The 119th Congress first session has started. I know we all have strong positions on many of the issues we are reading or hearing about in the media, or even know first-hand, and it can be therapeutic to yell, scream, and stomp our feet … but that won’t change much. But you can also be proactive by expressing your opinions to those who can actually do something about it, our Congressional Delegation.  Our two senators are on very influential committees. Senator Collins is the Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. She essentially controls the committee that holds the purse strings. Bills can be authorized by the majority of the Senate but the Appropriations Committee must find the money to pay for them. She is also on the Committees for Health, Education, Labor, and Pension; and on the Select Committee on Intelligence. Senator King is on committees critical to our military and veterans. He is on the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Veterans Affairs Committee. He, too, is on the Select Committee on Intelligence. Important to all of us, especially our farmers and fishermen, he is also on the Energy and National Resources Committee. On the House side, Congresswoman Pingree is on the House Appropriations Committee. Like the Senate, the House Appropriations Committee controls the funding of proposed legislation. Congressman Golden is on the House Armed Services Committee, and as a Post 9/11 Marine veteran, he will be able to provide knowledgeable insight on issues important to our military. He is also on the House Natural Resources Committee. Each of our Congressional Representatives want your inputs. You can get their contact information on their websites.

Over the next couple of months, all of our Service Organizations will go to Washington and meet with our Congressional Delegation to let them know what the Service Organization’s National Priorities are. The issues the American Legion has as priorities are (1) eliminating veteran suicide, (2) benefit protection, (3) community care protection, (4) improving the claims and appeals process, (5) increasing survivor support, (6) increasing national security, (7) and Americanism. In the details of their national security priority they mention that the Chinese shipbuilding capacity is 232 times greater than the US … scary! They also point to the fact that both sides want to increase border security, but political fighting keeps it from happening. The American Legion’s priority is to encourage Congress to work together to solve the problem. On Americanism, the Legion reminds us that in 1989 the Supreme Court on a 5-4 vote ruled that the desecration of the American flag was protected by the First Amendment. The Legion wants congress to amend the constitution to allow states the ability to prohibit the desecration of the U.S. flag. 

The VFW 2025 priorities cover the budget, Disabilities, Education Healthcare, Military Readiness, and National Security. Next week I’ll dive into those priorities as well. 

Bottom line: be proactive with your delegation!