WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), Chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee and a senior member of the Armed Services Committee, introduced legislation yesterday to address problems within the Department of Defense's Disability Evaluation System.  First publicized in connection with the problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the flaws with the Disability Evaluation System were more clearly identified during a joint Veterans' Affairs and Armed Services Committee hearing on April 12, 2007.

"Based upon what we learned from the Joint Senate Veterans' Affairs and Armed Services hearing, I believe DoD needs to address the lack consistency in awarding disability ratings among the military services," Chairman Akaka said.  "A servicemember should receive the same percentage of disability for a specific condition regardless of his or her branch of service.  The rating should consider all conditions which render the servicemember unfit for continued service.  DoD has an obligation to make this happen.  Unfortunately, in the past, DoD has passed off this responsibility to the individual military services.  This legislation is a step in the right direction to make sure that there is uniformity and consistency across the Services,"

The legislation mandates a number of changes, all designed to reform the current, failing Disability Evaluation System:

• Uniform use of the Veterans Affairs rating schedule across the military services
• Inclusion of all conditions which render a member unfit when making a disability rating
• Uniform training of Medical Evaluation Board/Physical Evaluation Board personnel
• Accountability by DoD to ensure compliance with disability rating regulations and policies

A copy of Chairman Akaka's Senate floor statement yesterday is attached below:

MR. AKAKA.  Mr. President, today I introduce legislation that would reform the Department of Defense Disability Evaluation System.  This legislation offers common sense solutions to problems within the Disability Evaluation System that first gained public attention in connection with the stories about the conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.  Unfortunately, the problems with the Disability Evaluation System are not limited to the Army, but exist throughout the military services. 

At an April 12, 2007, Joint Senate Armed Services and Veterans' Affairs Committee Hearing, we received testimony that identified problems with the current system.  Examples of the issues identified were the failure to use the VA disability rating schedule in a consistent manner across the military services; the failure to include all, not just the most severe medical conditions that would render a servicemember unfit when making a disability decision; the lack of uniform training for Disability Evaluation System personnel; and the lack of accountability and supervision by DoD over the disability process. 

Some have suggested that the solution to the problems within the Disability Evaluation System is to radically change it.  Under current DoD practice, a service-specific Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) makes a "fitness" for duty determination.  If a servicemember is found to be unfit for continued service, the PEB then makes a disability decision.  Instead of seeking ways to ensure that the system functions as intended, some have suggested that the military continue to make "fitness" determinations, but that the Department of Veterans Affairs would be responsible for making disability decisions for servicemembers found to be unfit.

While this may appear to be a reasonable recommendation, I am concerned that if this recommendation is implemented without careful consideration, we might be creating more problems then we can solve. 

The VA disability rating system is already stressed with its existing caseload.  In this time of armed conflict when there are more injured servicemembers each day, it makes no sense to add more pressure to an already overburdened VA system, especially when there is no indication that VA would do a better job than DoD in making disability ratings.  As long as there is consistency in how we determine what percentage of disability a servicemembers receives, it should not matter who makes the rating. 

Rather than shifting the focus to VA, I believe our focus should be on solving the problems of fairness and consistency for assigning disability ratings within and across the Services.  To that end, the bill I am introducing addresses consistency of disability ratings within DoD, uniform use of the Veterans Affairs rating schedule across the military services, uniform training of Medical Evaluation Board/Physical Evaluation Board personnel, and accountability by DoD to ensure compliance with disability rating regulations and policies.

This legislation is a good first step towards changing the DoD Disability Evaluation System that needs to be reformed for the benefit of our wounded and seriously injured servicemembers.  It will improve DoD-wide disability rating regulations and policies, and ensure consistency as these regulations and policies are applied across the Services. 

Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to join me in making these positive changes to the DoD Disability Evaluation System.  We owe our injured and disabled servicemembers no less.

I ask unanimous consent that the full text of the bill be printed in the Record.

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