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HR1951: American Veterans Disabled for Life Commemorative
Coin
Senate Panel Approves $94.3 billion VA-MILCON Spending Bill
House Committee Approves Legislation Carrying Plethora of
Veterans’ Programs
Congressman Davis' Civilian P.O.W. Medal Legislation to be
Considered Tomorrow in the House Government Reform Committee
Memorial Day Weekend
Press Release on House VA Appropriations Bill (H.R.
5385)
Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act Passes Congress.
Take Action! - HR 5037 Now Goes to the President
A G.I. Bill Serving All Who Serve
House Panels Expected to Reject or Alter Numerous Pentagon
Requests
VA Data Show Twice as Many Veterans Waiting for Health Care
MOBILIZATION EXPOSES ‘INEQUITY’ IN RESERVE G.I. BILL
HR1951: American Veterans Disabled for Life Commemorative
Coin
Sponsor: Kelly (R-N.Y.)
CRS (Congressional Research Service) - 21 July 2006
A bill to
require the secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in
commemoration of veterans who became disabled for life while
serving in the armed forces of the United States. * American
Veterans Disabled for Life Commemorative Coin - Directs the
Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $1 silver coins
emblematic of the design selected by the Disabled Veterans'
LIFE Memorial Foundation for the American Veterans Disabled
for Life Memorial, in commemoration of disabled American
veterans.
Expresses
the sense of Congress that, to the greatest extent possible,
the coins should be struck at the United States Mint at West
Point, New York, Limits the period for coin issuance to the
calendar year beginning on January 1, 2010.
Imposes a
$10 surcharge per coin, to be distributed to the Disabled
Veterans' LIFE Memorial Foundation for the purpose of
establishing an endowment to support the construction of
American Veterans' Disabled for Life Memorial in Washington,
D.C.
Senate Panel Approves $94.3 billion VA-MILCON Spending Bill
By Patrick Yoest, CQ Staff
CQ TODAY - July 18, 2006 – 2:04 PM
A Senate
Appropriations subcommittee approved a $94.3 billion draft
bill for veterans and military construction on Tuesday, but
the chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee protested
the panel’s contribution to surging veterans’ health care
expenditures.
Overall,
the bill would provide $16.3 billion for military
construction and $77.9 billion for the VA, as well as $143
million for veterans’ spending at other agencies.
The
president’s request for VA and military construction
spending totals $94.7 billion, somewhat more than the Senate
bill would provide.
The Senate
bill includes $52.9 billion in discretionary spending,
compared to $53.3 million for discretionary spending in the
president’s request.
While the
draft bill does include spending for veterans’ health care,
it does not include funding for the Defense Department’s
health care program, which the Senate funds under the
Defense appropriations spending bill.
The
House-passed Military Quality of Life-VA spending bill (H.R.
5385) does. The House bill, which passed May 19, provides
$136.1 billion in spending, including $94.7 in discretionary
funding.
VA
spending in the Senate bill equals the president’s request,
but appropriators rejected a $250 annual enrollment fee and
higher prescription drug co-payments proposed in the
president’s budget.
Senators
said Tuesday that the shortfall between the president’s
request and the Senate bill would be covered by trims from
the administration request for the Base Realignment and
Closure Commission account, which would receive $5.2 billion
in the Senate bill.
According
to a committee aide, the Senate bill would not fund $389
million in the BRAC account for equipment, information
technology and other items because the BRAC process has
“moved so slowly.”
Sen. Larry
E. Craig, R-Idaho, painted a picture of an out-of-control
process for funding and authorizing VA projects that has
distorted spending priorities, forcing reductions from
military construction portion of the Senate bill. Craig
chairs the Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
“I’m
mighty frustrated that we can’t get our house in order and
get some sequence in here,” Craig said. “I really do find
it important as chairman of the authorizing committee to
plant both feet forward and say no.”
Craig has
endorsed the $795 million in fees for veterans’ medical care
proposed by the administration. The fees would be charged
only to veterans whose incomes exceeded a means test and who
did not have an injury or an illness related to military
service.
Hutchison
and other members of the Military Construction and Veterans’
Affairs Appropriations subcommittee have steadfastly opposed
the fees, but Hutchison said Tuesday that a compromise on
the means test — currently set at $26,902 — could arise from
talks with Craig.
“Maybe
there’s a cutoff of $100,000 or $150,000 where there’s some
kind of contribution,” Hutchison said. “I would never
support a fee for someone making $26,000 who’s served our
country, not ever.”
Craig
pointed to a Congressional Budget Office study released July
14 that showed skyrocketing costs for VA health care under
current policies. The Veterans’ Health Administration would
receive an 11.3 percent increase from fiscal 2006 spending,
to $32.7 billion.
Craig’s
concerns came in part because of four hospitals included in
the draft spending bill that were not authorized by the
Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
Source:
CQ Today - Round-the-clock coverage of news from Capitol
Hill.
© 2006
Congressional Quarterly Inc. All Rights Reserved
House Committee Approves Legislation Carrying Plethora of
Veterans’ Programs
By Kate Barrett, CQ Staff
CQ TODAY – VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
July 13, 2006 – 7:37 PM
The House
Veterans’ Affairs Committee on Thursday approved an omnibus
benefits bill that would include veterans’ education and
employment benefits and burial rights, as well as incentives
for veteran-owned small businesses.
The
committee approved the bill (H.R. 3082) by voice vote after
rolling into it provisions from three other bills recently
approved by its subcommittees.
The panel
incorporated those measures by approving, by voice vote, a
substitute amendment that included the bills (H.R. 5038,
H.R. 5220, H.R. 601).
No other
changes were made to the legislation, which could be on the
House floor the week of July 24.
As
approved by the panel’s Economic Opportunity Subcommittee on
May 10, the bill aims to boost economic opportunities for
veterans who are small-business owners.
Small-Business Provisions
The
measure would require the secretary of Veterans Affairs to
establish annual contracting goals for the VA to enter into
with small businesses owned by veterans and service-disabled
veterans. It would specify that the goal for
service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses would not be
less than 3 percent of all VA contracts.
The
measure also would give veteran-owned small businesses
priority among other set-aside groups in VA contracting; it
would authorize continued status as a veteran-owned small
business by a surviving spouse for 10 years after the death
of a veteran small-business owner.
Although
the bill calls on the VA to set annual contracting goals, it
does not specify precise figures. The bill as initially
introduced would have required that 9 percent of VA
procurement contracts be awarded to veteran-owned small
businesses.
Still,
committee Chairman Steve Buyer, R-Ind., assured panelists
that if the VA were to fail to meet its set-aside goals, “I
will be happy to provide additional legislative incentives
for the department.”
The bill,
sponsored by John Boozman, R-Ark., and Stephanie Herseth, D-S.D.,
also calls for added initiatives through the Department of
Labor’s Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS), as
well as enhanced education benefits that would extend
through 2011 the authorization for work-study positions at
VA cemeteries, state veterans’ homes and state approving
agencies.
It also
would restore lost entitlement for certain beneficiaries of
education assistance who are forced to discontinue their
education to serve full-time in the National Guard.
Transition to Civilian Life
The bill,
as amended, also would authorize $1 million annually through
fiscal 2009 for a pilot project to help soldiers make the
transition to civilian life by making it easier for them to
use their military experience to get credentialed in an
equivalent civilian field.
The
legislation would authorize the Labor secretary to select at
least 10 military occupational specialties that could lead
to civilian credentialing in high-growth industries or
industries with worker shortages.
The
measure also would make American Indian tribal organizations
eligible for grants to establish, expand or improve
veterans’ cemeteries on trust lands.
It would
make permanent the VA secretary’s authority to furnish a
government headstone or marker for veterans interred in a
marked grave at a private cemetery. Current authorization
expires Dec. 31, 2006.
“I think
that’s extremely important to veterans to be buried close to
their loved ones, and that’s really the heart of what this
legislation does,” said Tom Udall, D-N.M.
Source:
CQ Today - Round-the-clock coverage of news from Capitol
Hill.
© 2006
Congressional Quarterly Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Congressman Davis' Civilian P.O.W. Medal Legislation to be
Considered Tomorrow in the House Government Reform Committee
Washington, D.C.
For Immediate Release:
Media Contact: Amanda Keating
202-225-3465
June
28, 2006
The
Civilian Prisoner-of-War Medal Act of 2005 authored by
Congressman Geoff Davis will be considered in a full
committee hearing tomorrow by the House Government Reform
Committee.
H.R. 3329,
the Civilian Prisoner-of-War Medal Act, would allow
prisoner-of-war medals to be awarded to civilian employees
of the federal government who are taken captive by armed
forces or agents of a foreign government hostile to the U.S.
during war or under wartime conditions.
Congressman Davis stated, "I believe this bill recognizes
the contributions our civil service employees make to our
military efforts. The selfless dedication and great
personal sacrifice of civilian personnel during times of war
are greatly appreciated and should be commended. I believe
that awarding them, or a designee, the civilian
prisoner-of-war medal demonstrates the respect that Congress
and all Americans have for their efforts and their
sacrifice."
The House
Government Reform Committee is chaired by Congressman Tom
Davis, (R-VA). Geoff Davis serves on the House Financial
Services and Armed Services Committees.
###
Ann Mills
Griffiths
Executive
Director
National
League of POW/MIA Families
1005 North
Glebe Road, Suite 170
Arlington,
VA 22201
(PH)
703-465-7432 (FX) 703-465-7433
www.pow-miafamilies.org
Memorial Day Weekend
We are
coming into the Memorial Day weekend and focus is rightly on
our Nation’s Veterans. Unfortunately there was more
attention placed on America’s veterans when the VA announced
that the personal records of 26.4 million veterans had been
stolen. However, legislatively, it has been a very good week
for Veterans and Survivors
Theft of
26.4 million- The Capitol is more and more concerned about
the theft of these records. On Thursday both the House and
the Senate VA Committees held hearings on the theft. And
Secretary Nicholson is certainly on the hot seat concerning
long term VA policies concerning security and IT. In both
the Senate (sponsored by Senator John Kerry D-MA) and the
House (sponsored Representative John Salazar D-CO) there
have been bills introduced to require the VA to pay for
credit checks for all Veterans. Additional legislation is
expected to immerge from this week’s Senate and House
hearing. Please keep reading the Update for the latest news
on this subject.
Senate
Armed Services Committee includes both the end of the SBP/DIC
offset and the SBP paid up provisions-This is great news! We
have never gotten this far before. The Senate’s Armed
Service Committee Mark Up of the National Defense
Authorization Act FY07 included both the end of the SBP/DIC
offset and moving up the date for the paid up provisions of
SBP. We expect the full Senate to pass it when it gets to
the floor. We don’t know how long that will take. If you
recall last year it took weeks to get the NDAA while the
Republicans and Democrats negotiated as to how many of the
hundreds of Amendments filled for the bill would be allowed
to be presented. But during the next few weeks our job is to
try and get the House of Representatives to agree to the
idea. This is going to be a hard fight. The price tag: $9.4
billion in 10 years is killing a great deal of support. So
now we must really push the House members especially those
on the Armed Services Committee to sign off.
House of
Representative Passes VA Budget-Late last Friday the House
of Representatives passed the FY07 budget for the VA. The
bill, HR5385, increased the VA’s budget by approximately 10%
(a great deal of the increase will be going to the
increasing costs of providing for Veterans coming home from
Iraq and Afghanistan. It includes nearly $3 billion for
mental health care. For details on the budget please go to
the bottom of this Update where a full breakdown is
attached.
Veterans’
Benefits Bill Passes in the House- This week the House
passed a bill that greatly expanded veterans benefits in
many areas including job training, home loans and life
insurance. The bill S 1245, sponsored by Senator Larry Craig
(R-ID), the Chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs
Committee combines parts several bills from both the House
and the Senate. It included a 5 year pilot program to award
“adaptive housing grants” of up to $14,000 for disabled
veterans and extends free SGLI for totally disabled veterans
to 2 years after leaving the service. It was passed 372-0 in
the House. Since this bill was originally Senator Craig’s
(R-ID) it is expected to have easy sailing in the Senate
(hopefully before Memorial Day)
Washington
Memorial Service for Representative G.V. “Sonny”
Montgomery-On Thursday morning Congress held a memorial
service for G.V. Sonny Montgomery at the Rayburn Building.
The former Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee
was memorialized by many of his colleagues from the House
and the Tuesday Prayer Breakfast including Representative
Chip Pickering (R-MS), Representative Jo Ann Davis (R-VA),
Representative Gene Taylor (D-MS), Representative Zach Wamp
(R-TN) and Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO). It was an
honor to represent TREA at this Service.
Press Release on House VA Appropriations Bill (H.R.
5385)
Washington, DC – Today, the House of Representatives
approved H.R. 5385, the Military Construction, Military
Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act,
Fiscal Year 2007. The bill funds significant increases for
veterans’ mental health programs.
“At a time
when most federal spending will see few increases, veterans’
spending will rise next year another 10 percent. This
budget reflects our continuing commitment to care for
America’s veterans,” said Chairman Buyer.
Committed
to our returning OIF and OEF veterans, this bill would
increase funding for their care by 6.3 percent. With
passage of this legislation, Congress provides nearly $3
billion in funding for specialty mental health care for
FY07. This includes funds for the treatment of Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and funding for three
Centers for Excellence where mental health care treatment
will be provided.
House
Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Military Quality
of Life and Veterans Affairs, and related agencies as passed
by the House on May 19, 2006:
$32.7
billion for the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) for
FY2007:
$25.4
billion for medical services, a $2.6 billion (11.6percent)
increase over the FY2006 enacted amount and $100 million
less than the President’s requested amount of $25.5
billion;
$3.3
billion for medical administration, a $100 million increase
over the President’s request;
$3.6
billion for medical facilities; and $412 million for medical
and prosthetic research, a $13.0 million increase over the
Administration’s request; Congress allocates no less than
$2.8 billion for specialty mental health care for FY07.
Treatment for PTSD and funding for three Centers for
Excellence for mental health care facilities is included
within the $2.8 billion; and
Enrollment
fees and co-pay increases as requested by the
Administration’s budget proposal for VHA for FY2007, were
not included.
Directs
the VA to report by November 10, 2006, on their plan for
resolving the claims backlog, the timeline for
implementation of this plan and any needs for additional
personnel
Directs
the VA to develop a program of coordination, information
sharing and technical assistance for veterans’
transportation to assure those veterans who are isolated in
rural areas or have special needs are able to receive the
vital healthcare they need.
Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act Passes Congress
Take Action! - HR 5037 Now Goes to the President
Thanks in
large part to effective grassroots lobbying efforts, the
Senate passed an amended version of HR 5037 in response to
the bill sent from the House. The House concurred with the
Senate amendment and passed the final version of the bill.
HR 5037 is now on its way to the President for his
signature.
On May 24,
the Senate passed its version of HR 5037 in response to the
bill sent from the House on May 9. Later that day, the House
concurred with the Senate amendment and passed the final
version of the bill.
The
essence of the amended bill is that demonstrations at the
124 VA cemeteries and at Arlington National Cemetery will be
more restricted and families of fallen American soldiers,
sailors, airmen and Marines will have greater protections
under Federal law.
The Senate
amendment will not stop the protests, but does restrict
under federal law how far away protestors can gather from
cemetery access points. The House version of the bill had
greater distance restrictions than those passed by the
Senate.
Another
issue addressed in the Senate amendment regarded VA
cemeteries located in residential neighborhoods. The Senate
was leery of expanding the Federal government's power and
regulation over property that is not owned by the American
people unless there is absolutely no other alternative.
The
amendment narrowed criminal prohibitions to the areas around
cemeteries most likely to serve as the places for
disruption, mainly cemetery access points. Under the
restrictions adopted by the Senate, a protestor making any
noise or diversion that disturbs or tends to disturb the
peace or good order of a funeral, memorial service, or
ceremony" may not do so within 150 feet of any point of
access to or exit from cemetery property, 60 minutes before
and 60 minutes after a funeral. The bill also prohibits any
demonstration that is within 300 feet of cemetery property
that would impede access to or exit from the property.
The bill
retained other provisions in the original House-passed
legislation that defined prohibited demonstrations;
prohibited demonstrations on the grounds of Federal
cemeteries; levied a fine, up to a year in prison, or both,
for violators of the prohibitions; and expressed the Sense
of the Congress that states enact appropriate restrictions
at military funerals. As of now six states have enacted
state law either banning or restricting demonstrations at
funerals.
Penalties
associated with violations of this legislation are fair and
proportionate. A violation would be a Class A misdemeanor
under title 18, United States Code, and result in fines of
$100,000, imprisonment of not more than one year, or both.
The penalty balances proportionality with the need for
deterrence that has been demonstrated in outrageous and
intolerable disruptions. The bill does not interfere with
existing abilities of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs or
the Secretary of the Army to regulate other conduct that is
not specifically referenced in this legislation on property
under their jurisdictions.
As stated
in our Action Alert on HR 5037, this legislation responds to
organized protests that have taken place around the country
at the funerals of servicemen and women who have lost their
lives in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi
Freedom. These demonstrators harass family members and
friends with inappropriate chants and signs. Regardless of
one's position on the Global War on Terror, family members
and friends, grieving over the loss of loved ones and fallen
service members, should be protected as much as possible
from disrespectful behavior during military funerals at
national cemeteries and Arlington National Cemetery.
With the
passage of this bill by the House and Senate, the bill goes
to the President for his signature. We encourage the
President to sign this bill into law by Memorial Day.
Veterans should receive the respect they earned as a result
of their service in the armed forces.
A G.I. Bill Serving All Who Serve
By Tim Starks, CQ Staff
House
Republican leaders unceremoniously dumped Rep. Christopher
H. Smith of New Jersey as chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs
Committee a year and a half ago because he kept trying to
increase veterans’ benefits while party leaders were trying,
without much success, to control the budget. The man
brought in to replace Smith at the start of this Congress
was tough talking Indiana Republican Steve Buyer, a colonel
in the Army Reserve who nevertheless had criticized veterans
groups for their perennial demands for higher benefits.
In the
months since, Buyer has been unable to limit the growth of
the veterans’ budget — partly because of the expense of
caring for personnel returning from Iraq. And now, he has
become the pivotal figure in what could be the biggest G.I.
Bill expansion since 1984.
Buyer
wants to revamp educational benefits for reservists and
National Guard personnel, who currently receive a fraction
of the stipends and other aid available to those from
regular military units.
Reserve
and Guard units have played a major role in the fighting in
Iraq and Afghanistan because the regular military is
stretched so thin, and they have been lobbying Congress to
boost their benefits. The idea of a G.I. Bill expansion has
gained momentum because of the conflict in the Middle East
and because this is an election year in which Republicans
are worried they will lose seats in the House and Senate.
Buyer, a
veteran of the Gulf War and co chairman of the House
National Guard and Reserve Components Caucus, surprised
nearly everyone at a budget hearing in February by
advocating an expansion of the G.I. Bill. He says he
considers it more of an investment than a cost: The
Veterans Affairs Department estimates that the 1984
Montgomery G.I. Bill brought $2 into the economy for every
$1 the government spent.
But even
in a year of war and elections, the push to enlarge the G.I.
Bill faces big challenges. Some lawmakers worry about the
cost: as much as $4.5 billion over the next decade,
according to Capitol Hill supporters of the overhaul. The
legislation also would have to run the gantlet of committees
in both chambers that have jurisdiction over the G.I. Bill.
And the Pentagon worries that some changes Buyer and others
contemplate might encourage people to leave the reserves
rather than stay.
“It’s
going to be a heavy lift,” Buyer said.
The G.I.
Bill of Rights is one of Congress’ landmark laws. Passed in
1944, it transformed the nation by paying for the college
educations of thousands of veterans returning home from
World War II and the Korean War. Since then, more than 21
million veterans and their dependents have benefited from
the law. Another 18 million veterans bought homes through
the bill’s loan program.
Congress
has updated the law several times. Benefits were adjusted
and in some cases expanded after Korea and Vietnam. The
1984 revisions to the law were passed mainly to make service
in the all volunteer Army more attractive.
Illustrating Disparities
Benefits
for active duty and reserve personnel have always been
different, however, and the disparity has widened over the
past two decades. Since 1985, benefits for active duty
forces have more than tripled, to $1,034 per month, while
those for reservists have barely doubled, to $297 per
month. Meanwhile, the annual cost of a college education
has tripled, to an average $12,045, according to the
National Center for Education Statistics and the Defense
Department.
An active
duty veteran’s monthly stipend now covers 77 percent of
average yearly college costs; for reservists, the benefits
cover only 22 percent. The Guard’s main priority now is to
bring their benefit to roughly half that of active duty
forces.
Staff Sgt.
Armando Galarza is an example of the growing disparity. An
Air Force reservist since 2001, he has served as a mechanic
for aircraft flying missions over Iraq and Afghanistan. He
is returning to college this fall to study business
management.
Even at
the relatively inexpensive Northern Virginia Community
College in Annandale, Va., Galarza’s $2,673 yearly stipend
from the government won’t come close to covering his
estimated $4,000 a year cost for tuition and books.
Given the
time Galarza has put into reserve duty, he says the benefit
could be more generous, and more in line with what active
duty personnel receive. Reserve service is no longer just
one or two weekends a month, Galarza says. “It’s becoming a
full time job.”
In
Congress, Democrats were the first to propose changes to the
G.I. Bill, with legislation last year that included many of
the reservists’ demands. Republican leaders of the House
Armed Services Committee ignored it.
Prospects
for an overhaul this year have improved because of Buyer’s
support. He hopes his close ties to House leaders — he was
a key supporter of the new majority leader, John A. Boehner
of Ohio — will help bring the legislation to the floor. “We
must modernize the GI bill,” Buyer said. He plans to seek
an additional $600 million for fiscal 2007 to finance his
initiative.
The House
Armed Services Committee, chaired by Republican Duncan
Hunter of California, also has shown interest in overhauling
the G.I. Bill. The Pentagon and Veterans Affairs
Department, meanwhile, have undertaken a joint study of
these proposals, and are expected to make their
recommendations in June.
Hurdles and Handicaps
Perhaps
the most controversial proposed change would allow
reservists to collect education benefits after they leave
the Guard or reserve service.
Under
current law, only those who remain enlisted can receive
stipends. If Galarza leaves the reserves after his six year
commitment to attend school — uninterrupted by further call
ups, for example — his education benefits will dry up.
Reservists such as Galarza “should not lose their education
benefits following such honorable service,” Buyer said.
The
Pentagon opposes such a change, however, arguing that it
could hurt retention.
“Our
concern is, do we want to open up a program that could
encourage people to leave, as opposed to encourage people to
stay?” said Tom Bush, principal director for manpower and
personnel in the office of the assistant secretary of
Defense for reserve affairs. | 
