WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), Chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, noted with gratitude Senate action approving a House amendment to H.R. 797, the Dr. James Allen Veteran Vision Equity Act of 2007.   Last month, the Senate passed a modified version of H.R. 797, which was introduced by Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).  Yesterday, the Senate concurred with the subsequent House amendment, paving the way for the bill to be sent to the President's desk for signature.                                                            

"This bill will allow veterans who are legally blind to receive compensation that VA's current strict eligibility requirements preclude them from receiving.  This bill also provides important improvements to certain burial and memorial benefits that govern how we honor fallen veterans," said Senator Akaka.  Akaka is the author of S. 1163, a companion bill to H.R. 797.   

H.R. 797, as amended, would alter the vision impairment standard for two groups of veterans: those with service-connected blindness in one eye who later lose vision in the other eye, and those who receive special compensation for multiple disabilities that include vision impairment.

The legislation would improve burial and memorial benefits for veterans in several ways.  It would authorize financial assistance from VA to state veterans' cemeteries, eliminate the time limitation for states filing for reimbursement for interment costs, make permanent the authority for VA to furnish government headstones and markers for veterans buried in private cemeteries, and direct VA to design and make available an appropriate marker to denote the veterans' status of those interred in private cemeteries, as an alternative to a government furnished headstone.

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