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Government
Affairs
BILLS WE ARE WORKING ON:
This bill needs to be worked on
ASAP or it will lose support
H. Res. 111: Establishing a Select
Committee on POW and MIA Affairs -
Click here for full text
Snowe Legislation Would
Improve Veterans’
Access to Health Care
WASHINGTON D.C. –
U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME) and Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD)
introduced yesterday S. 2639, the Assured Funding for Veterans
Health Care Act, a bipartisan measure that would require the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to designate annual health
care funding as mandatory, meaning the funding would not be
contingent on congressional action.
Although the President’s VA budget request for Fiscal Year 2009
calls for increased discretionary funding of $47.2 billion,
concerns have been raised as to whether the FY09 budget
accurately accounts for the increase of nearly 40,000
Iraq and
Afghanistan
veterans who will seek care from the VA in 2009, along with
additional enrolment increases that may be imminent.
“Our veterans deserve to have access to both timely and
cost-effective health care that is not subject to the
limitations of discretionary funding that leaves our military
heroes shortchanged time and time again,” said Senator Snowe.
“At a point in time when an increasing number of new veterans
are transitioning into the VA system and an aging veteran’s
population continues to require acute medical and long-term-care
services, there couldn’t be a more critical time to pass this
legislation.”
In order to avoid potential funding shortfalls, under this
legislation, the VA medical budget would be based around a
mandatory funding formula, which calculates the number of
veterans in the system and the total cost of providing the
necessary care. Senator Snowe has been a long-time supporter of
mandatory health care funding for veterans, as she most recently
cosponsored S. 331, the Assured Funding for Veterans Health Care
Act during the 109th Congress.
Webb, Hagel, Lautenberg Reintroduce
"21st Century GI Bill" with Senator
John Warner as Key Co-Sponsor
Support & Momentum Builds
with Updated Veterans' Educational
Bill
Washington, DC - Senators
Jim Webb (D-VA), Chuck Hagel (R-NE)
and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) today
reintroduced the "Post-9/11 Veterans
Educational Assistance Act" (S.22)
and announced Senator John Warner
(R-VA) as one of four lead
co-sponsors of the bill. Warner is a
World War II and Korean veteran and
recipient of benefits under the
original GI Bill, a former Navy
Secretary whose 30 years in the
Senate includes service as Chairman
of the Armed Services Committee. His
support adds renewed momentum to the
yearlong effort to strengthen
educational benefits for the
nation's veterans.
Senator Warner joins 37 other
senators in support of the measure.
The bill would provide service
members who have served since
September 11, 2001 with improved
educational benefits similar to
those provided to World War II-era
veterans. The House companion bill (H.R
2702) was introduced by Rep. Bobby
Scott (D-VA) and currently has 96
co-sponsors.
Just this week, the American Legion
and Military Officers' Association
of America (MOAA) added their
endorsements to the widespread
support offered by the nation's
leading veterans' service
organizations.
The Women Veterans Health Care
Improvement Act of 2008
A bill to
expand and improve health care
services to women veterans,
particularly those brave women who
have served our country in Iraq and
Afghanistan. This bill aims to equip
the VA for the long-term needs that
will be associated with a greater
women veteran population.
A Fast
Growing Population with Unique Needs
Women
veterans have unique mental and
physical health care needs that the
VA is currently underprepared to
handle.
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Women make up 14 percent of our
current active duty, guard and
reserves.
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Today, there are approximately
1.7 million total women
veterans, or 7 percent of the
nearly 25 million total veteran
population.
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It
is projected that the number of
female veterans who use the VA
system will double in the next
five years, assuming current
enrollment rates stay the same,
making female veterans one of
the fastest growing subgroups of
veterans.
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Among the issues women
disproportionally face upon
returning home are the effects
of Military Sexual Trauma, the
difficulties of being thrust
into a car e-giving role,
child birth, and the
difficulties of being less
likely to have military service
recognized or appreciated.
A Look at
What the VA is Doing and What More
Needs to be Done
This bill
authorizes several new assessments
of the care we are and should be
providing to women veterans.
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Authorizes two studies of women
that have served in Iraq and
Afghanistan to asses the effects
of those conflicts on their
physical, mental, and
reproductive health. One study
would be performed by the VA in
cooperation with the DoD and a
separate study would be
performed by the Institute of
Medicine. The results of both
reports would then be reported
to Congress.
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Requires the Secretary of the VA
to conduct a comprehensive
assessment of the barriers women
currently face in accessing care
through the VA. Among the many
factors the Secretary is
required to consider are the
availability of child care and
the personal safety and comfort
of women.
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Requires the Secretary to study
the effectiveness of the
specialized programs the VA
currently offers to women.
New Programs
that Will Prepare the VA for Today
and Tomorrow
This bill
authorizes new programs aimed at
improving the VA’s capacity to care
for women veterans’ mental and
physical health care needs.
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Provides the VA with authority
to care to a newborn child of a
woman veteran who is receiving
maternity care from the VA.
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Requires that the VA implement a
program to train, educate, and
certify VA mental health
professionals to care for women
with Military Sexual Trauma
(MST) and Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD) using
evidence-based treatments.
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Requires the VA to begin a pilot
program that provides child care
to women veterans that seek
mental health care or other
intensive healthcare services at
the VA.
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Requires that the VA begin a
pilot program that provides
readjustment counseling to women
veterans in group retreat
settings.
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Requires a full-time women
veterans program manager at all
VA medical centers.
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Requires the inclusion of women
that are recently separated from
service on VA advisory boards.
Allard Leads Letter to President
Demanding Improvements to Military
Voting Process
Bipartisan Effort Brings Attention
To Complications Military Personnel
Face in Voting
Washington, D.C.
– U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.)
coordinated a bipartisan effort to
press President Bush to implement
changes to address needed
improvements in the voting process
for members of the U.S. Armed
Services. In circulating a letter
that was signed by a broad coalition
of Senators, Allard called for long
overdue advancements to the voting
process for the military.
“ This
is simply unacceptable,” Allard
wrote to the President. “These men
and women risk their lives for
democracy and voting rights all over
the world. It is time that the
United States ensures their right to
vote. We ask you to take immediate
action to improve this process.”
Military
absentee voting has been ineffective
dating all the way back to World War
II. In most recent years, Congress
has attempted to make address these
problems, but few changes have
actually been made. Absentee voting
still depends on unit leaders in the
field reading a 400 page guide,
trying to direct each individual in
their unit how to vote under their
own specific precinct guidelines.
If a soldier is able to complete
this step in the process, the mail
system must still track them down,
all around the world, in order to
get the ballot to them.
Allard’s
fellow Colorado Senator Ken Salazar
signed the letter in addition to
Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), John
McCain (R-Ariz.), Barack Obama
(D-Ill.), Mel Martinez (R-Fl.),
David Vitter (R-La.), John Ensign
(R-Nev.), Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), Charles
Schumer (D-N.Y.), Pat Roberts
(R-Kan.), Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii),
Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), John Tester
(D-Mont.), Tom Coburn (R-Okla.),
Larry Craig (R-Idaho), Diane
Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Thad
Cochran (R-Miss.).
Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee
website
http://veterans.senate.gov/
Senate Armed Services -
http://armed-services.senate.gov/press.htm\
House Armed Services -
http://www.house.gov/hasc/pressreleases/
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