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REPUBLICAN PRESS RELEASE

April 24, 2007

Buyer commends task force on seamless transition, calls for secretaries of defense, VA to collaborate on recommendations

Washington D.C. — House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) today called on Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to act decisively on key recommendations made by the President’s Task Force on Returning Global War on Terror Heroes. Task force recommendations would dramatically improve the seamless transition of servicemembers from the military to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

“The ball is in the Defense Secretary’s court,” Buyer said. “For a decade, VA has worked to ensure seamless transition, usually without commensurate efforts by the Pentagon. We need look no further than stonewalling from DoD’s personnel and readiness bureaucracy for the failures of seamless transition: incomplete electronic health records, lack of an electronic DD214, and duplicative DoD and VA medical exams. We hope that Secretary Gates exerts a sense of accountability for the total welfare of troops transitioning into the VA system; DoD must no longer foist its responsibilities onto VA.”

Of additional concern to Buyer, task force recommendations rely on collaborative efforts among federal agencies. Yet, lack of a single point of accountability short of the president has been the rock on which such well-meaning efforts have foundered in the past.

“I applaud the task force’s work and the earnest faith VA Secretary Jim Nicholson places in their report, which he submitted today, but pronouncements that imply that reports equate to progress are premature,” Buyer said. “When we see federal agencies – principally the Pentagon and VA – working hand in glove for the benefit of veterans, then we can talk about real progress.”

Among the task force’s 25 recommendations, a handful would dramatically improve transition and must become a high priority within the administration:

* Develop a system of co-management and case management for returning servicemembers to facilitate transition between DoD and VA.
* Screen all Global War on Terror veterans seen in VA health care facilities for mild to moderate traumatic brain injury.
* Expand VA access to DoD records to coordinate an improved transfer of a service member’s medical care through patient “hand-off”. (Note, Ranking Member Buyer has also urged DoD to issue electronic DD214s, which record a servicemembers military service and awards, and are critically important for VA healthcare and benefits.)
* VA and the Department of Health and Human Services will collaborate to improve access to returning service members in remote or rural areas.
* Develop a joint DoD / VA process for disability benefit determinations by establishing a cooperative Medical and Physical Evaluation Board process within the military service branches and VA care system.

Among key recommendations that would help veterans transition into civilian life:
o Increase attendance at the Transition Assistance and Disable Transition Assistance Programs (TAP / DTAP) for active duty, guard and reserve.
o The Department of Education in cooperation with the Department of Labor participate in DoD job fairs to provide returning service members and their families with an awareness of the post-secondary education benefits available.
o The Department of Labor, through the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS), participate in the Workforce Investment System in every state and territory and partner with over 120 private and public sector job fairs to expand the number of employers involved in active veteran recruitment.

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Larry Scott

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