Department of Veterans Affairs

Testimony of Commissioner Thomas J. Saadi to the Veterans’ Affairs Committee

February 23, 2021

SB 914, SB 918, HB 6481

Senator Cabrera, Representative Boyd, Senator Cicarella, Representative Vail and Honorable members of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee. I am Thomas J. Saadi, Commissioner of the State Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA). I thank you for the opportunity to address you today and thank you for your service to our State and support of our Veterans and Service members.

My testimony today will focus on support for three raised bills which have the potential to expand Veterans recognition with minimal fiscal impact.

S.B. 914 AN ACT CONCERNING HMONG LAOTIAN SPECIAL GUERILLA UNITS WHICH SERVED IN THE KINGDOM OF LAOS.

I am proud that in 2019 the Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs was the first in the nation to adopt a policy, in conjunction with the Federal Department of Veterans Affairs, to provide burial rights for our Hmong and Laotian SGU Veterans at the State Veterans Cemetery in Middletown, CT. I hope that Connecticut will continue that leadership by providing eligible Hmong and Laotian SGU Veterans with the recognition afforded other U.S. combat allies of eligibility for a CT Veterans Vehicle Marker Plate, Operators License/Identification cards and the Connecticut Wartime Service Medal. People like Connecticut’s own General Fatoosak and his fellow Special Guerilla Unit (SGU) Veterans, U.S. Vietnam Veterans and Veteran Service Organizations across our State and Nation have been advocating for years for the proper recognition of the service of the SGU.

Our Vietnam Veterans fought a protracted, unconventional war that became mired in a political morass in Washington. When they came home, they had a second war to fight; they suffered insults and attacks but still they persevered, not for themselves as individuals, but for their brothers and sisters in arms in order to secure the recognition and benefits they earned in service to our Nation. This bill extends a level of support and recognition to the Hmong Laotian Veterans who fought alongside our US Vietnam Veterans. The Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs has, for many years, stood with our Vietnam Veterans in support of providing Federal and State Veterans’ benefits to those who served, and risked their lives, with SGU or irregular forces in support of the U.S. military during the War in Vietnam.

As I previously stated CT currently permits the Hmong Laotian Veterans to be buried at the State Veterans Cemetery in Middletown pursuant to federal law. (See DVA Policy attached as Appendix A.) Therefore, there is no need for the bill to address the issue in Section 4 and, as the state Veterans Cemetery is partially federally funded, we must follow federal eligibility requirements state statute notwithstanding.

While there are few SGU still alive in CT, these recognitions mean the world to them. The SGU were driven from their homeland by an oppressive communist regime and then struggled for years through the immigration process before being allowed to remain as naturalized citizens in this country under the Hmong Veterans’ Naturalization Act of 2000. Let’s recognize them for their service which resulted in many American Service members returning home alive rather than languishing and dying in prison camps.

S.B. 918 AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEFINITION OF VETERAN.

This bill would expand the category of persons eligible for state based Veterans benefits to those Veterans who received an Other Than Honorable (OTH) discharge from the U.S. Armed Forces. Unlike the current Qualifying Conditions of TBI, PTSD and MST which are determined at the state level, this expansion of eligibility would rely on an official administrative decision from the United States Department of Veteran Affairs that a Veteran with and OTH is considered to have served honorably for the VA’s purposes. There is disagreement within the Veterans community on this legislation, which I appreciate, as there is the possibility that in some cases the VA may determine that services are appropriate notwithstanding the fact that the Veteran’s underlying conduct may have warranted an OTH characterization.

To the extent additional persons are deemed eligible for state-based Veterans’ benefits there could be a fiscal impact to both of these which is, however difficult to measure as I do not know the number of Veterans with such a federal VA determination. That said, it is likely a small number as we estimated in 2017 that there are less than two thousand Veterans in CT with an OTH characterization and this group would be a small subset of that group. That said, should this legislation become law, there is no formal review process required by the State as the determination is performed by the Federal VA. However, the Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs would likely need to promulgate a standardized form for affected Veterans to complete and submit in conjunction with the federal VA determination and application for state-based Veterans benefits.

H.B. 6481 AN ACT CONCERNING SPECIAL REGISTRATION MARKER PLATES FOR VETERANS AND MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES WHO SERVED IN PERIODS OF WAR.

This legislation proposes to require the Department of Motor vehicles to issue vehicle marker plates recognizing a specific war or conflict in which certain Veterans served. These marker plates would be in addition to the current Connecticut Veterans marker plate and twelve other specialized Veteran’s vehicle marker plates (i.e. Military Order of the Purple Heart, 82nd Airborne, Marine Corps League, National Guard Association, Korean War Association, Gold Star Family, Pearl Harbor Survivor, Iwo Jima Survivor, Laos Veterans of America, U.S. Submarine Veteran, Governor’s Foot Guard and Governor’s Horse Guard.) As drafted, the proposed periods of war or conflict recognized are those as defined in 38 U.S.C. 101 which are: World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War and “period[s] beginning on the date of any future declaration of war by the Congress and ending on the date prescribed by Presidential proclamation or concurrent resolution of the Congress.”

To be clear, the cross reference to 38 U.S.C. 101 does not cover several distinct periods of wartime service for which campaign or expeditionary medals were issued to service members such as the wars in Iraq in the 1990s and then again in 2003 and the ongoing war in Afghanistan. C.G.S. Section 27-103(a) recognizes several conflicts distinct from federal law for the purpose of determining eligibility for Connecticut state-based Veterans benefits based on service in time of war. I highlight this issue to ensure that the final language is clear as to the specific wars or

conflicts to be recognized with a distinct specialized marker plate. It may be helpful to look to other states’ recognition of distinct periods of wartime service and other Veteran recognitions.

Examples of Veteran vehicle marker plates from area states:

1. Massachusetts: Veteran (w/branch of service and wartime decals available), Bronze Star, Silver Star, Purple Heart, Medal of Honor, Legion of Valor, Pearl Harbor Survivor, Distinguished Flying Cross, Ex-POW, National Guard, Disabled Veteran and Gold Star Family

2. Rhode Island: Veteran, War Veteran, POW, Disabled Veteran, National Guard and Gold Star Family.

3. New Hampshire: Veteran, Disabled Veteran, Former POW, National Guard, Active Duty, Purple Heart and Pearl Harbor Survivor

4. New York: Veteran, Vietnam Veteran, Purple Heart, National Guard, Combat Infantry, Medal of Honor, WWII, Pearl Harbor Survivor, Korean War, Persian Gulf War, Global War of Terror and plates covering all Reserve and State militia components as well as many Veteran Service Organizations.

5. Vermont: Veteran, Disabled Veteran, Former POW, National Guard, VFW, Vietnam Veterans of America, Pearl Harbor Survivor, Purple Heart, Gold Star Family, WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, Gulf War, Iraq War and Afghanistan.

The Department of Veterans Affairs defers to the Department of Motor Vehicles as to the logistical capability and cost of expanding the number of available Veterans marker plates as there is no cost to the DVA related to having additional marker plates. Currently the Department of Motor Vehicles determines eligibility for the standard Veterans marker and a few other plates while Veterans Organizations with marker plates determine eligibly for their organization’s plates. This differs from the process for the Veteran designation on the Connecticut driver’s license and state issued identification card wherein the Department of Veterans Affairs determines and certifies eligibility via a digital interface with the DMV. To make the entire process more efficient between the two agencies, the Department of Veterans Affairs could serve as the certifier of eligibility for non-organization issued Veteran marker plates in addition to the Veterans designation on driver’s licenses and ID cards, conditioned on the provision of access to certain DMV internal portals to input the eligibility determination making this a paperless process which would minimize the impact on DVA staff.

I thank you for your time and your service to our State and its Veterans, and I am happy to respond to any questions you may have regarding my testimony or other concepts under consideration by the Committee.

Appendix A

Subject: Policy – Hmong Veterans Burial Eligibility in State Veterans Cemetery in Middletown, CT Effective June 27, 2019

Section 1. INTRODUCTION For many years the Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs has supported the providing of certain Federal and State Veterans’ benefits to persons who served with special guerrilla units or irregular forces, operating from a base in Laos, in support of the U.S. military, during the War in Vietnam. This policy, the first of its kind in the Nation, implements a procedure, in conjunction with the Federal Department of Veterans Affairs, to provide burial rights for these persons at the State Veterans Cemetery in Middletown, CT. Section 2. BACKGROUND a. On March 23, 2018, President Donald Trump signed Public Law 115-141 (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018), which at Div. J, Title II, Section 251, amended Title 38 United States Code (U.S.C.) Section 2402 to add a new category of persons eligible for interment in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) national cemeteries. The new category of persons eligible under 38 U.S.C. § 2402(a)(1) includes individuals who:

i. Died on or after March 23, 2018, ii. Resided in the U.S. at the time of death, and iii. Were naturalized under Section 2(1) of the Hmong Veterans’ Naturalization Act of 2000 (“2000 Act”).

b. The 2000 Act eased certain naturalization requirements for persons who served with special guerrilla units or irregular forces, operating from a base in Laos, in support of the U.S. military, anytime between February 28, 1961 to September 18, 1978; and their spouses and also persons married to an individual who served in special guerilla units or irregular forces who was killed or died in Laos, Thailand, or Vietnam during that timeframe. Naturalization under the 2000 Act was also available for spouses of those who served in SGU/irregular forces and surviving spouses of those who were killed or died in action while serving in SGU/irregular forces. However, section 251 of Public Law 115-141 only amended VA’s burial eligibility statute to inter eligible to Hmong fighters, not their spouses or surviving spouses.

Section 3. BURIAL ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION a. Pursuant to federal law, the US Department of Veterans Affairs is vested with sole authority to make the determination as to burial eligibility in the State Veterans Cemetery in Middletown, CT. The US VA will work with Hmong families to make such eligibility determinations. Those seeking eligibility should provide a copy of their U.S. Certificate of Naturalization with Registration “A” number, which will be used to retrieve naturalization records from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service so that VA can make its determination.

b. To request a Time of Need (means at time of death) eligibility determination for someone who is deceased, the next of kin or funeral home may call the VA National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 1-800-535-1117. If the decedent is determined to be eligible, the next of kin or funeral home director may schedule a burial in the State Veterans Cemetery in Middletown, CT.

c. To request a Pre-Need (means prior to death) eligibility determination for purposes of burial planning for a living individual, the individual or next of kin should complete VA Form 40-10007, Application for Pre-Need Determination of Eligibility for Burial in a VA National Cemetery, and fax the form to the VA National Cemetery Scheduling Office (NCSO) at 1-855-840-8299 or mail the form to NCSO at P.O. Box 10543, St. Louis, MO 63151. The form is available at https://www.va.gov/vaforms/va/pdf/VA40-10007.pdf or can be requested by contacting the VA National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 1-800-535-1117. When completing the form, write “PL115-141” in Block 5, write the Certification of Naturalization Registration “A” number in Block 6, and select ‘Other’ in Block 13. If VA burial is requested at an eligible decedent’s time of need for burial, VA will review the pre-need eligibility determination as part of the final eligibility determination.

Issued:

______Date: _June 27, 2019_____ Thomas J. Saadi Commissioner