Charlotte, NC – With Honor Action fights polarization in Congress in part by working alongside the veteran, cross-partisan For Country Caucus (FCC) of veterans in the U.S. House and initiating, advancing, and passing into law bipartisan efforts that matter for our nation and world. With Honor Action supported and helped pass into law the following pieces of bipartisan legislation:
National Security and U.S. Competitiveness:
- Strengthened America’s cybersecurity by enacting several of the recommendations from the Cybersecurity Solarium Commission’s final report, including the establishment of a National Cyber Director, the development of a strategy to secure government emails, the evaluation of the need to organize a Cyber Reserve Force, and the creation of a Joint Cyber Planning Office.
- Reaffirmed strong congressional support for the North American Treaty Organization (NATO), which is critical to achieving United States national security interests and defense objectives around the world.
- Countered foreign adversaries at home and abroad by codifying Huawei’s place on the Commerce Department Entity list; addressing foreign talent recruitment programs, and requiring the disclosure of foreign funding sources to obtain federally funded research awards.
- Required the President to continue to report to Congress regarding the legal and policy frameworks for the use of military force and related national security operations.
National Service and Civic Education:
- Increased funding for national service programs by $1 billion to increase living allowances for those who serve and deploy needed support to communities impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Established a new Ready Reserve Corps within the U.S. Public Health Ready Reserve Corps to aid in our response to the coronavirus and future public health emergencies.
- Provided medical malpractice liability protection for volunteer health care workers supporting COVID-19 response efforts, so that doctors can volunteer their skills and help alleviate the public health workforce shortage during this crisis.
- Expanded STEM and Civic Education in America’s High Schools through the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Program.
Veterans Affairs:
- Reduced the tax burden for approximately 67 thousand Gold Star families by ensuring they can continue to receive all of the survivor benefits they are entitled to.
- Provided paid parental, family caregiving and medical leave to America’s more than 2.1 million civil servants.
- Increased basic pay by 3.1% for all active duty servicemembers, the largest pay increase in a decade.
- Combated sexual assault in the military by increasing the number of lawyers available to ensure sexual assault survivors receive adequate help throughout the legal process.
- Eliminated the widow’s tax, which previously prevented more than 65,000 surviving spouses of fallen soldiers from receiving their full survivor benefits, saving these families an average of approximately $12,000 per year.
- Expanded childcare services and financial resources to surviving family members of servicemembers who die in the line of duty.
- Ensured greater interoperability between the Department of Defense and the VA’s electronic health systems.
- Extended full military honors at the funerals of recipients of Medals of Honor and former prisoners of war.
- Provided legal services to veterans with outstanding warrants or fines, child support matters, license revocations, as well as specific assistance for women veterans and their families.
- Reimbursed state licensure and certification costs for military spouses, so they can continue their careers after their spouse changes duty stations.
- Allowed free access to America’s National Parks and federal recreation sites for families of servicemembers who have died in the line of duty while serving in the military.
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With Honor Action is a cross-partisan movement focused on supporting military veterans who want to work across the aisle and put principles before politics while serving again in Congress. With Honor Action’s advisory board includes post-9/11 veterans and Gold Star family members — Chris Howard, Ryan Manion, and Medal of Honor Recipient Florent Groberg — as well as prominent American leaders such as Secretary Robert Gates, Senator Tom Daschle, Admiral Michael Mullen, Gen. Nadja West, and David Gergen.
With Honor Action is a 501(c)(4), which serves as the organization’s policy and social-welfare arm. With Honor has an affiliated federally registered “super PAC” called With Honor Fund.