
our country, but within the veteran population. And I do hope 
that this committee will fully consider our Protecting Moms Who 
Served Act.
    Thank you all again for appearing before us today.
    Thank you to the chairman for the time, and I yield back.
    Chairman Takano. Thank you, Ms. Underwood.
    I now call upon Representative Cawthorn for 3 minutes.
    Representative Cawthorn?
    Mr. Cawthorn doesn't look to be present currently.
    Let's then go to Mr. Nehls. Mr. Nehls, you are recognized 
for 3 minutes.

                        HON. TROY NEHLS,
                 U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM TEXAS

    Mr. Nehls. Thank you, Chairman.
    And Commander Whitehead, thank you for what you do and 
everyone else, honestly, for what we do for American veterans.
    I spent 22 years in the Reserve and retired in 2009, but my 
question more is geared toward the veterans that have or are 
experiencing difficult times since they leave service. Many of 
them are, obviously, with our economy the way it is, not being 
able to find decent employment. Those that are having a 
difficult time readjusting back into civilian life, having 
difficult times with their families, whether it is their spouse 
or their children because they have PTSD. There is a plethora 
of issues that our veterans are facing, even with the COVID.
    So, I am more talking about those veterans that end up in 
our criminal justice system, and my question would be, do you 
feel, Mr. Whitehead, that our Nation, our criminal justice 
system, the individual States are addressing our veterans' 
needs, those that find themselves on the wrong side of the law?
    I know we have veterans courts in some States, but what are 
we doing to try to help those veterans that are being held in 
our county jails for crimes and different things, non-violent 
crimes, as it relates to just them trying to find a way to get 
readjusted back into the civilian world.
    Mr. Whitehead. Thank you for such an important topic, 
because you are right, the transition from service to coming 
into the community and, you know, this criminal justice is part 
of that, as well, making sure that all of our veterans get, you 
know, their due process here.
    Joy, can you elaborate a little bit more on what he is 
talking about.
    Ms. Ilem. Yes, the treatment courts have been very 
successful and DAV has been very supportive of them, especially 
since we know that many veterans who end up, if they have the 
fortune to be in a State that does have that availability, it 
often comes to light that they really needed treatment, that 
they had an undiagnosed traumatic brain injury or they had 
undiagnosed PTSD, or they weren't getting treatment for a 
condition that really impacted their judgment and ended them up 
having a legal issue.
    So, that is critical, and, again, this is where our veteran 
service organizations really come to play to try to guide those 
veterans that we see, that we try to help every day if there is 
a problem, you know, to really reach out to them to make that 
transition, to take advantage of all the programs and services 
that the VA has. We have expertise like no one else on these 
transition issues and that is what they are there for, but 
sometimes they get lost out there without that support. So, we 
try to make sure that we do that, to continue that and to pass 
that information on to others that really need the care.
    Mr. Nehls. Thank you, Joy, for the information. I say that 
because I have been a sheriff for 8 years and we have many 
people in our jail, veterans, and they just seem to get lost 
and there is no one out there advocating for them. So, as long 
as there are VSOs trying to help those and make sure that they 
get some good legal representation, because they need to truly 
understand the issues that they are dealing with to help them 
be successful members in our society. So, thank you for your 
work.
    Chairman Takano. Thank you, Representative.
    I now recognize Representative Cawthorn for 3 minutes.
    Representative?

                     HON. MADISON CAWTHORN,
            U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM NORTH CAROLINA

    Mr. Cawthorn. Chairman Takano, thank you very much.
    And to all of our witnesses, thank you for bringing your 
expert opinions to light here. It really does shed a lot of 
light on questions that I personally had. Thank you for all the 
questions that have come before mine.
    But Mr. Whitehead, I wanted to ask, you know, our 
committees are considering legislation that will provide 
eligible veterans with up to one year of G.I. Bill-style 
benefits to help the unemployed veterans in our country retrain 
in another specialty and help those that are unemployed find 
gainful employment in the post COVID-19 economy.
    Could you please elaborate how this rapid retraining 
program could help unemployed veterans get back on their feet.
    Mr. Whitehead. Representative, that is an excellent 
question. You know, the planning piece is very important and 
the G.I. Bill is very important to every one of us.
    Jim, if you could elaborate a little bit more on that, I 
would appreciate it.
    Jim?
    Mr. Marszalek. Yes, thank you, Commander.
    Obviously, we strongly support that. We think it is 
critical for veterans to be able to get back into the workforce 
in a quick manner. We have seen it firsthand during the 
pandemic. The DAV stood up a relief program where we were able 
to provide over $2 million in relief to veterans who have 
either lost employment or lost a significant amount of income 
due to the pandemic. So, we know that there are plenty of 
veterans out there affected by this. So, anything we can do to 
get them back in the workforce, in a competitive workforce, we 
would support.
    Mr. Cawthorn. Thank you very much for your answer. That 
really does mean a lot, and I yield back.
    Chairman Takano. Representative Cawthorn yields back.
    I just want to ask if there is any other representatives or 
senators present that would like to have a chance to speak or 
ask the DAV any questions; if not, I will move to the second 
panel.
    Mrs. Luria. Chairman Takano, this is Representative Luria. 
I would love the opportunity to ask a question.
    Chairman Takano. Okay. Representative Luria, you are 
recognized for 3 minutes.

                       HON. ELAINE LURIA,
               U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM VIRGINIA

    Mrs. Luria. Thank you, Chairman Takano.
    And I want to thank our witnesses for joining us today.
    As the chair of the Disability Assistance and Memorial 
Affairs Subcommittee, our subcommittee plans to focus our 
efforts this Congress on some of the toxic exposure issues that 
have not been fully addressed and that includes burn pits for 
veterans who served in Southwest Asia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and 
other toxic exposure issues.
    I wonder if you could just comment on the importance of 
this to your members and if there are any specific areas within 
toxic exposures that you think have been overlooked in previous 
Congresses that we should focus our efforts on, as well.
    Mr. Whitehead. Congresswoman, thank you. That is such an 
important topic.
    Jim, if you could elaborate a little bit more on the toxic 
[inaudible] I would greatly appreciate it.
    Mr. Marszalek. Thank you, Commander.
    And a great question. As I mentioned before, DAV is 
concerned and always concerned when veterans are exposed to 
toxins or environmental hazards during their military service. 
VA needs to be equipped to provide healthcare and service-
connected benefits for those exposures.
    I talked a little bit about establishing a presumptive 
framework. I think that is very important. But also, I think 
Congress could enact some legislation to extend the 5-year 
period to VA healthcare for veterans who had exposure to burn 
pits. I think it is very important that they are able to get 
the healthcare right away. That is just one of the most 
important pieces of it and then establish the tying in with 
benefits, as well.
    You know, the concession of burn pit exposure, it wouldn't 
establish presumptive service-connection, but it would remove 
the requirement for veterans having to prove their individual 
exposures. And I think that is something we learned with Agent 
Orange and the exposure to Agent Orange; they needed to step 
foot on ground. That was a significant piece that you had to 
prove early on in the claims process. So, I think if we address 
that now, that is certainly a right step in the right 
direction.
    Mrs. Luria. Great. Well, thank you for the feedback on that 
issue.
    And, you know, another issue that it is very difficult for 
veterans to claim is those people who have unfortunately been 
victims of military sexual trauma during their service. And I 
know we hear a lot from veterans and veterans advocates that 
there are a lot of ways to improve these process and make it 
better for people trying to seek help with those types of 
claims.
    I wonder if you could comment, you know, from your 
membership if there is anything that you have heard on that 
topic that would be helpful for us in helping veterans.
    Mr. Marszalek. Yes. Thank you.
    It is a very sensitive topic and, you know, the more 
outreach we can do in encouraging these veterans to come 
forward who experienced something that traumatic, we want to 
make sure that they are getting the healthcare and any benefits 
that they are eligible for, and we want to do that in the best 
way possible for them. So, we have got to make it an easy 
process for them to be able to come forward where they are 
comfortable doing so, as well.
    So, anything we can do there, and, again, I think it is 
more about the outreach piece, letting them know that we are 
here to help. There are folks that can help you. We want to 
talk to you. We want to help you in any way we can.
    Mrs. Luria. Well, thank you, and thank you for those 
helpful suggestions. And, again, thank you for the work that 
you do every day on behalf of our veterans.
    And I yield back----
    Senator Blackburn. Yes.
    Mrs. Luria. Oh, I am sorry.
    Joy, did you want to add something, as well? Please go 
ahead.
    Senator Blackburn. Mr. Chairman, it is Senator Blackburn. I 
would like to get a question in, if I may.
    Chairman Takano. Senator Blackburn, I have you on my list, 
but Senator Boozman is ahead of you in seniority, so I am going 
to call on him.
    If there is no other response to Ms. Luria--she did have a 
little bit of time left--I will move on.
    Thank you, Ms. Luria. Thank you, Representative Luria for 
your questions. Thank you for your work on toxic exposure as 
chair of the DAMA Subcommittee.
    I now call on Senator Boozman for 3 minutes. Senator?
    Senator Boozman. I appreciate that and I really enjoyed the 
discussion----
    Chairman Takano. I just want to make sure that the sound is 
okay. It sounds low to me. Can we make sure our technicians--
can we fix the sound on Senator Boozman.
    Senator Boozman. Can you hear me okay now?
    Chairman Takano. It still is faint. It is still low.
    Senator Boozman. I will try to speak really loud.
    Is that better?
    Chairman Takano. It is a little better. I guess we will 
proceed.
    Go ahead, sir.
    Senator Boozman. Why don't you go ahead to Senator 
Blackburn then.
    Chairman Takano. Okay. And we will come back.
    Senator Boozman. Yes, sure.
    Chairman Takano. Senator Blackburn, while we are figuring 
out what is going on with Senator Boozman's sound, why don't 
you go ahead and ask your questions.

                     HON. MARSHA BLACKBURN,
                  U.S. SENATOR FROM TENNESSEE

    Senator Blackburn. Yes. I wanted to follow-up on the toxic 
exposure issue. I had a question about the K2 veterans and 
legislation that I had had that we were able to get through 
parts of it last year and then President Trump issued an 
executive order handling much of what we needed around the K2 
veterans.
    This really affects some of the Fifth Group out of Fort 
Campbell, the 160th, and people that are constituents of our in 
Tennessee. So, I would like for you to comment on the K2 
veterans and what you are hearing from them as it relates to 
hazards, the chemical hazards, the exposure, the risk that this 
has to their health.
    Mr. Whitehead. Senator, thank you for that question.
    And, Jim, if you could elaborate a little bit more on the 
K2, that would be great.
    Jim?
    Mr. Marszalek. Thanks, Commander.
    DAV fully supports K2 Veterans Care Act as it will provide 
healthcare eligibility and establish a framework for 
presumptive diseases and, obviously, could lead to benefits for 
these veterans.
    As you mentioned, there are a lot of veterans, there is up 
to 15,000 servicemembers that were deployed to the K2 air base, 
so it is very important that we get it right now to ensure that 
they are taken care of. I haven't spoken to any one of our 
members who have been personally exposed on that base, but we 
know, again, 15,000 veterans were, so it is important that we 
do whatever we can to ensure that they are taken care of if 
they develop any illnesses associated with those exposures.
    Senator Blackburn. Okay. Thank you.
    Chairman Takano. Okay. You still have time left.
    Senator, if there are no other questions, I will move on to 
Senator Boozman and see if we have Senator Boozman's sound 
fixed.
    Senator, you are recognized.
    Senator Boozman. Can you hear me now?
    Chairman Takano. Yes, a lot better, Senator. Go ahead.
    Senator Boozman. Oh, good. Very good. Technological 
difficulties.

                       HON. JOHN BOOZMAN,
                   U.S. SENATOR FROM ARKANSAS

    Again, in the interests of time, I have really enjoyed the 
discussion and want to thank you all so much. I want to give a 
big shout-out to the group in Arkansas that does such a great 
job of keeping me informed and I think all of us, holding our 
feet to the fire.
    We have really accomplished a lot in the last several 
years, but we simply wouldn't have done that without the 
leadership of you all, I mean, the leaders of your 
organization, but also the grassroots in places like Arkansas 
that really step forward and helped us understand what the 
needs are, and the good news is, in a very bipartisan way.
    I am so proud of my Senate colleagues and also having 
served in the House and being on Veterans Affairs there, again, 
just working in a way that we have really gotten a lot done. We 
have got a lot left to do.
    My dad did 23 years in the Air Force and I am have proud of 
his service. I understand these are family affairs. And the 
other thing that is so important is that these are not give-me; 
these are earned benefits. And, again, just to a big thank you 
to you and your membership. We simply would not be able to get 
the things done that we get done without your leadership. So, 
give yourselves a pat on the back.
    And as always, a big thanks to the auxiliary. We know who 
does all the work, so we really do appreciate them and all that 
they represent.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Takano. Thank you, Senator Boozman.
    I understand that Representative Mann is with us by 
telephone, has no video, but would like to ask questions. Since 
this is not an official hearing, we can, the part of our normal 
requirement that the video be turned on, so Representative 
Mann, go ahead for your questions. Representative Mann, are you 
able to unmute yourself?
    Let's see if the staff can.
    [Pause.]
    Chairman Takano. We will stand by for just a little longer 
for Representative Mann.
    [Pause.]
    Mr. Mann. Chairman Takano, can you hear me now? Chairman 
Takano?
    Chairman Takano. I can hear you, Representative Mann.
    Are you ready to go?
    Mr. Mann. I am. Yes, can you hear me okay? Sorry, sir.
    Chairman Takano. I can.

                       HON. TRACEY MANN,
                U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM KANSAS

    Mr. Mann. Well, thank you for letting me on.
    Thank you for being here to testify today. Really, my 
question, I know that Senator Tuberville touched on this, as 
well, but for me it is an honor to serve on the House Veterans' 
Affairs Committee. I also tell people back home this should 
really be called the heroes committee, and I am glad to be here 
advocating for our men and women who have worn the uniform.
    Our servicemembers as they transition to civilian life 
often bring to the workforce, unique skill sets and a veteran's 
perspective. I guess my question, is how can Congress improve 
the Transition Assistance Program to better service disabled 
servicemembers in their transition to civilian life?
    I know I said Senator Tuberville also mentioned the 
transition, but specifically on the Transition Assistance 
Program, what are the things that we could be doing to help our 
brave men and women when they return home to enter the 
workforce and have a good career thereafter?
    Mr. Whitehead. Thank you for such a great question, because 
that transition is critical. You know, getting in front of them 
right away is the most important thing so they actually can 
have the vet soldier, now veteran, now has an idea of what they 
want to do.
    But, Jim, if you could elaborate a little bit more on some 
of the areas that we could get after that group, that would be 
great. Jim?
    Mr. Marszalek. Thank you, Commander.
    We certainly agree that it is a significant process when 
you transition out of the military and that finding employment 
after is so critical. The DAV was able to still interview with 
the pandemic, 21,000 departing servicemembers last year and 
assist them with the initial claims process.
    I think being able to continue to outreach to these 
individuals, letting them know that, yes, there are benefits, 
there are services available to you, to help you with this 
transition is significant.
    I also think that making sure that servicemembers are 
required to go through these out-processing briefings, we 
called them ``tap classes'' as I was getting out of the 
military, and it was very beneficial to me, teaching you how to 
write a resume, where you can look for government jobs. All of 
these resources need to be available, and it has to be done in 
a consistent manner, as well, regardless of where you are 
transitioning from.
    You know, we hear that there are differences all over the 
place and it can't be like that; it has to be consistent 
everywhere and we have to provide those services. Even after 
you are discharged, you still want to have those services 
available to departing servicemembers.
    I think a big piece including spouses of servicemembers is 
important, as well. It is a team effort, obviously, so we want 
to make sure that everybody is participating and taking 
advantage of those opportunities.
    Mr. Mann. How many--you said it would be good if all of 
them participated--rough, ballpark, do the majority participate 
in something like that or is there only a handful? Do we have 
any data on that?
    Mr. Marszalek. I don't offhand. I know it is the majority. 
I mean, we would be happy to research that a little bit and 
follow-up with you and your staff.
    Mr. Mann. Okay. We can reach out.
    And I yield back. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Takano. Thank you, Representative Mann.
    That completes the questioning of this panel.
    I would like to thank Commander Whitehead and the other 
witnesses from Disabled American Veterans. We appreciate 
hearing from you today and look forward to working together 
with you during this Congress. You are now excused.
    We will move immediately into the second panel. I now call 
up our second panel.
    And we have with us today on our second panel, Dr. Thomas 
A. Zampieri, National President of the Blinded Veterans 
Association, BVA; Mr. John Hilgert, President of the National 
Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs; Mr. Cory 
Titus, Director, Government Relations for Veterans Benefits, of 
the Military Officers Association of America, otherwise known 
as MOAA; Mr. Jared Lyon, National President and CEO of Student 
Veterans of America, SVA; Ms. Lindsay Church, Executive 
Director, Co-founder of Minority Veterans of America; and Ms. 
Kathryn Monet, Chief Executive Officer, National Coalition for 
Homeless Veterans or NCHV.
    I now call on Dr. Zampieri for your testimony. You are 
recognized for 5 minutes to present your opening statement.

                            PANEL II

                              ----------                              


            STATEMENT OF THOMAS A. ZAMPIERI, PH.D.,

                      NATIONAL PRESIDENT,

               BLINDED VETERANS ASSOCIATION (BVA)

    Mr. Zampieri. Thank you to Chairman Takano and all the 
members of the committee for inviting the Blinded Veterans 
Association to testify before you today.
    I will quickly run through some of the major issues that 
the BVA has a lot of details in, in our testimony, and 
hopefully you and the members and staff will go through those 
closely.
    We request, along with the BVA, for catastrophically 
disabled service-connected veterans, that the auto grant be 
renewable every 10 years. We also ask that you continue your 
support for women veterans and we endorse the section of the 
VSO Independent Budget section that addresses some of those 
issues.
    We are concerned about, of course, as the DAV touched on, 
the caregiver delays and the implementation of the Caregiver 
Program for our older veterans, especially who suffer from not 
only their service-connected disabilities, but aging-related 
disabilities. It makes it even harder for the caregivers to 
have to wait longer for that.
    We do ask that you consider working closely with the BVA, 
our government-relations staff area that has grown increasingly 
a concern to us, and that is with guide dogs and service dogs 
on VA properties. There have been increasing incidences of 
assault by other types of dogs where guide dogs and blind 
veterans have actually been physically assaulted by some types 
of other therapy dogs, and we would like, we have 76 years of 
experience in working with guide dogs and service dogs and we 
would respectfully request that before the committee takes 
action on any specific bills in regards to how the VA should be 
addressing these issues, that you include us.
    We also are concerned about staffing and funding within the 
blind rehabilitation services. With the COVID shutdown, the 
blind centers went virtual and as other medical services have 
had to make that dramatic shift, what we have been concerned 
about is they are not replacing staff, though, existing staff 
in those blind rehab centers and we would point to Public Law 
114-223, which has a requirement for staffing for special 
rehabilitative programs, not just blind, but spinal cord, also, 
and the funding for those programs.
    For those of you who serve on both, the VA and the DOD 
world, Armed Services, I have got 3 issues that really would 
like your attention. One is maybe under the radar screen sort 
of, but we were excited last September 29, the Assistant 
Secretary Defense for Health Affairs and the Surgeon General of 
the U.K. established a formal agreement to have an 
international joint ocular trauma task group. And they have 
formed it with a couple of chairmen who are ophthalmologists, 
highly experienced combat ophthalmologists and there are as 
many as 15 other representatives on this task group. And lo and 
behold, now the problem is they have no money. You can imagine.
    So, just to let you know how much interest there is, the 
surgeon general of the U.K. personally told me that there is at 
least six other countries that want to engage with this because 
eye injuries are such a significant portion of all casualties. 
So, Israel, Germany, Canada, Australia, just to name a few. But 
how do you have an international trauma task group with no 
funding and no administrative support?
    So, that probably would only take about a phone call from 
one of you listening to this today. And if someone says so much 
other task groups have had a million dollars in funding, that 
is not a really huge dent over there at the Assistant Secretary 
of Defense's Office, I don't think.
    The NDAA of 2017, along with that, mandated that they 
designate four specialty centers for things such as TBI, limb 
injuries, burns, et cetera. When Congress put the language into 
the NDAA in 2017, here we are in 2021 and DHA has failed to 
designate four ocular trauma centers of excellence. Those are 
critical because as any of you have been involved in the 
polytrauma centers, if you don't have the full complement of 
the specialists in eye trauma, corneal specialists, retinal 
specialist, neuroophthalmologists, you can't treat these 
patients if they get sent to a smaller MTF. So, that is an 
oversight issue.
    The congressionally directed medical research program 
includes the vision research program. It is the only source in 
the United States of funding for ocular trauma research. We are 
asking BVA and other VSOs who have supported this in the past, 
$30 million for the VRP program. I actually sit on the VRP 
programmatic peer-review committee, and we have 81 full grant 
applications this year. With the $20 million that we currently 
have, we will be lucky if we can fund 14 or 15 of those. The VA 
doesn't fund ocular trauma research.
    Why should they? They do rehabilitation of eye injuries.
    DOD, much to our frustration, has just eliminated and 
consolidated a lot of their deployment medical research 
programs into a lot of abbreviations. But now there is no core, 
internal DOD eye trauma funding.
    Chairman Takano. Mr. Zampieri, I am going to have to ask 
you to kind of conclude. We have a panel to get through.
    Mr. Zampieri. Yep. Thank you very much for inviting me to 
testify today. I would be glad to answer any of your questions.

    [The prepared statement of Mr. Zampieri appears on page 101 
of the Appendix.]

    Chairman Takano. Thank you, Mr. Zampieri. I appreciate your 
testimony. You would be happy to know that we have an 
ophthalmologist who actually is on our committee, Dr. Miller-
Meeks of Iowa.
    Mr. Hilgert, I now recognize you for 5 minutes to present 
your opening statement.
    I'm sorry, Mr. Hilgert. Your sound is not working. Let's 
give our sound technicians a chance to get your sound to turn 
on. Maybe you can make sure you are turned off of mute. Can you 
try again.
    Mr. Hilgert? Still no sound.
    [Pause.]
    Chairman Takano. Still no sound.
    Okay. We might have to move on to the next witness and then 
come back to you, Mr. Hilgert.
    Let's see if Mr. Titus, if your sound is working.
    Mr. Titus?
    Mr. Titus. Yes, Chairman. Thank you.
    Chairman Takano. Go ahead for 5 minutes, sir.
    Mr. Titus. Thank you.

               STATEMENT OF CORY TITUS, DIRECTOR,

          GOVERNMENT RELATIONS FOR VETERANS' BENEFITS,

        MILITARY OFFICERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA (MOAA)

    Mr. Titus. Thank you Chairman Tester and Chairman Takano, 
Ranking Member Moran and Bost and committee members. Thank you 
for the opportunity to share MOAA's legislative priorities for 
our veterans.
    Just over 3 years ago, I took off my Army uniform and 
started my journey as a civilian. I received my first service-
connected disability payment within a couple of months of 
separation. I went back to school using any Post-9/11 G.I. Bill 
benefits and I used the VA for my healthcare, both at the D.C. 
Medical Center and in the community. My experience thus far has 
been the VA at its best; however, not all have enjoyed the same 
care as I.
    Most members, soldiers I served with, and even members of 
my family haven't had the same experience. We need to keep 
ongoing and create equity for all veterans to enjoy the same 
quality experience and access to benefits and care, regardless 
of their gender, race, location, or generation of service. That 
goal of continuing to build on past progress is the intent 
behind MOAA's top legislative priorities for veterans. Four of 
our high-interest items include implementing COVID lessons 
learned, overseeing the implementation of suicide prevention 
and behavioral health legislation, supporting women and 
minority veterans, and enacting comprehensive toxic exposure 
reform.
    With the third vaccine now approved for emergency use, 
optimism continues to grow as an end to the pandemic seems 
near. VA quickly moved to expand the VA workforce to meet the 
health crisis, one of many positive steps; however, 
vulnerabilities were also exposed like in State veterans homes 
and community living centers.
    MOAA recommends VA examine every aspect of the COVID-19 
response center [inaudible]. VA must conduct a thorough 
examination along a wide variety of demographics and apply 
lessons learned so it can improve support to veterans. The 
116th Congress passed many landmark bills to address mental 
health needs and prevent suicide. Congress' oversight is 
essential as VA implements these in an effective manner.
    The pandemic has only made it more challenging for veterans 
to engage with VHA. Much has been done to mitigate the risk of 
spreading the virus like expanding telehealth and tele-mental 
health services, but more is needed to stem the tide and 
mitigate the rising rates of mental health diagnoses and 
suicides. MOAA recommends stringent oversight of veteran 
suicide prevention and behavioral health programs and ensuring 
full implementation of the bill as Congress intended.
    Women transitioning out of uniform face multiple challenges 
because of their experience and service. While VA has 
implemented a comprehensive, primary care model for women, 
there remains several barriers to getting the care and services 
they need. Additionally, according to GAO, the VA has taken 
steps to reduce the disparities in health outcomes linked to 
race and ethnicity, but lacks the mechanisms to measure 
progress an ensure accountability. MOAA recommends eliminating 
health disparities for women and minority veterans to ensure 
timely access to compassionate, quality care.
    A few weeks ago Major Richard Star lost his fight with 
metastatic lung cancer. Major Star spent his final days 
fighting the injustice of concurrent receipt and I ask each of 
you to support his namesake bill, but I also raise this story 
to remind us that the challenges facing veterans are not 
isolated or singular in nature.
    Our military [inaudible] as a factor in his death. Health 
issues compounded the veterans benefits issues and vice-versa. 
It is time to take a holistic approach in supporting challenges 
veterans face like toxic exposures. MOAA recommends passing 
comprehensive toxic exposure reform that helps veterans by 
enacting Senator Sullivan and Manchin's bill conceding 
exposure, expanding access to healthcare, and improving and 
[inaudible] the reporting requirements of presumptive 
conditions to ensure they are helping veterans the way they are 
intended.
    I thank you for the opportunity to present MOAA's 
priorities. We look forward to working together with the 
committees to build on VA's progress to date and create equity 
for all veterans. Thank you, and I look forward to your 
questions.

    [The prepared statement of Mr. Titus appears on page 118 of 
the Appendix.]

    Chairman Takano. Thank you, Mr. Titus.
    Mr. Hilgert, let's see if your sound is working. Mr. 
Hilgert?
    If not, Mr. Hilgert, let's move on to Mr. Lyon.
    Mr. Lyon, do you want to present your opening statement.
    Mr. Lyon. Yes, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Takano. Go ahead, you are recognized for 5 
minutes, sir.

                    STATEMENT OF JARED LYON,

                  NATIONAL PRESIDENT AND CEO,

               STUDENT VETERANS OF AMERICA (SVA)

    Mr. Lyon. Thank you, Chairman Takano, and Chairman Tester, 
Ranking Members Moran and Bost, Members of the Committee. Thank 
you for inviting Student Veterans of America to testify on our 
policy priorities for 2021.
    With our mission focused on empowerment and inclusion, SVA 
is committed to providing an educational experience that goes 
beyond the classroom. Our goal is to inspire tomorrow's 
leaders.
    Our policy priorities come from directed interactions with 
student veterans. Over the past decade, we have also dedicated 
significant resources to restructuring the efficacy and the 
impact of the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill. The purpose of our research 
has been to address a straightforward question. What is America 
getting for its multibillion dollar investment in education of 
veterans?
    The bottom line is this, student veterans are among the 
most successful students in all of higher education. With 
appropriate resources, this research could be updated annually 
to better address student veteran success. Take, for example, 
the SVA chapter at Clemson University. Over the course of the 
pandemic, their chapter leadership that has worked closely with 
campus career service offices to promote the organizational, 
virtual career fair and professional development courses. 
Clemson University is home to our 2021 chapter of the year 
award and they continue to inspire others with their 
adaptability and commitment to their community.
    While examples like Clemson are indeed special, they are 
not unique. Over this past year, student veterans nationwide 
have risen to the occasion as they always have. Andrew Ho is an 
Air Force veteran at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. He is 
a first generation college student and an SVA chapter president 
on his campus. Andrew was selected from among thousands of his 
peers as our 2021 student veteran of the year.
    And there were so many others with similarly impressive 
stories of success, service, and leadership. Student veterans 
have experienced unique frustrations and concerns throughout 
this past year. Between the pandemic impacting the community of 
education and a national reckoning on racial justice sparked by 
the death of George Floyd, SVA chapter leaders have risen to 
the occasion to lead through these most challenging times 
ensuring inclusivity in all that we do, especially for our 
sisters and brothers in arms and for the black, indigenous 
people of color, LGBTQ communities; it will remain at the 
forefront of everything that we do.
    As it relates to the pandemic, even with these generous 
flexibilities created by this Congress, liquid support from the 
VA, unlike their civilian counterparts, student veterans were 
nearly wholly dependent on schools accurately understanding the 
rapidly changing VA guidance when making decisions for their 
entire student populations.
    While not a whole fix, this is why one of our first 
legislative recommendations is to codify national emergency 
flexibilities for G.I. Bill students. This will allow schools 
and students to better plan for their future emergencies as 
they arise.
    As for the majority of our recommendations, based on what 
student veterans have told us in recent years and months, we 
are committed to our priorities having a central theme, and 
that is the G.I. Bill is the front door to the Department of 
Veterans Affairs. Typically, using the G.I. Bill is one of the 
first interactions that a newly transitioned veteran will have 
with the VA and the universe of post-service benefits and 
programs. This means that a seamless G.I. Bill process is key 
to establishing trust and confidence in VA.
    Much like the Veterans Health Administration's whole health 
concept for the right the entirety of a veteran, SVA advocates 
for a whole benefits approach for modernizing VA education 
services. This idea is a big one, but it begins with perfecting 
all the small steps in the process along the way.
    With the overhaul of VBA's IT system now underway, VA can 
focus on continuing to improve customer service, expand 
communication, quickly respond to beneficiaries' questions, 
digitize eligibility certificates, reduce the lag between 
applying for benefits and receiving the first tuition and 
housing payments and so much more.
    By truly embracing the G.I. Bill as the front door, we open 
up untold potential for VA to focus on making consistent, early 
outreach with accurate contact information to establish a 
lifelong connection with the VA. The effects of treating the 
G.I. Bill as the front door to the VA will be felt immediately.
    At Student Veterans of America, we often say that veterans 
are the Ambassadors for military service; similarly, the 
quality of the VA service to student veterans is the Ambassador 
for all VA services. We look forward to focusing on this 
concept as we work with our partners at the VA and our veteran 
advocate counterparts during the 117th Congress and beyond.
    Moving forward, the G.I. Bill as the front door to the VA 
mentality, we are hopeful that this Congress can focus on 
addressing some of the lingering basic needs of student 
veterans, for example, increasing access to childcare is a near 
universal conversation among SVA chapters. This should come as 
no surprise considering that more than 50 percent of student 
veterans have children.
    We thank the chairmen, ranking members, and the committee 
members for your full time, attention, and devotion to the 
cause of veterans and higher education. As always, we welcome 
your feedback and questions.
    Thank you so much for inviting Student Veterans of America 
to testify today.

    [The prepared statement of Mr. Lyon appears on page 135 of 
the Appendix.]

    Chairman Takano. Thank you, Mr. Lyon.
    I now call upon, is Mr. Hilgert still here?
    Mr. Hilgert. Yes, sir.
    Chairman Takano. It sounds like your sound is working. We 
can hear you.
    Go ahead. You are recognized for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Hilgert. Thank you. You have a very generous staff. 
They are very helpful. Thank you.

              STATEMENT OF JOHN HILGERT, DIRECTOR,

           NEBRASKA DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS' AFFAIRS,

            PRESIDENT, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF STATE

             DIRECTORS OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (NASDVA)

    Mr. Hilgert. Chairman Tester, Chairman Takano, Ranking 
Member Moran, Ranking Member Bost, distinguished members of the 
committee, my name is John Hilgert. I am the president of the 
National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs and 
I serve as the director of the Nebraska Department of Veterans 
Affairs.
    NASDVA is comprised of State directors from every State and 
every territory and if we would have been in person, I would 
have been joined by John Scocos, our executive director, and 
also Tom Palladino, the executive director of the Texas 
Veterans Commission and the incoming president of our 
association.
    States and territories continue to increase their roles in 
the holistic service providers to veterans. We coordinate, 
connect, we convene teams to address veteran employment, 
education, economic empowerment, continued health, all health 
and wellness. Despite constrained State budgets and the 
challenges of COVID-19, States collectively contribute over $10 
billion each year to service our Nation's veterans and 
families.
    NASDVA through its members, States, and territories, is the 
single organization, outside the Federal VA, that serves 19 
million veterans; given that, we are tasked and held 
accountable by our respective Governors, our State boards, our 
commissions. We are well-positioned to deliver effective, and 
efficient, and veteran-focused services.
    Regarding veterans' benefits and healthcare and services, 
we support the continued implementation and provisions of the 
VA MISSION Act, the NASDVA's priorities for the care of our 
veterans are consistent with those of the VA, especially in the 
area of behavioral health and suicide prevention. We supported 
all of the above strategy for healthcare delivery, which 
recognizes the diversity, the geography, and the demographic 
makeup of today's veterans.
    Regarding State veterans homes, the State Veterans Homes 
Construction Grant Program is one of the most important 
partnerships we have with the VA. COVID-19 has focused national 
attention on our State veterans homes. In Nebraska, I am 
responsible for four State veterans homes. Given the number of 
State veterans homes, roughly 30 percent are not CMS certified. 
The VA may need to provide more support to State veterans homes 
when health measures are directed, but unfunded to non-CMS 
homes. The VA may also consider divining a maintenance charge 
that covers in a State veterans homes, relative to what 
specialty care the VA covers.
    Arguably, both, the VA and State veterans homes have a role 
to provide mental health services. The challenge is delineating 
the cost of care associated with geriatric psychiatry. To be 
direct, NASDVA would offer that the VA would allow mental 
health services to be deemed a specialty care service and not a 
basic service covered to be provided by the State veterans 
homes through their per diem allowance. This would allow the VA 
to provide desperately needed care, resources to our veterans 
and State veterans homes.
    Additionally, the VA with congressional support can also 
consider changing the 70 percent service-connected disability 
provision for full State veterans home per diem from the--to a 
50 percent service-connected disability. This would provide 
more important and immediate help for the care of our veterans 
in our State veterans homes.
    Despite all of the challenges of COVID-19, NASDVA continues 
to support a commitment to the significant funding of the State 
Veterans Homes Construction Grant Program, roughly, to increase 
the founding at least $500 million.
    NASDVA is encouraged by the committee's oversight and the 
interest in examining and improving the VA's support of our 
State Veterans Homes. Please use NASDVA as a resource to 
validate lessons learned, to test ideas, and to identify 
potential legislative changes.
    Here is an example. As the VA's Millennial electronic 
health record is deployed, use the State of Washington to test 
consistency for the seamless delivery of quality care with the 
new rollout.
    Regarding veterans' benefits, given the claims backlog, the 
number of claims on a bill, NASDVA recommends serious 
consideration to make Federal funding available to State 
veterans departments to assist with outreach efforts on the 
ground. We recommend funding and focus for VA adjudication in 
these claims. But beyond funding, the VA should offer more 
virtual training to accredited service officers.
    And finally, NASDVA would like to emphasize the important 
role of the National Personnel Records Center in providing 
vital records, which is frankly the lifeblood of the system 
regarding our benefits advocacy.
    Regarding the VA funding, once released, NASDVA would 
welcome the opportunity to review the details of the 
president's fiscal year 2022 VA budget, and would respond 
favorably to an invitation to comment on said budget at a later 
date. Women veterans, they comprise 20 percent of our Armed 
Forces at this point and are growing. We would strongly 
encourage that the VBA make the women veterans coordinator a 
full-time role.
    Distinguished members of the committee, with your continued 
support, we can ensure to serve the needs of our veterans and 
their families. Use the State directors in your respective 
States as resources. Reach out to us. We are here to partner, 
and we are here to support. We are a resource. Thank you very 
much for your time, and I would be more than happy to answer 
any questions.

    [The prepared statement of Mr. Hilgert appears on page 113 
of the Appendix.]

    Chairman Takano. Thank you, Mr. Hilgert. I now call on Ms. 
Church. Ms. Church, you are recognized for 5 minutes for your 
opening statement.

        STATEMENT OF LINDSAY CHURCH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/
         CO-FOUNDER, MINORITY VETERANS OF AMERICA (MVA)

    Ms. Church. Chairman Takano and Tester, Ranking Members 
Bost and Moran, and distinguished members of the committee, my 
name is Lindsay Church, and I am honored to serve as the 
Executive Director and Co-founder of Minority Veterans of 
America, a non-profit dedicated to creating community belonging 
and advancing equity for minority veterans.
    I served in the United States Navy as a Persian-Farsi 
linguist before being medically retired. I am the daughter of a 
woman veteran, the third generation of my family to serve, and 
one of the many queer veterans who served under Don't Ask, 
Don't Tell.
    I want to begin by thanking you for prioritizing the needs 
of minority veterans on these panels, and for allowing us to 
contribute.
    MVA began as a movement in 2017, because many in the 
community felt unsafe and unwelcome in traditional veteran 
spaces and in VA care. We were founded by myself and Dr. 
Katherine Pratt, a Korean-American woman veteran, who struggled 
with similar challenges in the veteran community. We bonded 
over a deep recognition that though we may not understand each 
other's experiences, we both understand what it felt like to 
hold marginalized identities as veterans, and to feel 
ostracized by the community solely because of these identities.
    In three years, our community has grown to over 2,200 
members across 48 states, 3 territories, and 3 countries. In 
our work, we proudly represent the unique needs of veterans of 
color, women, LGBTQ, and religious minorities. All together, 
our membership accounts for tens of thousands of years of 
military service.
    I am here today to testify from my own personal 
experiences, but also, and more importantly, to advocate on 
behalf of the millions of minority veterans whose needs and 
perspectives have only just begun to be heard by your 
committees.
    The priorities we submitted echo the experiences of many 
minority veterans who have been excluded from or underserved 
through existing frameworks, whether negligently or 
intentionally. In an era where our military is only growing 
increasingly more diverse, it is imperative that veteran 
services keep pace with these changes in order to better serve 
this generation of veterans and those who will soon join our 
ranks.
    As we look to the future of veteran services, we urge the 
committees to consider a mindset shift, and to begin examining 
existing and potential systems and frameworks through a lens 
that centers and prioritizes the minority veteran. We have 
found where a system is designed to serve the most marginalized 
first, it will innately and more effectively serve those that 
experience more privilege.
    Within our written testimony, we highlighted several key 
areas that we are internally prioritizing, and which we hope to 
work with your office to address. There are three key areas 
that I want to highlight this morning during these remarks. The 
first, addressing economic disparities.
    Minority veterans show up, not with singular identities, 
but with intersecting and overlapping characteristics, the 
weight of which impacts and compounds many of the factors that 
we're proactively seeking to address. It is critically 
important that we begin looking toward positively impacting 
economic disparities within the veteran community through an 
intersectional and trauma-informed lens, especially as we 
reexamine the provision of G.I. Bill interval pay and equitable 
access to capital.
    The second point I would like to highlight is resolve--
systemic injustices for minority veterans. The recent murder of 
Specialist Vanessa Guillen, and the continued incarceration of 
Corporal Thae Ohu, highlight the need for urgent action to 
address a culture that is failing to adequately support our 
community. We must initiate comprehensive reviews and 
structural reforms to address the continuum of harm felt by 
military sexual trauma survivors. Fight to repatriate deported 
veterans, codify the military--into law, and rename VA 
facilities named after confederate insurgents, eugenics 
movement leaders, and those believed to have been involved with 
Nazi sterilization efforts.
    Finally, addressing the health care disparities and 
creating a more equitable VA. As I mentioned previously, the 
Nation's veteran population is only becoming more diverse by 
the generation. It is imperative that we design a 21st century 
VA that is inclusive of veterans and the many identities that 
we hold. We can begin to build this department by adopting a 
gender-inclusive motto, ending the ban on gender affirmation 
surgery and abortion-related counseling and services, and 
expanding IVF and surrogacy offerings to empower millions of 
minority veterans to begin family planning in the ways that 
makes sense for them.
    We are at a moment in time where the VA and these 
committees have a real opportunity to regain the trust and 
confidence of minority veteran communities that have 
historically been excluded. We must take advantage of it, and 
we must begin looking toward development of programs and 
systems that were specifically designed to support our Nation's 
most vulnerable veteran populations.
    I again thank you for the opportunity to testify today, and 
look forward to continuing to work with you and your offices. 
And I am happy to answer any questions that you might have.

    [The prepared statement of Ms. Church appears on page 157 
of the Appendix.]

    Chairman Takano. Thank you, Ms. Church. I now call on Ms. 
Monet for her opening statement for 5 minutes.

                  STATEMENT OF KATHRYN MONET,

                    CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER,

        NATIONAL COALITION FOR HOMELESS VETERANS (NCHV)

    Ms. Monet. Chairs Tester and Takano, Ranking Members Moran 
and Bost, and the distinguished members of the Committees on 
Veterans' Affairs, it is an honor to share NCHV's legislative 
priorities with you today. We thank you for your continued 
efforts to focus on the needs of this group of veterans. The 
assistance Congress provided since the pandemic has started has 
allowed NCHV member organizations across the country to keep 
veterans safe from COVID by social distancing in shelters, 
ramping up rapid rehousing capacity, and focusing on 
individualized housing options in communities across the 
country.
    While--data, we know veteran homelessness decreased by 50 
percent between 2010 and 2019, largely due to increased 
investment, adherence to evidence-based solutions, and 
dedicated coordination at the national and local level. We need 
to double down on what we know works to end veteran 
homelessness, while simultaneously recalibrating the system to 
respond to the urgent economic crisis COVID has created, and 
inequities that certain veteran groups face.
    Homelessness is complex. Thus a variety of tools from both 
inside and outside VA are required to respond to individual 
crises and needs. We have four priorities to put forth today.
    Priority one is COVID crisis response. Homelessness can 
make veterans more vulnerable to COVID-19. The VA's reporting 
offers no clear way to determine how many reported patients are 
experiencing homelessness. Adding the status of its reporting 
on confirmed COVID cases and deaths, like DC, New York City, 
and other jurisdictions do, would improve risk assessments and 
the ability to create a comprehensive local response.
    The VA must continue to address veteran homelessness within 
the greater scale of the COVID-19 response, including by 
creation of a national standard, prioritizing testing and 
vaccination for veterans who are unsheltered or living in more 
congregate settings, and all who resides there with them. We 
ask Congress to direct VA to utilize its humanitarian care 
authority during the duration of the pandemic to provide easily 
accessible COVID-related health and preventive care to all 
veterans experiencing homelessness, regardless of discharge 
status or time in service. Access to both has varied widely 
across the country.
    Our priority two is COVID recovery. NCHV supports funding 
increases for key programs that address veteran homelessness, 
and an increase in the daily--and per diem rate. As our country 
moves out of a crisis response phase and into a COVID recovery 
phase, we also need to focus on meeting the imminent needs of 
veterans and the creation of substantially more affordable and 
supportive housing.
    Nearly 15 million Americans have accrued over $50 billion 
in missed rental payments during the course of this pandemic. 
Veterans are among them and need to be connected to emergency 
rental assistance and other benefits for stability. We 
appreciate the inclusion of homeless veterans in the Senate 
substitute amendment American Rescue Plan, and we know that 
economic recovery will take time. Employment and training 
opportunities will be critical to ensure that people can get 
back on their feet, and DOL's HVRP program is a key resource 
for veterans who are homeless or at risk.
    We ask Congress to prioritize its expansion through 2023 as 
a part of any recovery package. My written testimony has 
detailed recommendations for $1.6 billion in emergency 
appropriation to support veterans experiencing and at-risk of 
homelessness. Notably, this funding would allow Federal 
partners to continue or extend essential services, such as 
social distancing in congregate facilities, renovations to 
create safety, expansion of--subsidy program, and subbing for 
VA case managers for unutilized HUD--vouchers.
    Some communities are purchasing hotels and motels for 
conversion to supportive housing, and capital dollars paired 
with project based vouchers could increase availability of 
affordable housing rapidly. Our priority is to raise equity. 
Programs to serve unhoused veterans must focus on racial and 
other types of equities to ensure we're not leaving anyone 
behind. Black veterans are vastly over represented in the 
homeless population. Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander 
veterans are most likely to become homeless. Transgender 
veterans are three times more likely to experience homelessness 
than non-transgender. And women veterans are among the fastest 
growing groups within this population.
    VA needs to look at ways to foster equitable treatment of 
veterans who utilize homeless services. They need to work to 
unearth inequities in homeless adjacent systems, address the 
root causes, and most importantly, they need to create a space 
where all veterans feel comfortable accessing care.
    Our fourth priority is housing affordability, which affects 
both veterans and civilians alike. It is beyond time for 
housing to be considered a right in this country. The average 
rental price, according to HUD, has increased by 66 percent 
between 2010 and 2020, yet the Federal minimum wage has 
remained unadjusted since 2009. A livable wage offers the 
dignity of being able to afford the minimum basic needed to 
survive. And in 2019, over 660,000 veterans were paying more 
than 50 percent of their income in rent. You can make 
meaningful progress toward ending homelessness for all by 
increasing the minimum wage or making--subsidies for all who 
need them.
    Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. It's 
a privilege to work with all of you and your staff members on 
ending veteran homelessness.

    [The prepared statement of Ms. Monet appears on page 189 of 
the Appendix.]

    Chairman Takano. Thank you very much, Ms. Monet. I am not 
going to call on myself and then the ranking member for 
questions. I will see if I can get Senator Moran in before we 
actually take a recess for 10 minutes. So let me get started 
with my questions. I will recognize myself for 3 minutes, and 
we will need to take a recess, because the House is voting.
    Senator Moran. Mr. Chairman, I am here.
    Chairman Takano. Mr. Moran, thank you.
    Senator Moran. Yes.
    Chairman Takano. I am going to just--I am going to call 
myself, and the Mr. Bost, and then you, and then we will take a 
10 minute recess. The House is voting, so I have got to give 
members a chance to go and vote, but it will be a strict 10 
minutes. So I will recognize myself for 3 minutes.
    Mr. Lyon of SVA, as you mentioned in your testimony, it 
appears that VA will be ending the rounding out this summer. Do 
you have data on how many students take advantage of this 
practice?
    Mr. Lyon. Yes, Mr. Chairman, thank you so very much for the 
question. Our research and data currently indicate 
approximately 25 percent of G.I. Bill users are impacted by 
this policy.
    Chairman Takano. Great. I support your desire for a fourth 
administration for economic opportunity and VA. How have 
education programs suffered due to the current structure of VA 
leadership?
    Mr. Lyon. Yes, Mr. Chairman, I really do appreciate this 
question, because presently, VA is doing a great job. They are 
trying really hard, and this Congress has done a phenomenal job 
of instituting the right kinds of policies and in such an 
expedient manner that it is almost unbelievable.
    That all said, these gains can easily be lost without the 
permanent establishment of a fourth administration to ensure 
within the structure of the Department of Veterans Affairs that 
these matters are codified and paid attention to on a regular 
basis, so that we can always ensure this level of care to our 
Nation's student veterans.
    Chairman Takano. Thank you for that. Let me go to Ms. 
Church. In your testimony, you highlight the need for access to 
capital for veteran and minority owned businesses. As we work 
to strengthen veteran access to capital, what do you propose 
Congress can do to assist with increasing access?
    Ms. Church. Thank you for the question, sir. One of the 
greatest things that Congress can do is find programs and ways 
to allow minority veterans access to capital. We know there is 
a deep wage and wealth gap for minority veterans, specifically 
BIPOC veterans and LGBTQ folks, specifically. So in recognition 
of that, finding ways to fund and set aside subsidies and 
programs to be able to support minority veteran 
entrepreneurship, as well as invest in programs and different 
non-profits and organizations that are able to support minority 
veteran entrepreneurship, and support them with their 
identities, and everything that is included in being a minority 
entrepreneur.
    Chairman Takano. Great. We all want to continue to make VA 
more inclusive and an equitable place for all veterans. And as 
you have mentioned in your testimony, the need to address 
sexual harassment and investigation response procedure is of 
great importance.
    Beyond the review of programs, what else should Congress do 
to help change the way women and non-binary people are treated 
at the VA facilities?
    Ms. Church. Thank you for that question as well. We do 
believe that a comprehensive review of the structures and 
reporting for sexual assault and sexual harassment needs to be 
done. We watched the appalling treatment of one of the staffers 
under the last administration. So I think one of the biggest 
things that VA has to do is build trust. Even if the mechanisms 
are in place, people don't trust them. So we need to be able to 
figure out ways to support those survivors and being able to 
report and find justice and accountability, and for that 
perpetrator not to be continued to be allowed to exist in those 
spaces.
    Chairman Takano. That is great. Thank you. I want to 
quickly move to Ranking Member Bost so he can ask questions. 
Ranking Member Bost, go ahead.
    Mr. Bost. Thank you, Chairman. And one of the questions 
that I asked the first panel is one I would just to ask the 
panel here, I mentioned the fact that Chairman Takano and I 
have introduced the Vaccine Act, and this will expand the 
access to vaccines to all veterans and their caregivers, of 
those who are certain long term or home based caregiver 
programs. Would your organizations be in support of the bill, 
and why or why not? And whoever wants to speak up.
    Mr. Hilgert. Well, certainly we would--the National 
Association States Directors of Veterans Affairs would be 
certainly supportive of that. And it is interesting that you 
talk about caregivers and veterans. And I would reflect on, 
perhaps, a little bit--study on how veterans homes are 
connected to this whole system. We are built by the VA. We are 
funded by the VA through the per diem program. They inspect us 
inside and out on an annual basis and as need be basis. But yet 
when it comes time to vaccine for not only our members, and 
some of their spouses that live within our homes, their 
caregivers, our teammates, our staff are then shifted to the 
non-VA sector, and through the Federal program that was 
successful, the three--CVS, Walgreens, et cetera, that went 
through the Nation, but we were treated as other nursing homes.
    So that is helpful, but going forward, it would be nice to 
establish a relationship with the VA that our new employees, 
our new admissions, our new spouses, the new people that come 
into the veterans homes after that initial wave could develop a 
relationship with the USVA that is frankly beyond their fourth 
mission and back into their fundamental mission of supporting 
our veterans. That would be welcome, sir.
    Mr. Bost. Well, and so my--and I appreciate that. And 
another question I just want to throw out. One of my priorities 
is for strengthening and services for women veterans at our VA 
hospitals. I know, Ms. Church, that you actually responded on 
the sexual harassment side and everything like that, and I 
heard that comment, but what other areas where women are maybe 
being underserved need to be addressed as far as VA is 
concerned?
    Ms. Church. Thank you for that question. I think one of the 
greatest areas of improvement that we have for women veterans 
is around reproductive care, whether it be access to abortion 
and contraceptives or to family planning. I think that the 
reproductive care should match where the veteran is and what 
they are looking for their family planning.
    We know that an unwanted or unplanned pregnancy can drop 
somebody into a cycle of poverty that they will never recover 
from. So effective and safe measures of family planning are 
going to be the biggest area of opportunity VA has as far as 
women veterans go.
    Mr. Bost. Thank you. My time has expired. And with that, 
Mr. Chairman, I'll yield back.
    Chairman Takano. Thank you. Thank you, Ranking Member Bost. 
Ranking Member Moran, I want to call on you before we recess. 
Go ahead.
    Senator Moran. Thank you, Chairman, for doing that. And I 
will be brief to keep you on schedule. Let me just ask all of 
our witnesses that any who have thoughts--let me make it 
specific, but it is really a broader question than it will 
sound. What is it that I can do as an individual Member of 
Congress in Kansas to make sure that veterans are getting the 
vaccines that they need? I certainly support the concept of 
Representative Bost--Ranking Member Bost in caregivers, 
spouses, and others, but what is missing, and how do you think 
the VA is doing? Are we getting this goal accomplished?
    Mr. Lyon. Sir, I don't mind taking that. Thanks so much for 
the question. I think that you specifically as a Member of 
Congress can continue what you are doing with regard to 
encouragement, but to also provide more access. Student 
Veterans of America is partnered with a bunch of our fellow 
veteran service organizations through what we call the Veterans 
Coalition and Vaccines to actually mobilize veterans to help 
inoculate the population. We are only as effective to getting 
back to normal as when we actually get shots in arms. So you, 
as a Member of Congress, could help elevate that throughout 
veterans in your State to literally let them know that they can 
start volunteering to be part of this solution, sir. Thank you.
    Senator Moran. Well, thank you. Thank you, Jared, very 
much.
    Ms. Church. I am going to let you go, Kathryn. You were up. 
Sorry.
    Ms. Monet. Well, I will be real quick. So I would like to 
add to that and just note that some of the issues that we are 
seeing with homeless veterans--with the issue that Mr. Hilgert 
raised with State Veterans Homes. And in some communities, 
people experiencing homelessness and shelter providers have 
actually been prioritized for the vaccine, because of the 
congregate settings and the high risk of transmission. So I 
think I would encourage you to make sure that your solutions 
are all-encompassing and provide some level of equity for 
people who are highly underserved.
    Senator Moran. Kathryn, thank you for the reminder. When I 
last visited the vaccine site at the Topeka VA, the Colmery-
O'Neil VA, I did ask the question, ``How are we taking care of 
homeless veterans in this area?'' And I will continue to do 
that. Thank you.
    Ms. Church. Sir, if I might add as well, one of the things 
that I think is very important as we talk about vaccine 
distribution is equitability and meeting folks where they are. 
We know that there has been a disproportionate, specifically by 
race, distribution of the vaccine. So for us, it is a deep 
concern, I am echoing Kathryn's remarks about veterans 
experiencing homelessness, and ensuring that those folks are 
getting vaccinated first, because they are the ones that are 
more likely to be around other folks.
    Additionally, working with tribal, I know that there are a 
lot of folks within your community that live on indigenous 
populations or lands, and ensuring that those folks who have 
low access to care, in general, have greater access to 
vaccines, because they have been hit the hardest.
    So I think the biggest thing that you can do, sir, to be a 
champion for vaccines when it comes to veterans is really 
ensuring that you are hitting those populations that are one, 
more likely to be contracting COVID, and two, less likely to 
have access to health care.
    Senator Moran. Thank you for the reminder, and thank you 
for caring for all veterans.
    Chairman Takano. Senator Moran, thank you for your 
questions, and thank you for your forbearance with us in the 
House.
    I am going to declare a 10 minute recess, upon which we 
will return and Mr. Mrvan will begin the questioning. And 
panelists, I apologize, but we do have to go out and vote. So a 
10 minute recess, and we will be back in 10 minutes.
    [Recess.]
    Chairman Takano. I now recognize Mr. Mrvan for his 3 
minutes. Mr. Mrvan, go ahead.
    Mr. Mrvan. I thank you very much, and I thank you, Chairman 
Takano. I appreciate everyone's patience, and I appreciate all 
that you do for veterans, and we want to welcome you to the 
Veteran Affairs Committee today.
    My question has to do with the digital divide. Recently, 
there has been a lot of coverage about the digital divide, 
specifically the lack of broadband internet, especially in 
rural America and older urban America, and how it has 
disadvantaged people who live in those communities. My 
subcommittee, the Subcommittee on Technology and Modernization, 
is planning on taking a comprehensive look at the digital 
divide, and how the VA is working to bridge it.
    Ms. Church, or anyone, can you talk about how the digital 
divide, or lack of access to the internet and technology, 
impacts minority communities, even those in urban areas? And do 
you have thoughts on ways the VA can address these gaps?
    Ms. Church. Thank you so much for the question. And the 
digital divide, in a world in which we turned everything 
digital, including our health care, our schools, our work, 
internet has become more than just a--it is a staple of society 
anymore. It is a utility. And we are seeing the boundaries and 
limits of that being tested every single day.
    In communities that have lower socioeconomic status, it is 
more often that the digital--the broadband itself is actually 
poor. In addition, when you don't have technology access to 
begin with, you can't go to work. You can't go to school. So 
some of the things that we have seen are the lack of technology 
and the tools to actually be able to go. So thinking about cell 
phones being your primary device of health care anymore. In 
addition, like tablets, and expanding the availability of those 
tablets in lower income communities and families to ensure that 
those folks actually have access. And in addition, it was 
working with tribal and indigenous populations to ensure that 
broadband expansion doesn't just hit rural communities, but 
also hits indigenous populations and lands.
    Mr. Mrvan. All right. Thank you very much. One of my follow 
up questions that I wanted to ask is when we talk about 
veterans getting vaccinated, very often throughout the certain 
States, there are VSO organizations that the VA is doing 
offsite vaccinations, going to the people. I am wondering what 
your thoughts were on that and if any of you have had examples 
of that going on within your organizations?
    Mr. Lyon. Sir, I don't mind taking that one. This is Jared 
Lyon with Student Veterans of America.
    We have, actually. We have helped form a coalition with a 
variety of veteran serving organizations, led by the efforts of 
disaster recovery of Team Rubicon and their CEO, Jake Wood. We 
are bringing veterans together to help not only reach veterans, 
but really all Americans that might be outside of traditional 
vaccination sites, as well as staffing those sites with 
volunteers. They can do everything leading up to the actual 
inoculation being provided into somebody's arm.
    Mr. Mrvan. Thank you, Jared. I thank all of you. I yield 
back.
    Chairman Takano. Thank you, Mr. Mrvan. What I am going to 
do is I know that we have--Miller-Meeks, I am glad to see you 
back Dr. Meeks. You are not obligated to ask the questions of 
the Blinded Veterans Association, but I am very pleased you are 
back. So I am going to recognize you for your 3 minutes.
    And Mr. Mrvan, just so you know, I am going to probably go 
for a second round of questions. So members that are still 
here, if you want to ask another round, but I am going to 
recognize you for 3 minutes, Dr. Miller-Meeks.
    Ms. Miller-Meeks. Thank you very much, Chair Takano, and 
Chair Tester, and thank you for putting me on the spot, Chair 
Takano. I am an ophthalmologist and I was very interested in 
reading the testimony from Mr. Zampieri. I am probably 
mispronouncing it, so I apologize. But I can't say that I knew 
about the ocular trauma centers that you have referenced, but I 
did reach out to the American Academy of Ophthalmology and to 
our research--ocular research division, our ophthalmic research 
division at the University of Iowa for their input on that. So 
I don't have an answer yet.
    But I would say my concern is that there is a tremendous 
amount of ophthalmological research that goes on throughout the 
country. And it is interesting where you mentioned in your 
testimony the increase in trauma, ocular trauma, but as someone 
who trained residents, we have been seeing a decrease in ocular 
trauma on the civilian side. But to your point, during Desert 
Storm, I was called up, even though I had retired, I was called 
up to come back onto active duty to be deployed for the purpose 
of treating ocular trauma related to IEDs.
    But my husband was deployed at that time, and since I was 
retired, I was able to decline. But I called back up as soon as 
my husband got back to be deployed, but at that point in time, 
they no longer had need of my services. So I can't address your 
question, but I will certainly continue to look into that. But 
my concern would be that we dilute the research that is going 
on in ocular trauma. And if we restrict where veterans can go 
for service, that does create a hardship to their families, so 
we need to be in recognition of that.
    The question I have, however, in the time that remains to 
me is in relation to COVID-19. There are veterans who have a 
myriad of diagnoses. Some, they have service-related 
disabilities. And so I am concerned. I have been approached, as 
I mentioned, I am a Wapella County Commissioner, I have been 
approached that a veteran servicemember with a service-
connected disability died, on the death certificate, because 
they had COVID-19 or were tested, their death certificate has 
COVID-19, not their actual cause of death. So this is related 
to me personally, so I know that this exists. And so is that a 
concern? Do we have a problem with survivors getting dependent 
and indemnity survivor benefits when the diagnosis on the death 
certificate is COVID-19, when it actually may have been a 
service-connected medical problem that was the true source and 
cause of their death? And with that, I will yield back my time 
and I will listen. Thank you.
    Mr. Titus. Congresswoman, thank you for that question. 
Absolutely. We think that is something that we are starting to 
see from our members--concern on that issue of getting 
recognition on the death certificates, and I would think that 
is a real problem with over a half million deaths of COVID, 
there is a very--there is a lot to be reviewed right now in 
regards to the death certificates. So we certainly believe that 
taking a second look for that is essential to ensure that that 
DSC is getting appropriately given. Thank you.
    Chairman Takano. Thank you. Dr. Miller-Meeks, I am going to 
be, and Mr. Mrvan, we will be doing a second round of 
questions. And I will recognize myself for 3 minutes for this 
second round.
    Mr. Zampieri, the Blinded Veterans Association is asking 
Congress, VA, and DOD to request the assistant secretary for 
Health Affairs to work with the United Kingdom to ``provide 
funding for joint--task group'' that was established in a 
mutual formal agreement in September 2020. Can you explain more 
about the scope of the task group's work and the funding 
required to make the work successful? You were talking about 
that in your testimony. Go ahead.
    Mr. Zampieri. Right. Thank you, Chairman, for asking that. 
It is a unique opportunity, and I do want to address the last 
thing. We are talking about military combat-related eye trauma 
and translational battlefield eye injury research. So the Joint 
Ocular Trauma Task Group was established, and I spoke actually 
with the surgeon general of the U.K., and Israel, about 14 
percent of their casualties, by the way, are eye injuries, 
historically going back 40 years.
    So their ``mission'' is to look at best practices, clinical 
guidelines, standardization of formularies for eye medications 
that are utilized in combat zones, looking at surgical 
equipment, looking at training and education standards for 
deploying surgeons, and the management of eye trauma. And then 
real briefly, we found that there is--the Hearing Center of 
Excellence has a million dollars. Again, it is not a huge 
amount, but if you are going to do these types of things, 
especially with an international group, you really have to have 
some level of funding. And so I appreciate the question.
    Chairman Takano. Thank you, sir, for that response.
    Mr. Hilgert, in your testimony, NASDVA highlighted the role 
that the VA and the State Veterans Homes could play in 
providing mental health care. This is obviously an important 
service for Americans, especially for veterans, and especially 
in the wake of a pandemic.
    You also suggested that mental health services be 
designated a specialty care service, instead of a basic 
service. Can you explain why it would be better categorized as 
a specialty care service, and--NASDVA's role in testing ideas 
before they expand to all veterans homes?
    Mr. Hilgert. Yes. Based on my experience, the--we are 
looked upon as a nursing home. And you have a per diem. You 
have so much, and you have an expectation of care. Even through 
great standards, you are expected to have four or 5 hours of 
care per day for skilled nursing. I think that is a five star 
goal.
    There are mental health conditions where you need one-to-
one staff. Traditional nursing homes are not set up for that. 
When we have someone with let's say Picks disease in one of our 
veterans homes, and it requires one to one staffing, you 
immediately throw the system out of compliance with your 
overtime. You have stress on resources. And all of a sudden, it 
is straining the resources of the nursing home.
    If it was a specialty care identification, it is our 
opinion that, okay, you have this situation within the State 
Veterans Home. We will help you resource it properly to address 
the needs of this individual, rather than stressing the entire 
system.
    So that is kind of where I was going with that, Mr. 
Chairman.
    Chairman Takano. Well, thank you. I appreciate that. I am 
glad to see we have other members that have returned for the 
questioning of our witnesses.
    Representative Cawthorn, I would like to recognize you for 
3 minutes.
    Mr. Cawthorn. Yes, sir. Thank you very much, Chairman. My 
question is for Mr. Titus. So I understand that Congress has 
provided the VA with tens of millions of dollars to help with 
COVID relief over this past last year. I am wondering, have you 
seen any direct impact from that money? And how do you think 
the money should be spent moving forward?
    Mr. Titus. Congressman, thank you for that question. So 
looking at how VA spent that money, we certainly see an impact 
in the way that the VA has been able to use it with the 
expansion of their workforce, getting ready to respond to the 
pandemic, providing some of the backbone that is necessary to 
help vaccinate our veterans and our caregivers. And along with 
that level of money, what we think is important also to ensure 
continuing oversight, because what we believe is that when we 
get vaccines in arms--the necessity to follow up from COVID 
isn't done. There is going to be a long process where we need 
to sit down and evaluate how the VA did from every aspect of 
it, and digging in from aspect, every benefit, enterprise-wide.
    So I think that the increased funding, the personnel, and 
the--have each impacted to make sure that--from that funding 
aspect.
    Mr. Cawthorn. Excellent, Cory. It really means a lot to me, 
Mr. Titus. And Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
    Chairman Takano. All right. Thank you, Mr. Cawthorn, for 
returning after the break to present your questions.
    Mr. Lamb, I recognize you for 3 minutes.
    Mr. Lamb. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I appreciate all of 
the witnesses as well, hanging around for us. I won't really 
get a chance to question all of you in these 3 minutes, so I'm 
going to try to focus this for MOAA and the Student Veterans.
    I believe in the wake of January 6th----
    Chairman Takano. Mr. Lamb, hold on for a second. You are 
breaking up.
    Mr. Lamb [continuing]. To play for all of them.
    Chairman Takano. Mr. Lamb?
    Mr. Lamb [continuing]. To police our own, and really talk 
about what the oath means.
    Chairman Takano. Mr. Lamb, just--I am asking you to suspend 
until we get the technology.
    Mr. Lamb. I apologize.
    Chairman Takano. I apologize. I apologize. Just hanging on. 
You are asking an important question. If we could stop the 
clock. Return the clock.
    Mr. Lamb. I yield back, Mr.----
    Chairman Takano. Just hold on. Don't go away. Have we got 
the technology back? All right. Why don't you go ahead, Mr. 
Lamb, and see if it works now? Can you turn your--you are 
muted. Can you turn back on your sound, your mike?
    Mr. Lamb. I am a Marine, Mr. Chairman. It takes me a little 
while sometimes with technology. I apologize.
    Chairman Takano. I don't want to get into it with Mr. Bost 
over that comment, so go ahead.
    Mr. Lamb. All right. So my question is this. I think we all 
have a role to play in reinforcing the importance of the oath 
with our fellow veterans. The Capitol that the Constitution 
sets up was attacked, and we all swore an oath to the 
Constitution.
    So my question is specific to MOAA and Student Veterans, 
what are you doing to identify whether you had members that 
were part of the attack? And what will you do going forward to 
communicate to your members the importance of the oath and the 
fact that this is not a political topic? If you swore an oath 
to the Constitution, there is only one side to this debate, 
which is that you oppose people attacking the Capitol.
    So if you could just update us on your efforts, and 
specifically whether you have worked with law enforcement at 
all.
    Mr. Titus. Congressman, thank you for that question, and 
you take off the uniform, but like you said, you never--the 
oath never goes away. You have responsibility to uphold--that 
belief is something that MOAA holds dear, and it really is 
ingrained in our organization, our philosophy.
    So getting to your specific question, we have been closely 
following the DOJ's website, and monitoring any individuals, 
and looking at whether they were MOAA members. We think that is 
important to uphold the standard of our organization and show 
accountability. Being a member of MOAA is a privilege, and we 
uphold--I expect our members to uphold the standards.
    Mr. Lyon. Congressman Lamb, this is an excellent question, 
sir. And thank you for your service in the Marine Corps. I 
served in the Navy, so Department of the Navy friends. We will 
take that as well.
    Sir, this is an incredibly serious topic. It is incredibly 
important. And Student Veterans of America absolutely condemns 
the acts that happened on January 6th. Sedition and 
insurrection are serious matters and should not be taken 
lightly.
    Not only do we condemn them amongst all Americans, but 
specifically amongst all veterans. As to your question 
specifically, we have taken all publicly available data for 
those involved in the events of January 6th and run them 
through our data base, and verified that we have no current 
members that were involved.
    I heard you earlier ask a question regarding facial 
recognition. We don't have access to that technology as of yet, 
so we are not really able to do that. But had we found any 
members that were a part of the events on January 6th, we would 
immediately disband them from any of our national headquarters 
activities throughout the country, no matter where we are 
organized, sir.
    Mr. Lamb. Thank you. And thank you to all the panelists. 
And if any of the panelists I didn't focus on, if you ever want 
to follow up with me on this, I would be happy to talk. We just 
have limited time. And Mr. Chairman, I yield back. Thank you.
    Chairman Takano. Representative Lamb, just so you know, I 
have asked--I have allowed for a second round of questioning. 
So if you are--we get through the next few members, you might 
want to come back and ask other organizations the questions you 
want to ask them.
    So Mr. Murphy, I recognize you for 3 minutes, and then 
after that Mr. Mrvan, and then Mrs. Miller-Meeks, if you have a 
second round of questions, you may do that. And then--but go 
ahead, Mr. Murphy. Go ahead.
    Mr. Murphy. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you to all 
the members of the panel. I thank you for your service to our 
Nation, and your continued service to our veterans.
    I represent North Carolina's third congressional district. 
We have the fifth most veterans of any district in the country 
and is growing. And so veterans affairs are very, very 
important to me. I, as a physician, have worked at VA medical 
centers, and have cared for veterans, and am deeply obligated 
to all that we can do to care for those who have dedicated 
their lives and sometimes make such great sacrifices, and 
obviously the ultimately sacrifice for us to remain free.
    I am going to throw one plug in here for House Resolution 
1014. As a surgeon, I have dealt with wound healing for over 30 
years. And I look at our particular population of veterans who 
come back with traumatic brain injuries, PTSD, those who have 
suffered from blast injuries, and from other effects during 
their service. And we do a fantastic job in the VA of reaching 
out to those veterans and trying to help them cope withe 
struggles that they cope with, but I think we can do more.
    There is a significant subset of individuals, despite all 
the modalities that are offered to them through the VA that 
still we cannot reach, still are not able to get their life 
back on track, still not able to participate fully in society, 
still not able to get jobs, deal with family.
    We have, obviously, such a suicide epidemic in our Nation 
for veterans. There are over 17 a day. And so what I have used 
for wound healing when nothing else has worked is something 
called hyperbaric oxygen. Hyperbaric oxygen has been shown to 
help promote wound healing.
    In these individuals, and I will say this very objectively 
as a physician, this is not necessarily mainstream. I want this 
issue studied for our veterans. What hyperbaric oxygen does is 
it promotes wound healing. And I think in a significant subset 
of individuals who have suffered from PTSD, who have suffered 
from TBI, this is from blast injuries to the brain. This is a 
wound, that despite pharmacology, despite interventions--
objective interventions and therapies, we still are not 
reaching these individuals.
    Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, I have seen and witnessed 
firsthand with some veterans who literally had nothing else to 
be offered have changed their lives, have their lives whole 
again.
    And so House Resolution 1014 asks for a pilot study. I am 
asking each of your groups to please study this, and please 
consider supporting this measure. We need to do everything 
possible. We need to leave no stone unturned to try to help 
those who have suffered in service to our Nation.
    So thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would ask each of these 
groups, please House Resolution 1014, I would ask for your 
support for this as we move forward. Thank you all, Mr. 
Chairman. I yield back.
    Chairman Takano. Thank you, Dr. Murphy. I am going to 
recognize Mr. Mrvan for 3 more minutes.
    Mr. Mrvan. Thank you, Chairman. At this point, my question 
is for Mr. Lyon. In your proposal or in your statement, you had 
said the G.I. Bill is the front door for the VA. And my 
question is I understand that the VA recently began evaluating 
the modernization of the G.I. Bill information systems. Can you 
describe for me what, if any, engagement you have had with the 
VA on this topic? What do you feel are the biggest concerns--
address the future of the G.I. Bill to promote----
    Chairman Takano. Can we just hold on for a second until we 
can straighten out what this--got it? All right. Proceed, Mr. 
Lyon.
    Mr. Lyon. Thank you, sir, very much for the question. When 
we think about VA IT modernization, these are things that 
frankly should have been done and addressed a long time ago. 
With regard to direct interaction with VA leadership, it has 
actually been strong. The VA is committed to trying to resolve 
this issue by the support that they can ultimately receive as 
the ability to insure that funds that are allocated get 
actually used for the right reasons. Because broadly, this 
notion of the VA having an idea or embodying an idea that the 
G.I. bill is the front door to the VA, it helps people sort of 
understand that the VA does not reach all veterans, and is 
chronically having the challenge to be able to do that.
    And we find that nearly 60 percent of the transitioning 
force is in a college classroom within seven months of 
separating from active duty, utilizing the G.I. Bill. Frankly, 
it's the first, and in some cases, the only interaction that 
they'll have with VA.
    When IT systems are not caught up to modern times to be 
able to process those benefits and provide a good experience on 
the front end, the veteran is left with a mistrust of the VA 
due to that interaction. And then down the road, when the 
veteran may have an issue, be that emotionally, physically, 
regarding their mental health, they might not necessarily think 
to reach out to the VA.
    Further, if they have the relationship with the VA through 
the G.I. Bill, through IT modernization, the VA could actually 
explain to recently transitioned veterans all of the benefits 
that they may be eligible for in the entirety of the VA 
ecosystem. The VA has a lot that we can provide. By treating 
the G.I. Bill as the front door, we can actually access and 
make newly transitioned veterans aware of all that the VA has 
to offer, and truly provide that care to our veterans for life. 
Thank you, sir.
    Mr. Mrvan. And I think you, Mr. Lyon. And I thank all of 
you as young veterans who are on, advocating for your peers, 
how important that is, especially in the veteran service 
organization realm. So I appreciate that, and we will make sure 
that they are--as the front door, we use technology to link 
together the benefits, along with making sure we are pushing 
out information so we have more people aware of the VA and 
using technology and modernization to do that. Thank you.
    Chairman Takano. Thank you, Mr. Mrvan. Are there any other 
members who I have missed, who would like to be recognized? I 
don't see any other members seeking recognition.
    Let me thank all of our panelists for your testimony today. 
And we look forward to working with you and your organization, 
and your members in the future. So we are very grateful that 
you all participated today and brought your voices to the table 
in the room where it happens.
    So all members will have 5 legislative days to revise and 
extend their remarks, and include extraneous material. Again, 
thank you all, panelists, for your presentations and this 
hearing is now adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 1:57 p.m., the Joint Committee was 
adjourned.]

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