Advocacy: A Continous but Necessary Battle

BY BILL PATON, CHAIR

As we have seen in recent months, legislation affecting millions of veterans can move down many different paths and in unexpected ways.

Sometimes, bills follow a predictable, long-planned timeline. Weeks or months are spent holding hearings, sharing information, and building support or opposition for proposed changes. Other times, as with the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act, major omnibus packages containing dozens of provisions across the veterans policy landscape can emerge with little or no advance warning.

That unpredictability is precisely why our advocacy cannot be reactive. Instead, it must be constant.

With Election Day approaching, October will put many members of Congress and congressional candidates back in their states and districts, creating an important opportunity for VVA members to engage them directly on issues affecting our lives and the lives of future generations of veterans.

I urge every VVA member and chapter leader to take advantage of this opportunity. We must present lawmakers with our top legislative priorities, explain why these issues matter, and, most importantly, share personal accounts of how these decisions directly affect our community.

As Government Affairs Committee Chair, I urge all VVA members to use the tools our committee provides to ensure that your voices reach Capitol Hill.

Grassroots engagement isn’t just a buzzword—it is our most powerful weapon. Writing to your members of Congress, calling their offices, scheduling meetings at local district offices, and attending town halls are essential habits. These efforts must take place consistently, year-round, whenever critical veterans issues arise.

There are two immediate ways you can take action. First, respond to VVA Action Alerts and, if you have not already done so, sign up to receive notices about current legislation. You can also use VVA.org to find your elected officials and their contact information, as well as previous alerts.

Second, stay informed. Follow the policy discussions featured here in The VVA Veteran and raise them at your chapter meetings.

Throughout VVA’s history, we have learned one fundamental truth: the more active and engaged our membership is, the stronger our seat at the table.

When we stay persistent and unified, we can help shape the policy debate long before a final bill reaches the floor of the House or Senate. Support for important veterans legislation is often built in unexpected places—especially when veterans speak directly and persistently with their elected representatives.

Let’s keep up the fight. Together, our persistent advocacy will help ensure that Vietnam Veterans of America continues to be heard.

Focusing on our Mission, not on Politics

BY JAMES McCORMICK, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS

I’ve been working in government affairs since 2010. Before coming to Vietnam Veterans of America, I served as the National Commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. Over the years, I’ve worked with elected officials, agencies, veterans service organizations, nonprofits, and grassroots advocates from every corner of this country.

I’ve seen disagreements. I’ve seen heated debates. That’s part of democracy. But the last few years have been particularly challenging, as too often the focus shifts from the mission to politics.

Our job at Vietnam Veterans of America isn’t to pick winners and losers in elections. It isn’t to campaign for one political party or against another. Our responsibility is much simpler than that. We are guided by our congressional charter, our Constitution, our resolutions, and the needs of veterans, their families, their caregivers, and their survivors.

That is the mission that must guide us.

Being nonpartisan does not mean being silent, timid, or unwilling to challenge either party. It means judging every proposal by its effect on veterans, not by the party or politician behind it.

The minute an organization becomes openly partisan, it starts giving away the one thing it cannot afford to lose: its credibility. And in government affairs, credibility is your currency.

Members of Congress will not agree with us on every issue. They do not have to. But they must trust that when Vietnam Veterans of America walks into the room, we are there to talk about veterans.

That reputation has been earned over decades by men and women who understood that our mission was bigger than any election cycle.

Where I come from in Appalachia, there is an old saying: Before you go worrying about somebody else’s porch, you’d better make sure your own porch is swept clean.

That’s good advice for organizations too. Sometimes we spend so much time talking about what somebody else is doing that we forget to look in the mirror.

How are we communicating? How are we treating one another? Are we building unity, or creating division?

Every organization experiences disagreements, strong personalities, and moments of tension. But there is a difference between honest disagreement and needless destruction. One strengthens an organization. The other tears it apart from the inside.

Every public argument, unnecessary attack, headline, and social media fight adds up. Each one affects how veterans, the public, policymakers, and potential partners view Vietnam Veterans of America.

Government Affairs carries VVA’s reputation into every meeting on Capitol Hill. Our success does not depend on being the loudest voice in the room. It depends on being one of the most trusted.

Trust is what earns us a seat at the table. And as the old saying goes, if you are not at the table, you are probably on the menu.

Honest disagreement, expressed with mutual respect, can make VVA stronger. Personal attacks, partisan loyalty, and internal conflict cannot.

We must remain focused on the mission, protect the reputation entrusted to us, and refuse to let politics become our identity.

The Vietnam War generation taught America what can happen when division overshadows the nation’s duty to those who served. We should never allow that mistake to be repeated within our own VVA family.

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