With legislative victory comes responsibility

Dear American Legion Family Members and Friends,

Following a successful year of legislative victories, The American Legion is continuing to press for necessary changes that benefit all veterans, servicemembers and their families.

Among our key legislative priorities for the new Congress are ones calling for:

• Implementing what’s outlined in the PACT Act. The American Legion urges Congress to provide necessary oversight and funding to ensure VA has the resources needed to properly implement this landmark legislation that will help more than 3.5 million veterans affected by toxic contamination.

• Decreasing the rate of veteran suicide. The American Legion encourages Congress to enhance access to alternative therapies, robustly fund VA’s suicide-prevention outreach budget and continue to invest in mental-health research.

• Supporting our Afghanistan allies. The American Legion urges Congress to reintroduce and pass legislation that would grant permanent legal status to Afghan refugees and improve the Special Immigrant Visa process for Afghans who served alongside U.S. servicemembers.

Those are just a few of The American Legion’s priorities, which are outlined here. You can also download and share this brochure that lays out the priorities.

Soon, I will be presenting The American Legion’s legislative priorities to a joint session of the Senate and House Committees on Veterans’ Affairs. The presentation is scheduled for 10 a.m. Eastern Wednesday, March 1. Tune in to legion.org to watch live or view a replay.

In the meantime, there are other ways you can help drive awareness toward our legislative goals.

Visit legion.org/washingtonconference for guidance on how to engage your lawmakers, the Know Before You Go presentation, the legislative agenda and more resources.

You can also participate in our grassroots advocacy via The American Legion’s Grassroots Action Center. It offers information to stay informed on the issues and tools to communicate online with lawmakers and the media about our priorities.

Thank you for what you do, virtually and in person, every day to improve the lives of our fellow veterans, servicemembers and their families.

Vincent J. “Jim” Troiola

National Commander

The American Legion