As the representative for Camp Pendleton and thousands of veterans in our district, Mike is proud to serve as Vice Chair of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee and Chair the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, where he has been able to make important progress for our veterans.
During his first two terms in Congress, Mike worked across the aisle to pass 18 bipartisan bills into law to provide our veterans with the support they deserve, including housing, employment opportunities, education programs, and much more.
His bipartisan bills that were signed into law include:
The Protect Affordable Mortgages for Veterans Act was introduced with Reps. David Scott (D-GA), Zeldin (R-NY), and Barr (R-KY) to help maintain liquidity in the veteran home loan market. The legislation was signed into law in 2019.
H.R. 2196, a bill to expand veterans’ access to STEM scholarship programs, was introduced with Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) and signed into law in 2019.
The Ryan Kules and Paul Benne Specially Adaptive Housing Improvement Act of 2019 was introduced with Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) to improve the VA's Specially Adapted Housing program.
An amendment to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) was introduced with Reps. Mark Takano (D-CA) and Phil Roe (R-TN) to expand the list of orders that qualify for residential lease termination to include a stop movement order issued by the Department of Defense in response to a local, national, or global emergency.
The Vet Center Eligibility Expansion Act was introduced with Rep. Phil Roe (R-TN) to expand eligibility to receive counseling from VA Vet Centers.
The Homeless Veteran Coronavirus Response Act was introduced with Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) to expand and strengthen Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) services for homeless veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic. This bill was later amended to include other bipartisan bills Levin introduced to strengthen and expand services for homeless and unemployed veterans, and was renamed the Dependable Employment and Living Improvements for Veterans’ Economic Recovery (DELIVER) Act and finally the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020.
The Veterans Economic Recovery Act of 2020 was introduced with Rep. Phil Roe (R-TN) to create a rapid retraining program to provide unemployed veterans and reservists with 12 months of educational benefits to pursue training in high-demand occupations.
The Reducing Veteran Homelessness Act was introduced with Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to ensure that homeless veterans and their families receive the resources and services they deserve.
The Fry Scholarship Improvement Act was introduced with Rep. Bilirakis (R-FL) to expand Fry Scholarship eligibility. The bill passed the House as part of the Ryan Kules Specially Adaptive Housing Improvement Act.
The Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer William "Bill" Mulder (Ret.) Transition Improvement Act was introduced with Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX) to improve the Transition Assistance Program for servicemembers returning to civilian life.
The Housing for Women Veterans Act was introduced with Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) to direct a portion of VA homelessness funding to women veterans. The bill passed as part of the Deborah Sampson Act.
The Protect the GI Bill Act was introduced to strengthen protections against predatory, for-profit schools.
The Veteran HOUSE Act was introduced with Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA) to expand HUD-VASH eligibility to veterans with Other Than Honorable discharges.
The Pandemic Assistance for Student Veterans Act was introduced with Rep. Joe Cunningham (D-SC) and others to minimize the impact and disparities of the COVID-19 pandemic on student veterans.
The Brian Tally VA Employment Transparency Act was introduced with Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) to require VA to provide transparency to individuals filing tort claims against the department.
The Training in High-demand Roles to Improve Veteran Employment (THRIVE) Act was introduced to improve veterans’ job training and education benefits
The Responsible Education Mitigating Options and Technical Extensions (REMOTE) Act was introduced to protect education benefits for veterans amid the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
H.R. 3665, which was introduced to rename the San Diego Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center after U.S. Army CPT Jennifer M. Moreno, a highly-decorated combat veteran from San Diego who was killed in action during a deployment to Afghanistan in October 2013.
The Supporting Families of the Fallen Act to increase the maximum coverage amount available under life insurance programs for military families.
He also led the historic and comprehensive Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020 (H.R. 7105) to strengthen and expand benefits for veterans, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mike believes we owe it to every veteran to provide high-quality health care and has fought against efforts to privatize the VA.
Ensuring safe and quality housing for our veterans and their families has been one of Mike’s top priorities. Mike strongly believes that even one homeless veteran is one too many, and he’ll work tirelessly until veteran homelessness is an issue of the past. No one who sacrifices so much to serve our country should ever have to worry about having a place to live.
As the grandson of a World War Two veteran, Mike believes that we owe it to the men, women, and their families who have the honor and courage to serve our country to guarantee the absolute best care and services. He will continue to use his position on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee to advocate for local veterans and pass bipartisan legislation on their behalf.