id,filing_uuid,filing_type,registrant_name,registrant_id,client_name,filing_year,filing_period,issue_code,specific_issues,government_entities,income_amount,expense_amount,is_no_activity,is_termination,received_date
2693598,0dcd02c4-e182-4f7f-8eb5-802e4b5e37ae,Q3,"AMERICAN FED OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO",54302,AMERICAN FED OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES AFL-CIO,2021,third_quarter,VET,"Lobbied for changes to Veterans Benefits Administration's (VBA) employee performance standards.

Lobbied for increased oversight and changes to performance standards for Legal Administrative Assistants in the VBA National Call Centers.

Lobbied for comprehensive changes to internal VBA processes for claims, including changes to the VBA National Work Queue.

Lobbied on the processing of complex claims within the Veterans Benefits Administration, including how it relates to Military Sexual Trauma and Traumatic Brain Injury.

Lobbied for the specialization of claims processing for highly complex cases.

Lobbied for reimbursement for Bar Membership attorneys working at the Board of Veterans Appeals.

C&P Exams:

Lobbied against contracting out of Compensation and Pension (C&P) Exams and bringing those exams back into the VA.

Lobbied to keep all specialty C&P Exams including but not limited to Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Military Sexual Trauma (MST), veterans who served as Prisoners of War (POWs), veterans who suffered catastrophic injuries, and veterans who are currently eligible (or will likely soon be eligible) to pursue toxic exposure claims.

Lobbied for the VA to utilize more internal C&P Providers by hiring more staff and returning staff to C&P positions who had previously been reassigned.

Lobbied to keep Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES) Exams within the VA.

Collective Bargaining Rights:

Shared proposals for a bill to eliminate two provisions of the VA Accountability Act.
 
Lobbied for the withdrawal of President Trumps May 2018 Executive Orders 13836, 13837, and 13839.

Lobbied in support of the implementation of President Bidens January 2021 Executive Order 14003: Protecting the Federal Workforce in a timely fashion.

Lobbied for oversight into the Biden Administrations implementation of Executive Order 14003.

Lobbied for the introduction of the VA Employee Fairness Act H.R. 1948/S. 771

VA Infrastructure:

Lobbied for Asset Infrastructure Review (AIR) Act repeal.

Lobbied for the VA to hire staff to fill its tens of thousands of vacancies.

Lobbied for the nomination of Mr. Richard C. Loeb as a nominee for the VA AIR Commission

VA Budget:

Reconciliation:

Supported the $18 billion investment in VA infrastructure as part of FY 22 reconciliation. 

Military Construction-VA Appropriations (H.R. 4355)

Lobbied MilCon-VA for staffing language to address vacancies.

Lobbied Milcon-VA for language to defund the VA AIR Commission.

Lobbied Milcon-VA for specific funding related to the Veteran Benefits Administration to hire additional staff, pay for additional overtime, fix technological issues, expand telework, and restore the pre-decisional review process.

Lobbied the VA Committee to insert language into Milcon-VA to limit the contracting out of specialty C&P Exams.

National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 4350):

Advocated in support of the Newman (D-IL) Amendment that Directs the Department of Defense to conduct a study on herbicide agent exposure, such as Agent Orange and Agent Purple in the Panama Canal Zone between January 1, 1958 - December 31, 1999, or the day in which a member of armed services departed from official duty in the Panama Canal Zone.

Advocated in support of the Lynch (D-MA) and Green (R-TX) Amendment that establishes a presumption of service connection for veterans with diseases associated with toxic exposure, during deployments for support missions into Afghanistan between 2001 to 2005, to substances found at Karshi-Khanabad (K2) Air Base in Uzbekistan.

Advocated in support of the Meng (D-NY) Amendment that Includes veterans who participated in the cleanup of Enewetak Atoll between January 1, 1977 and December 31, 1980 as radiation-exposed under the Department of Veterans Affairs presumption of service-connection for specified cancers, which would allow these veterans to be awarded health care benefits and disability compensation for conditions that are presumed to be caused by circumstances of military service in the Enewetak Atoll.

AFGE Submitted Testimony, Statements for the Record, or letters for the following hearings:

House Veterans Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs titled VA Appeals Program: Examining the State of Modernization Efforts.""  Gillian Slovick, a member of AFGE Local 17, testified on AFGEs behalf during this hearing (July 13, 2021).
 
House Veterans Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations titled Modernizing the VA Police Force: Ensuring Accountability. (July 13, 2021).
 
House Veterans Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on Health Legislative Hearing (July 14, 2021).
 
Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Markup (June 23, 2021).

Specific Legislation:

Lobbied in support of H.R. 1948/S. 771 the VA Employee Fairness Act.

Lobbied in support of H.R. 962/S. 1888 the Law Enforcement Officer Equity Act and the importance of this bill to the VA Police Force.

Lobbied in support of certain provisions of H.R. 2429, the VA Police Improvement and Accountability Act.

Lobbied for H.R. 3693, the VA CPE Modernization Act, and its importance to VA Clinicians.
Lobbied against S. 2041, the VA Provider Accountability Act.
 
Lobbied for S. 458, the Veterans Claim Transparency Act of 2021.
 
Lobbied for small changes to S. 1031, To require the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study on disparities associated with race and ethnicity with respect to certain benefits administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.

Lobbied for H.R. 392/S. 561, the FAIR Act to raise pay for federal employees at the VA.

Lobbied against S. 1071, the VA AID Act of 2021.

Lobbied for changes to H.R. 5575, the VA Nurse and Physician Assistant RAISE Act.

Lobbied in support of prior changes made to S. 1093, To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish in the Department the Veterans Economic Opportunity and Transition Administration, and for other purposes.

Lobbied against H.R. 4626, the VA AIM Act.

Lobbied for changes to S. 2041, the Department of Veterans Affairs Provider Accountability Act.

Lobbied against S. 1863, the Guaranteeing Healthcare Access to Personnel Who Served Act.

Local Issues:

Lobbied Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Representative Jason Smith (R-MO) on mold issues at the Poplar Bluff, MO VA Medical Center.

Lobbied Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) on reported suicides at the Seattle, WA VBA Regional Office.

Build Back Better:  Lobbied for inclusion of federal employee priorities - title 5 rights for Transportation Security Officers, paid family and medical leave for federal employees, less restrictive student loan forgiveness, equalizing locality pay boundaries for wage-grade employees, and restoring the employee contribution to the Federal Employee Retirement System to 0.8% for all federal employees.","Agriculture, Dept of (USDA),Air Force, Dept of,Army, Dept of (Corps of Engineers),Army, Dept of (Other),Bureau of Citizenship & Immigration Services (BCIS),Commerce, Dept of (DOC),Defense Commissary Agency,Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA),Defense, Dept of (DOD),Defense Finance & Accounting Service (DFAS),Education, Dept of,Energy, Dept of,Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA),General Services Administration (GSA),Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS),Homeland Security, Dept of (DHS),HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,Housing & Urban Development, Dept of (HUD),Interior, Dept of (DOI),Justice, Dept of (DOJ),Labor, Dept of (DOL),Natl Institutes of Health (NIH),Navy, Dept of,Office of Management & Budget (OMB),Office of Personnel Management (OPM),SENATE,Transportation, Dept of (DOT),Transportation Security Administration (TSA),U.S. Coast Guard (USCG),U.S. Customs & Border Protection,U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE),U.S. Marines,Veterans Affairs, Dept of (VA),Voice of America",,420000,0,0,2021-10-19T16:35:01.657000-04:00