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REPUBLICAN
PRESS RELEASE
July 18, 2007
VA Committee approves five veterans’ bills
For more information, contact: Jeff Phillips (202) 225-3527
Washington, D.C. —The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs approved
three bills, which would provide veterans and families with necessary
enhancements in health care and benefits. Two remaining bills, which
passed over the objections of the committee’s ranking member, Steve
Buyer (R-Ind.), and other members, would create an unprecedented
entitlement for World War II Merchant Mariners and Filipino Veterans.
Among legislation passed that met with Republican approval, H.R. 2623,
introduced by Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), would prohibit the collection of
co-payments for all hospice care furnished by the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA).
H.R. 2874, the Veterans’ Health Care Improvement Act of 2007, introduced
by Subcommittee on Health chairman Michael Michaud (D-Maine), would
enhance veterans’ health care through a broad array of initiatives.
“This legislation would help Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation
Iraqi Freedom veterans, as well as women veterans, atomic-test veterans,
low-income veterans and homeless veterans,” Buyer said. “Rural veterans
would benefit from improved transportation to VA facilities.” The bill
would also preserve critically important health care management tools,
such as co-pays for certain non service-connected veterans.
H.R. 1315, as amended, authored by Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin (D-S.D.),
which incorporates legislation authored by Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas),
Dave Reichert (R-Wash.) and Albert Wynn (D-Md.), would authorize VA to
provide specially adapted housing benefits to severely wounded
servicemembers convalescing as they await discharge from the service. It
would also authorize scholarships for students studying blind
rehabilitation in exchange for a period of obligated service at VA in
that specialty.
“H.R. 1315 directly addresses one of my guiding principles: to provide
veterans every opportunity to live full, healthy lives after they leave
military service to our nation,” Buyer said.
“H.R. 23, as amended, the Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of
World War II Act of 2007, would grant an unprecedented thank-you payment
– essentially a service pension – to World War II Merchant Mariners,”
Buyer said. “The only other group of veterans receiving a pension for
service is this nation’s greatest heroes - who wear the Medal of Honor.
Mr. Filner’s bill to grant Merchant Mariners a pension equal to them is
an outright insult to the Medal of Honor itself and those who earned
it.”
The remaining bill, H.R. 760, the Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2007,
would eliminate special monthly pensions for severely disabled veterans
over 65 who are also receiving pensions for wartime service. It would
use the $965 million saved by this cut in veterans’ benefits to provide
offsets that would fund oversized pensions for World War II Filipino
veterans living in the .
Ranking Member Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) offered an amendment to defend the
wartime, elderly, indigent, severely disabled or house-bound American
veterans. The special monthly pension provides an additional $2,200 per
year to the most severely disabled veterans. A 2006 decision by the
Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims required VA to begin paying
benefits to these veterans.
“It is unconscionable that the democrats voted today to deny elderly,
indigent, severely disabled or house-bound American veterans the special
monthly pension in order to finance a new entitlement program to benefit
Filipino veterans,” Buyer noted.
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Larry Scott
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