The American Legion’s national headquarters expressed strong opposition to a proposed gambling casino that would be located next to the battlegrounds of the Civil War’s most crucial battle.
Speaking at a Sept. 21 press conference at the State Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., American Legion Executive Director Peter Gaytan told the audience, “Many say the issue of Gettysburg and this casino is a local issue - I say they are wrong. The history of the country is a national issue and The American Legion believes in protecting Gettysburg - protecting the honor and sanctity of the grounds that those men died and fought for.”
Gaytan’s remarks reinforced an American Legion press release issued Aug. 12, calling a plan to build a casino near the Civil War landmark a “national disgrace.” The proposed casino site is right next to land where Union and Confederate cavalry fought a bloody engagement.
The formation of a new anti-casino group, Veterans for Gettysburg, was announced at the press conference, where a group of Gettysburg citizens, some sporting “No Casino” T-shirts, stood on the Capitol’s main staircase behind the featured speakers: Gaytan, Jan Scruggs of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, and historian Edwin Bearrs, who is also a decorated World War II veteran.
Veterans for Gettysburg also sent a letter to Gregory Fajt, chairman of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, asking the board to reject a developer’s application to open a gaming facility a half-mile from Gettysburg National Military Park.
“We are not against a casino; rather, we are for Gettysburg,” the letter said. “We concur with the judgment of over 275 American historians who also voiced their concern for this project’s unavoidable conflict with Gettysburg’s place in American history.
“We stand on behalf of the millions of Civil War veterans who endured four harrowing years of combat, but are no longer with us to speak for themselves. As you would honor (veterans’) service, we ask you to remember theirs.”
Representatives of the Civil War Preservation Trust also attended the press conference. The organization’s president, James Lighthizer, applauded the formation of Veterans for Gettysburg.
In a statement, Lighthizer said that Gettysburg “holds a special place in the hearts of all Americans, but it is particularly dear to those who have felt the heat of battle. The call to military service is a tie that stretches across the generations and makes all of our nation’s veterans truly one ‘band of brothers.’”
Washington (April 20, 2010) — Less than a week after The American Legion urged Congress to give jobless veterans the “proper training and tools” they need to gain employment, three U.S. senators introduced a new bill today that will help America’s veterans get back into the civilian work force.
The Veterans Employment Act of 2010 was unveiled at a press conference today in front of the U.S. Capitol by its three sponsors: Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash.; Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; and Mark Begich, D-Alaska.
“This bill appears to be a legislative home run because it touches all the bases in addressing key challenges faced by our unemployed veterans,” said Peter Gaytan, executive director for The American Legion here.
“Senator Murray and her colleagues are focused on critical areas that will also provide help for those veterans who are entrepreneurs. For instance, the bill’s Veterans Business Center Program will prove to be a valuable asset. And, once this legislation is passed, The American Legion looks forward to participating in the semi-annual Veterans Entrepreneurial Development Summit,” Gaytan said.
Mark Walker, one of several Legionnaires at the press conference, testified April 15 before the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, calling upon its members to step up congressional action to provide more employment opportunities to veterans - especially those returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“This bill contains several provisions that The American Legion has been advocating for some time,” Walker said. “It will expand GI Bill education benefits to include apprenticeship and training programs, so that veterans can get the licenses and certificates they need for new careers. It also calls for small-business training and counseling, and creates pilot programs to help veterans market their military training more effectively in the civilian sector.
“These are some of the same issues that I just testified on last week before a congressional subcommittee,” Walker said. “Veterans deserve all the job opportunities we can give them -in health care, IT, green jobs - so they can take care of themselves and their families. And The American Legion is going to continue its dialogue with Congress to ensure that employment for veterans remains a high priority.”
Murray’s bill also addresses training requirements for two Dept. of Labor job categories: disabled veterans’ outreach program specialist (DVOP) and local veterans’ employment representative (LVER).
“As a former DVOP in North Dakota, I am fully aware of the important role these positions can be in helping veterans overcome employment barriers and become more marketable,” said Steve Robertson, legislative director for The American Legion.
“Veterans have so many transferable skills that most potential employers need - solid work ethic, self-discipline, reliability, mission-oriented and team players,” he said.
According to a news release from Murray’s office, the new bill is the “first legislation that takes a comprehensive approach to addressing skyrocketing veterans unemployment rates. The bill includes a series of proposals that improve training, skills transition, education, and small business assistance programs.”
Current Dept. of Labor statistics indicate that veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are among the hardest hit of unemployed Americans, with an alarming jobless rate of 14.7 percent. Among younger veterans (18 to 24 years old), the 2009 unemployment rate was 21.1 percent.
The American Legion is urging the Department of Veterans Affairs to redouble its efforts to reduce the staggering backlog of disability claims filed by veterans. According to the Legion, more than 400,000 new claims are now pending, with an additional 200,000 denials being appealed.
“The VA disability claims backlog is a problem that won’t go away anytime soon, but VA can reduce it by emphasizing quality over quantity in the way it processes those claims,” said Peter Gaytan, executive director of The American Legion’s headquarters in Washington. “One of the most effective ways we can help veterans and their families is to make sure these claims are processed carefully and thoroughly - and that the correct decision is made the first time.”
The American Legion is also urging Congress to work closely with VA in its efforts to reduce the claims backlog. The Legion’s Legislative Division director, Steve Robertson, meet with federal legislators Thursday to recommend that Congress uses its oversight authority to measure progress being made by VA, and to consider Legion recommendations on how to improve the situation.
Many veterans submit appeals on VA denials of disability claims, and The American Legion’s Appeals and Special Claims Unit in Washington handles more than 600 of them every month.
Barry Searle, director of the Legion’s Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation Division, said the appeal process can get complicated, and most veterans whose claims are denied by VA never make the attempt to file an appeal.
“About 85 to 90 percent of veterans who are denied either accept the decision - which is often a mistake - or don’t really know how to go about changing it,” Searle said. “That’s where organizations like The American Legion are critical. Our service officers help veterans get in touch with Legion appeals representatives and assign power of attorney to them. Then we prepare and file a brief at the Board of Veterans Appeals, explaining why VA made a mistake in denying disability benefits to a particular veteran.”
VA can take from six months to more than a year in deciding a claim, according to Steve Smithson, principal disability claims expert for The American Legion. “And if a denied claim is disputed, it can take several years to be resolved.”
Smithson said many claims are rejected because veterans haven’t documented their cases well enough, and VA doesn’t take the time to investigate properly. “So they deny the case. And VA employees get a work credit for each claim they make a decision on, whether it’s the right one or not,” he said. That kind of work incentive program can compromise quality, because getting the proper information and making a proper decision often takes a lot more time. If you start taking shortcuts, then mistakes are made and claims are erroneously denied.”
In recent years, Gaytan said, The American Legion has had a 60-percent success rate for the thousands of Board of Veterans Appeals cases it has handled: VA has either awarded the benefits or sent cases back to its regional offices for further review.
“If any veterans need help in filing their VA claims - or appealing the denial of their benefits - they should contact The American Legion and we’ll help them through the process, free of charge,” Gaytan said.
The American Legion has recently added a benefits calculator for veterans to its Web site.
Article from the National American Legion