TOMORROW: House Committee to Vote on Three Bergman Veterans Bills
Washington,
October 15, 2019
On Wednesday, October 16th, the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs will hold a Full Committee markup to consider three bills led by Congressman Jack Bergman: H.R. 561—Protecting Business Opportunities for Veterans Act of 2019; H.R. 4162—GI Bill Planning Act of 2019; and H.R. 4477—Reducing High Risk to Veterans and Veterans Services Act.
H.R. 561—Protecting Business Opportunities for Veterans Act of 2019 Rep. Jack Bergman introduced H.R. 561 with Rep. Ann Kuster (D-NH) and Rep. Neal Dunn (R-FL) to safeguard Veteran-owned small businesses performing work under VA contracts. The legislation cracks down on the bad actors within the system which waste tax payer dollars, cut into the profits intended for Veterans, and sideline law-abiding Veteran business owners who want to perform the work. Read the previous press release HERE. H.R. 4162—GI Bill Planning Act of 2019 Rep. Jack Bergman introduced H.R. 4162 with Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-NY) to save money for new military enlistees and make it easier for them to understand their future education benefits. Specifically, this bill allows recruits 6 months - instead of just 2 weeks into boot camp – to decide if they want to pay $1200 for Montgomery GI Bill eligibility. Nearly 70% of recruits sign up to pay the expense, but few will ever actually choose this program over the newer Post 9/11 GI Bill. Additionally, this legislation responsibly ends new enlistee enrollments in this outdated benefit by 2030. Read the previous press release HERE. H.R. 4477—Reducing High Risk to Veterans and Veterans Services Act On the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Ranking Member Jack Bergman co-led the introduction of H.R. 4477 with Chairman Chris Pappas (D-NH). This bill requires the VA to submit plans to Congress on how it will address issues and recommendations from the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) “High Risk List.” In a recent hearing, the Subcommittee had learned about shortfalls in the VA’s efforts to implement recommended changes to programs which are highly susceptible to fraud, waste, and mismanagement. |
