McGeehan
CHARLESTON Once again, an attempt to move a bill prohibiting use of West Virginia’s civilian soldiers and airmen in combat, except when Congress gives approval, failed in the House of Delegates.
Del. Pat McGeehan, R-Hancock, made a motion Friday morning to discharge House Bill 2138, the Defend the Guard Act, from the House Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security Committee where the bill has sat since Feb. 10. The motion would have sent the bill directly to the House Judiciary Committee. The motion failed 26-71 with bipartisan opposition.
A discharge motion, if approved by a majority of the House, moves a bill from the committee it is in to the House floor where it can be passed after three separate days of readings.
New congressional investigation to examine the link between veterans and extremist groups March 4 Protesters enter the Senate Chamber on Jan. 06, 2021, in Washington, D.C. The man wearing military body protection and helmet was later identified as Larry Rendall Brock Jr., an Air Force veteran. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) The House Veterans’ Affairs Committee on Thursday launched an new investigation into the targeted recruitment of veterans by extremist organizations in the wake of the deadly attack on Congress earlier this year. The announcement came the same day that Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough promised his own inquiry into the radicalization of veterans by hate groups during a briefing with reporters at the White House, and follows a similar ongoing investigation into the problem by Defense Department leaders.
Minority veterans groups hope new leadership promises mean better results for all vets March 5 Lindsay Church, executive director and co-founder of Minority Veterans of America (center left), and other members of the group march in the Seattle pride parade in June 2019. (Photo courtesy of MVA) Multiple times in recent months, Democratic leaders have promised to invite more veterans from minority and underserved groups to the table when it comes to policy discussions. This week, they provided the chairs. On Wednesday, during a joint hearing by the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs committees, leaders from Minority Veterans of America and the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans sat for the first time among organizations invited each year to give their views on current Veterans Affairs policies and shortfalls.