Veterans for a Strong America

Not to be confused with Veterans for America or Veterans for a Secure America.
Veterans for a Strong America Action Group
FounderJoel Arends
36-4818487[1]
Legal statusCorporation
(formerly 501(c)(4) Super PAC[2])
HeadquartersSioux Falls, South Dakota[1]
Joel Arends
Dan Backer[3]
Revenue (2015)
$24,760[4]
Expenses (2015)$22,253[4]
Websitewww.veteransforastrongamerica.org
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Veterans for a Strong America (VSA) is a conservative[6][7] political action committee that describes itself as a "non-partisan action organization dedicated to educating the public, members of Congress and the Executive Branch about a strong national defense, robust foreign policy and building a military that is second to none."[8][9] The group was founded by Joel Arends of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, who is also the chairman and sole staffer of the group.[10][11] Arends is an attorney and political consultant in Sioux Falls, where the organization is based.[12] He previously worked as the South Dakota field director for the 2000 Bush-Cheney campaign and as a consultant to the Americans for Prosperity group, affiliated with the Koch brothers.[9] VSA has been described as a dark money group.[13][14]

  1. ^ a b "Veterans for a Strong America Association". Guidestar. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference AP-nonprofit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "FEC Form 3X: Report of Receipts and Disbursements For Other Than An Authorized Committee". United States Federal Election Committee. June 30, 2016.
  4. ^ a b "FEC Form 3X: Report of Receipts and Disbursements For Other Than An Authorized Committee". United States Federal Election Committee. December 31, 2015.
  5. ^ "Mission". Veterans for a Strong America. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  6. ^ Malloy, Daniel (September 16, 2015). "From a battleship on Debate Eve, Donald Trump mostly holsters his guns". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  7. ^ Andrew Perez & Paul Blumenthal, Benghazi Becomes Issue In Arizona Governor GOP Primary, Huffington Post (May 30, 2014).
  8. ^ Kelly Phillips Erb (September 17, 2015). "Vet Group That Endorsed Trump Lost Tax Exempt Status Months Ago". Forbes. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  9. ^ a b Rick Cohen (September 17, 2015). "The Fake Vet Nonprofit that Sponsored Trump's USS Iowa Speech on Veteran's Issues". Nonprofit Quarterly. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  10. ^ Adam Weinstein (May 4, 2012). "Meet the Astroturfer Planning to Swift Boat Obama". Mother Jones. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  11. ^ Steve Benen (September 18, 2015). "'Veterans for a Strong America' draws scrutiny". MSNBC. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  12. ^ David Fitzpatrick & Drew Griffin (September 18, 2015). "Veterans group that hosted Trump lost tax-exempt status". CNN. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  13. ^ Mary Jo Pitzl, Dark-money group subject of new investigation, Arizona Republic (July 23, 2015).
  14. ^ Kevin Drum, Dark Money Group Darkens Obama's Skin Color in Ad, Mother Jones (May 7, 2012).