Veterans

The brave men and women in uniform who have volunteered to defend our nation deserve our utmost thanks and respect. They also deserve the benefits they were promised and have certainly earned. Unfortunately, a negative trend has developed with regards to veterans’ benefits. Our courageous veterans are promised one thing and far too often receive benefits short of those promises. I, along with my colleagues in Congress, am committed to changing this inexcusable trend.

In 2007, I helped pass several veterans-related bills and fund critical veterans projects. H.R. 2764, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008, provided $43.1 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) – $6.6 billion more than FY2007 levels. This money will be used to improve several underperforming programs within the VA, such as the VA healthcare system. VA healthcare will receive an $11.8 billion increase from FY2007. This money will also improve claims processing by hiring 3,100 new processors. Something that affects many of my constituents is a critically needed increase for travel reimbursements from 11 cents per mile to 28.5 cents per mile. This is the first increase since 1979 – when gas was 95 cents per gallon.

Aside from funding the VA at record setting levels, I have also worked to improve veterans care on a more substantive level. I was alarmed to learn of the incidences of veterans’ suicide, and the clear lack programs to help oversee and prevent this. I am a proud cosponsor and voted to pass H.R. 327, the Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act. This important piece of legislation was signed into law on November 11, 2007, and directs the VA to develop and implement a comprehensive suicide prevention program through the VA.

Additionally, I heard from many veterans and their families about the rising cost of healthcare. Therefore, I proudly cosponsored H.R. 579, the Military Retirees Health Care Protection Act. This bill would prohibit the Department of Defense from passing the increasing cost of healthcare onto TRICARE beneficiaries. The Pentagon should not increase copayments to those who had dedicated themselves to risking their lives and defending our freedom.

To help better address the unjustifiable backlog with VA disability claims, I cosponsored H.R. 2292, the Pay Veterans First Act. This bill would mandate that senior presidential appointees within the VA would be ineligible for performance-based bonuses until the disability claims backlog is fewer that 100,000. I do not think that anyone deserves a pay bonus for insufficient and inadequate work.

In order to ensure that veterans receive their full bonus, I cosponsored H.R. 3793, the Veterans Guaranteed Bonus Act. This bill would guarantee that veterans, who retired or separated for disability due to combat-related injuries would receive the full amount of any bonuses they were promised while in the military. I was upset to learn that veterans were being shortchanged on the financial bonuses they were promised because a war related injury forced them to retire.

I was also deeply distressed at a decision made by the VA that would have banned the traditional flag-folding recitations by Memorial Honor Detail volunteers at military funerals. I found this policy extremely disconcerting and disturbing, and therefore joined some of my colleagues in sending a letter to VA Secretary Gordon H. Mansfield urging him to seriously reconsider this decision. Re-evaluating the policy would allow the Memorial Honor Detail volunteers to perform the traditional flag-folding recitation if requested by the family of the deceased. The letter emphasized that the ability to have the recitations made by the Memorial Honor Detail is important to recognizing the right to freedom of speech and religion for which the veteran had fought. Many military families find comfort and solace in these words. And, I find it unwise and unfair to ban them from use. This decision by the VA has thankfully been rescinded. I am pleased the VA has decided to leave this up to the discretion of the affected families.