Commander Barton, DAV leaders gather for action.

National Commander Bradley S. Barton's confident, forceful and articulate presentation of the DAV's legislative initiatives to a joint House-Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee meeting at the 2007 Mid-Winter Conference packed a powerful punch in winning renewed support for disabled veterans in Congress.

Commander Barton urged mandatory funding for veterans health care, additional VA staff to resolve a claims backlog of 600,000 cases, full and fair concurrent receipt of military longevity retirement pay and disability compensation and stopping in its tracks a law that would allow attorneys to tap veterans' disability compensation as a fee for assisting them in their claims to the VA.

Commander Barton's testimony was backed up by hundreds of DAV members who crowded to capacity the hearing room on Capitol Hill and were joined by a contingent of supportive patients from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., who were wounded in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We as a nation owe them all we can give them to make sure that their life and sacrifice are not ignored or undervalued," said Commander Barton. "I can think of no better way for our nation to show its support for our disabled veterans than to make sure that they don't have to worry about how to get medical care or to support themselves and their families."

"If our government continues to under fund VA programs and fails to provide funding at the start of the fiscal year, it will fail to honor America's commitment to our sick and disabled veterans," Barton warned.

A few weeks after Commander Barton's testimony, Congress began work on a budget blueprint that would increase funding for veterans health care and other discretionary spending by $6.6 billion in fiscal year 2008.

"Time and again when Democrats were in the minority, they vowed to provide adequate funding for veterans health care if they were to regain control of Congress," said Barton. "Now that Democrats have the majority in Congress, it is heartening that some are willing to live up to that commitment."

"While the administration's 2008 budget comes close to providing adequate funding for veterans' programs, it still doesn't guarantee that VA will receive those funds by the beginning of the new fiscal year," said Commander Barton. "Mandatory funding would solve that problem."

"I think the Congress is going to do better than the administration's budget," said House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner (D-Calif.). "Mandatory funding is a necessity we have to get to, and we will try to do this in this Congress."

"We try to work on compromises," said House Veterans' Affairs Committee Ranking Member Steve Buyer (R-Ind.). "A lot of the time we work in solidarity."

"When we send our service members into harm's way on behalf of the nation, we must be prepared to fund VA so that the department can furnish the necessary health care, rehabilitation and compensation to those who have served," said Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii). "I'm committed to working to see the veterans receive the highest quality medical care. We must be sure VA receives the resources needed to care for veterans of all wars."

Chairman Akaka repeated he will not oppose any repeal of the law allowing attorneys to be paid for veterans' claims representation. "I stand by that commitment," he said.

Speaking briefly to the DAV leadership, Senate Veterans' Affairs Ranking Member Larry Craig (R-Idaho) said he is "committed as is every member of these two committees, to seeing that our nation's disabled veterans receive the finest care."

"I know we share common goals of ensuring that our nation's veterans are cared for by a quality health care system, compensated by a fair and accurate adjudication process and honored at the end of their lives," said Sen. Craig.

Opposing the proposed health care fees and attorney's fees, Commander Barton said that veterans should not have to "pay anything but their blood on the battlefield to get their rights." He urged the repeal of the law allowing attorneys to be paid for claims representation as "a disservice to veterans and it does a disservice to America. It is disgraceful we have such a claims backlog. Adding attorneys to the process doesn't make it better," he said.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with an attorney working for a veteran," said Sen. James Webb (D-Va.). "I think there's plenty wrong for an attorney to be paid a fee for it."

A week after Commander Barton's testimony, Rep. Ron Lewis (R-Ky.) introduced a bill to repeal the law allowing fees for attorney representation in veterans benefits cases before the VA.

Sen. Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.) insisted that our nation not only has the funds to care for veterans, but also the obligation. "America is going to finally keep the promises made to our veterans," he said. "You're not asking for any favors. We owe you."

"I think Commander Barton's testimony was dynamite," said Stephen Sachs, a member of Chapter 16 in North Chicago, Ill. "He got the message across. He was very eloquent and very heartwarming. He was very effective."

"I thought the testimony was a dynamic presentation loaded with emotion and force," said Past National Commander Thomas McMasters, a member of Chapter 129 in Shelby Township, Mich., and Department of Michigan Adjutant. "He presented our message which continues to be 'get the claims right the first time.'"

The annual four-day Mid-Winter Conference began Feb. 25 with the Commanders and Adjutants Meeting in which National Adjutant Arthur H. Wilson praised the leadership of the DAV in the support of disabled veterans. "We, the DAV, continue to play a lead role in protecting and defending the rights and benefits that veterans have earned through their service and sacrifices for our country," he said.

"It's difficult to comprehend the modern-day battlefield that our newest generation of servicemen and women must endure," he said. "It's mind-numbing to think of the brutal, hostile environment in which they fight. More frightening still is what the future may hold for those who become sick and disabled as a result of their service."

"When we send Americans to fight and suffer in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, the least we can do as a nation is own up to our obligation to provide comprehensive care for service members, veterans and their families," said Wilson. "Your work here will help us secure the legacy of the DAV for these brave young men and women who will need our organization, support and service for decades to come."

Commander Barton appealed for bipartisan congressional support for veterans when he spoke to the Commanders and Adjutants Meeting. "We now look to new leaders as well as old friends to achieve our legislative goals," he said. "We need bipartisan support to have our legislative goals enacted. Everything can be accomplished by working in unity."

"Our job is to educate lawmakers about the issues vital to disabled veterans and their families," said Commander Barton. "As DAV leaders, you have an important role to play in our efforts--to insist that our government continues to honor America's commitment to veterans and make veterans a national priority."

"It is clear that more, better trained VA claims adjudicators are needed if veterans are to receive fair treatment from their government," he said. "Benefits delayed are benefits denied."

Commander Barton said that DAV's past successes in legislative initiatives have come from steadfast resolve and hard work. "We do not confuse the issues," he said. "We have the clarity of our single and important mission. And we do not give up."

Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson praised the mission of the DAV. "The DAV never gives less than 100 percent," he said. "I am filled with pride to be among America's finest citizens."

Secretary Nicholson said that the VA is giving top priority to the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who are expected to seek help and health care this year. "But that doesn't mean we are abandoning our responsibility to the rest of you," he said. "Accessibility to our services is our top concern. The veterans deserve nothing less."

Nicholson said the VA recognizes the problem with the claims backlog. "We are a victim of our own success," he said. "We will make better use of new technology ... and additional people" to resolve the claims backlog.

Saying he was uncertain about the adverse effect of attorneys representing veterans claims, Nicholson said "common sense says they aren't going to help" the claims backlog.

The Commanders and Adjutants business session was followed by a series of informative workshops on benefits, legislative initiatives, service programs, voluntary services, membership and communications.

Jason Quinn, a customer service representative for Capitol Advantage, outlined to the Benefits Protection Team and Legislative Workshop the needs for an effective grassroots campaign as Congress receives 182 million e-mails a year. He said the most effective campaign utilizes targeted e-mails based on an advocacy strategy that is timely and personalized, which is what the DAV Commander's Action Network does for the organization.

David M. Sevier, executive director of the Commission on the Future for America's Veterans, told the Service Workshop that the five veterans service organizations, including the DAV, which created the panel, are looking far into the future to protect veterans benefits. "We need the American people to have a lasting effect on the future of veterans," he said. "Ten years from now we could be losing the Department of Veterans Affairs."

Sevier says the Commission plans to report to the president, Congress and the nation in late 2008 on how the veterans benefits system can be transformed over the next 15 to 20 years. "We're passionate about this," he said. "We believe the veterans benefits system is an adversarial system. Why should veterans have to fight for their rights?"

"The workshops presented very good information," said Al Buster, a member of Chapter 5 in Bremerton, Wash., and member of the National Executive Committee. "I enjoyed them. The DAV is a well-oiled machine. It helps us work better and gives us a sense of history of the good work of the organization."

During the week DAV leaders fanned out across Capitol Hill urging their elected representatives to support the organization's legislative program.

"I liked going to Capitol Hill to speak to our representative," said Albert West, a member of Chapter 74 in Gloucester, Mass. "I had a very good time in Washington."

"It's good to get together and focus on how you want to present the organization to Congress," said Department of Arizona Commander Bob Digirolamo, a member of Chapter 1 in Phoenix. "I think our issues are right on."

Speaking to the National Executive Committee on the last day of the Mid-Winter Conference, Commander Barton thanked the membership for their support.

"It was a great privilege to deliver the DAV's legislative message to the joint session of the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees," said Barton. "We were denied that privilege last year, but the leadership of the Congress returned to the time-honored tradition of hearing our legislative report in a joint session. Thanks in part to your hard work; the prestige of the DAV has been restored in the halls of Congress."

"The DAV has championed the cause of disabled veterans before Congress and led the way in obtaining adequate health care and benefits for all of our disabled veterans, he said. "It was wonderful to have that kind of support. We again have a tough fight ahead of us. But we are closer to reaching our goals-thanks to you and what you have done."

Commander Barton said he was deeply impressed with the DAV's outstanding record. "We are keeping faith with disabled veterans, their families and the American public," he said. "Our success comes from steadfast diligence on our part. It is an awesome responsibility, to be sure. But good stewardship is our defining obligation. It's the right thing to do for America's veterans."