Swords to Plowshares

The House of Representatives has passed The Veterans’ Mental Health and Other Care Improvements Act of 2008 and The Veterans’ Benefits Improvements Act of 2008. These bills will help veterans prevent foreclosure, access the health care they need and receive earned disability benefits in a timely Fashion. House VA Committee Chairman, Rep. Bob Filner, expects senate passage and urges president to sign bills into law.

House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Press Release:

Washington, D.C. – On Wednesday, September 24, 2008, Bob Filner (D-CA), Chairman of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, announced that the House of Representatives passed comprehensive legislation to provide improved health care services and increased benefits for our Nation’s veterans. Chairman Filner (D-CA) thanked his Republican and Democratic colleagues for their contributions to the comprehensive legislative package. He also thanked his Senate counterparts for their dedication to working together to craft legislation that will address the important and timely needs of veterans…

The following bills were considered and approved by the House of Representatives:
S. 2162, as amended – The Veterans’ Mental Health and Other Care Improvements Act of 2008 (Introduced by Senator Akaka)

Provisions of the bill include (but are not limited to):

• Expanding treatment for substance use disorders and mental health care;

• Conducting research into co-morbid PTSD and substance use disorders through the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder;

• Providing mental health care, including counseling, for families, of veterans;

• Providing reimbursement for a veteran for the costs of emergency treatment received in a non-VA facility;

• Establishing a pilot program to allow a highly rural veteran to receive non-VA health care;

• Designating at least four VA health care facilities as epilepsy centers of excellence;

• Mandating the VA to centralize third party billing functions at consolidated centers;

• Eliminating a rule prohibiting VA from conducting widespread testing for HIV infection;

• Expanding health care benefits provided to the children of Vietnam and Korean war veterans born with spina bifida;

• Developing and implementing a comprehensive policy on pain care management;

• Expanding referral and counseling services for certain at-risk and transitional veterans;

• Providing support services for very low-income veteran families residing in permanent housing; and,

• Authorizing major medical facility projects for 2009.

Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-PA) offered the following statement in support of S. 2162: “As someone who served in the company of heroes, it is unconscionable that so many of my fellow veterans seek shelter night after night. I am proud that we have begun the important task of making sure that the brave Americans who once faced down our enemies don’t have to face another night out on the street.”

S. 3023, as amended – The Veterans’ Benefits Improvements Act of 2008 Provisions of the bill include (but are not limited to):

• Directing the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to modernize the disability benefits claims processing system of the VA to ensure the accurate and timely delivery of compensation to veterans and their families and survivors;

• Establishing an Office of Survivors Assistance within the VA;

• Allowing temporary disability ratings for certain veterans;

• Addressing employee training for those responsible for processing claims by redeveloping the
certification exam and requiring an evaluation of the training and quality assurance program;

• Decreasing the equity requirement to refinance a home loan;

• Extending two pilot programs that offer adjustable rate loans;

• Reforming the USERRA (Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act) complaint process and ensuring that equitable relief is available to all USERRA victims when appropriate;

• Increasing the number of veterans that can participate in the independent living program;

• Updating housing construction and design guidelines to take into account any new or unique disabilities for veterans in need of specially adaptive housing;

• Providing assistance to the United States Paralympic Program for veterans and members of the Armed Services;

• Extending Servicemember Civil Relief Act protections to help service members with deployment orders to more easily terminate or suspend cell phone contracts without fee or penalty; and,

• Repealing the sunset provision for the Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans.

Chairman Filner stated, “There are nearly 24 million veterans in this country, more than 2.7 million of whom receive disability compensation benefits from the VA. S. 3023 would comprehensively modernize the VBA claims processing system and arm it with the up-to-date tools and paradigms it needs to process claims using integrated information technology and platforms, while improving accountability, timeliness, and quality of adjudicated claims. I want to thank Mr. Hall for his leadership in tackling the central issues that have led to the unmanageable claims backlog and the lack of accountability within the VA. Veterans can now have hope that the VA will finally stand for Veterans Advocate, instead of Veterans Adversary!”