This week I am in D.C. as Maine’s Military Officers Association of American (MOAA) delegate to the National MOAA “Advocacy in Action (AiA)” event.  MOAA, like the American Legion, VFW, DAV, AMVETS and other service organizations, annually spend one dayon the “Hill” where theirstate’s delegates meet with their respective Senators and Congresspersons to advocate for the priorities each organization has set for that Congressional session.

For MOAA, there are five key priorities: (1) Improve Access to Healthcare, (2) Support Family Caregivers, (3) Expand on Ending Wait Efforts, (4) Keep Focus on Military Housing, and (5) Promote Spouse Hiring Act. Improving Access to Healthcare is a little strange to me because back in my time in the service, a military person would go to their service hospital, like Bethesda Naval Hospital in D.C. or Letterman Army Hospital in San Francisco, for medical treatment.That system changed 12 years ago, combining them all into the Military Health System (MHS). The problem, apparently, is that the transition hasn’t been smooth, and beneficiaries lack a consistent, effective, and well-understood system for reporting access challenges and getting help navigating MHS. Support for Family Caregivers is an issue many in this community face. Nearly 3 out of every 4 veteran caregivers are caring for veterans age 60 or over, yet their stipends are classified as “unearned income” preventing contributions to Social Security or retirement accounts. 

MOAA is asking Congress to provide meaningful support to rebuild caregiver’s careers, plan for retirement and protect their mental health.  Expand on Ending Wait Efforts from recognized exposure to treatment/compensation. Vietnam veterans, for example, were exposed to Agent Orange and the VA has acknowledged 16 medical condition cause by AO.But it took decades for that acknowledgment to happen. Even now, when the VA acknowledges exposure to a toxic exposure has caused a medical condition, it takes 2.4 years, on average, for it to be presumptive. 

MOAA is proposing eliminatinglegal barriers and developing a system that deliverstimelycare and compensation veterans have earned. Keep Focus on Military Housing because a sad fact is that thousands of service members live in substandard barracks plagued by mold, pests, sewage overflows, and broken safety systems. There is currently a $137B backlog in deferred maintenance. MOAA is urging Congress to approve the funds to address this backlog. 

The Promote Spouse Hiring Act addresses the issue that military spouses have over five times the national unemployment rate. Two incomes are necessary in this economic environment to prevent food insecurity facing our enlisted and junior officers andrelocating every 2-3 years makes getting a job a challenge.Financial strain for military families impacts military readiness and servicemember retention. MOAA is advocating for several actions to lower the unemployment rate.  

MOAA National will likely have even more pressing recent issues concerning the VA that we will be discussing.  I will also be addressing specific issues related to Maine veterans. I’ll report back in next week’s article.