Chairman Moran Announces Committee Hearing on Programs for Justice-Involved Veterans in Kansas

Senator Jerry Moran's Office

Graphic from the Office of Senator Jerry Moran

U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, will convene a committee hearing to examine federal, state and local programs for justice-involved veterans, including the Department of Justice’s plan to establish a National Center for Veterans Justice using federal funding secured by Sen. Moran. Among the witnesses are three Kansans, U.S. Army (Ret.) Major General Clyde “Butch” Tate, retired Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Lawton Nuss, and U.S. Army veteran Corey Schramm.

The hearing will take place at 3:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, in Room 418 of the Russell Senate Office Building.

A live video of the hearing will be available at www.veterans.senate.gov and additional information about the hearing and Kansas witnesses can be found below.

Details:

Wednesday, April 15, 2026, 3:30 p.m. ET,

Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Room 418, Russell Senate Office Building

Hearing Background:

Justice-involved veterans often sit at the intersection of trauma, behavioral health needs, a risk of experiencing homelessness and criminal legal involvement. Incarceration also carries significant collateral consequences regarding their VA health care and benefits. The hearing will provide committee members with an opportunity to hear from non-governmental organizations supporting justice-involved veterans and their families, assess the effectiveness of Veterans Treatment Courts and conduct oversight of the federal agencies serving this community.

PANEL I:

Clyde “Butch” Tate, Major General, U.S. Army (Ret.), Chief Counsel, All Rise

The Honorable Lawton Nuss, Chief Justice, Kansas Supreme Court (Ret.)

Corey Schramm, Veteran, U.S. Army

David “Mac” MacEwen, Brigadier General, U.S. Army (Ret.), Director, Veterans Justice Commission

Rose Carmen Goldberg, Associate Teaching Professor and Director of the Veterans Clinic, University of Washington School of Law

PANEL II:

Dana DiGiacomo, Assistant Director, Reentry Services Division, Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Department of Justice

Thomas O’Toole, MD, Acting Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Clinical Services, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Witness Background:

Major General Butch Tate (Ret.) spent 31 years in the U.S. Army and served as the Deputy Judge Advocate of the Army before retiring in 2014. He now serves as the Chief Counsel of All Rise, and an advisor and advocate for national, state and local initiatives addressing the legal needs of military personnel, veterans and families. He is a graduate of the University of Kansas School of Law.

Chief Justice Nuss is from Salina, Kansas, and served on the Kansas Supreme Court from 2002 through 2019. He now serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Veterans Court Coalition and is a member of the Board of Directors for All Rise, where he also is the Chairman of their Veterans Treatment Court committee. He is also a member of the advisory committee to the Veterans Justice Commission for the Council on Criminal Justice and a member of the advisory board of the Veterans Legal Support Clinic at his alma mater, the University of Kansas School of Law.

Corey Schramm is a U.S. Army veteran from Johnson County, Kansas, and graduate of the Veterans Treatment Court in Johnson County. Following his graduation, he earned an associate’s degree in addiction counseling from Kansas City Kansas Community College and now works as a Case Manager at the Johnson County Mental Health Center.