Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative Act of 2020
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Ms. ESCOBAR. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 8354) to establish the Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative within the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 8354
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative Act of 2020.'' SEC. 2. SERVICEMEMBERS AND VETERANS INITIATIVE.
(a) Establishment.--There is established the Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative within the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.
(b) Duties.--The Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative shall--
(1) serve as legal and policy advisor to the Attorney General on the Department of Justice's efforts to enforce criminal and civil laws that impact servicemembers, veterans, and their families;
(2) develop policy recommendations for the Attorney General on how the Department of Justice may improve enforcement of Federal law to support servicemembers, veterans, and their families;
(3) serve as the liaison and point of contact between the Department of Justice and the military departments;
(4) provide counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs to ensure funding decisions take into account servicemembers, veterans, and their families;
(5) consult with components of the Department of Justice to promote the provision of civil legal aid to servicemembers, veterans, and their families;
(6) serve as a liaison and point of contact with the Consumer Protection Branch of the Civil Division of the Department of Justice, with respect to the prosecution of Federal crimes involving fraud that target servicemembers; and
(7) serve as a liaison and point of contact with other components of the Department of Justice as needed to support the enforcement of other Federal laws that protect servicemembers and veterans, as the Attorney General determines appropriate.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of my bill, H.R. 8354, the Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative Act of 2020.
I thank Chairman Nadler for his leadership and support of this important legislation, along with my colleague from Texas, Congressman Taylor, for leading this bill with me.
This measure is the result of a truly bipartisan effort. My staff also worked closely with the committee and incorporated feedback from the Department of Justice in drafting the text. I am so grateful to everyone who made this bill better.
The Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative Act establishes in statute the Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative within the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division. The bill details the initiative's responsibilities to promote the legal interests of servicemembers, veterans, and their families, such as advising the Attorney General on efforts to support this population; developing policy recommendations; and serving as the liaison and point of contact with other components of DOJ to support the enforcement of Federal laws that protect servicemembers and veterans, like coordinating the prosecution of fraud.
As the proud Representative of Texas' 16th Congressional District, home to Fort Bliss and nearly 50,000 veterans, I know firsthand the importance of protecting this population with unique needs that necessitate specialized knowledge of the armed services and veterans' affairs.
I have learned more about the military community through my seat on the House Armed Services Committee, where I have heard various examples of the challenges they face, from financial scams that unfairly target this population to unsafe housing conditions.
Currently, the Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative draws on personnel from the Civil Rights Division and the Office of Justice Programs to enforce civil laws, such as the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986, and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, among others, to protect our servicemembers, veterans, and their families.
Creating an independent and permanent home for these employees will allow them to better protect servicemembers and preserve institutional knowledge. The bill would also ensure that DOJ is coordinating closely with the military departments so that servicemembers, veterans, and their families are aware of their legal rights and available benefits.
Several veterans service organizations have endorsed this measure-- Paralyzed Veterans of America, Student Veterans of America, and Veterans Education Success--recognizing the significance of having a dedicated focus on those who have served our Nation.
Finally, I am grateful to Senator Hirono for introducing this measure in the Senate, and I look forward to working with her to advance the bill further.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Ms. ESCOBAR. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would like to thank my colleagues, specifically Mr. Taylor for his partnership on this very important bill and, again, Chairman Nadler and all of those, including staff and members of the Department of Justice, who made this a better bill.
Our servicemembers and veterans have worked tirelessly to protect us at home and abroad. It is only right that we work as hard as possible to protect their rights and shield them from abuses such as fraud, predatory lending, and other victimization.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this bipartisan effort to ensure the best for our servicemembers, veterans, and their families, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Judiciary, Committee, I rise in strong support of H.R. 8354, the ``Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative Act of 2020,'' which would permanently establish the Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative (SVI) within the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Civil Rights Division.
I thank my colleague from Texas, Congresswoman Escobar (TX-16), for introducing this important legislation, which I am proud to be a cosponsor.
The Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative Act details SVI's responsibilities to promote the legal interests of servicemembers, veterans, and their families within the Department of Justice.
Among the responsibilities of the SVI would be to make policy on behalf of the Attorney General on legal issues that impact servicemembers, veterans, and their families and appoint a liaison to the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division to coordinate Federal prosecutions involving cases of fraud against servicemembers.
SVI currently has no formal statutory authorization so assigning a liaison in SVI to coordinate criminal fraud prosecutions is critical to protecting servicemembers.
Civil actions initiated by DOJ have not, thus far, stemmed the rising number of fraud schemes, in housing in particular, that target servicemembers.
Criminal prosecutions, available under the current fraud statutes, would provide a strong deterrent to widespread efforts to defraud servicemembers.
By giving SVI a permanent home in DOJ's Civil Rights Division, this bill would ensure that DOJ will continue to provide outreach to servicemembers, will provide the Attorney General with policy recommendations on servicemember-related matters, and will enforce the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986, and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, among other laws.
Mr. Speaker, fraud schemes that target servicemembers and their families are especially pernicious.
Within just the preceding five years, the FTC received over 163,000 reports of fraud targeting military retirees and veterans, and nearly 13,000 fraud reports from active duty service members.
More shamefully, the FTC ascertained that the median loss in these cases was significantly higher for servicemembers and veterans than for their civilian counterparts.
Establishing this direct link to the Criminal Division will enable the Justice Department to be more effective in addressing civil and criminal frauds against servicemembers and their families.
A significant number of military veterans live in Houston, Texas.
They are business owners, laborers and community servants who continue to contribute to the local economy.
It is estimated that 18.5 million veterans live in the United States, of which 282,511 call Houston home.
In fact, the Houston metropolitan area is home to nearly one-fifth of Texas' veterans.
Houston-area servicemen and women have served in the Gulf wars, the Korean War and World War II.
But the largest percentage of the Houston veteran population served in the Vietnam War. Most of them are between 35 and 54 years old.
I call on my colleagues to join me in voting in favor of H.R. 8354 to provide much needed support for our nation's veterans.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Ms. ESCOBAR. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source