Yesterday marked the kick-off of Veteran's For Higher Education's 2011 Spring Break...lobbying Congress. While all of you are sipping your Mai Tais and Mojitos on a Mexican beach, we are sipping on the cold, bitter truth that you are not going to get your benefits grandfathered.
Just kidding. Checking to see if you were paying attention. I would love to devote hours upon hours on the developments taking place here on the Hill. Unfortunately progress on these issues is eating up most of our time, but I wanted to emphasize with all of you that a huge amount of progress is being made and we are absolutely doing the right thing being here advocating for veterans across the nation.
We are raising awareness of an issue that not only has been overlooked, but have been connecting legislators from both houses and both parties to find a solution. Many agree that the original bill was passed too hastily, and that the approach to the legislation was "immature."
Some highlights:
- We have draft language of the bill and support for its introduction into both houses of Congress.
- The CBO is currently doing a study of the bill and will soon produce a cost-figure for a hold-harmless or grandfather clause.
- All senators and representatives that we have met express broad support for the measure.
Again I wish I could write you a less convoluted post, but hey, right now this is politics. Until the final after-action report to the general body, some pictures from D.C.:
Day 1: Dan, Rich, and JJ discussing strategy outside Senator Gillibrand's office.
Taking time to enjoy a hefty midday meal.
John and Rich posing in Union Station at the end of a long day.
Day 2: Jose joins Rich and Dan on our way around Capitol Hill.
The delegation enters the "umpteenth" congressional office for a meeting with legislative directors.
Charlie Rangel's Chief of Staff George Henry joins the delegation for lunch after expressing his support for the grandfather clause.
Rich, Jose, and Dan reorganize after a productive meeting with a subcommittee's senior staff.
Jose checking his e-mail while waiting for the long day to end...
Stay tuned for the blog-post tomorrow. We have a few meetings (with who we can not disclose until they occur) with some game-changing personalities. Have a wonderful Spring Break!
Kudos on all the hard work on the hill!
ReplyDeleteLobbyists in the making (I shudder at the thought :-)
Keep up the great work guys and watch out for John. The last time him and I were on a hill together it was a long night.
ReplyDeleteGodspeed, good hunting, RLTW!
-M