Today marks #WomenVeteransDay in several states. OTD in 1948, President Truman signed the Women's Armed Services Integration Act, making women permanent members of the armed forces the #WomenVetsTaskForce, led by @RepBrownley, advocates for the 2 mil living women veterans.
@RepBrownley The 68 members & participants of the Task Force are working to increase the visibility of #WomenVeterans, promote inclusivity, and ensure equitable access to healthcare, benefits, education and economic opportunities. So far members have introduced 10 bills. 👀
Many veterans who served in Afghanistan have received direct requests from Afghan allies to establish eligibility for a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV).
Scroll through to see the latest instructions from @StateDept for assisting Afghan allies with those requests.
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(2/8) SIV applicants must be able to prove that they have at least one year of qualifying employment by, or on behalf of, the U.S. government. The majority of SIV applicants are in this stage of the process.
Veterans who served as the direct, senior supervisor, or a person familiar with the work of SIV-eligible Afghans for/on behalf of the United States may submit a letter of recommendation or evaluation.
See below for what should be included in that letter ⬇️
Last year, @BetsyDeVosED rewrote the Borrower Defense rule, making it harder for student veterans to receive debt relief or be forgiven for their student loans.
@RepSusieLee's resolution prevents this rule from going into effect.
THREAD (1/9): Today, the @WhiteHouse PREVENTS Task Force unveiled its report regarding veteran suicide.
This report – advanced w/ limited input from Veteran Service Organizations or lawmakers – shows we have much more work to do to prevent veteran suicide & save veterans' lives.
(2/9) Calls for more research, interagency coordination, & meek public education campaigns are not enough.
That’s why the Committee adopted a 7-pillar framework to ensure it examines every angle, intersection, & factor that can eliminate suicide. Learn more about the approach ⬇️
(3/9) One of these pieces of legislation is Chairman @RepMarkTakano's Veterans' ACCESS Act.
This bill makes sure that any veteran in crisis – regardless of discharge status or VA eligibility – can receive the emergency #MentalHealth care they need without ever seeing a bill.
For information on how #COVID19 will impact veterans and what the Committee is doing to make sure @DeptVetAffairs is ready to care for those with COVID-19, visit our resource page.
This page will be continually updated as more info becomes available.