Today is Veterans Day! It is a day for us to thank & remember the veterans who have served and protected our nation. We must never forget them, or the sacrifice of the families who they must leave behind to fight on the front lines of freedom. November 11, 2022 Dear John, Today is Veterans Day! It is a day for us to thank & remember the veterans who have served and protected our nation. We must never forget them, or the sacrifice of the families who they must leave behind to fight on the front lines of freedom. On behalf of all Southern Californians, thank you, veterans. From meeting with my Veterans Advisory Board to hear first-hand about the challenges they face, to supporting legislation that helps our veterans, I have been dedicated to supporting our veterans during my time in Congress. Please enjoy this special edition of my weekly newsletter, dedicated to our heroes. Get the details about all of this and more below, and make sure to follow my Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to get these updates in real-time. Honoring our Heroes Armistice Day was created to commemorate the end of World War I on November 11, 1918. Following World War II and the Korean War, Congress changed the name from Armistice Day to Veterans Day, making November 11 the day on which we honor America’s military servicemen and women. President Reagan once said that, “freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.” Our veterans fulfill this duty to the highest degree. Today, we thank & remember the veterans who have served to protect our nation, and we will never forget the sacrifice of the families who our service members must leave behind to fight on the front lines of freedom. On behalf of all Southern Californians, thank you, veterans. I have met with my Veterans Advisory Board on many occasions to hear first-hand about the challenges facing our veterans. It is important to me that we discuss healthcare, records retrieval, and other veterans' issues coming before Congress. Our Orange County veterans are heroes and I am thankful to hear from them so I can better serve them in Congress. Meet the 2022 Veterans of Distinction To commemorate Veterans Day 2022, I asked you to nominate veterans you feel deserve special recognition to receive the Veterans of Distinction award. I’m proud to recognize 11 Veterans of Distinction, nominated by you, for their exceptional service to our nation and community. Learn more about the honorees visit my website, and be sure to thank a veteran in your life today! To each of the honorees, congratulations and thank you for your service. Meet the Honorees Supporting Our Veterans In Congress We can never fully repay the debt that we owe these honorable American patriots, but we can ensure that our government lives up to its promises to our veterans. As your representative in Congress, I'm working to make sure our veterans receive the care, support, and benefits that they have earned a hundred times over. Here is some of the legislation I've supported in Congress to help our veterans: Honoring our PACT Act, which was signed into law, provides health care and benefits for millions of veterans injured by exposure to toxins, from Agent Orange in Vietnam to burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill will prevent generations of veterans from being forced to prove that their illness was caused by toxic exposures suffered in the military in order to get VA coverage Ensuring Veterans’ Smooth Transition (EVEST) Act, which simplifies the transition process and takes critical steps to prevent veteran suicide by automatically enrolling eligible servicemembers in VA healthcare. Hire Student Veterans Act, which would provide a tax credit to businesses that hire part-time veterans who are using their VA-administered educational benefits and taking advantage of paid internships and other work opportunities while still in school. Veterans’ Preference Parity Act, which would update statutes that currently restrict many service members from qualifying for veterans’ preference points when competing for federal positions. Current federal hiring preference rules require more than 180 consecutive days of active-duty time for service members to qualify. The Veterans’ Preference Parity Act would change the requirement to a nondiscriminatory total day threshold. VETS Safe Travel Act, which will provide TSA PreCheck to certain severely injured or disabled veterans. Major Richard Star Act, which would repeal the unfair offset of DoD retirement benefits and VA disability compensation and provide full concurrent receipt for these Chapter 61 veterans with less than 20 years of service. This bill would provide approximately 50,000 retirees who have been discharged due to combat-related injuries access to their DoD retirement pay. PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act, which became law, requires the VA to conduct a five-year pilot program to provide canine training to eligible Veterans diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder as an element of a complementary and integrative health program. Learn more about my votes and legislation Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War Our veterans deserve our thanks and recognition for their service. Unfortunately, many Vietnam veterans did not receive the thanks they deserved when they returned home from the war. The Vietnam War 50th Commemoration program was authorized by the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and established under the Department of Defense. One of the main objectives of this program is to thank and honor these Veterans for their selfless service to our nation. All Vietnam veterans who served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces from November 1, 1955 to May 15, 1975 regardless of location are eligible to receive one lapel pin. My office is an official commemorative partner of the program. The commemorative partner program supports local efforts to thank and honor the over 6.2 million Vietnam veterans living in America and abroad today. There are approximately 1.8 million veterans that reside in California, and veterans who served in the Vietnam war make up the largest share of California’s veteran population. If you or someone you know is an eligible Vietnam veteran who would like to be honored with a Vietnam veteran lapel pin, fill out the form on my website. Learn More Honoring Veterans Non-Profits Recently, I was proud to recognize the Veterans Association of Real Estate Professionals as the Non-Profit of the Month. They are working hard to provide education on housing resources like VA home loans and financial literacy to our military service members and veterans. What I'm Reading This Veterans Day, consider the reasons to serve What we can all do, on this Veterans Day, is to expose our young people to the many benefits of service, and do our part to encourage them to consider the role it can play in their life, and for ou... Read more thehill.com Veterans Day: A look at the Korean Conflict and the... Seventy years ago, U.S. troops were engaged in the Korean conflict. It has been called the forgotten war but is making headlines lately. A new memorial Last Veterans Day, the first Korean War Memorial that lists the names of more than 36,000 U.S. ... Read more www.ocregister.com Thanks for taking the time to read about what I've been doing on behalf of Orange County families. Be sure to connect with my official Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages, where I post the latest news and updates. It is an honor to serve you in Congress. Sincerely, Rep. Michelle Steel Member of Congress ‌ ‌ ‌ Visit our website Rep. Steel | 1113 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected]