Friends,
There is a famous quote attributed to John Lennon that is, “life is what happens to us when we are busy making other plans”. Often when talking with veterans of our armed forces, this sentiment enters the conversation when discussing unexpected life paths after active duty – especially when it comes to their educational pursuits.
Since it was first enacted in 1944, the GI Bill Department of Veterans Affairs education benefit has helped cover a significant portion of the costs associated with getting an education or training for service members, family members and eligible veterans.
While the GI Bill has changed over the years, it is not meeting the evolving educational and training needs and methods required by our service members and veterans in 2017. In fact, too many veterans are not able to access this benefit even though they earned when fulfilling their duties in service to our country.
I am happy to report the U.S. House of Representatives will soon be considering legislation I have cosponsored to address the problems and provide the biggest reform and expansion of the GI Bill educational and training benefits in over a decade.
| National Federation of the Blind Convention |
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I was a keynote speaker at the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) Convention in Orlando, Florida on July 15, 2017. I talked to the delegates about my work in Congress to make adaptive technologies more accessible for all blind Americans such as my Access Technology Affordability Act (H.R. 1734). In the above photo I am joined by the NFB Iowa President Jerad Nylin and James and Sharon Omvig from Des Moines.
The photo above is from my Second Annual Senior Wellness and Security Expo in Waukee. I spoke with these two presenters about federal, state and local issues related to Iowa seniors. Another Expo was held in Creston this past Friday and the final Expo will take place on Saturday, July 29th from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Iowa Western Community College's Kanesville Arena located at 2700 College Road in Council Bluffs. All Iowa seniors and their families are welcomed to attend this one-stop-shop of valuable resources and information. More information is available HERE.
 I enjoyed my visit with Titan Roofing and Exteriors and participants of their non-profit Titan Project. In the above photo I am discussing with their staff, who are all veterans, how federal government can be supportive of organizations which involve our veterans. Their hearts are calling them to help bring community to fellow vets and provide help.
I had the honor to once again address the students from the Mandela Washington Fellowship at Drake University in Des Moines. In the photo above I am discussing our system of government. While the participants come to the United States to learn more about our country, they also reminded me that, even with the political strife we see today, we are lucky we live in a country with a right to free speech and expression of beliefs. Some of the countries these young adults come from don't offer these same freedoms.
Three year old Major from Waukee, his family and great representatives from Blank Children's Hospital stopped in to meet with me to discuss Medicaid, CHIP and the impacts of current healthcare laws and proposed reforms for families who have children with complex health needs like Major's. In the above photo Major is leaving a note and card in my office display case which details our meeting about working together for healthcare solutions that work for everyone.
In the above photo I am meeting with representatives of the Iowa Farm Bureau who stopped by my office to discuss important agricultural issues being debated in Congress.
The selfie is now an official form of communication in America. The above photo was taken during my discussion with Iowans about the federal issues they came to Washington, D.C. to discuss with me. This is a weekly coffee Congressman Dave Loebsack and I hold in the nation's capital to give visiting Iowans yet another opportunity to discuss important issues we will deal with in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Thanks for reading this update. Please take care.
David
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