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Stand Up for Veterans

Stand Up for Veterans Update More Info August 4, 2008 FY '09

VA Appropriations Bill Today, the House voted 409 to 4 to approve H.R. 6599, the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act of 2009, which contains the FY 2009 appropriation for the Department of Veterans Affairs and related agencies.

The Administration, however, has threatened to veto other appropriations bills, arguing the funding levels in the VA bill exceed the President's budget by $2.9 billion and must be offset with cuts in other appropriations bills.

The Independent Budget (IB) veterans service organizations, which include AMVETS, Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, sent a letter on Thursday to Speaker Pelosi pointing out that the IB's own calculations had the President's budget request for the VA at $3 billion short of the actual and equitable needs of the nation's veterans.

The letter went on to offer a briefing to the Administration or congressional leadership on the past several years of Administration underfunding of VA health care in its budget requests. Sen. McCain to Speak at DAV Convention in Las Vegas The 87th annual DAV National Convention will be held from August 9-12, 2008, at Bally's in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) will address a crowd of 4,000 veterans on Saturday, August 9. Other prominent speakers include House Veterans' Affairs Chairman Bob Filner (D-CA), House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Administration Chairman Chet Edwards (D-TX), and Reps. Jon Porter (R-NV) and Shelley Berkley (D-NV).

About the Stand Up for Veterans Initiative
Stand Up for Veterans is an initiative of the Disabled American Veterans, an organization of 1.4 million disabled veterans who are focused on building better lives for disabled veterans and their families. The initiative seeks to find public policy solutions for all veterans, particularly those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, who have incurred devastating injuries and disabilities, including traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychological wounds of war. Please visit www.standup4vets.org to learn more about this effort. Stand up for veterans. They stood up for us.

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Senate Passage Needed

Please contact your Senators today and urge them to vote in favor of the Veterans Disability Claims Modernization Act of 2008 (H.R. 5892). This important legislation will essentially direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to modernize the disability benefits claims processing system of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to ensure the accurate and timely delivery of compensation to veterans and their families and survivors.

H.R. 5892 passed the House unanimously on July 31, 2008 and was referred to the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. The bill contains a number of favorable provisions, such as:

• Requires improvements in VA's work credit, quality assurance, and management systems in order to improve accuracy and accountability in decisions affecting disability compensation;
• implements enhanced training, including certification, for VA employees responsible for processing claims;
• requires VA to immediately assign temporary, partial ratings for severe disabilities that are indisputably related to military service;
• allows for substitution by surviving spouses as claimants when a veteran spouse dies while a claim is pending; and
• mandates that the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims must address issues raised by an appellant in court decisions rather than remanding or deny a appeal without addressing such issues. Contact your Senators immediately to urge them to vote in passage of the Veterans Disability Claims Modernization Act of 2008. Please use the prepared email to contact your Senators.
  Please visit www.standup4vets.org to learn more about this effort.

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On August 1, the full House of Representatives passed the Fiscal Year 2009 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill, H.R. 6599, with a nearly unanimous vote of 409 to 4. The 2009 bill builds on the historic increases for veterans and troops passed into law last year, and, if signed into law, it would be the largest funding increase in the 78-year history of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). For the VA, the bill would provide $47.7 billion in health and other discretionary funding, $4.6 billion above 2008 and $2.9 billion over the Administration's request.

These funds would provide substantial relief in improving veterans' medical care, hiring more claims processors, conducting new research, expanding VA efforts to combat homelessness, and helping VA make improvements to its facilities. The Veterans Health Administration estimates VA will treat more than 5.8 million patients in 2009 including more than 333,275 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan (40,000 more than 2008).

The Senate Appropriations Committee has reported a separate funding bill, S. 3301 - a bill that DAV strongly supports as well - but the Senate bill was not scheduled for a vote before the summer recess. Please write your U.S. Senators to urge them to schedule a vote on veterans funding for fiscal year 2009 immediately after they return to Washington in September.

It is intolerable that as VA expects to care for over a third of a million injured and ill veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, plus continues to care for millions of sick and disabled veterans of prior military service, that yet another year would begin without full VA funding. Unless the Senate acts quickly, then conferences with the House, this new funding for veterans will be in jeopardy and at minimum will be significantly delayed, perhaps as long as March 2009. Please write your U.S. Senators today.

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Congressional Adjournment Nears Take Action!

Urge Congress to Act on Vital Veterans' Measures Adjournment of the 110th Congress will occur momentarily, probably within the month of September. With elections looming, all of those who hold office want to leave Washington as soon as they can to run for reelection.

In a Presidential election year, more time on the campaign trail becomes especially critical. While everyone in Congress seems to be talking about how important veterans are to the nation, and detailing what a debt we owe all of them, they are braced to leave town without enacting numerous health care bills that would actually help veterans who are sick, wounded, and even permanently disabled.

The veterans' bills that have not been passed cover a wide range of topics, from women's health to PTSD and homelessness and many others. All these bills have been subjected to Congressional hearings and some of them multiple hearings - but virtually nothing has been passed by both houses and sent to the President for approval.

If Congress fails to act, these bills will die. It is unconscionable in an election year that Members of the House and Senate would leap into the campaign season from the darkened halls of Congress to brag about their accomplishments for veterans, their thankfulness to veterans and their loyalty to veterans - while leaving all this legislative work in the dust bin. Now is the time for Congress to act.

Congress should not adjourn before finishing its work on behalf of veterans. All Members of the House and Senate need to know where you stand: you stand with veterans, and you want your Member of Congress and your Senators to act. A suggested letter has been prepared for your consideration. Please use it or use your own words to urge your Members of the House and Senate to stand up for veterans before they stand for reelection this year. As always, thank you for your support.

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Stand Up for Veterans Update More Info

September 22, 2008 New York Times Covers VA Funding Legislation The Times ran a story this morning ( "Action Is Sought to Ensure Timely Financing for V.A." ) on a bipartisan VA health care funding reform bill introduced yesterday in both the House and Senate.

The piece distills why an advance appropriation for VA health care funding is needed. "The legislation would allow Congress to approve the money for veterans' medical care one year in advance. In so doing, it would separate veterans' health care financing from the crush of appropriations and political horse-trading that take place at year's end." The Times story makes clear that the current funding system creates significant delays that have, according to DAV's Joe Violante in the article, "a real impact on services."

The Hill: "Measure would provide predictable care for vets" An article in The Hill also discusses why an advance appropriation is endorsed by nine VSOs (AMVETS, Blinded Veterans Association, Disabled American Veterans, Jewish War Veterans, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Paralyzed Veterans of America, The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Vietnam Veterans of America). "Political squabbling has delayed VA funding in 13 of the past 14 years - something that has severely hampered the department's ability to plan and manage its healthcare system, according to veterans.

Veterans' groups say the change would ensure the agency could better handle the growing number of veterans who depend on the government for medical care." Historic Legislation on VA Funding Reform Introduced Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) and House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner (D-Calif.) introduced the advance appropriation proposal yesterday. The bill, titled the "Veterans Health Care Budget Reform Act," directs Congress to appropriate funds to the VA in advance of the fiscal year, much the same way it does for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), Section 8 housing programs and a number of other federal programs.

The nine VSOs who joined together to form the Partnership for Veterans Health Care Budget Reform praised Members for their leadership on this issue. Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairmen Daniel Akaka and Bob Filner also issued statements on the new legislation. Original cosponsors of S. 3527 include Senators Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.), Mary Landrieu (D-La), Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), John Thune (R-S.D.), Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), and John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.). Original cosponsors of H.R. 6939 include Congressmen Walter Jones (R-N.C.), Michael Michaud (D-Maine), Phil Hare (D-Ill.), and Timothy J. Walz (D-Minn.).

About the Stand Up for Veterans Initiative
Stand Up for Veterans is an initiative of the Disabled American Veterans, an organization of 1.4 million disabled veterans who are focused on building better lives for disabled veterans and their families. The initiative seeks to find public policy solutions for all veterans, particularly those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, who have incurred devastating injuries and disabilities, including traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychological wounds of war. Please visit http://www.standup4vets.org/ to learn more about this effort.

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