- Contact the Committee

HOUSE VETERANS’ AFFAIRS SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATION HOLDS HEARING 

Washington, DC – Today, the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation held a hearing on the efforts by the Department of Defense and the Department Veterans’ Affairs in assisting military service personnel transitioning from active military service to veterans’ status – a concept generally referred to as Seamless Transition.  The hearing focused on the timely transfer of service members from military hospitals to VA medical centers, a review of the Benefits Delivery at Discharge Program, and service specific initiatives. 

This hearing provided the Subcommittee with testimony about Army and Marine Corps initiatives that will benefit service personnel transition from military to veterans’ status, including severely injured and disabled veterans.  Although Chairman Bilirakis applauded the VA and the military services for their efforts at the local and regional levels, he demanded more be done.  

“Our service personnel and their families deserve nothing less,” said Chairman Michael Bilirakis.  “I seek to ensure that Seamless Transition becomes a reality.  As a result of today’s hearing, I am concerned to learn that service personnel and their families are suffering because of a legal interpretation of a law.  My recommendation to Representative Buyer, Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, is to have a full hearing, to include the prospects of a joint hearing with the House Armed Services Committee, in order to put this two-year bureaucratic debate between two federal agencies to rest.” 

According to General Accounting Office (GAO) testimony, VA has endured significant problems accessing systemic data from DOD on those service members who may need vocational rehabilitation and other benefits from VA.  DOD and VA differ on their understanding of HIPAA Privacy Rule provisions that allow the sharing of medical information.  DOD believes that providing medical information to VA would violate the law whereas VA maintains that it would not.  The two agencies have been working on an agreement for over two years without resolution of the HIPPA Privacy Rule provision. 

Chairman Steve Buyer today said, “I applaud Chairman Bilirakis and Ranking Member Strickland for their oversight and resolve on this critical issue.  Ensuring our veterans can achieve a Seamless Transition is the moral, ethical and legal responsibility of this Committee.  I stand with both of them in delivering on the nation’s promise to our veterans and their families.”  

Ted Strickland (D-OH), Ranking Democratic Member of the Subcommittee agreed with the need for resolving the issues of transferring data on the wounded from DOD to the VA.  “I see no reason why DOD and VA can’t come up with a solution to the relevant technical and legal challenges so that our wounded veterans will experience a seamless transition between departments,” he said.