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REPUBLICAN PRESS RELEASE

March 21, 2007

Faced with VA committee chairman’s inaction, Buyer takes initiative on seamless transition of servicemembers

Washington, D.C. — The House Armed Services Committee today unanimously approved a defense bill amendment crafted by Veterans’ Committee Ranking Member Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) that would improve the seamless transition of servicemembers from the military to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Buyer offered the amendment after Veterans’ Committee Chairman Bob Filner (D-Calif.) waived his jurisdiction on the issue and consented to the Armed Service Committee’s bill language.

“I am disappointed that Chairman Filner, when he had a real opportunity to influence the care of veterans, refused to assert jurisdiction and take an active role in improving the bill,” Buyer said. “America’s veterans look to the Veterans’ Affairs Committee to lead. It is unbelievable that Bob Filner would turn out the lights on the committee’s role now, when they need us most.”

Coordinating with the Armed Services Committee’s ranking member, Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), Buyer offered amendment language mandating several key actions within H.R. 1538, the Wounded Warriors Assistance Act of 2007. The bill would improve how the Department of Defense (DoD) manages outpatient health care, health care-related personnel actions and quality of life issues for members of the armed forces receiving medical care.

Buyer developed the amendment after he learned of Filner’s jurisdiction waiver. Buyer wrote the chairman, telling him in a March 15 letter, “We lose the opportunity to make substantive progress on a critical issue facing our nation’s wounded warriors. Therefore, I urge you to reclaim jurisdiction so that we might offer important and timely amendments to this legislation that would profoundly affect our nation’s veterans.”

The amendment, offered today by Hunter in the Armed Services Committee, replaces a pilot project originally proposed in the bill with system-wide changes urged by Buyer and veterans’ advocates for a decade. The amendment would require use of a uniform separation and evaluation physical by DoD and VA that VA could use for disability ratings. It would require an interoperable electronic exchange of critical medical information between the departments and the use of an electronic DD Form 214 (sometimes called the certificate of release or discharge from active duty) which DoD would provide to VA.

The amendment would also require a written transition plan for the servicemember, co-location of VA benefit teams at military treatment facilities and other agreed-upon sites to facilitate the transition of recovering servicemembers, pre-separation counseling for recovering servicemembers and the transmittal of records for recovering servicemembers before the date of separation or retirement.

“Veterans may give thanks for the leadership of Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) and Ranking Member Duncan Hunter. They understand the critical needs of our recovering servicemembers returning from war and helped this amendment come to a vote,” Buyer said. “I look forward to this improved Wounded Warrior bill being passed by the House and hope for quick Senate action. Our servicemembers, veterans, and their families cannot and should not wait any longer.”

Amendment crafted by Mr. Buyer...
 http://veterans.house.gov/republicans/
news/110/hr1538_am1_xml.pdf

Mr. Buyer's letter to Chairman Filner...
http://veterans.house.gov/republicans/
news/110/March15Lette%20toChairmanFilner.pdf

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Larry Scott

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