Major Veteran's Bill Cleared For President

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VFW Washington Weekly
December 13, 2006

In This Issue:
1. Major Veterans’ Bill Cleared for President
2. Congress Keeps Government Running on CR
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1. Major Veterans’ Bill Cleared for President
VFW-supported legislation was cleared in the final hours of the 109th Congress last week. A last minute agreement between the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees allowed the 3.2 billion dollar bill, to be cleared for the President.

S. 3421, “The Veterans Benefits, Health Care and Information Technology Act of 2006,” contains both VA health care and benefit-related legislation. Among the bills numerous provisions are the following:

**Establishes an IT security program to provide breach notification to individuals, reports to Congress, data breach analysis, credit monitoring services and identity theft insurance.
**Authorizes VA health care facility construction in Charleston, SC, Denver, CO and replacement of flood-damaged facilities in New Orleans and others areas affected by the Gulf Coast Hurricanes.
**Authorizes construction on 17 major projects identified as part of the CARES process for FY2006 and five additional projects in FY2007.
**Increases the number of clinicians treating post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and improves their training.
**Increases funding for collaboration in PTSD diagnosis and treatment between VA and DOD.
**Expands mental health treatment options for veterans, and requires more community-based solutions.
**Allows VA to hire more rehab specialists for blinded veterans.
**Establishes an office of rural health to oversee and develop improvements in care for veterans in rural areas.
**Authorizes six Parkinson’s disease Research, Education, and Clinical Centers of Excellence, and two Multiple Sclerosis Centers of Excellence.
**Strengthens VA’s homeless grant and per diem programs.
**Improves efforts to end homelessness by expanding community grants and extending treatment options, and includes $130 million in additional funding.
**Allows families to begin receiving educational assistance before the service member’s discharge for a total and permanent disability.
**Restores certain educational benefits for those who discontinued their education programs because of a National Guard call-up.
**Extends provision that allows family members to receive marker or headstones at marked graves in private cemeteries.
**Requires additional training for disabled veterans outreach program specialists and local veterans' employment representatives
**Creates a pilot program that focuses on credentials and licensure requirements to smooth the transition from active duty to civilian life

The bill also includes language that will allow veterans to hire an agent or attorney to represent them after a notice of disagreement has been filed in pursuing a VA compensation or benefit claim – something the VFW strongly opposed in both the House and Senate. We continued to oppose the provision that would allow veterans to seek legal representation for disability claims at such an early step in the process, but realize that the range of benefits provided by this bill and the compromise made by both Committees will benefit a great number of veterans and their families.

For the final version of the bill and all of its provisions go to the Thomas website at:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:s.03421:

To view the House and Senate Vet Committee Press Releases