ADVOCACY FOR VETERANS

What is the United Veterans Alliance of America PAC?

UVAOA tracks and supports legislation that supports continuing education for Veterans. Many Veterans enlist in the Armed Services straight out of High School or receiving their G.E.D. and  never have the opportunity to further their formal education which in turn assists in a better quality of life for the Veteran and their families.

House Bill 1652 was  introduced by Rep. Lois Frankel and Rep. Gus Bilirakis on March 8th, 2019 and has been referred to the Committee on Education and Labor. As such, this PAC will support these candidates who are advocating for Veteran education-assist programs and other Veteran-centric legislation.

VETERAN EDUCATION EMPOWERMENT ACT

Congress finds the following:

1. Over 1,000,000 veterans attend institutions of higher education each year.
2. Veterans face unique challenges in tran­si­tion­ing from the battlefield to the classroom and eventually to the workforce, including: age differences, family obligations, significant time away from academic life, and service-related disabilities.
3. The National Education Association found that veteran students can feel lonely and vulnerable on campus and that “connecting student veterans can effectively ease this isolation” by bringing together new veteran students with those who have already successfully navigated the first few semesters of college.
4. According to Mission United—a United Way program that helps veterans re-acclimate to civilian life—it is often “essential” for veteran students to be mentored by “another veteran who understands their mindset and experience”.
5. Veteran Student Centers are recognized as an institutional best practice by Student Veterans of America.
6. The American Council on Education, which represents more than 1,700 institutions of higher education across the United States, has called having a dedicated space for veterans on campus “a promising way for colleges and universities to better serve veterans on campus” and a “critical” component of many colleges’ efforts to serve their veteran students.
7. The Department of Education included as one of its 8 Keys to Veterans’ Success that colleges and universities should “coordinate and centralize campus efforts for all veterans, together with the creation of a designated space for them”.
8.  Budget constraints often make it difficult or impossible for institutions of higher education to dedicate space to veteran offices, lounges, or student centers.
9. The 110th Congress authorized the funding of Veteran Student Centers through the Centers of Excellence for Veteran Student Success under part T of title VIII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1161t). Congress also chose to appropriate funding for this program for fiscal year 2015 under the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (Public Law 113–235).
10.  According to the Department of Education, federally funded Veteran Student Centers and staff have generated improved recruitment, retention, and graduation rates, have helped veteran students feel better connected across campus, and have directly contributed to veteran students’ successful academic outcomes.