Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Minn., lashed out at Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin after no Pentagon officials showed up to testify at a House hearing about changes proposed for the transition assistance program, called TAP, that is mandated for exiting military members. (Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — Saying he was “sick and tired of getting lip service from the Department of Defense about our veterans,” Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Minn., lashed out at Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin after no Pentagon officials showed up to testify at a House hearing Wednesday about changes proposed for the transition assistance program, called TAP, that is mandated for exiting military members.
“You have over 2 million service men and women that are underneath your purview, and you could not send one person here to show these veterans that you actually care about them — and that you actually care about the active-duty service men and women,” said Van Orden, who chairs the House Veterans Affairs subcommittee on economic opportunity.
The panel heard testimony Wednesday about reforms proposed for the program operated by the Defense Department. TAP provides service members with information about jobs, education and benefits in their final months of military duty.
Van Orden at the start of the hearing noted the absence of representatives from the Defense Department without full explanation, noting that the department “declined” to send a representative.
He expressed anger and frustration later about lawmakers’ inability to receive feedback from the Defense Department on proposed changes the committee is considering for a military-to-civilian transition program that it operates.
Under the TAP Reform Act, military members would be provided with one-on-one counselors who would help guide them through the resources available to them.
Van Orden, a retired Navy SEAL, said that the TAP program in its current format often fails to address the needs of service members entering civilian life.
He said that veterans are at the greatest risk of dying by suicide in their first 12 to 24 months of leaving military service. “We are not equipping them well enough before they leave the military,” he said.
Van Orden also suggested that there may be a perception by defense officials that improving TAP could compel service members to end military service sooner for opportunities in civilian life.
“Providing a good transition and off-ramp to the civilian community does not encourage people to getting out of the military earlier,” Van Orden said in closing statements at a subcommittee hearing that looked at proposed reforms, along with several other pieces of legislation to benefit veterans.
“Knock it off and show up, Mr. Secretary,” Van Orden said, turning to Rep. Mike Levin, D-Calif., ranking member of the committee, for his agreement.
“The ranking member and I would like to extend a formal invitation to the secretary of defense to take one of those chairs and explain to us why he apparently doesn’t care enough about the transition assistance program to send at least one of his subordinates,” Van Orden said.
Levin echoed the concerns.
“I share the chairman’s frustration that we haven’t gotten the time and attention of DOD on TAP, and I’ve been at this now for five years,” Levin said. “We keep at it, though, and we just have to continue to collectively request their participation. I certainly share the sentiment.”
In response to a question about why the Defense Department did not send a representative to the hearing, the Pentagon said in a statement Thursday: “The Department of Defense provided the committee a view on their legislative proposals. Taking care of our people, including through their transition out of military service, is a top priority for the Secretary, and the Department continues to work with the Committee on the transition assistance program.”
Veterans advocates who testified largely supported the changes in the bill but said that commanders often need encouragement to emphasize attendance.
Van Orden said that there needs to be language for accountability in the program, so that officers are held responsible for attendance. “This needs to be part of an officer’s evaluation for their troops going to TAPs,” he said.
Levin suggested that TAP should be moved from the Defense Department to the jurisdiction of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
Rep. Morgan McGarvey, D-Ky., said it is important that TAP is not a recitation of resources without context, which he described as “death by PowerPoint.”
Marquis Barefield, assistant national legislative director at the Disabled American Veterans, said he hears from members that they need a more thorough explanation of benefits, including for education, and more guidance about how to best to use them.
“As it is now, the TAP program does not give enough time for those full discussions,” he said.
