Legislature(2013 - 2014)CAPITOL 120
04/08/2014 01:00 PM House MILITARY & VETERANS' AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SJR24 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | SJR 24 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON MILITARY AND VETERANS' AFFAIRS
April 8, 2014
1:07 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Neal Foster, Co-Chair
Representative Gabrielle LeDoux, Co-Chair
Representative Pete Higgins
Representative Shelley Hughes
Representative Lora Reinbold
Representative Max Gruenberg
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Dan Saddler
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CS FOR SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 24(STA)
Relating to certain holiday practices at federal Veterans Health
Administration facilities.
- HEARD & HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SJR 24
SHORT TITLE: VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION POLICIES
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) HUGGINS
02/14/14 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/14/14 (S) STA
03/11/14 (S) STA AT 9:00 AM BUTROVICH 205
03/11/14 (S) Moved CSSJR 24(STA) Out of Committee
03/11/14 (S) MINUTE(STA)
03/12/14 (S) STA RPT CS 4DP SAME TITLE
03/12/14 (S) DP: DYSON, WIELECHOWSKI, COGHILL,
GIESSEL
04/02/14 (S) TRANSMITTED TO (H)
04/02/14 (S) VERSION: CSSJR 24(STA)
04/03/14 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/03/14 (H) MLV
04/08/14 (H) MLV AT 1:00 PM CAPITOL 120
WITNESS REGISTER
ERIC HOLLEN, Staff
Senator Charlie Huggins
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented the committee substitute for SJR
24(STA) on behalf of Senator Huggins, prime sponsor.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:07:37 PM
CO-CHAIR NEAL FOSTER called the House Special Committee on
Military and Veterans' Affairs meeting to order at 1:07 p.m.
Representatives LeDoux, Reinbold, Gruenberg, Higgins, Hughes,
and Foster were present at the call to order.
SJR 24-VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION POLICIES
1:08:11 PM
CO-CHAIR FOSTER announced that the only order of business would
be CS FOR SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 24(STA), Relating to
certain holiday practices at federal Veterans Health
Administration facilities.
1:08:19 PM
ERIC HOLLEN, Staff, Senator Charlie Huggins, Alaska State
Legislature, informed the committee in December 2013, Christmas
cards were not delivered to veterans at Veterans Health
Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA),
facilities based on the language printed on the front of the
cards. Cards that were made by school students and that carried
the greetings of "Merry Christmas" or "God Bless You" were not
delivered to the veterans at the VA facility in Dallas, Texas.
He explained that at the facility, VA policy on this matter was
misinterpreted by an unknown person in charge. The students'
teacher was told that the cards were not acceptable because of
their religious tone. In addition, at a VA facility in Augusta,
Georgia, high school students who had come to the facility to
sing Christmas carols were turned away. In Iowa City, Iowa, and
in Alabama, holiday well-wishers were not allowed to give
presents to veterans if the packages were wrapped in Christmas-
theme paper. Mr. Hollen directed attention to the resolution
beginning on page 2, line 18 and paraphrased the following:
BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature
respectfully requests that the United States Secretary
of Veterans Affairs to reconsider policies that are
currently in place that violate the rights of veterans
at the VA hospital nationally and to ensure honored
veterans receive timely holiday gifts and cards.
REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD spoke of her experience with teachers in
her community who were unsure whether they could say, "Merry
Christmas." She said it was important to not lose American
traditions.
CO-CHAIR LEDOUX asked whether this is a VA policy or a
misinterpretation of a VA policy by an individual.
MR. HOLLEN answered that VA policy was misinterpreted by
specific individuals.
CO-CHAIR LEDOUX said if there has been a misinterpretation of
the policy, the resolution should focus on those individuals,
and encourage VA to enforce the existing policy. She questioned
whether the policy needs to be rewritten.
1:12:36 PM
MR. HOLLEN responded that the intent of the resolution is to ask
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to reconsider the policies and
to ensure that the policies are correctly administered by its
employees.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG expressed his concern about the
situation; however, there is not enough information to see what
the policy is and to ponder the actions of the employees. He
said additional facts are needed such as primary documentation
and witnesses. Representative Gruenberg related that an
assistant attorney general, Civil Division, Department of Law,
advised that his office may investigate, but the committee needs
more information because four or five months have passed and
other action may have been taken. He suggested that the
committee should be in contact with members of the U.S. Senate
Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
CO-CHAIR FOSTER noted copies of an article in The American
Legion entitled, "VA Christmas Card ban defies law" were
provided to the committee.
REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES referred to the resolution beginning at
page 2, line 19 which read:
United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs reconsider
the policies on holiday practices at Veterans Health
Administration facilities and rewrite those policies
so that the violations of veterans' rights described
in this resolution do not occur again; and be it
REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES suggested that if the policies are not the
problem, the committee may consider the following change: That
the legislature basically opposes the action taken at the four
VA facilities and just opposes that interpretation. She
observed if the problem was caused by the interpretation of the
policies, "the RESOLVE really doesn't match up with what you
said."
1:16:42 PM
MR. HOLLEN acknowledged that the confusion in the language is
just that "we oppose the concept of the misinterpretation" and
"have the Secretary of the VA recognize the fact that we're in
opposition of this and we'd like someone to be accountable for
that action." In further response to Representative Hughes, he
said the policies are "OK."
1:17:41 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES asked what VA's policy is concerning
holiday cards.
MR. HOLLEN advised that as a rule, the chaplain at a facility
ensures that the language on the card is appropriate for the
veteran who receives the card; however, in this instance, the
chaplain was not involved in the decision-making process. In
further response to Representative Hughes, he confirmed that the
chaplain would ensure that a card bearing a Christmas message is
not given to a non-Christian.
REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD reiterated that the resolution does not
go far enough and described an incident at Joint Base Elmendorf-
Richardson (JBER). She stated she is aware of evidence that
shows that the religious freedom of soldiers and others must be
protected, and expressed her support for the resolution.
REPRESENTATIVE HIGGINS told of his personal experience while
serving overseas in the military when it was necessary to
respect the law of the land, which restricted the possession of
some religious texts. He agreed that the resolution may not be
strong enough, and urged for language more pointed than "to
reconsider the policies [and] rewrite the policies."
1:22:50 PM
CO-CHAIR LEDOUX agreed with Representative Higgins, and
questioned whether VA regulations need to be rewritten or [staff
members at VA facilities] need to be fired. As written, the
resolution does not clearly identify the cause of the problem.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG said he was unsure of the circumstances
surrounding this matter. He reminded the committee of the
Establishment Clause [of the First Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution] that prohibits the government from favoring one
religion over another, and of the Free Exercise Clause [of the
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution]. He directed
attention to page 2 of the aforementioned article and
paraphrased as follows:
... there has been a federal court decree to stop
denying freedom of religious expression at VA
facilities
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG expressed his interest in looking at
the court order and its relevance to the resolution, because
this would reveal evidence of the circumstances. He urged the
committee to take the time to gather the facts and make informed
decisions, regardless of the subject.
REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES proposed amending the language of the
resolution beginning on page 2, line 18 as follows:
BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature
strongly opposes the actions of the United States
Veterans Affairs officials that prohibited religious
holiday messages and gifts from being conveyed to
veterans at Veterans Affairs facilities in the United
States of America so that the violations of veterans'
rights described in this resolution do not occur again
REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES explained this change would state the
legislature's opposition to what has occurred, but not focus on
whether VA policies are appropriate.
1:27:52 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG observed that to maintain a credible
legislative process is to give an opportunity to know all of the
facts, although he said he did not want to delay the resolution
or excuse anyone's actions.
REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD said she supports the proposed language
except for limiting the affect to facilities located in the U.S.
MR. HOLLEN stated his support for the clarification proposed by
Representative Hughes. He stressed that the intent of the
resolution is to point out that these misinterpretations
happened at four different VA locations.
REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD concluded that there must be a very big
problem to cause these incidents to happen at multiple
facilities. She urged for the committee to "get this to the
floor."
1:31:01 PM
CO-CHAIR FOSTER advocated for an opportunity for Senator Huggins
to respond to the proposed language.
CO-CHAIR LEDOUX spoke in support of the proposed language;
however, the federal decree may reveal whether there is a
problem with the policy, and she urged for its review.
REPRESENTATIVE HIGGINS suggested that the committee submit
proposed amendments to one of the co-chairs prior to the next
meeting.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG again directed attention to page 2 of
the aforementioned article, and paraphrased from a statement by
American Legion National Commander Daniel M. Dellinger as
follows:
... this is a clear case of discrimination on the
basis of religious expression; the courts have already
ruled that such policies are unconstitutional
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG opined the above referenced court case
may be a controlling authority and asked for the opinion to be
made available to the committee.
1:35:09 PM
CO-CHAIR FOSTER opened public testimony on SJR 24.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG stated that if the resolution passes,
copies should be sent to the chair and ranking member of the
U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs: the Honorable Bernie
Sanders and the Honorable Richard Burr.
1:36:01 PM
CO-CHAIR FOSTER, after ascertaining that no one else wished to
testify, closed public testimony. He directed the committee to
send proposed amendments to his aide, Paul LaBolle, who would
provide them to the sponsor of the bill.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG recalled Representative Higgins's
testimony on his experience, and expressed his concern about
that policy.
REPRESENTATIVE HIGGINS explained the policy was part of an
agreement between the U.S. military and the host country of a
U.S. forward base. In further response to Representative
Gruenberg, he clarified that the camp was on foreign soil.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG said he felt this policy would be
troubling to military members.
REPRESENTATIVE HIGGINS concurred.
CO-CHAIR FOSTER announced that SJR 24 was heard and held.
1:39:27 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Military and Veterans' Affairs meeting was
adjourned at 1:39 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SJR024B.PDF |
HMLV 4/8/2014 1:00:00 PM |
|
| SJR 24 - Fiscal Note - SSTA.pdf |
HMLV 4/8/2014 1:00:00 PM |