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Sen. Cornyn Highlights Efforts To Boost Care & Benefits For Texas Veterans & Families

DENTON—U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today visited with the Veterans of Foreign Wars of Denton County and other local veterans. He shared an update on the latest legislative efforts to boost care and benefits for Texas veterans and their families. 

“I had the opportunity to visit with some of Texas’ finest today. These men and women have made great sacrifices on behalf of every American, and I assured them I am working hard in the Senate to see that they receive the best in care and benefits in return. Most recently, the Senate passed a measure to significantly expand the Montgomery G.I. Bill to boost educational benefits for our nation’s service members. I was pleased the final bill included a provision I sought that would, for the first time, allow service members to transfer their G.I. Bill education benefits to their spouses or children.

“I also discussed recent troubling reports that indicate veterans and returning troops, who are experiencing an increase in mental health conditions like PTSD, are not receiving the caliber of care they need. I have written to the VA Secretary and Secretary of Defense, calling on them to ensure we are doing everything we can to treat the ‘invisible wounds’ of war.  I am also supporting a number of legislative efforts that would greatly enhance research on PTSD and other mental health conditions afflicting our veterans, and ensure they are being provided with excellent care to make a full recovery.” 

Sen. Cornyn’s recent legislative efforts to bring greater attention to the needs of America’s veterans and military personnel: 

• Sen. Cornyn supported the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act, H.R. 6081, which was recently signed into law by President Bush. The legislation makes housing more affordable for Texas veterans by expanding the Qualified Veterans Mortgage Bond (QVMB) program. Previously, the QVMB program, administered by the Texas Veterans Land Board, was only open to veterans who served on active duty prior to 1977. Sen. Cornyn worked to include provisions in the Senate-passed bill that  greatly expand the QVMB eligibility criteria for Texas veterans who served in more recent conflicts by eliminating the pre-1977 requirement.
• Sen. Cornyn is hopeful a newly enacted law that he cosponsored in the Senate, the Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act, S.1606 will be instrumental in assisting returning troops with brain injuries and mental health conditions, as well as their families. The legislation was signed into law on January 28 and takes several steps to improve the health care and benefits for recovering veterans, troops, and their families. Of note are provisions that expand the treatment and research for traumatic brain injuries, post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic eye injuries, along with a guarantee that combat veterans who request mental health evaluations receive them within 30 days from their request.
• Sen. Cornyn supported the Mental Health Care and Other Improvements Act of 2008, S. 2162. The bipartisan legislation, which recognizes the link between veterans mental health and substance abuse, passed the Senate unanimously in early June, and would improve veterans' mental health and substance abuse care, enhance mental health outreach, and improve VA research on the invisible wounds of war. 
• Sen. Cornyn is a cosponsor of the Honoring Our Nation’s Obligation to Returning Warriors Act (HONOR Warriors Act), S.3008, legislation that would take several important steps to enhance mental health care services for veterans and members of our military returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The HONOR Warriors Act would, among other initiatives, give active duty personnel access to community-based counseling centers and recruit and train more behavioral health specialists to meet their specialized needs. 
• Sen. Cornyn is also a cosponsor of the Veterans' Mental Health Outreach and Access Act, S.38 requiring the VA to help veterans of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom and their families, including National Guard and Reservists, gain access to mental health care and readjustment services, especially for those who do not live near a VA facility.
• He has also cosponsored the Veterans Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Rehabilitation Act, S.1233 requiring the VA to develop personalized plans prior to discharge from inpatient care for the rehabilitation of veterans with TBI. This act directs the VA to work with non-VA facilities to provide veterans' TBI intervention, rehabilitative treatment, and reintegration services when a veteran is not close to a VA facility.

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