1. United States
2. Mo.
3. Letter

Block any VA investigation into the VFW and stop using the threat of accreditation review to silence a veterans organization for exercising its First Amendment rights. Rep. Bost's letter to VA Secretary Collins is retaliation, plain and simple, triggered by the VFW's opposition to the Take Care of America's Veterans Act — legislation that would cut benefits for veterans suffering from tinnitus and sleep apnea. The VFW has used variations of this political cartoon since the 1930s to protest cuts to earned veterans benefits. The current version labels its figures "bureaucrats" and "media" and carries the message "Honor the Contract." That is protected political speech, and the VFW's own general counsel correctly noted that Bost's letter identifies zero violations of VA accreditation standards. Using accreditation as a cudgel against a 1.3 million-member organization because it disagrees with pending legislation is an abuse of oversight authority. The proceeds from the T-shirt sales fund veterans mental health and suicide prevention programs. That's the group Rep. Bost wants investigated.