Help: Women’s VA Benefits and Legislation

 

 

 

Dear Friend

With just months remaining in the 116th Congress, we need your help to get the Senate and House to reach an agreement on passing comprehensive legislation to ensure that women veterans have equitable access to VA health care and benefits.

With a strong push from DAV and other veterans service organizations, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3224, the Deborah Sampson Act, with overwhelming support. This legislation includes a number of provisions to improve women veterans health services in accordance with DAV Resolution No. 020. If enacted, this legislation would strengthen sexual harassment policies and procedures; increase the number of women’s health providers; permanently authorize women veterans’ counseling retreats; extend days for newborn care; and provide additional focus on how women veterans experience homelessness and intimate partner violence.

However, the Senate has still not approved its version of the Deborah Sampson Act, S. 514, nor does that legislation include all of the critical provisions within the House-passed bill (H.R. 3224) that we believe are extremely important. Therefore, we are asking Senators to strengthen their bill by adding in key provisions from the House-passed bill. Further, we need to ask both the Senate and the House to reach an agreement and pass a comprehensive version of the Deborah Sampson Act so that the President can sign it into law this year.

Please use the prepared letters to contact your Representative and your Senators to ask them to pass an amended version of S. 514 or a conference package that includes provisions of the House-approved version of the Deborah Sampson Act, H.R. 3224.

Thank you for your support of the nation’s women veterans.