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Advocacy Alert: Help Get Veterans Legislation Across the Finish Line

Congress is heading home for the August district work period, making this the ideal time for constituents to make their voices heard. When lawmakers return to Washington in September, they are expected to vote on the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act (S. 4744/H.R. 9237), legislation that includes two important provisions long championed by NFDA.

For years, NFDA has worked with Congress and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to improve funeral, burial and memorial benefits for America’s veterans. Earlier this year, NFDA Senior Vice President of Advocacy Lesley Witter testified before Congress on these issues, and hundreds of NFDA members reinforced those efforts during our Advocacy Summit by meeting directly with their U.S. senators and representatives.

Those efforts have paid off. The Take Care of America’s Veterans Act combines nearly 60 individual veterans’ bills into a single legislative package addressing a wide range of VA programs and services. The inclusion of these two NFDA-supported provisions reflects the trust Congress places in the expertise of funeral service professionals and demonstrates the impact our collective advocacy can have. Among dozens of proposals competing for inclusion, Congress chose to advance these funeral service priorities to help improve benefits and services for veterans and their families.

While some Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) support the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act, others have raised concerns about funding and policy matters elsewhere in the bill. Those concerns are unrelated to the funeral, burial and memorial benefits provisions that NFDA has championed and that are included in the legislation. NFDA’s support is focused exclusively on these funeral and burial benefit improvements, which will help veterans and their families receive timely, dignified care and access to the benefits they have earned.

Now we need your help to get this legislation across the finish line.

The legislation includes two important provisions that will improve veterans’ burial benefits and help families receive the care and support they deserve:

The inclusion of these provisions in a legislative package containing nearly 60 veterans’ bills is a direct result of years of advocacy by NFDA and funeral service professionals across the country. Now we need your help to get this legislation across the finish line.

There are three ways you can help advocate for passage of the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act:

1. Contact Your Members of Congress

A brief phone call or email can have a significant impact.

We’ve drafted a message you can send below, or you can personalize it by sharing your own experiences helping veterans and their families navigate military honors, burial benefits and funeral arrangements.

Subject: Please Support the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act (S. 4744/H.R. 9237)

Dear Senator/Representative [INSERT THEIR LAST NAME]:

As your constituent and a funeral director, I urge you to support passage of the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act (S. 4744/H.R. 9237).

Every day, funeral directors have the privilege of helping veterans and their families during one of life’s most difficult moments. We help families obtain military honors, navigate VA burial benefits and ensure those who served our nation are remembered with dignity and respect.

This legislation includes two important provisions that will improve services for veteran families.

Section 502 incorporates the Ensuring Veterans’ Final Resting Place Act, helping ensure veterans and their spouses can be laid to rest together in a national cemetery as intended.

Section 313 incorporates the Veteran Burial Timeliness and Death Certificate Accountability Act, reducing delays that can postpone funeral arrangements and delay access to veterans’ benefits.

These are practical, bipartisan improvements that honor military service and support grieving families.

I respectfully ask you to support the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act and help move this important legislation forward.

Thank you for your service to our community and for supporting America’s veterans.

Sincerely,

[INSERT YOUR NAME]

[INSERT YOUR FUNERAL HOME NAME]

[INSERT YOUR CITY AND STATE]

To find your elected officials:

2. Meet Your Members of Congress While They’re Home

During the August district work period, members of Congress spend time in their home states and districts meeting with constituents, attending community events and hosting town halls.

This is one of the best opportunities you’ll have all year to speak with your elected officials face-to-face.

If your representative or senators are attending an event in your community, introduce yourself as a funeral director and encourage them to support the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act. Even a brief conversation can make a lasting impression.

Your firsthand experience helping veterans and their families gives you a perspective that lawmakers value and trust.

3. Show Your Support on Social Media

Help build momentum by sharing NFDA’s advocacy graphic on your social media channels.

Click here to download the graphic.

When you post:

  • Tag @NFDA
  • Tag your U.S. representative and senators
  • Encourage them to support the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act

Suggested Caption:

Every veteran deserves the dignity, recognition and benefits they earned through their service.

I’m proud to stand with the @NationalFuneralDirectorsAssociation in supporting the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act, legislation that strengthens veterans’ burial benefits and helps families receive the support they deserve.

I encourage @RepresentativeName, @SenatorName and @SenatorName to support this important bipartisan legislation.

#NFDA #SupportVeterans #HonorTheirService #FuneralDirector

Thank You

Every day, funeral directors help veterans and their families navigate military honors, burial benefits and one of life’s most difficult moments. Because of that experience, Congress looks to NFDA for practical guidance on issues affecting veterans and their families.

When NFDA members speak, Congress listens. The inclusion of these provisions in the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act demonstrates the influence funeral service professionals can have when they share their expertise.

Now, with votes expected in September, we’re asking you to help deliver one final push.

Together, we can help ensure America’s veterans receive the dignity, recognition and benefits they earned through their service and that the families they leave behind receive the care and support they deserve.

Thank you for lending your voice to this important effort.