ICYMI: Three Rep. Bergman Bills Approved by Committee
Washington,
October 17, 2019
Yesterday, Congressman Jack Bergman advanced three of his bills through the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs during a Full Committee Markup. Each piece of legislation was approved unanimously by the bipartisan body.
"Working in a bipartisan manner, we passed three of my bills through the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs yesterday. These policies will help us ensure we keep our nation’s promises to those who have served. I’m proud that both sides came together to protect Veteran-owned businesses, help new enlistees save money by better understanding their education benefits, and improve Veteran care through increased accountability,” said Rep. Bergman. In addition, during the Full Committee Hearing, Ranking Member Dr. Phil Roe urged the Committee to formally consider Rep. Bergman’s H.R. 3495, the IMPROVE Well-Being for Veterans Act, which will finally give the VA key tools in the fight against Veteran suicide. VA Chairman Mark Takano agreed to include the IMPROVE Act in the October 29th Full Committee Markup. The legislation now has over 140 bipartisan cosponsors. Read the previous release on the IMPROVE Act HERE.
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. CLIP: Bergman Speaks on H.R.561 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 Additionally, this legislation responsibly ends new enlistee enrollments in this outdated benefit by 2030.Read the previous press release HERE. CLIP: Bergman Speaks on H.R.4162 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 that are highly susceptible to fraud, waste, and mismanagement. CLIP: Bergman Speaks on H.R.4477 |
