Veterans Benefits Committee Update January/February 2022
BY JOHN H. RILING III, CHAIR
At the December 16 meeting of the Veterans Benefits Committee the contract with the Bergmann & Moore law firm was discussed and a motion passed to recommend to the Board that the contract be renewed.
We also discussed the VA Revocable License for Non-Federal Use of Real Property form, which deals with the request for VVA National office space in Baltimore. All VVA accredited staff working in VA Regional Offices should have received similar requests.
Felicia Mullaney reported that the Ohio grant needs to be reviewed and that Vermont was given an extension to apply. All the other state councils and chapter applications have been received and reviewed. Those nine grantees are Alaska, Arizona, Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Vermont, Washington, and Chapter 317 in Missouri. The VBP grants subcommittee met in January to complete the approval process.
Alec Ghezzi reported that the pre- and post-accreditation training is progressing, and that he is working on a state schedule to roll out beyond Massachusetts and Michigan. General discussion included having more form-by-form, line-by-line training for commonly used forms.
The National Convention in Greensboro was discussed and tentative plans for the 2022 Leadership Conference were made. There will be VSO training there, and VA Debt Management is interested in attending. The training will be recorded. President Jack McManus ordered an internal investigation to determine if Veterans Voices of America is a viable option for VVA to pursue.
Gumersindo Gomez discussed the need to offer additional VSO help for Puerto Rico veterans. The committee passed a motion to recommend that $13,000 be set aside to pay for Marc McCabe’s expenses to travel and assist veterans in Puerto Rico.
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