ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON MILITARY AND VETERANS' AFFAIRS
April 22, 2021
1:25 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Chris Tuck, Chair
Representative Andi Story
Representative Geran Tarr
Representative Matt Claman
Representative George Rauscher
Representative Laddie Shaw
Representative David Nelson
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 40
"An Act relating to veterans' benefits services and veterans'
benefits appeal services."
- HEARD & HELD
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 16
Encouraging the United States Congress to pass legislation
granting the Hmong veterans of the Vietnam War access to the
same veteran benefits received by United States veterans.
- HEARD & HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 40
SHORT TITLE: VETERANS' BENEFITS SERVICES; DISCLOSURE
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) REVAK
01/25/21 (S) PREFILE RELEASED 1/15/21
01/25/21 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/25/21 (S) STA, L&C
03/04/21 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
03/04/21 (S) Heard & Held
03/04/21 (S) MINUTE(STA)
03/11/21 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
03/11/21 (S) Heard & Held
03/11/21 (S) MINUTE(STA)
03/18/21 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
03/18/21 (S) Moved SB 40 Out of Committee
03/18/21 (S) MINUTE(STA)
03/19/21 (S) STA RPT 4DP
03/19/21 (S) DP: SHOWER, HOLLAND, COSTELLO, REINBOLD
03/19/21 (S) OBJECTION (REGARDING REPORTING OUT OF
COMMITTEE PROCESS)
03/19/21 (S) POSTPONE QUESTION TO MARCH 24 Y14 N2
E3 A1
03/22/21 (S) OBJECTION WITHDRAWN (REGARDING
REPORTING OUT OF COMMITTEE PROCESS)
03/29/21 (S) L&C AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/29/21 (S) Moved SB 40 Out of Committee
03/29/21 (S) MINUTE(L&C)
03/31/21 (S) L&C RPT 5DP
03/31/21 (S) DP: COSTELLO, REVAK, GRAY-JACKSON,
HOLLAND, STEVENS
04/09/21 (S) TRANSMITTED TO (H)
04/09/21 (S) VERSION: SB 40
04/12/21 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/12/21 (H) MLV, L&C
04/22/21 (H) MLV AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
BILL: HJR 16
SHORT TITLE: HMONG VETERANS MILITARY RIGHTS
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) NELSON
04/09/21 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/09/21 (H) MLV
04/22/21 (H) MLV AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
WITNESS REGISTER
SETH DUGGAN, Staff
Senator Josh Revak
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Introduced SB 40 on behalf of Senator Josh
Revak, prime sponsor.
SENATOR JOSH REVAK
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: As prime sponsor, presented SB 40.
VERDIE BOWEN, Director of Veterans Affairs
Office of Veterans Affairs
Department of Military and Veterans Affairs
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided information and answered questions
during the hearings on SB 40 and HJR 16.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:25:40 PM
CHAIR CHRIS TUCK called the House Special Committee on Military
and Veterans' Affairs meeting to order at 1:25 p.m.
Representatives Story, Rauscher, Tarr, Claman, and Tuck were
present at the call to order. Representatives Shaw and Nelson
arrived as the meeting was in progress.
SB 40-VETERANS' BENEFITS SERVICES; DISCLOSURE
1:26:44 PM
CHAIR TUCK announced that the first order of business would be
SENATE BILL NO. 40, "An Act relating to veterans' benefits
services and veterans' benefits appeal services."
1:27:30 PM
SETH DUGGAN, Staff, Senator Josh Revak, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of prime sponsor Senator Josh Revak,
introduced SB 40. He said that SB 40 would require those who
provide veteran benefit services or benefit appeal services, for
compensation, to notify veterans before taking them on as a
client that those services are provided for free through a
veteran service organization. He said that the veteran must
sign and date a disclosure affirming that he/she knows free
services are available, with a civil penalty of $1,000 per
instance levied against providers who don't provide the
information. He described SB 40 as aiming to increase awareness
of available services for veterans, dependents, and survivors.
1:29:03 PM
SENATOR JOSH REVAK, Alaska State Legislature, as prime sponsor,
explained that when servicemembers return to civilian life, the
military must aid in areas such as legal representation or
medical supplies. Veteran service organizations (VSOs) such as
the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and American Legion have
officers trained to provide services which veterans may access
for free instead of paying fees to other providers.
1:30:09 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY said that she appreciates that SB 40 would
make it clear that the services are available instead of having
the information in the fine print. She noted the absence of
commissioned officers corps such as the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Commissioned Corps of
the U.S. Public Health Service in the text of SB 40 and asked
whether those officers could be listed.
SENATOR REVAK answered that it would be appropriate to list
anyone eligible for free VSO services.
1:31:30 PM
REPRESENTATIVE NELSON asked about outreach to veterans.
SENATOR REVAK answered that the veteran would be notified of the
available free services by the person or organization they
approached for assistance.
REPRESENTATIVE NELSON asked what the process for reporting would
be, should the veteran not be notified of the free services
available.
SENATOR REVAK replied that the Director of Veterans Affairs is
available for questions.
1:32:47 PM
VERDIE BOWEN, Director of Veterans Affairs, Office of Veterans
Affairs, Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, explained
that there would be a media campaign and notifications to the
VSOs. He also noted a database of 36,000 veterans who would be
contacted directly with information.
REPRESENTATIVE NELSON expressed support for SB 40.
1:33:44 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked whether regular outreach to veterans
could be made policy at the VSOs.
SENATOR REVAK noted that VSOs have strong outreach efforts and
deferred to Mr. Bowen for more information.
MR. BOWEN explained that the Office of Veterans Affairs has a
monthly meeting with the VSOs and would ensure that the message
is repeated often.
1:35:35 PM
CHAIR TUCK announced that SB 40 was held over.
HJR 16-HMONG VETERANS MILITARY RIGHTS
1:36:20 PM
CHAIR TUCK announced that the final order of business would be
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 16, "Encouraging the United States
Congress to pass legislation granting the Hmong veterans of the
Vietnam War access to the same veteran benefits received by
United States veterans."
1:36:38 PM
REPRESENTATIVE NELSON, as prime sponsor, presented HJR 16 and
read a sponsor statement, which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
HJR 16 encourages the United States Congress to
fulfill the promises made to the Hmong soldiers during
the Vietnam War and grant them access to the same
veterans' benefits received by the United States
veterans.
In the 1960's over 100,000 Hmong soldiers were
recruited by the United States Central Intelligence
Agency to help the United States soldiers in the fight
against communism. The Hmong warriors fought to
intercept and prevent the flow of troops and supplies
along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, and approximately 40,000
were killed as they supported and protected United
States Armed Forces during combat missions.
The Hmong warriors were heavily outnumbered, however
continued to fight, gather critical intelligence about
enemy operations, and continued to undertake rescue
missions to save the lives of downed United States
pilots.
The Hmong soldiers suffered acts of retribution and
atrocities at the hand of the Pathet Lao and North
Vietnamese causing many to flee to Thailand. These
soldiers became refugees because the United States
government encouraged them to fight on behalf of the
United States.
The Hmong people fought bravely in what was called the
"Secret War", and for their loyalty were promised
access to the same veterans benefits as those received
by the United States veterans. The Hmong people have
put their faith and trust in the United States
government, and we are requesting that the promises
made to those who risked everything for our country be
honored. We must recognize how much the Hmong veterans
gave and lost for our country and support HJR 16.
REPRESENTATIVE NELSON noted Representative Tarr's assistance in
crafting HJR 16.
1:39:21 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked why the U.S. Congress has been
historically resistant to honoring the promise to extend
benefits to Hmong soldiers.
REPRESENTATIVE NELSON noted the H.R. 371 (P.L. 106-207), the
Hmong Veterans' Naturalization Act of 2000, and deferred to Mr.
Bowen for further elaboration.
1:40:11 PM
VERDIE BOWEN, Director of Veterans Affairs, Office of Veterans
Affairs, Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, said that
the only benefit for Hmong soldiers extended thus far is burial
rights.
1:40:38 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SHAW described the Alaska Territorial Guard,
recruited in the 1940s but only granted veterans' benefits in
2003. He said the Hmong community was his "lifeline" as a Navy
SEAL doing tactical guerilla warfare. He said while the Hmong
community lost approximately 40,000 soldiers in the Vietnam War,
nearly 100,000 additional Hmong suffered afterward at the hands
of the government. He said that Hmong veterans should be
honored with veterans' benefits and he would appreciate support
for HJR 16.
1:42:53 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked whether the resistance is due to
funding.
REPRESENTATIVE NELSON said that he would not assign motives to
members of the federal delegation or the U.S. Congress and
deferred to Mr. Bowen.
MR. BOWEN explained that the funds would not be significant due
to the low number of Hmong veterans remaining in the United
States. He said that there are approximately 60 living in
Alaska and stated his belief that there are fewer than 500 Hmong
veterans remaining.
1:44:25 PM
CHAIR TUCK asked what the biggest hindrance in recognizing Hmong
veterans is.
MR. BOWEN replied, "I honestly don't know. It took us three
tries to get the burials completed, and [U.S.] Senator [Lisa]
Murkowski and [U.S.] Senator [Dan] Sullivan worked pretty hard
to push those through. I don't know what would stop them from
doing fulfillment of the complete honor that is due them."
1:45:18 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SHAW noted that attempts to pass benefits for the
Alaska Territorial Guard, as U.S. citizens, took two years. He
explained that the cost was minimal due to the low number of
veterans applying for benefits, as well as their advanced age.
He said that due to the low number of Hmong in Alaska, the costs
of their veterans' benefits would be similarly low.
1:46:41 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER asked whether there exists any
documentation regarding the promise to the Hmong soldiers.
MR. BOWEN explained that use of the Hmong soldiers was a CIA
operation and said, "In the black world, if it's not written,
it's not said." He noted testimony from the 1970s in which a
CIA operative said that benefits were promised, but said that
most of the witnesses have since died.
1:48:24 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SHAW said that the nature of covert operations
and guerilla warfare along the Cambodian-Laos border
necessitated the destruction of operational orders. He added,
"With the Hmong community, I can tell you for a fact, you will
find very little written history relative to what they were
involved with, and what they did, relative to the CIA operations
being as covert as they were."
REPRESENTATIVE NELSON noted that he had learned, through his own
research and discussions with the remaining Hmong veterans, that
there is no written documentation.
1:50:00 PM
CHAIR TUCK commented that even if there wasn't documentation,
the agreement should be honored. He then announced that HJR 16
would be held over.
1:51:03 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Military and Veterans' Affairs meeting was
adjourned at 1:51 p.m.