NASHVILLE, Tenn (WTVF) — Around 100 veterans took to Capitol Hill in Nashville Wednesday for an annual legislative push.
12 local veterans-focused organizations came together to host Veterans Day On the Hill.
The gathering is an annual event that allows vets to advocate to lawmakers.
“I said you've gotta show up. Gotta show up in numbers. You gotta understand what you're talking about,” said Bill Summers, a founder of TNVet.
Summers is an Air Force veteran and former elected official himself. He said the day on the hill serves a dual purpose.
“It's a political effort, in a sense, that we're pushing bills for the veterans, but for the veterans too, it's an educational thing. A lot of them never had a chance to see the capital area, maybe they haven't met their legislators,” Simmons said.
This year's legislative push includes bills to recalculate property tax reimbursements for vets, but that's just one effort.
"The other one that we're working on is trying to raise a veteran lottery,” Summers said.
There's also work to help get funding to treat veterans with PTSD with a Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber.
“If this is a possible medical technology that would help veterans with these issues, we would like to see the federal government step in. So we're supporting the state to go to the federal government,” Summers said.
After learning the ins and outs of the legislation, the veterans walk the halls of Cordell Hull, popping into the offices of lawmakers from the districts where they live.
According to Summers, even with the special session, many veterans will be able to meet their lawmakers.
However, if they can't, Summers said executive assistants can hold the keys to some important knowledge too.
"They will take down your name and number. And oftentimes we find out a lot of information from them. We can't find out anywhere else,” Summers said.
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