SENATE PASSES SWEEPING REFORM FOR VETERANS AND THEIR CAREGIVERS 98-0

SENATE PASSES SWEEPING REFORM FOR VETERANS AND THEIR CAREGIVERS 98-0

Bill would help wounded, homeless, women, and rural veterans and family caregivers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the U.S. Senate voted 98-0 to pass the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2009, a sweeping reform bill sponsored by Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) for wounded warriors and the families who care for them. S. 1963 merges two veterans’ health bills which passed the Committee with unanimous bipartisan support this summer, only to be blocked from a floor vote by a single Senator until today.

“Today the Senate reaffirmed that caring for veterans is a cost of war, a cost wounded warriors and their family members should not be forced to pay alone,” said Akaka. “I applaud my colleagues for recognizing the urgent need to pass this bill, and I thank the many veterans, veterans’ organizations, and concerned Americans who pushed for today’s vote.” As passed by the Senate, this bill would, among many other things:

• Establish an unprecedented permanent program to train, support, and assist the caregivers of disabled veterans;
• Improve care for veterans in rural areas, reduce veteran homelessness, improve care for women veterans; and
• Improve VA’s ability to recruit and retain a strong workforce and provide quality assurance at its medical facilities.

To see the vote tally, click here. This bill now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration.

Chairman of House Committee on Veterans Affairs Meets with Members of SVU

This past weekend I had the opportunity to be introduced to Cong. Bob Filner of District 51 who is the Chair of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs. He spoke at the Mesa ASG Leadership Retreat of which, 7 veteran students were in attendance. His office has contacted me in regards to setting up a meeting of so we can further discuss veteran issues facing the state.

From Left: Tyller Williamson (VP of ASG), Cong. Bob Filner, Mason Walker (President of ASG), and Josh Ray (VP of SVU/Senator, Mesa ASG).

GET STRAIGHT ANSWERS ABOUT YOUR VETERANS BENEFITS.

CONTACT: LeRoy Acosta FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

619-299-6916 Ext 7105 October 5, 2009

Escondido – A Veteran’s Information Seminar conducted by the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) will occur at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 13, 2009. The DAV Thomas Durbin Chapter #70 is hosting this seminar which will occur at the Veterans Memorial Building, 230 E Park Ave Escondido CA 92025.

The DAV provides outreach to its program services to the American people in general and to Disabled American Veterans specifically. Part of their outreach activities involves DAV's Veterans Information Seminars. This program is designed to educate disabled veterans and their families on specific veterans' benefits and services.

This outreach program generates considerable claims work on behalf of veterans and their families. The job of the NSO is to seek out veterans, to discover if they have a claim, and to follow that claim through to a successful conclusion.

Highly trained members of DAV’s National Service Officer Corps conduct these seminars. These experts in veterans’ benefits offer the best counseling and claim filing assistance you and your family can get. This exceptional service is available to you free of charge and you do NOT need to be a DAV member to take advantage of this service.

The 1.2 million-member Disabled American Veterans, a non-profit organization founded in 1920 and chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1932, represents this nation’s disabled veterans. It is dedicated to a single purpose: building better lives for our nation’s disabled veterans and their families. For more information, visit the organization’s Web site www.DAV.org.

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New fiscal year begins with no new VA budget

1) New fiscal year begins with no new VA budget

Congress failed to pass a Veterans Affairs Department Budget on time for the 20th time in the past 23 years. A legislative appropriations bill was passed Wednesday and sent to the White House. It included a continuing resolution that keeps VA and other federal agencies running through Oct. 31 by providing temporary funding. IAVA Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff expressed concern to the Army Times and in a statement release by IAVA stating that delays like this hurt veterans because hospitals and clinics — unsure of how long temporary funding might last — often fall back on rationing care. The budget that has yet to pass does contain a new provision that aims to avoid disruptions like this in the future by preventing any disruption in veterans funding if Congress fails to pass a budget. Unfortunately, it has no impact on the presently stalled budget.

Student Veterans of America Praises VA Action

WASHINGTON, DC - Student Veterans of America strongly supports the Department of Veterans Affairs decision Friday to provide advanced payments for up to $3,000 to veterans who are currently waiting for the first housing allowance payment under the Post-9/11 GI Bill starting October 2, 2009. In response, Student Veterans of America released the following statement:

"We are thrilled to see the VA act quickly in response to recent pressure from the student veteran community to remedy problems with the implementation of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. While this measure does not address the issue of backlogs or the lack of transparency in processing, it certainly shows that Secretary Shinseki is being responsive and proactive. Student Veterans of America is proud to be working with the Secretary and the Department of Veterans Affairs to reach the veterans on campuses who need these benefits.

"Our members and other student veterans should understand that this money is advanced funding and will be deducted from future payments. This is not an additional payment over the benefits that they will be entitled throughout the school year."

Student Veterans of America has received numerous reports of veterans falling behind in class for being unable to afford books and, worse, an Arizona veteran approaching a food bank for support. Student Veterans of America has been working with the Department of Veterans Affairs, the White House, and Members of Congress to ensure these problems are remedied quickly.

On Wednesday, Executive Director Derek Blumke sent a letter to Secretary of Veterans of Affairs Eric K. Shinseki requesting immediate action to inform waiting student veterans of when their living and books stipend and tuition payments will be paid.

Student Veterans of America played an important role in passing the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which was signed into law by President Bush in June 2008. The bill provides veterans who have served after September 11, 2001, with full in-state tuition and a stipend for books and living expenses.

The VA has been accepting applications for this benefit since May 1, 2009, and has been accepting school enrollment certifications since July 6, 2009. In that time, 277,403 claims have been filed, and VA has completed action on 205,074 of those claims. But as of September 16, 2009, the VA has distributed only 33,000 payments for living and books stipends and just 20,000 tuition payments.