Page 4 - Desert Oracle April 2020

President’s Corner

PVA Advocacy Legislation Seminar 2020
By Leonard Smith Sr. President

Happy April 2020 to all my Arizona Paralyzed Veterans of America Arizonia Chapter
Brothers and Sisters.

The first week of March brought Paralyzed Veterans of America Chapter members and
advocates to Washington DC for PVA's annual Advocacy & Legislation Seminar.
Attending this years 2020 legislative seminar from Arizona was myself Leonard Smith
Sr. Chapter President. As normal the seminar consisted of two-days of discussing
legislative and advocacy issues, and another two days on Capitol Hill presenting PVA’s
legislative priorities to our states Congressional delegates.

The first two days, we welcomed guest speakers. U.S. Department of Justice (retired),
Lee Page Senior Associate Advocacy Director. Julia Brownley (D-CA) House
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Health Subcommittee Chair, David Capozzi U.S.
Department of Transportation, Graham Keithley Airlines for America, and Blane Workie
U.S. Department of Transportation.

Following the guest speakers and in between updates we had the opportunity to watch
a live streaming from Capitol Hill of PVA’s National President David Zurfluh. David gave
a testimony in front of the Joint House Senate VA Committee.

Every year, PVA prioritizes current issues that are most important to its members and
the disability community as a whole. This year, there are number issues on which PVA
is focusing its efforts. These issues were broken down into two categories. One.
Veterans Priority Issues, and secondly Disability Priority Issues. All issues are as
equally important:

A. Veterans Priority Issues
Protect Access to VA's Specialized Services. The Issue: The Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) Spinal Cord Injury and Disorder (SCI/D) System of Care is comprised of 25
SCI Centers and six long-term care facilities, which provides a coordinated life-long
continuum of services for SCI/D veterans. PVA Position:

• Congress and VA must reform the Department’s hiring practices and pay structure to
ensure the positions, pay, and other incentives offered are competitive with the
private sector.

• Congress must ensure that VA’s core services which include the SCI/D System of
Care remain fully funded.
B. VA's Comprehensive Assistance for
Family Caregivers.
The Issue: On June 6, 2018, President Trump signed into law the VA MISSION Act,
authorizing the expansion of eligibility to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (Caregiver Program) to