Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) has been advocating for the VA health care and benefits our members need, as well as their civil rights as people with disabilities, since 1946. With the rise of digital technology, PVA has taken its advocacy efforts to a whole new level. The ability for PVA members and supporters to advocate for needed legislation is an increasingly important tool for change and we need your help. 

Through PVAction Force, we are able to engage and mobilize more members and supporters than ever before. Our platform allows PVA members to share their stories with legislators and become advocates for causes important to veterans with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D).  Not a PVA member? We need your voice, too! Join us to advocate on the Hill from the comfort of your own home and have your voice be heard in the political process. You are capable of making a difference in your community and in Washington, DC.

We want to draw your attention to a few new legislative alerts. First, we have added alerts for S. 10, the VA CAREERS Act, and S. 42, the BUILD for Veterans Act.  If passed, these bills would help preserve access to VA’s specialized health care services. Respectively, they would allow VA to better care for veterans with SCI/D through added staffing and improved infrastructure. 

Despite aggressive hiring practices during the pandemic and recent congressional action to help VA recruit and retain necessary health care professionals, low staffing levels persist throughout the SCI/D system. The VA CAREERS Act would provide VA with additional tools to compete for highly qualified medical personnel and support training for current and future VA clinicians to improve care for veterans. The BUILD for Veterans Act would help streamline the process VA uses to design and build medical facilities and infrastructure projects. 

We have also added an alert for H.R. 542/S. 141, the Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act, which focuses on support for non-institutional care or VA home and community based-services (HCBS). PVA strongly supports increasing access to services that help our members get the long-term care they need in their homes. More services are desperately needed. This bill would make critically needed improvements to HCBS, including raising the cap on non-institutional care, expanding the Veteran Directed Care (VDC) program, creating a pilot program to address direct care worker shortages, improving family caregiver support, and paying for caregivers serving hospitalized veterans in the VDC program.

Help us with supporting these bills by going to our PVAction Force center and contacting your legislators. Use your voice to make our impact even greater. Veterans deserve to be taken care of, and these bills will help in supporting them.