Political Quotes

“I rise today to introduce the Formerly Owned Resources for Veterans to Express Thanks for Service Act of 2013, also known as the FOR VETS Act of 2013. I am pleased that Senators Leahy and Carper have joined me in cosponsoring this bill. This bill is necessary to ensure that veterans' service organizations are provided access to federal surplus personal property as the Senate intended when it passed the FOR VETS Act of 2010. The FOR VETS Act of 2010 provides that veterans' service organizations should be categorized as eligible nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations that may acquire surplus personal property for the purposes of education or public health. Unfortunately, the General Services Administration, or GSA, has interpreted this law in the strictest of terms. In its published guidelines, veterans' service organizations may acquire the surplus property for the purposes of education or public health, but with minimal flexibility in what an educational or public health service may be. For example, acquiring a van to transport a disabled veteran to a doctor's appointment may not be considered an eligible use for a veterans' organization under current guidelines. The bill that we are introducing today makes the legislative modification necessary for GSA to carry out the original intent of the FOR VETS Act of 2010.…”