Veterans Update: MOAA “Storming the Hill” Day a Success
In my first update I closed by stating that that this session was off to a fast start and true to form last week was a very successful week for veterans’ legislation. On Monday, January 23, 2012, I hosted the annual MOAA “Storming the Hill” here in the General Assembly. It was an extremely successful event with over 170 co-patrons signed up to support the JLC/DVS legislative objectives. The details are included in the text of the associated press release as listed below.
Veterans related legislation is moving at a fast pace through the General Assembly. All three of the JLC legislative objectives have all passed the House or Senate as appropriate – increasing the number of DVS claims agents by four, reporting of unclaimed cremains. In addition, my bill (HB350) which deletes the Virginia Retirement System offset for disability payments has also passed the House of Delegates. This bill will enable disabled veterans who use the VRS to receive their full disability payments from the Veterans Administration and their full VRS entitlement.
The weekly DVS Matrix of Military and Veteran Bills/Budget Amendments can be found by clicking here. This document tracks the status of some 91 bills and budget amendments that have been submitted this year. I have color coded the document in the following manner:
- Green – The bill has passed the House and or the Senate as appropriate
- Red – These bills have been voted down by a sub-committee, committee, passed by indefinitely and or laid on the table. Passed by or laid on the table means that a bill will most likely not be considered for any further action this year.
Cox hosts Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) State Leaders
Richmond – Delegate M. Kirkland “Kirk” Cox (R- Colonial Heights), House Majority Leader, hosted some 50 members of the Virginia Council of Chapters (VCOC) of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) for their annual “Storm the Hill” on 23 January. This is the 15th straight year Cox hosted this group of military officers who were at the General Assembly to meet with their delegates and senators to garner support for bills supporting their legislative objectives.
Chapter leaders from 15 chapters from around the state representing more than 44,000 Virginia MOAA members traveled to the General Assembly to meet and thank their elected representatives for their strong support for veterans and veteran legislative initiatives. MOAA leaders made a point of requesting their legislators’ co-patron bills supporting Joint Leadership Council (JLC) and Governor McDonnell’s veterans’ legislative packages. The JLC includes representatives from 23 veterans’ services organizations with more than 250,000 members. COL Stu Williams, MOAA State Legislative Chair, proclaimed, “this aspect of the ‘Storm the Hill’ was a huge success as we picked up some 175 co-patrons for 8 pieces of legislation.”
This year, Cox is sponsoring House Bill 1121, a significant VCOC initiative, to increase the number of veteran services claims representatives by four – a 23% increase in the last two years. Cox has also submitted a bill to remove the veteran disability offset from the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) computation of retired pay. This means that a veteran receiving a disability payment from the Veterans Administration will now receive his/her full retirement and disability pay. This brings Virginia in line with Social Security and industry practices.
Delegate Cox’s veterans’ related budget amendment provides funds for the deployment of an automated claims processing system. JLC veterans’ legislation carried by other patrons includes a bill to require mortuaries report unclaimed cremated remains to DVS to help identify veterans and arrange burial in a veteran cemetery. A final initiative will increase the voting members on the Board of Veteran Services.
Another aspect of MOAA’s Assembly day was the many updates they received from the executive and legislative branches. Paul Galanti, Commissioner of Veterans Services (DVS), opened the morning update session by welcoming the attendees and thanking them for their service. He then introduced House Majority Leader Cox. Cox opened his remarks, to the delight of all attendees, by noting he first met Galanti, “when I was a junior in high school the war hero and ex-POW addressed my class. Paul inspired me to go into public service.” Cox went on to say, “I am always proud to work with MOAA and it has been my pleasure to host you for the past 15 years. You have been a leader among all the veteran service organizations in Virginia and I appreciate the work you do for your fellow veterans.” He concluded, “this year promises to be another outstanding year for veteran legislation as over 65 separate bills have already been submitted.”
Speaker Bill Howell (R – Stafford) followed Cox noting he, “attended every MOAA ‘Storm the Hill’ since I became Speaker.” He went on to say, “Delegate Cox is known as your go to guy on military/veteran matters in the General Assembly.” He also spoke of the broad based bipartisan support veterans have in the General Assembly.
Senator John Edwards (D – Roanoke City), Delegates Rich Anderson (R – Prince William), and Chris Stolle (R – Virginia Beach) also addressed the attendees. Karla Bougbey, Senator Walter Stosch’s legislative aide conveyed the Senator’s support as he was unable to attend. The morning session ended with remarks by Lt. Governor Bolling who thanked the veterans for their continuing service. He highlighted the challenges our young men and women face as they return from multiple overseas deployments and with the impending drawdown of our military services. “With an unemployment rate over 20% among our young veteran population, we must do everything we can to help them adjust to civilian life and find gainful employment.”
MOAA leaders visited House and Senate galleries at the start of sessions where they were recognized and received a standing ovation. “Just as MOAA members served in leadership roles on active duty, they continue to serve in leadership positions in veterans service organizations, on many Virginia boards and commissions within the Commonwealth that address veterans’ issues,” stated Delegate Cox during his introduction from the floor.
General Daniel Long, Adjutant General of the Virginia National Guard, led off the afternoon session and was followed by Ms. Cindy Norward, Special Assistant to Attorney General Cuccinelli for veteran issues. Secretary of Veteran Affairs and Homeland Security, Ms. Terrie Suit, closed out the briefing session with a discussion of veterans’ issues. Members of the group spent the rest of the day visiting their individual delegates and senators.
COL Don Kaiserman, USA Ret, summarized the day, “As the Vice-chair of the JLC and President of the VCOC/MOAA, I am extremely pleased with the General Assembly’s support of our 2012 legislative objectives. Reading the tea leaves, I feel confident we will have an excellent year, again, with the General Assembly’s passage of issues which support our veterans and the military community in the Commonwealth.”
Additional Resources
To view pictures of the event, please visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kirkcoxva/tags/moaa/
To view Delegate Cox’s introduction of the MOAA statewide leadership to the House of Delegates, please visit:
