‘Every Veteran Counts’ Would Include National Survey
As illustrated in a web banner, the VA has been reaching out to LGBTQ veterans, especially those discharged under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell restrictions, but now some legislators and veterans advocates are seeking to broaden the conversation around equity and inclusion.
WASHINGTON — While there has been considerable focus by VA in recent weeks on reaching out to LGBTQ veterans, especially those discharged under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell restrictions, some legislators and veterans advocates are seeking to broaden the conversation around equity and inclusion.
A collection of recently submitted bills would, among other things:
- Create a commission to study the stigmatization and criminalization of LGBTQ people in the military;
- Direct VA to gather and analyze data on veteran demographics across the nation;
- Study the plight of women servicemembers forced to separate from the military because they were pregnant; and
- Change VA’s motto to be more inclusive.
The goal of all of these bills, according to the legislators sponsoring them, is to create a more welcoming, inclusive VA.
The Commission on LGBTQ Servicemembers and Veterans Act (HR-1596) was introduced in April by House VA Committee Chairman Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA), and discussion around the bill has been recently revived.
“This presidential commission will examine long-standing inequities for LGBTQ veterans, compile information on history and military policy, hold public hearings, identify impacts of discriminatory policies on servicemembers, and make recommendations to remediate those effects,” Takano said in a House VA Subcommittee on Oversight hearing last month. “To avoid repeating sordid episodes from our nation’s past, we must understand the breadth and depth of what transpired.”
The 16-person commission would include members chosen by the president, VA, DoD, and Congress.
National Survey
The Every Veteran Counts Act, introduced last month, would direct VA to conduct a new national survey of veterans. The last such survey was conducted over a decade ago.
The bill includes survey questions that ask a veteran whether they: experienced military sexual trauma; were exposed to environment hazards during service; were exposed to dead or dying people while serving; and had ever served in combat, among others
“My bill would substantially help VA plan future programs and services for veterans,” said bill sponsor Rep. Julia Brownley (D-CA). “In addition, it would help Congress and other stakeholders better understand the needs of veterans and subsequently develop policies and allocate resources.”
Brownley also is the sponsor of the Justice for Women Veterans Act. Between 1951 and 1976, women servicemembers faced mandatory discharge if they were to become pregnant or became a parent.
“There are reports that the practice of the armed forces to systematically separate or discharge pregnant members caused some such members to seek an unsafe or inaccessible abortion, which was not legal at the time, or to put their children up for adoption, and that, in some cases, some women died by suicide following their involuntary separation or discharge,” the text of the bill states.
The legislation would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study on those veterans who were discharged and how those discharges affected their access to healthcare and benefits through VA. The study would include recommendations for improving VA access for these veterans.
“We have a concern that GAO and DoD may not be able to provide the information we’re looking for [regarding] these women veterans who were discriminated against during that time period,” Brownley said at the subcommittee hearing. “Hopefully we can [conduct this survey]. But if we don’t, it still seems to me that we should be clear that women who were forced to be discharged can access VA benefits, even though it’s pretty late in the game for most of them.”
While most of the proposed legislation targets specific veteran needs, the Honoring All Veterans Act would amend the mission of the department itself, or at least how that mission is expressed in writing.
VA’s motto, which has remained the same for 61 years, is a quote from President Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address: “To care for him who shall have borne the battle, his widow, and his orphan.”
The bill, which passed the House on Sept. 21, would change this to “To fulfill President Lincoln’s promise to care for those ‘who shall have borne the battle’ and for their families, caregivers and survivors.”
VA officials have told legislators that they would prefer Congress not statutorily require the change, as the department is in the process of doing so themselves. A design team has been speaking with VA stakeholders and expects to have results—presumably in the form of a new motto among other proposals—by the end of January 2022.
Some of these bills might also find opposition in the form of Republican legislators who believe the proposals are redundant or distract from VA’s central mission.
“Studies and advisory committees can be useful; however, VA already has two-dozen advisory committees,” declared Rep. Tracey Mann (R-KS). “I’m skeptical that requiring new studies and creating a new advisory committee to examine policies going all the way back to the Revolutionary War will lead to improved care for veterans who need it now.”
He added, “We need to make sure that every investment made in VA results in improved care for veterans.”