Military-Veterans Advocacy Report from Capitol Hill - Supplement Sometimes when you ask folks to pray for something you are amazed at the results! Last week, I asked folks to pray because I felt that the Blue Water Navy movement was under attack from within the Congress. I still feel that our very few enemies there will continue to push back on our issue. However, there has been a positive development. House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Dr. Phil Roe R-TN, has agreed to schedule a Legislative Hearing on HR 299 on April 5, 2017. I will be invited to testify and the hearing will stream live on the HVAC web site. I do not have the time yet. Please, when you are calling the HVAC tell them to thank Chairman Roe for calling the hearing. In the six years we have been fighting for this bill we have never had a Legislative Hearing in the House. So I consider this progress. We believe we have a friend in Chairman Roe. Lest anyone get over-confident, however, we have had a Legislative Hearing in the Senate in 2015 and we were unable to move the bill forward because of the offset problem. Senator Sanders disapproved our first offset proposal, round downs, and Senator Leahy shot down our second proposal, which involved a surcharge on student visas. We still have to overcome the offset problem, although this hearing is a step in the right direction. Our recommendation is that the bill not move forward for mark-up until after my meeting with Secretary Shulkin scheduled for April 21 and the result of our court suit expected by July. Either or both of those events could widen the presumptive coverage and reduce the overall cost of the bill dramatically. The progression in the House is as follows: First step is a Legislative Hearing to determine the merits of the bill. Second step is a mark-up Hearing where the offsets are identified and the bill is normally combined with several other bills. The third step is referral of the marked up bill to the floor. Then the Majority Leader schedules it for a vote. If it passes the House it is sent to the Senate where it goes through a similar process. Since we have already had a Legislative Hearing in the Senate, we may be able to go straight to markup. Alternatively, we can “hotline” it and ask for unanimous consent. That is what we tried to do last year with S-681 until Senator Leahy withheld his consent. One idea that is being bandied about to lower the overall cost of the bill. That idea is to pass health care only with no compensation. Then we could come back later for the My initial reaction was to oppose this for two reasons. One I am afraid that some in Congress will think this is a good compromise and that we will never get compensation. Certainly the offset problem remains. Secondly, it continues to put the BWN in a second class status. My belief is that the BWN should be given the same benefits as their brothers and sisters serving ashore and in the brown water. If we have to do this incrementally, I would rather do it based on geographic areas starting with the harbors. But I am not personally affected by any of this, so I need your feedback and thoughts. Military-Veteran Advocacy’s press release is attached. Pleas print. and send you your local media both print and electronic.