ROA is proud to announce that Congressman Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) was presented with the inaugural Excellence in Legislative Readiness Award at the Member of Congress level on March 24, 2026, in his congressional office. Congressman Van Orden is the first recipient of the Member-level edition of this award — a distinction that puts him in a class of his own.
The award was created to recognize a sitting Member of Congress who has demonstrated an exceptional and sustained commitment to the readiness and wellbeing of the members of the reserve components and their families — not merely through votes cast, but through the quality, depth, and character of their legislative engagement. To qualify, a recipient must meet all three of the award’s criteria: a genuine openness to collaboration with ROA, a demonstrated record of action on reserve component policies brought forward by ROA, and a willingness to engage in frank and substantive conversations on the full range of reserve component policy challenges.
Congressman Van Orden’s record on each of these criteria is unambiguous. During his tenure as Chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, he has invited ROA to testify before his Subcommittee four times — reflecting not a courtesy, but a conviction that ROA’s expertise belongs in the legislative record on every major reserve component question before the committee.
Among his legislative accomplishments on behalf of the reserve components — spanning enacted NDAA provisions, landmark employment and education reforms, and a close collaboration with ROA that has produced nearly 10 codified proposals in law in just over two years — Chairman Van Orden has:
—Secured inclusion of a dedicated Reserve Component counseling pathway within the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) in the enacted FY25 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), drawn directly from his Enhancing the Transitioning Servicemember’s Experience (ETS) Act (H.R. 3387) — ROA’s primary transition assistance legislative priority.
— Secured a provision in the FY25 NDAA increasing paid military leave for National Guardsmen and Reservists from 15 to 20 days per year, based on language from his Reserve and National Guard Military Leave Enhancement Act — with the original bill proposing an increase to 30 days, a goal Van Orden continues to pursue.
— Passed the Montgomery GI Bill–Selected Reserves Tuition Fairness Act (H.R. 7323) through the House on a bipartisan vote, establishing parity between reservists and active-duty personnel at public higher education institutions.
— Secured language in the enacted FY26 NDAA allowing Reservists to waive mandatory TAP requirements under certain circumstances, drawn directly from H.R. 3387 and influenced by ROA.
— Advanced the Guard and Reserve GI Bill Parity Act of 2025 through his Subcommittee on a bipartisan vote, a measure that would ensure every day served in uniform counts toward Post-9/11 GI Bill eligibility — a fundamental equity reform long overdue for a force whose operational tempo increasingly mirrors that of the active component.
— Introduced H.R. 6873 to direct the Department of Veterans Affairs to include former Guard and Reserve members in its annual national suicide prevention report, restoring visibility to a community that had effectively been written out of the data since 2020.
— Championed Sections 221 and 222 of the Elizabeth Dole Act, which passed Congress and included approximately seven ROA-spearheaded reforms to the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), cementing the legislation as one of the most significant advances for reserve component employment protections in recent time.
The presentation also produced a substantive and fruitful exchange on duty status reform between Congressman Van Orden and ROA Chief Executive Officer, retired Army Maj. Gen. John B. Hashem — underscoring the depth and quality of the working relationship that has come to define this partnership.
“Congressman Van Orden has built one of the most substantive and consequential working relationships with ROA of any Member of Congress in recent memory,” said Maj. Gen. Hashem. “He has taken our policy priorities and fought for their approval with the Armed Services and Veterans’ Affairs Committees — time and again delivering real outcomes for the reserve components. This award reflects what can be achieved when a Member of Congress engages as a genuine partner. We are proud to honor him as the first recipient and look forward to continuing this work together.”