Veterans

10/13/2009 -- WASHINGTON – Congressman Parker Griffith today announced extended benefits to more veterans that are suffering illnesses due to exposure to chemicals during their service to our country. Vets who suffer from hairy cell leukemia, Parkinson’s disease and ischemic heart disease will now receive expanded benefits as a result of the recent decision by Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki to streamline the application process for benefits.

“When it comes to taking care of our troops and vets, we must cast as wide a net as possible,” Griffith said. “As we approach Veterans Day and celebrate the constant sacrifice our soldiers endure, it is essential that they have access to every benefit that we have promised them.”    » read more »

Oct 13 2009 -- The U.S. House of Representatives passed two important bills Wednesday to help veterans and service members, including legislation cosponsored by Congressman Gerry Connolly to ensure reliable and timely funding to better anticipate and meet the demand for high quality medical care for our veterans.    » read more »

October 13, 2009 -- (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Senator Jon Tester, a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, today released the following statement in response to the Veterans’ Administration’s decision to allow Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange to file for service-connected disability benefits and medical care if they are now suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, B-cell (“hairy cell”) leukemia or ischemic heart disease:

“I thank the Secretary for making this important decision. It’s another significant step in the right direction. And it gives many folks who served honorably during the Vietnam War overdue recognition that their service and sacrifice is honored and appreciated by all of us.    » read more »

October 8, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. — Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement this afternoon after House passage of two key veterans’ bills: the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act and Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act.

“With today’s vote, the House passed the number one legislative priority for national veterans groups to make sure that our veterans get the benefits they have earned. By authorizing Congress to approve investments in medical care for our veterans one year in advance, we are ensuring sufficient, timely, and predictable funding to care for those who have worn our nation’s uniform. And today we also passed legislation that make changes to our tax code to help our military families buy and sell their homes.    » read more »

10.9.09 -- WASHINGTON D.C. - The following two bills overwhelmingly passed the US House of Representatives yesterday with bipartisan support.

First, the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act (H.R. 1016) ensures sufficient and predictable veterans funding by authorizing Congress to approve investments in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical care one year in advance. This will provide time for the VA to plan how to deliver the best care to all veterans.    » read more »

October 8, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – For more than two decades, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ health care system has been plagued by consistently late and, at times, inadequate budgets. On Wednesday (October 7), the U.S. House of Representatives passed bipartisan legislation to ensure timely funding for veterans’ health care.

“Our veterans deserve the best available care – red tape and bureaucratic budgetary issues shouldn’t get in the way of their health care,” said Congressman Bart Gordon, who strongly supported the bill’s passage. “Over the years, the VA has had to make do with insufficient budgets resulting in restricted access for many veterans. This bill will change that.”    » read more »

Bill would assist veterans, young and old, as well as their survivors

October 7, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - Tonight, the Senate unanimously approved legislation designed to enhance a number of benefits for veterans and their families, including compensation, housing, employment, education, burial, and insurance benefits.

One key provision of the legislation would provide for retroactive payments to those servicemembers who suffered traumatic injury while on active duty on or between October 7, 2001, and November 30, 2005. Previously, this benefit was only available to servicemembers who suffered a traumatic injury in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom theaters of operation during that time period.    » read more »

Senator also working to put downward pressure on prescription drug costs; would save consumers $50 billion

October 2, 2009 -- (GRAND FORKS, N.D.) – As Congress considers ways to improve the overall health care system, Veterans health care remains a top priority, said U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) at the Grand Forks VA Community Based Outreach Clinic today.    » read more »

September 17, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is warning Veterans not to give credit card numbers over the phone to callers claiming to update VA prescription information.

"America’s Veterans have become targets in an inexcusable scam that dishonors their service and misrepresents the Department built for them," said Dr. Gerald Cross, VA’s Under Secretary for Health. "VA simply does not call Veterans and ask them to disclose personal financial information over the phone."

Veteran Service Organizations have brought to VA's attention that callers are misrepresenting the VA to gain personal information over the phone. They say VA recently changed procedures for dispensing prescriptions and ask for the Veteran's credit card number.    » read more »

WORCESTER – August 20, 2009 – The Patrick-Murray Administration today announced that the Massachusetts Department of Veterans’ Services (DVS) has been awarded a $500,000 U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) grant to assist veterans in training and employment in green industry professions. This grant was one of only 17 awarded nationwide, totaling more than $7.5 million dollars, to provide approximately 3,000 veterans with job training to help them succeed in civilian careers. The grants are administered by DOL’s Veterans' Workforce Investment Program (VWIP).    » read more »

Legislation expands grants for families of soldiers killed in action and helps students who have defaulted on their student loans

June 23, 2009 -- Washington, D.C.—The House today unanimously approved legislation that expands grants for survivors of veterans killed in action and reduces credit problems by enabling the Department of Education to purchase rehabilitated loans from guaranty agencies. The bill, H.R. 1777, passed unanimously by the Senate this morning, also includes a number of technical amendments to the Higher Education Act of 1965.    » read more »

June 22, 2009 -- WASHINGTON -- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has initiated a large, long-term study to look carefully at a broad array of health issues that may affect Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) Veterans and their counterparts who served during the same time period. VA’s “National Health Study for a New Generation of U.S. Veterans” will begin with 30,000 Veterans deployed to OEF/OIF and 30,000 comparison Veterans who were not deployed.    » read more »

June 22, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI) issued the following statement today on recently announced plans by the Department of Veterans Affairs to overhaul its information technology project management:

"IT improvements have the potential to dramatically improve the care and benefits veterans receive, but too often, IT failings have actually hurt VA's reputation and service quality," said Chairman Akaka. "I commend VA's leadership for acknowledging existing shortcomings and setting higher standards for the Department. This push for reform could bring us closer to the systemic transformation Secretary Shinseki and President Obama promised for veterans and their families."    » read more »

Secretary Donovan Elected New Chair of the Council; HUD and VA announce $75 million for HUD-VASH program to provide rental housing and support for homeless veterans

June 18, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) met today for the first time under the Obama Administration. U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki chaired the meeting, at which U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan was elected rotating Chair for the upcoming year and U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis was elected Vice Chair. U.

S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Melody Barnes, Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, attended the meeting.    » read more »

June 19, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which now has nearly 8 million Veterans enrolled in its award-winning health care system, is poised to welcome nearly 266,000 more Veterans into its medical centers and clinics across the country by expanding access to health care enrollment for certain Veterans who had been excluded due to their income.

“This incremental approach to expanding enrollment ensures that access to VA health care for a greater number of beneficiaries does not sacrifice timely access or quality medical care for those Veterans already enrolled in VA’s health care system,” Dr. Gerald Cross, VA’s Acting Under Secretary for Health, said. “Over the next four years, we hope to provide enrollment to more than 500,000 Veterans.”    » read more »