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tent leadership support has extended to every segment of the military population.” Master Chief Petty Officer Joseph


Barnes, USN-Ret., TMC cochair and nation- al executive director of the Fleet Reserve Association, said, “We’re extremely gratified and proud to honor Representative Walz, who is the most senior enlisted person ever to serve in the House of Representatives. On the Veterans’ Affairs Committee and work- ing closely with all of the military and vet- erans’ organizations, he has epitomized the true leader who makes sure his troops and their families are taken care of.” “The legislators are the champions, and their staffs expend huge amounts of effort in crafting legislation, working with military associations to fill in the details, and coordinating our mutual efforts to get other legislators and the public on board,” said Col. Herb Rosenbleeth, USA-Ret., TMC president and national executive director of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States. “Brian Kessler has been a great supporter on a wide variety of key issues affecting the military and veterans’ community. His work on the veteran- status and transition legislation has been especially noteworthy.”


House Clears T


Legislation Veteran status bill gets a boost.


he House voted 418-6 Oct. 12 to approve the “Veterans Oppor- tunity to Work Act of 2011,” H.R.


2433, sponsored by House Veterans’ Af- fairs Committee Chair Jeff Miller (R-Fla.). H.R. 2433 would reopen Montgomery


GI Bill vocational training benefits to 100,000 unemployed older (age 34 to 64) veterans to help them qualify for jobs in growth areas like health care and technol-


40 MILITARY OFFICER DECEMBER 2011


ogy; upgrade the transition-assistance program and mandate participation by all servicemembers prior to separation; and strengthen reemployment rights for guardmembers and reservists returning from deployments. The House also voted to approve:


• H.R. 1025 (Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn.), which would authorize veteran status for career guardmembers and reservists who were never activated under federal orders (but may have served on other orders for airport security after Sept. 11, 2011, border security, disaster relief, and many other purposes during their careers). The bill pro- vides only the honorific “veteran” title and forbids award of any additional benefits; • H.R. 1263 (Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif.), which would strengthen the Servicemem- bers Civil Relief Act by protecting surviving spouses of servicemembers who die on ac- tive duty or whose death is service-connect- ed from mortgage foreclosure for a period of 12 months (instead of nine months); • H.R. 2349, the Veterans’ Benefits Act of 2011 (Rep. Jon Runyan, R-N.J.), which would authorize the VA to notify veterans electronically regarding their claims to speed up the process and protect veterans’ (and dependents’) pension benefits from reduction after casualty losses; and • H.R. 2074, the Veterans Sexual Assault Prevention and Health Care Enhancement Act (Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle, R-N.Y.), which would require the VA to establish a com- prehensive policy on reporting and tracking sexual assault and other safety incidents at VA medical facilities.


MO


— Contributors are Col. Steve Strobridge, USAF- Ret., direc tor; Col. Mike Hayden, USAF-Ret.; Col. Bob Norton, USA-Ret.; Cmdr. René Campos, USN- Ret.; Capt. Kathy Beasley, USN-Ret.; Col. Phil Odom, USAF-Ret.; Karen Golden; Bret Shea; and Matt Murphy, MOAA’s Government Relations Depart- ment. To subscribe to MOAA’s Legislative Update, visit www.moaa.org/email.


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