Crammed into an elevator on Capitol Hill, an unwitting observer sized up the name badges and branded gear and had to ask, “What is MOAA? … Because MOAA is here!”

His fellow riders were eager to elaborate.

MOAA members from all corners of the country arrived in Washington, D.C., this week for our annual Advocacy in Action campaign. On April 9, more than 150 members canvassed House and Senate office buildings, meeting with lawmakers and their staffs to promote MOAA’s legislative priorities for the 119th Congress. MOAA members also shared an important message regarding ongoing government efficiency efforts.

[MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD: MOAA's Legislative Action Center]

“This event definitely displays the power of our voice, and of our grassroots advocacy,” MOAA President and CEO Lt. Gen. Brian T. Kelly, USAF (Ret), said after the event. “To be able to be part of this, with 150-plus members fighting to preserve and protect our earned benefits, it’s an honor and an inspiration.”

Everywhere you looked you were likely to find a team of MOAA members in advocate mode. The annual fly-in is essential to MOAA’s mission, said Lt. Col. Don Wolfinger, USA (Ret), president of MOAA’s Missouri Council of Chapters.

“You've got to put the constituents in front of the people,” Wolfinger said. “We're the ones who vote these people in office, and so they need to be hearing from us, our perspective, how it impacts within our state. Face-to-face really buys you a lot. And they get to know you and you get to know them.”

[FROM MOAA: Key to Efficiency Efforts Is Not Breaking Faith With Troops, Veterans]

Nora Durham, a member of MOAA’s Surviving Spouse Advisory Council, said it was an “amazing” day of advocacy.

“Everybody has been very receptive. Everybody's interested in what we want them to be interested in,” Durham said, adding that MOAA’s nonpartisan approach added to the positive experience as she met with Arizona’s delegation.

This year’s Advocacy in Action focused on the following issues. To learn more about each item, and to find out how you can still amplify MOAA’s voice by writing to your legislators on these topics, visit our Advocacy in Action page, or register at our Legislative Action Center:

• Unaccompanied Housing Improvements: MOAA seeks to improve funding and condition transparency by requiring an annual, publicly available report, which will highlight areas that need the most attention from DoD and Congress. Learn More | Make Your Voice Heard
  
  
• Ending the Wait Report: MOAA will proactively partner with other veterans service organizations to advance legislation that will lessen the time that veterans must wait before their toxic exposures are acknowledged by the VA. Learn More | Make Your Voice Heard
  
  
• Military Spouse Hiring Act: Passage of this bill will allow businesses that hire military spouses to claim a tax credit, incentivizing them to hire more military spouses. Learn More | Make Your Voice Heard
   
• Military Health System Access to Care: MOAA seeks legislation for a digital access assistance platform that would allow beneficiaries to report challenges accessing care. Learn More | Tell MOAA Your Story
  
  
• Veterans Caregiving Support Improvements Legislation: This bill includes enhancements to the VA Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers and expansion of home health and long-term care services. Learn More | Make Your Voice Heard

In advance of our MOAA’s Hill Day, MOAA members received briefs on these priorities via MOAA’s Government Relations staff. Members then met with lawmakers and their staffs, recording notes and identifying action items for MOAA’s advocacy team in the days and weeks to come.

These meetings often yield positive outcomes such as new legislation, additional cosponsors on important bills, and inclusions in the next National Defense Authorization Act that supports MOAA’s legislative agenda.

Rear Adm. Joan Hunter, USPHS (Ret), traveled from Maine for her first Advocacy in Action.

“Constituents matter. And the fact MOAA staff prepped us was tremendous,” she said. “We also knew enough specificity about what was happening in our state to put even more into that conversation, and the staff appreciated that.”

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Wolfinger noted that MOAA’s unique mission among other military and veterans groups helps distinguish the association and keep discussions focused on the people across the uniformed services community.

“We're here talking about the people, all the way from the E -1 and on up in rank,” he said. “The families, the spouses, the dependents, the surviving spouses. We stress the fact that is what we are really here to talk about.”