the Veterans Affairs Committee in the Senate, Senator Daniel Akaka, to hold such hearings. The second major action was a public push for a 21st Century GI Bill, which would boost the amount troops received in education benefits. The Action Fund backed the bipartisan legislation sponsored by Senator Jim Webb and Senator Chuck Hagel. As part of the group's efforts, it released an internet video with Brave New Films, urging the passage of the bill, with an attached petition, which received 30,000 signatures, according to the group. It also aired television ads, targeting Senators John McCain and John Cornyn, who did not support the bill. Since that time, VoteVets Action Fund has taken on a large number of other issues, including advocating for the close of the prison at Guantanamo Bay, cutting dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels, taking on predatory lenders that target veterans, repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, and advocating for the Iran Nuclear Deal, with senior advisor Major General (Ret.) Paul Eaton even going so far as to call Senator Tom Cotton’s attempt to dissuade Iran from entering into the deal as “mutinous.” During the Trump administration, VoteVets Action Fund took the lead in opposing the reinstatement of the ban on transgender Americans serving in the military, shifting of funds meant for military bases and families to a wall on the southern border, and a military parade for Trump to review. The group also was a leading voice in the effort to rename Army bases currently named after those Confederate military officers who opposed the US military, launching an online video that was retweeted over 33,000 times. PAC Disbursements According to OpenSecrets, VoteVets PAC is both a PAC and Super PACfor Democrats and Liberal causes in sync with the Congressional Majority Pac and the Bloomberg organization. It spent over $11 million in the 2016 election cycle and over $12 million in the 2018 cycle mostly to promote fire arm security. Chairman's leave of absence In November 2010, Iraq War veteran and chairman of the group, Jon Soltz, announced a one-year leave of absence from the organization to deploy to Iraq, as part of Operation New Dawn. The group continued its work with an interim chairman, Iraq War veteran Ashwin Madia, who was the group's vice chairman since 2009. The rest of the VoteVets.org infrastructure remained the same. On December 12, 2011, Soltz returned as chairman