Veterans Committee Goals

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Legislative Goals for 2016

The focus of these goals is veterans' benefits authorized under Title 38 of the U.S. Code.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR VETERANS' HEALTH CARE and BENEFITS

  • Promote public and political recognition that veterans’ benefits are earned through service and sacrifice in defense of the nation and are not “entitlement” or “social welfare” programs
  • Oppose deficit-driven political decisions that would lump earned veterans’ benefits with un-related civilian entitlement programs
  • Reject political pandering that would ask veterans to do their “fair share” in overcoming national economic woes

ASSURE TIMELY ACCESS TO QUALITY VA HEALTH CARE
  • Choice Act.  Fully implement the Veterans Access, Accountability and Choice Act (P.L. 113-146).  Expand VA internal medical capacity; assure timely access for outside VA referrals; support efforts to hire medical professionals; fix scheduling system.  Ensure plan mandated under H.R. 3236 [enacted] to integrate multiple VA “community care” programs is reviewed / implemented in timely fashion.  Insist on development of medical records interoperability w outside provider systems.
  • Caregivers.  Ensure full implementation of all VA Caregivers Law (P.L. 111-163) provisions, including measures supporting women veterans.  Extend the VA Caregivers Act to full-time Caregivers of catastrophically disabled veterans of conflicts before Sept. 11, 2001.  Align the DoD – VA definitions for caregiver support and services to include qualifying “illnesses.” 
  • Women Veterans.  Urge investment, training and cultural awareness in the VA healthcare system of the unique health needs of women veterans.  Ensure veterans with catastrophically disabling reproductive organ injuries have access to the same reproductive services as are available in the DoD health system.
  • PTSD / TBI / Suicide Prevention.  Support programs and funding to expand / improve care, rehabilitation and applications for research for veterans suffering from PTSD / TBI.   Increase behavioral health staff and resources including outreach to address rising suicide rate among veterans.
  • Enrollment for Combat Theatre Vets.  Extend combat theatre vet enrollment window from 5 to 10 years; provide enrollment opportunity to certain 0% S-C veterans with no private health insurance.
  • Rural Vets.  Urge inclusion of rural veterans’ access to VA care in the work of the VA Commission on Care, underway.   
  • Seamless Transition.  Support better collaboration of DoD-VA healthcare systems, as outlined in the 2015 Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission (MCRMC) report.  Improve legacy and integrated disability evaluation systems and Benefits Delivery at Discharge  efficiency and effectiveness; require DoD-VA achieve true interoperability of electronic medical and personnel records to improve medical outcomes. Preserve integrity and access to DoD VA health systems for dually eligible members.
  • Young Adult CHAMPVA.  Enact technical amendment to establish CHAMPVA entitlement for adult children of survivors eligible for CHAMPVA as required in the National Health Care Reform Act
  • Toxic Exposures Research.  Support research on the long-term health of the progeny of veterans exposed to toxic substances during their military service.
  • Advance Appropriations.  Extend VA advance appropriations authority to remaining VA accounts not authorized two-year funding. 
  • NDAA Joint Formulary.  Assess DoD/VA’s implementation of the 2016 NDAA requiring the establishment of a joint formulary for pain and psychiatric drugs for transitioning veterans. [NEW]
  • Urge passage of corrective legislation to authorize Medicare / Medicaid reimbursement to State Veterans’ Homes to offset cost of care.
  • Oppose fee hikes for currently enrolled veterans in all enrollment priority groups. 

ELIMINATE CLAIMS BACKLOG  and IMPROVE CLAIMS' SYSTEM EFFICIENCY
  • Backlog. Support initiatives to upgrade claims processing system.  Support needed investment in software / hardware upgrades for claims management. Preclude ‘unlicensed’ individuals from taking fees for representing vets’ claims.
  • Appeals. Work with Congress, VA and VSO partners outside TMC to develop improved process, procedures and resources to reduce backlog of claims on appeal.
  • Presumptive Service Connection. Promote dissemination of ‘brown’ and ‘blue’ water Navy ship logs as they become available for TMC members to apply for Agent Orange-related diseases.  Support legislation to establish eligibility for presumptive service-connection for ‘blue water’ Navy Vietnam War service members.  Ensure fair and consistent application of standards and procedures for adjudicating Agent Orange claims. AO service-connection for C-123 crewmembers. (NOTE: C-123 issue resolved per Sec VA decision)
  • Defend against budget-based attacks on VA claims-processing laws and system. 
  • Mental Health Discharge Board of Review. Support creation of a Mental Health Discharge Board of Review to redress ‘low-ball’ service member ratings for PTSD, including Vietnam War and Gulf War I conflict periods.
  • VASRD.  Support modernization of the VA Schedule of Rating Disabilities (VASRD) based on current medical science.

UPGRADE VETERANS’ EMPLOYMENT,  EDUCATION and TRAINING PROGRAMS
  • Incentives to Hire Veterans. Re-enact employer tax incentives under the Vow to Hire Heroes Act.  Permit veterans enrolled in the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP) to complete their requirements for licensure / certification.
  • Voc-Rehab.  Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VRE) benefits.  Establish a cost-of-living stipend for VRE participants.
  • Survivors’ Educational Assistance.  Raise DEA (Chap. 35) rates for pre-11 Sept. 2001 Survivors to match the Montgomery GI Bill; establish a housing stipend for DEA.  Permit Post-9/11 spouses to complete their education / training program under the Gunny Fry Scholarships notwithstanding the 15 year usage period after the death of their spouse.
  • Catastrophically Disabled Veteran Caregivers.  Authorize transfer-of-benefits under the P911 GI Bill from catastrophically disabled veterans to their full-time Caregivers in cases in which a transfer action did not occur prior to the veterans’ medical discharge or retirement.
  • Basic Reserve GI Bill benefits.  Urge proportional upgrades to the Title 10 Montgomery GI Bill (Chap. 1606, 10 USC) program to keep pace with the cost of education.
  • GI Bill Integration for 21st Century Force.  Urge hearings for a unified architecture for all GI Bill programs for active duty, Guard & Reserve service members under the principle of awarding benefits according to the length and type of duty performed.
  • Support other initiatives for employers to recruit, hire and retain veterans including returning veterans of the Guard and Reserve. 
  • Homelessness.  Support VA plan to reduce / eliminate veteran homelessness.
 
OTHER ISSUES / PROGRAMS OF INTEREST
  • Veteran Status for Certain Career Reservists.  Authorize career members of the Guard and Reserves who are entitled to a reserve pension, TRICARE and earned veterans’ benefits, but never served on Title 10 Federal active duty, to be honored as “veterans of the Armed Forces” (with no additional veterans’ benefits).
  • Survivor Issues..   Extend mortgage foreclosure protections to surviving spouses for 12 mos. after the death of the sponsor.  
  • Guard-Reserve Flexible Spending Accounts.  Permit activated Guard-Reserve members with civilian Flexible Spending Accounts to roll over an unclaimed elected amount into a subsequent qualifying year after release from active duty
  • Veterans’ Preference.  Authorize veterans’ preference appeal rights for veterans in the Transportation Security Agency.  
  • Financial / legal protections.  Support continuous review and upgrades of the Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act including elimination of “forced arbitration” clauses in contracts that nullify the Act’s protections.  Strengthen re-employment rights for Operational Reservists who support military missions on Title 10 orders.  Allow military families to break a lease without penalty when on-post housing becomes available. Make mortgage protection coverage permanent.