A message from Senator Thom Tillis

Strengthening VA Accountability

Recently, the President signed into law bipartisan legislation I co-sponsored that reforms the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) by allowing the secretary to dismiss bad employees and providing protections for whistleblowers. This long-overdue legislation will remove the layers of red-tape the VA has to comb through to remove poor-performing employees, and I look forward to the VA having the tools it needs to have the right people in place.

 

Modernizing the G.I. Bill

Last week, I co-introduced broad, bipartisan legislation that seeks to improve veterans’ education benefits. The Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017 includes the following provisions originally I introduced as standalone legislation:

  • The Veterans Education Experience Improvement Act of 2017, bipartisan legislation that would improve veterans’ experience when using GI Bill education benefits and provide resources and training for the officials at educational institutions who serve student veterans.
  • The Veterans Education Relief and Reinstatement Act of 2017, bipartisan legislation that would reinstate lost benefits to veterans whose education benefits are affected by the permanent closure of certain educational institutions.
  • The Veterans Education Priority Enrollment Act of 2017, bipartisan legislation that ensures veterans, servicemembers, and surviving spouses and children of servicemembers who have died in the line of duty can take full advantage of their education benefits.
  • The Yellow Ribbon Improvement Act of 2017, bipartisan legislation that would extend Yellow Ribbon Program benefits to Fry scholarship recipients.
 

Streamlining the Process for Troops to Get Their CDL

In June, I co-introduced bipartisan legislation with Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) that streamlines and eases the burden on the process whereby active-duty military, reservists and veterans apply for their commercial driver’s license. This legislation will eliminate burdensome red tape so our active-duty military, reservists, and veterans can use the experience they gained serving our nation to count towards the credit needed to obtain a commercial driver’s license.

 

Thank you for reading my e-newsletter, I will continue to work hard to represent all North Carolinians in the Senate and deliver results. As always, please don't hesitate to contact my office if we can assist you in any matter regarding a government agency. If you would like to unsubscribe from my e-newsletter, please click here and please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube for daily updates on my work in North Carolina and Washington! 

All the best,