Supporting America's Veterans

I am pleased to report two significant and positive developments that will help improve the lives of our nation’s veterans, especially those living in rural areas.

First, last week the Senate unanimously passed the Veterans Mental Health Improvements Act (S. 2162), which will help veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and other mental and physical injuries. The bill included provisions drawn from the Rural Veterans Health Care Improvement Act (S.1146), which I introduced last year and has 27 bipartisan cosponsors. The bill that the Senate passed last week:

• Cuts the deductible disabled veterans have to pay before qualifying for mileage reimbursement from the VA from $15.44 per round trip to $6 per round trip when they travel for health care.
• Makes permanent the increase in the VA’s mileage reimbursement rate for disable veterans who travel for health care from 11 cents to 28 cents per mile
• Establishes a pilot program on peer outreach and support for veterans, use of community mental health centers and Indian health care facilities as mental health service centers for veterans and readjustment counseling for veterans
• Provides families of veterans with mental health disabilities the opportunity to receive marital or family counseling
• Creates a new program that aids low-income veterans facing homelessness
• Requires the VA to reimburse hospitals that provide emergency treatment to veterans who have service-related disabilities

Now that the Senate has unanimously passed this bill, it must be approved by the House of Representatives and sent to the President for his signature.

The second important step forward for our country’s veterans came last Thursday, when the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Dr. James Peake, announced a new Veterans Rural Health Advisory Committee, which will advise the VA on how to improve the provision of health care to veterans living in rural communities. The advisory panel will complement the work of the VA’s Office of Rural Health, which I successfully fought to create in 2006. The panel will include 13 members from across the country. Dr. Robert Moser, a physician who practices in rural Colorado and Kansas, will be a member of the panel.

Although these are two important steps forward, we must still do more to better honor those who selflessly devote themselves to the cause of freedom. We must, for one, enact a 21st Century G.I. Bill of Rights to expand educational benefits for service members and veterans. We must also continue to work to better address the needs of our rural veterans, and to pass the bipartisan Rural Veterans Health Care Improvement Act, which will give the VA more tools to meet the needs of rural veterans.

Sincerely,

Ken Salazar
United States Senator

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Senator Ken Salazar's DC office is located at 702 Hart Senate office building, Washington, DC 20510. He has Colorado regional offices in Denver, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, Ft. Morgan, Pueblo, Durango, Grand Junction and Alamosa. For contact and mailing info, click here.