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DEMOCRATIC PRESS RELEASE

April 16, 2008

Economic Opportunity Subcommittee Reviews Legislation to Improve Transition for Returning Service Members and Veterans

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Washington, D.C. – On Wednesday, the House Veterans’ Affairs Economic Opportunity Subcommittee, led by Chairwoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD), held a hearing to review thirteen bills that address the readjustment needs for returning service members and veterans. The bills propose specific improvements to a variety of benefits and services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

“Those serving in our Armed Forces deserve to be protected as best we know how – not just with weaponry, armor and other equipment, but also health care, education, and support for the families who await their return,” said Chairwoman Herseth Sandlin.

The Subcommittee reviewed legislation to improve the VA home loan program, including H.R. 4883 and H.R. 4884, both introduced by Bob Filner (D-CA), Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs. H.R. 4883 would prohibit foreclosure of property owned by a service member for one year following a period of military service. H.R. 4884, the Helping Our Veterans to Keep Their Homes Act of 2008, which aims to increase the maximum home loan guarantee amount and reduce the home loan funding fees for veterans.

“As Chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, I am especially concerned about the affects of the housing market and home foreclosures on our active duty service members and veterans,” commented Filner. “These courageous, young men and women should never be forced to worry about their homes, while they are serving overseas and dealing with the intense stresses of deployment. When our service members return home, it is our solemn obligation to protect and serve them with the same commitment and dedication with which they protected and served us.”

The Subcommittee also reviewed H.R. 4889 to address the inequity of educational benefits between members of Active Duty and Reserve Forces. H.R. 4889 was introduced by Chairman Filner and would recodify Reserve Education Assistance Program entitlements from the Department of Defense to VA. This bill is an important administrative step in establishing readjustment benefits for activated Guard and Reserve member who are subject to the same hardships, and face the same enemy fire, as active duty troops.

The Subcommittee discussed H.R. 5684, the Veterans Education Improvement Act, a bill to improve veterans’ educational benefits and modernize the Montgomery G.I. Bill. Introduced by Chairwoman Herseth Sandlin and Subcommittee Ranking Member John Boozman (R-AR), this bipartisan bill is the product of a series of Subcommittee hearings conducted since the beginning of the 110th Congress which allowed for close evaluation of the Montgomery G.I. Bill and input from veteran service organizations, education leaders, government agencies, and other policy experts.

“The Veterans Education Improvement Act will ensure that today’s veterans have the resources they need to continue or begin their education when they return from service,” explained Chairwoman Herseth Sandlin. “The current G.I. Bill needs to be updated and improved. It is overly cumbersome and requires veterans to wait almost a month to receive their educational benefits. The bill before us today was written specifically to cause minimal disruption of the current benefits delivery system at the VA and to create a less complicated and more user-friendly G.I. Bill.”

Curtis Gilroy, Director for Accession Policy for the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness at the Department of Defense, provided testimony on H.R. 5684, sponsored by Chairwoman Herseth Sandlin and Ranking Member Boozman. He said, “There are some very, very attractive features to this bill and there is much that the Department of Defense sees of value in it. I personally congratulate both of you and your staffs for carefully crafting a very unique piece of legislation.” In his testimony, Mr. Gilroy highlighted provisions increasing the monthly educational benefits from the current level, changing the current pay reduction schedule required for enrollment, and allowing the use of G.I. Bill benefits to repay federal student loans.

The Subcommittee also heard testimony regarding H.R. 3298, a bill to address a problem faced by a growing number of deployed service members. The 21st Century Servicemembers Protection Act, introduced by Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-PA), allows troops with deployment orders to more easily terminate or suspend their service contracts without fee or penalty. Current law provides protection for residential and automobile leases and this bill expands these protections to cover service contracts such as cellular phones, utilities, cable television, or internet access.

Bills also reviewed at the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee legislative hearing:

*H.R. 3393 – Reservist Access to Justice Act of 2007 (Davis)

*H.R. 3467 – Second Chance for ’s Veterans Act (Yarmuth)

*H.R. 3646 – Joint Study on Employment (Stearns)

*H.R. 3681 – Veterans Benefits Awareness Act of 2007 (Boozman)

*H.R. 3798 – Servicemember Student Loan Interest Relief Act (Hayes)

*H.R. 3889 – Study of the Vocational Rehabilitation Programs (Boozman)

*H.R. 4539 – VA Loan Guaranty Cost Reduction Act of 2007 (Buyer)

*H.R. 5664 – Requires Updates for VA Planning for Specially Adaptive Housing (Rodriguez)

Witness List:

Panel 1

*Honorable Bob Filner, California, House of Representatives
*Honorable Steve Buyer, Indiana, House of Representatives
*Honorable Ciro Rodriguez, Texas, House of Representatives
*Honorable Cliff Stearns, Florida, House of Representatives

Panel 2

*Honorable John A. Yarmuth, Kentucky, House of Representatives
*Honorable Robin Hayes, North Carolina, House of Representatives
*Honorable Artur Davis, Alabama, House of Representatives
*Honorable Patrick J. Murphy, Pennsylvania, House of Representatives

Panel 3

*Ronald F. Chamrin, Assistant Director, Economic Commission, The American Legion
*Justin Brown, Legislative Associate, National Legislative Service, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the
*Richard Daley, Associate Legislation Director, Paralyzed Veterans of
*Patrick M. Campbell, Legislative Director, Veterans of
*Col. Robert F. Norton, (Ret.), Deputy Director, Government Relations, Military Officers Association of

Panel 4

*The Honorable Charles S. Ciccolella, Assistant Secretary, Veterans’ Employment and Training Service, Department of Labor
*Thomas L. Bush, Principal Director, Manpower and Personnel, Department of Defense
*Curtis L. Gilroy, Director for Accession Policy, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, Department of Defense
*Keith Pedigo, Associate Deputy Under Secretary, Policy and Program Management, Department of Veterans Affairs

Accompanied By
*John Brizzi, Staff Attorney, Office of General Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs

-------------------------

posted by Larry Scott
Founder and Editor
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