“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”   --President Abraham Lincoln 

Today, nearly 2 million veterans are without health insurance, 22 veterans are likely to have committed suicide, and 131,000 veterans are without homes. To think that there exist millions of men and women who are courageous enough to risk their own lives for those they have never met and a system that has inadequately paid its retribution are simply mind-blowing. Ensuring the most complete provision of care for those whose scars and wounds are noticeable by tear of flesh or hidden within the shadows of war are a top priority of AFSA’s lobbying agenda. 

Enlisted in this edition of the 116th Congressional AFSA Legislative List is a compilation of legislative items pertinent to our Legislative Platform’s “Caring for Survivors” Focus Group. The political arena at-large is an ever-changing ecosystem whose oversight and accountability requires a watchful eye and a professional, honest, and unified grassroots advocacy movement. AFSA’s Legislative Lists serve as an effective key that will unlock the doors to a more receptive polity and well-informed populous.  
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Support rendered to the legislative program by members of AFSA is essential to the success in reaching our goals. On the national level, well-timed letters, emails, and phone calls in response to solicited requests and calls for action can make the difference between legislative failure and success. On the local and state level, such communication is no less important.