3 big things that happened during Honor Their Sacrifice

Concerned Veterans for America’s Honor Their Sacrifice campaign has wrapped up after 60 days of non-stop activity.

We started this campaign with a mission – ask whether lawmakers are honoring veterans’ sacrifices with their policy decisions.

Thanks to our grassroots army, we saw incredible success and the beginning of important conversations in Washington, D.C.

Here are three big things that happened during the Honor Their Sacrifice campaign:

1. Activists sent thousands of letters to Congress – We have a passionate and dedicated group of supporters who can’t be slowed down. During Honor Their Sacrifice, activists sent more than 41,000 letters to their representatives and senators, asking them to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, stop reckless spending and give veterans more choice over their medical care.
2. Lawmakers met with CVA crowds – Our state chapters kept the momentum going with phone banking, educational events and policy town halls to get their local activists up to speed on the Honor Their Sacrifice campaign. Arizona took center stage with two policy town halls with Rep. Paul Gosar and with Rep. Andy Biggs. Rep. Gosar spoke about his support for the withdrawal of troops from the conflict in Syria and the need for a reformed foreign policy. Rep. Biggs focused heavily on veterans’ health care, the need for a renewed focus on veteran mental health, and what Washington is doing to ensure vets get the care they need when they need it.
3. CVA brought the conversation to Capitol Hill – We were busy all over the country, but also in Washington. CVA held an event on Capitol Hill to discuss specific policy reforms lawmakers need to consider. Speakers included former VA Secretary Anthony Principi, House VA Committee ranking member Phil Roe and Texas Rep. Chip Roy. Both Principi and Rep. Roe agreed that the VA was headed in the right direction thanks to the VA MISSION Act, which gives more veterans access to medical care when they need it. “[Choice is] making VA a much better health care system,” Principi said. Rep. Roe added that the VA MISSION Act makes the VA “stronger, leaner and a better organization.” However, Rep. Roe did add “we need to do a better job of explaining what your options are.”

Rep. Roy shifted gears to foreign policy in his remarks. He discussed the need for Congress to make tough but necessary decisions about engagement in Afghanistan and around the world. “I believe congress needs to act with clarity, they need to pass a modern authorization of force that is crystal clear about how our military should be engaged, where it should be engaged and what we should be expecting out of that military.”

You can watch the entire event here:

We couldn’t be happier with the success of Honor Their Sacrifice. Our grassroots activists were heard loud and clear – they want lawmakers to consider the sacrifice of veterans when making policy decisions!

The fight to honor veterans doesn’t end here. We’ll keep advocating each and every day on behalf of veterans and the country they fought to defend.

Read a personal story from Honor Their Sacrifice.