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What’s Next?

By: Stephanie Kalota 
Founder, Veteran Legislative Voice & AHG Correspondent

Now that both primary political parties have completed their conventions, what is next for American politics? For our presidential candidates, it’s campaigning and debates. For our incumbent politicians and other political candidates, it’s also campaigning until the general election. However, incumbent politicians (who also may be campaigning) have 125 days left until the end of the Congressional term. 

For the presidential candidates, campaigning in battleground states is very important. The battleground states are Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. They are the battleground states because they could swing to either political candidate. All of these states were won by less than three points in the 2020 presidential election. To finish out August, both former President Trump and Vice President Harris have rallied in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Georgia. There have been talks of VP Harris going to Florida for a fundraiser, and more talks about how that state may be the 8th sleeper battleground state. So, there is a possibility of more events in the Sunshine State. Political pundits are thinking that Florida may be in play to flip from red to blue because there are a few Democrat-supported bills on the ballot like reproductive health protections and recreational marijuana. Florida’s Senator Rick Scott also has a challenger, former House Representative Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who is within the margin of error in the post-primary polls.

The next big event that many voters are looking forward to is the presidential debate on September 10th. When Vice President Kamala Harris took over the Democratic ticket, there was uncertainty about whether former President Donald Trump would adhere to the agreements made with President Biden. But he did post on his social media that he would hold to his agreement, but he would stick with the muted mike rules. For those who aren’t aware, former President Trump had agreed to mute the microphones while the other debater was speaking. This was something that the Biden camp negotiated, which was in response to the 2020 debate where former President Trump didn’t allow current President Biden to speak without interruptions. There are speculations that the Harris team wants the mic rule to be voided so that former President Trump could show his negative side, and possibly provide more viral moments for Vice President Harris.

Without a doubt, there are likely viral moments to come. 

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2nd Anniversary of the Passage of the PACT Act

By: Stephanie Kalota 
Founder, Veteran Legislative Voice & AHG Correspondent

On August 10, 2022, The Honoring Our PACT Act was passed and signed. This act established presumptive conditions for the Gulf War and post-9/11 wars, which are known to be related to toxic exposure to burn pits. According to the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, “two years later, more than 1.1 million toxic-exposed veterans and survivors are receiving PACT Act-related benefits… In addition, more than 156,000 veterans have enrolled in VA health care under a PACT Act enrollment authority. VA has also screened more than 5.6 million for toxic exposure-related health conditions under the PACT Act…” The White House released a press release, including that the act was “Named in honor of Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson, a decorated combat medic who died from a rare form of lung cancer, this historic legislation is delivering timely benefits and services to veterans—across all generations—who have been impacted by toxic exposures while serving our country.” Not only that, “the survivors of veterans who died from a toxic related illness, the PACT Act provides a pathway to benefits including monthly stipends, access to home loans and education benefits as well. Surviving veteran spouses with children could qualify for over $2,000 per month and funding toward college tuition.”

But as we are coming up to the general election, it’s important to remember what happened before the passage. After the PACT Act was largely approved, Senators added one last amendment, which added a lot of government funding to the bill that had nothing to do with VA disability. So, Senator Toomey called this pork barrel spending and claimed that the funding was not going to help veterans. He led the charge to disapprove the bill as a whole, where Senator Ted Cruz iconically fist-bumped another senator. This, of course, caused a high uproar with veterans and local veterans protesting the Capitol. But in reality, this funding was to establish facilities for veterans because the AIR Commission was killed. It was dead because it recommended closing or downgrading veteran medical facilities, and this also caused an uproar. The AIR Commission recommended the closure and downgrading and facilities because it predicted where the veteran population would decrease. So why would politicians like Senator Toomey lie? Passing this bill could be seen as a win to the opposing political party. But how could they lie? That’s because of the Speech and Debate Clause, which protects them in whatever they say. 

So please verify what politicians say before deciding who to vote for this November.