Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise today to discuss an amendment I recently filed with Senator Leahy to the Veterans Jobs Corps Act of 2012. We filed this amendment to ensure that veterans service organizations are provided access to Federal surplus property as we intended when we introduced the FORVETS Act of 2010. This law 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 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. This amendment makes the legislative modification necessary for GSA to carry out the original intent of the FORVETS Act of 2010. The National Association of State Agencies for Surplus Property, NASASP, has identified the need for this legislative modification to ensure that veterans service organizations are able to receive surplus equipment to enable them to better provide the critical services they offer for our Nation's veterans.…”