Student Veterans of America 16th National Convention

Good morning and thanks for that warm welcome. I hope you and those you love enjoyed rest, renewal, and joy during the holiday season. Tammy Barlet, thanks for your kind introduction. More importantly, thank you for your courageous leadership in the Coast Guard and your continued work advocating for your fellow Vets. My deepest appreciation as well to Jared Lyon, and to the entire SVA team who’ve been working hard around the clock—including over the holidays—to make this great event happen. Most of all, to all the student Veterans here in Nashville and watching across the country—thank you for your selfless service to our country, which continues through your work with SVA. You know, we at VA have no more important, no better partners than Student Veterans of America. Every single day, I see the real impact of your work … through the powerful community you build for Vets.

Before I get into it, I’ll give a shout-out to my teammates manning some of the VA info tables throughout NatCon. This year we’re taking up an entire row of booths covering nearly everything we do at VA—claims, mental health, military spouse employment, VA hiring, and much more. If you have any questions at all about our work at VA, come talk with my VA teammates—they’re here to help with any questions you might have and some you might not know you have.

We even have a Mobile VetCenter parked right outside. I recognize that the holiday season can be a uniquely challenging time for Veterans and their families, and for many of us. That’s natural. And know that if you find yourself struggling, you need not struggle alone. So if you want to talk to somebody during the course of this conference, please stop by the Mobile VetCenter for confidential counseling services. Of course, the Veterans Crisis Line is always open 24/7, 365 days a year. So if you’re ever in a crisis, please dial 988 and press 1. Let’s work together to ensure we all get the right mental health support that we need, and that we deserve.

And one final quick PSA—as you’re thinking about graduation and the next steps in your careers, consider making a career at VA. You’ve all already shown your commitment to serving your fellow Vets by building Veteran communities on your campuses. You can keep doing that work at VA. And there is no more noble mission than ours—caring for America’s Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors. So, we want you at VA. We need you at VA. More importantly, your fellow Vets need you at VA.

When I spoke at NatCon last year, I talked about the ways we’re bringing the Digital GI Bill into the 21^st century creating a modern, integrated system. I told you that we were modernizing the GI Bill—like everything we do now at VA—to ensure it fits your needs, rather than making you fit into VA’s needs. Well, we’ve spent the year doing just that. Now, a lot of the changes are happening behind-the-scenes, including the negotiation of a new contract to prioritize replacement of a 50-year-old IT system that processes your education payments. But let me tell you why these changes matter. They will make the GI Bill more efficient and modern than ever before. They will hold VA and our vendors more accountable to delivering for student Veterans. They will improve automation, making it easier for you to apply for and receive your education benefits—benefits that you’ve earned, and so richly deserve. They will put you in the driver’s seat so you can manage your own experience—quickly accessing your information and achieving your vocational and career goals, all on your time.

When it comes to your GI Bill, you shouldn’t have to worry. You shouldn’t have to worry if you’re going to get paid on time. You shouldn’t have to worry about platforms talking to each other. When it comes to any VA benefits or services, you shouldn’t have to worry. Our duty is keeping you at the center of everything we do. We are fitting our care and service into your lives, that are adapted to you and your needs, rather than expecting you to adapt to us. You are building new families, careers, and communities after your military service, all while going to school. If we’re going to keep our promise to Vets, we need to meet you where you are, when you need us, without exception.

The other thing we talked about last year was President Biden’s historic toxic exposure law—the PACT Act. This has been the largest expansion of Veteran health care and benefits in decades. In fact, since the PACT Act was signed in August 2022, Veterans and survivors have filed over 3 million claims. Over 1.3 million of those claims have been filed for toxic exposure-related benefits under the PACT Act. And over 5 million Vets have received toxic exposure screenings, paving the way to detect potential health challenges as early as possible. Now, we have a lot of work left to do, especially with younger, post-9/11 Vets. Younger Vets trust VA less than your older counterparts, and you’re applying for benefits and care at much lower rates. That could be for a number of reasons. But the bottom line is this: VA must be better and do better for all the Vets we serve. And to do that, we need your help. We need everyone’s help communicating with Veterans and families so that every Veteran gets the care they need, and the benefits they deserve.

Starting in March, all toxic-exposed Vets will be eligible to enroll directly in VA health care under the PACT Act—including any Veteran who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Gulf War, or any other combat zone after 9/11. This will mean that millions of additional Veterans will get access to VA health care. Even if you don’t need this care today, you might need it tomorrow, the next day, or 30 years from now. And once you’re in, you have access for life. So, to those Vets and any Vets watching today: we want to serve you. At VA, we simply won’t rest, until we do. 

Please, apply for your VA care and benefits now. Re-apply if you’ve been denied before. Stop by the VA Claims Clinic at this conference to meet with VA claims reps who will help you file a claim and answer any of your questions. We need every single person in this room to help encourage Veterans and families to get the care they need, and the benefits they deserve. With your help, we’re going to keep our sacred promise to those who served and sacrificed—to serve each of you as well as you served us.

You know, I love getting to work with SVA, every day—working to serve you, your families, caregivers, and survivors every bit as well as you have served our nation. As I was prepping for this speech, I took some time to re-read the SVA mission statement.  I was struck by three seemingly simple but profound words: “To … through … and beyond.” You see, your mission doesn’t end when you show up to school. Your mission doesn’t end when you get through school and toss your hats at graduation. Here at SVA, you support each other far beyond the classroom, building a community that lasts a lifetime, creating impact that spans generations. You all join a long tradition of Veterans helping Veterans; always there for each other, always thinking of your country, never leaving behind a fellow Vet, continuing to strengthen our democracy. There is nothing better.

Think about it. A generation of World War II Veterans saved the world from the evils of fascism, Nazism, and imperialism. And when those Vets came home, settling down in communities around the country, colleges and universities saw their immense potential. Because here’s the thing. Vets make the very best students. The leadership, tenacity, and creative problem-solving—dedication to truth, and one another—that they learned on the battlefield is unrivaled in the classroom, in public life, and in business.

Now it’s true that the original GI Bill helped most Vets—16 million Vets—buy homes, get jobs, get training, get an education, transition back to a productive life back home. Here’s what else is true. Our country failed a million Black Vets—men and women, both—at the local, state, and federal levels. They fought for our freedoms overseas, only to be denied those very same freedoms here at home—as well as the benefits and care they so rightly deserve. And even though we failed them, they continued to serve our country both in and out of uniform. Student Vets served in the Civil Rights movement, integrating schoolhouses, universities, the military, and so much more. Student Vets fought for equal rights for all of us. And student Vets continued serving, defending and strengthening our democracy at home, in towns and cities across the country, long after they stood their final formations.

This “Greatest Generation” of Veterans became our pastors, cops, and doctors. They were our firefighters, teachers, carpenters, mayors, coaches, builders, dreamers, and doers. That’s your legacy. That’s your story. You’re following in those footsteps. Now, there are so many Vets whose names we all know. And there are so many more Vets whose names we may not know. Their impact resonates just as powerfully in their local communities, communities that are stronger, more vibrant because of you. Because of your service in uniform. And because of your continued service, since.

I’m thinking of Veterans like Katherine Martinez. Most of you know Katherine, some of you may not. Katherine’s worth knowing. She’s the first woman to become SVA president at Old Dominion University, and she’s a former SVA president at Tidewater Community College. Katherine’s dedicated her life and her work to preventing Veteran suicide. And it seems like I’ve seen Katherine everywhere, doing just about everything she can to help Veterans and their families, from service projects making meals for Veterans suffering from food insecurity to working out with military families on the White House lawn as part of the First Lady’s Joining Forces initiative.

What you might not know, however, is that for a long time, Katherine struggled with the idea of calling herself a Veteran. Despite her honorable service in the Navy, Katherine just thought that, somehow, her service didn’t count. Because Katherine was injured in the line of duty and couldn’t complete her enlisted contract, she thought that made her service count less. That was, of course, until Katherine heard about SVA. SVA—open to anyone in the military affiliated community—made her feel welcomed. You all made her feel welcome. And it was at this conference four years ago when Katherine found her people. Jared, Katherine says you were the first person who called her a Veteran. In Katherine’s words, “Jared kinda wouldn’t let me leave until I saw my service for what it was … that I was a Veteran like everyone else in the room.” That’s an example of the kind of impact all of you have … motivating, encouraging, uplifting one another.

Vet Jamie Springston has a similar story. Jamie’s a corpsman who served with Marine units overseas. When he returned home, Jamie struggled with PTSD and alcoholism. A fellow brother-in-arms—someone Jamie attended to after an IED blast in Afghanistan— stepped in when Jamie needed him the most. He brought Jamie to VA to get the care he needed, and that he deserved, that he earned—saving Jamie’s life, years after Jamie saved his. When Jamie got back in control of his life, he signed up for classes at Marshall University. That’s where he discovered Student Veterans of America. SVA, Jamie said, “has opened up doors … that I didn’t dream would be possible.”

I’ve met many, many other inspiring student Vets like Katherine and Jamie on trips around the country. Like Army Vet Kendarius Ivey at Tuskegee University; Marine Corps Vet Jenalee Wimer at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Navy Vet Kesha Westbrooks at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Air Force Vet Andrea Henschall at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and so many others.

Listen, you’re the bedrock of this country. And we need you to lead us into the future, now more than ever before. As unprecedented and unfamiliar as our challenges may feel today, we know that more challenges—perhaps even greater and more perplexing challenges—are inevitable as these next decades unfold. But here’s what I know. With you leading the way, we can meet any challenge. And at VA, we will stop at nothing to serve you every bit as well as you have served—and continue serving—all of us.

So, Jared, thank you for inviting me. Thank you, student Vets, for your service to our country—in and out of uniform. May God bless our Servicemembers across the country and around the globe. May God bless our Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors. And may God continue to bless our Nation. Thank you.