02/14/2026
Legislative Agenda...what would you like your Oklahoma team to focus on? We will be sitting down with our National leaders the first week of March.
Winning the War Within
Veteran su***de remains a national crisis and The
American Legion’s top legislative priority. Barriers such
as access to care, social isolation and economic stress
continue to put veterans at risk.
Congress Must:
• Expand community-based outreach and prevention
• Fund evidence-based mental health treatment
Permanently authorize the SSG Parker Gordon
Fox Su***de Prevention Grant Program
Pass H.R. 3627 – Justice for America’s
Veterans and Survivors Act
Pass S. 3346 – Freedom to Heal Act
Pass H.R. 4837/S. 3314 Written Informed Consent Act
Balance Community Care
The American Legion supports the Veterans Health
Administration (VHA) as the primary coordinator of
care, with community care as a necessary option when
VA services are unavailable.
Congress Must:
• Protect access to community care
• Strengthen VA-community provider coordination
• Expand transportation options
• Improve oversight of the Office of Community Care
• Expand telehealth through partnerships and rural
broadband grants
Pass S. 275/H.R. 740 – Veterans ACCESS Act
Pass H.R. 1107 – Protecting Veteran
Access to Telemedicine Services Act
Improving Compensation &
Pension Exam Processes
Compensation and Pension (C&P) exams are the
gateway to VA health care and disability benefits.
Inconsistent quality of Disability Benefits Questionnaires
(DBQs), often due to insufficiently trained or unqualified
examiners, has created barriers and unequal access for
veterans within a system that now fulfills 93% of VA exam
demand at a cost of approximately $5 billion annually.
Congress Must:
• Improve examiner qualifications and training
• Strengthen quality control and oversight of DBQs
Pass S. 2493 – Medical Disability
Examination Improvement Act of 2025
Improve Care for Women Veterans
Women are the fastest-growing veteran population,
totaling 2.3 million nationwide. Many face agerelated and service-connected health challenges that
remain under-researched.
Congress Must:
• Invest in gender-specific care at the DoD and VA
• Increase research on reproductive health
Pass S. 1245 – Servicemembers and Veterans
Empowerment and Support (SAVES) Act
Pass S. 609 – Building Resources and Access for
Veterans’ Mental Health Engagement (BRAVE) Act
Pass H.R. 219 – Improving Menopause
Care for Veterans Act
Guard & Reserve GI Bill Parity
National Guard and Reserve members serve at
home and abroad yet lack equal access to earned
education benefits.
Pass H.R. 1423 – Guard and Reserve
GI Bill Parity Act of 2025
Strengthen Defense, Honor Service
Rising costs of living and limited access to services
undermine retention, recruitment and readiness.
Congress Must:
• Pass FY27 NDAA amendments addressing
housing, dining facilities, childcare, spouse
employment, and education benefits
• Correct an inequity for combat-injured, medically
retired veterans by authorizing full concurrent
receipt of DoD retirement pay and VA disability
compensation
Pass H.R. 1827/S. 847 – Child Care Availability
and Affordability Act
Pass H.R. 2102/S. 1032 – Major Richard Star Act
Advance Armed Forces Lethality
Maintain U.S. military superiority through
modernization.
Congress Must:
• Increase defense R&D funding
• Invest in the National Defense Strategy
• Expand shipbuilding capacity
• Secure critical minerals through domestic and
allied supply chains
Pass H.R. 3151/S.1541 – Shipbuilding
and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity
and Security (SHIPS) for America Act
End Veteran Homelessness
Veteran homelessness stems from complex,
interrelated challenges requiring a comprehensive
response.
Congress Must:
• Increase project-based HUD/VASH vouchers
• Permanently authorize Supportive Services for
Veteran Families (SSVF) Program
• Fully fund the Grant Per-Diem program as
authorized
Pass H.R. 1957 – End Veteran Homelessness Act
Pass H.R. 3869 – Every Veteran Housed Act
Strengthen our Domestic
Supply Chain and Promote
Veteran Entrepreneurship
Veterans face barriers to pursuing entrepreneurship,
especially in gaining access to start-up capital and
competing in federal contracting.
Congress Must:
• Strengthen veteran entrepreneurship and
domestic economic opportunity
• Create opportunities to provide veterans with
access to capital
• Prioritize veteran-owned small businesses in
federal contracting
Pass H.R. 865, The Service Disabled Veteran
Opportunities in Small Business Act.
Pass S. 3171, Veteran Entrepreneurship
Empowerment Act
Protect the U.S. Flag
Since a 1989 Supreme Court decision defined
deliberate acts of U.S. flag desecration as
protected by the First Amendment, The American
Legion has led efforts to restore penalties for
physical desecration of the U.S. flag.
Pass H.J.R. 101/S.J.R. 58 – Proposing
an amendment to the Constitution of the
United States authorizing the Congress
to prohibit the physical desecration
of the flag of the United States
