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Veterans' Affairs
The VA operates the largest integrated healthcare system in the United States, and is therefore one of America’s greatest resources. This is something that we should be very proud of and a resource that we should be eager and willing to use in order to address the challenges that our nation currently faces in ensuring that our duty to our nation’s veterans is fulfilled.
The First District of Floida is home to five military installations and one of the largest retired veterans population in the nation. The issues of importance to veterans across the country are the utmost priorities to many thousands of my constituents. As a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, my commitment to seeing that the health care needs of the veterans of Florida’s First District are served is my first priority.
There is much work left to do in the second session of the 109th Congress (2005-2006), but we can build on accomplishments made during the first session. One of those accomplishments was the Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI) Act of 2005, which I sponsored and was passed into law in September of 2005. Among the provisions in the legislation were a permanent SGLI/VGLI maximum coverage and a permanent increase in the increments of coverage.
Another significant accomplishment was the passage of Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Act of 2005, signed into law in November of 2005. This bill provides a 4.1% increase in veterans’ and survivors’ benefits, a necessity to ensure our nation’s veterans can live comfortably in the country they worked so hard to defend.
The Fiscal Year 2006 National Defense Authorization Act (FY06 NDAA) also included some key components related to our nation’s veterans, including expediting the phase-in of full repeal of the concurrent receipt penalty for veterans rated 100% disabled by reason of individual unemployability (IU). Another provision would help further improve the sharing of health care services between the Department of Defense and the VA, a progressive move that promises to provide more complete healthcare to those serving our country. In addition, serious attention is being paid to restore the needed services to veterans in the Gulf Coast region affected by the devastating hurricanes of 2005. Finally, the FY06 NDAA addresses the increasing need for studies into more advanced psychological care for veterans, especially those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Finally, the legislation included a provision to prevent the burial in our national cemeteries of people convicted of capital crimes and sentenced to either a life sentence or death. I strongly feel that our nation’s most hallowed grounds should never be tainted by those who have refused to respect their fellow man and uphold the laws of our nation. I had introduced a bill in the House to this same effect, and was pleased to see the language signed into law.
As a member of both the VA and Armed Services Committees, I was integrally involved in the earlier historic breakthrough on “concurrent receipt” of retirement and disability benefits. With little or no progress made since this legislation was first introduced in 1985, military retirees who were injured in combat, while training for combat, or who are 50 percent or more service-disabled will for the first time be able to receive retirement benefits concurrently with veterans disability compensation. As a result, more than 250,000 disabled military retirees will receive $22 billion in additional retirement payments over the next ten years; $57 billion over the next 20 years. For a 100 percent service-connected disabled veteran eligible for military retirement benefits, this could mean up to $167,000 in additional benefit payments over the next ten years.
During the 108th Congress, I introduced two bills to increase the minimum SBP basic annuity for surviving spouses age 62 and older; H.R. 548 and H.R. 3763. Over 300 Members of Congress pledged their support to either or both measures by cosponsoring my bills. In May of 2004, my colleagues on the House Armed Services Committee approved my amendment to the Fiscal Year 2005 Ronald Reagan National Defense Authorization Act (“FY05 NDAA”) to phase-out the age-62 SBP annuity reduction over only three-and-one-half (3 ½) years. The House and Senate later conferenced their two bills, and I am pleased to report that the Miller Amendment language was retained.
This long-awaited reform sends a clear message to the career servicemembers who provide our national defense today: we are a grateful nation and this Congress and President Bush are making good on the government’s promises to our armed forces. This battle has been hard fought, and its victory will be shared by so many whose efforts have been tireless and unrelenting. We have more work to do, such as on the SBP/DIC and paid-up date issues, but this is the first real reform of the SBP program in its thirty year history, and I am proud to have led this fight. Legislation is still pending in the House on both issues, and I am a cosponsor of each measure. While the language was not included in the final version of the FY06 NDAA, though it had passed as amendments in the Senate, I have renewed confidence in being able to pass these into law given the recent attention paid to them.
As chairman of the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, I have direct oversight of areas such as the Veterans’ Benefits Administration, the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, the Court of Appeals for Veterans’ Claims, and the National Cemetery Administration. In this position, I have worked and will continue to work to see that the benefits process for veterans remains in line with current technological capabilities as well as the changing needs of veterans of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. The subcommittee has held hearings on issues ranging from claims processing to the budgeting process used by the Veterans Benefits Administration. In addition, hearings were held on the overall compensation program for veterans.
Furthermore, I have worked to secure two new VA clinics for Northwest Florida: a Community Based Outpatient Clinic adjacent to Eglin Air Force Base (AFB) Hospital, and a “Super Clinic” adjacent to the hospital at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola. Work is already underway on getting these facilities, signed into law, built and running as quickly as possible. Our area currently has one of the largest veteran populations in the country, and this population is continuing to grow. America’s veterans deserve affordable, accessible healthcare, and having these two clinics is an important step toward continuing to provide them the services they deserve.
I will continue to work with my colleagues on the House Veterans Affairs Committee as well as in the rest of Congress to ensure that the needs of those who have served our country so selflessly are met.
| Related Articles |
| 08/09/2005 |
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Widow's persistence pays off with posthumous Purple Heart |
| 10/09/2004 |
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Miller announces an end to widows' tax |
| 09/21/2004 |
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Work on ’super clinic’ for veterans will proceed despite storm, Principi says |
| 05/17/2004 |
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Panel votes to speed up survival benefit reform |
| 02/05/2004 |
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Congress takes up cause of military spouses |
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| Related Press Releases |
| 10/23/2006 |
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MILLER APPLAUDS ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN SUPPORT OF VETERANS |
| 10/13/2006 |
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GROUNDBREAKING FOR NEW VETERANS’ CLINIC AT EGLIN ON MONDAY |
| 08/03/2006 |
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MILLER ANNOUNCES MORE VETERANS ASSISTANCE DAYS |
| 07/21/2006 |
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Miller wants VA Hospital at Eglin |
| 06/29/2006 |
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MILLER APPLAUDS RECOVERY OF STOLEN VA LAPTOP |
| 06/12/2006 |
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MILLER ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE DAYS FOR VETS |
| 04/11/2006 |
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MILLER ANNOUNCES MORE VETERANS ASSISTANCE DAYS |
| 08/09/2005 |
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Widow's persistence pays off with posthumous Purple Heart |
| 05/09/2005 |
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GROUNDBREAKING FOR NEW VETERANS’ SUPER CLINIC |
| 04/21/2005 |
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FUNDING FOR NEW VETERANS’ CLINIC AT EGLIN OBLIGATED |
| 02/10/2005 |
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MILLER NAMED CHAIRMAN OF VETERANS’ AFFAIRS SUBCOMMITTEE |
| 01/07/2005 |
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MILLER CONGRATULATES BUYER ON VA COMMITTEE CHAIRMANSHIP |
| 10/19/2004 |
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MILLER WINS NMFA’S “SUPPORT OF MILITARY FAMILIES” AWARD |
| 10/08/2004 |
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REP. JEFF MILLER ANNOUNCES END TO “WIDOWS’ TAX” |
| 10/06/2004 |
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MILLER DEMANDS END TO WIDOWS TAX |
| 05/13/2004 |
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MILLER SURVIVOR BENEFIT PLAN FIX PASSES HOUSE COMMITTEE |
| 02/04/2004 |
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MILLER URGES PASSAGE OF SURVIVOR BENEFIT PLAN FIX |
| 11/21/2003 |
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MILLER URGES CONGRESS TO KEEP THE PROMISE |
| 11/14/2003 |
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VETERANS: AMERICA'S HEROS, AMERICA'S RESPONSIBILITY |
| 10/29/2003 |
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HOUSE AUTHORIZES NEW VETERANS’ CLINIC IN PENSACOLA |
| 10/16/2003 |
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MILLER ANNOUNCES CONCURRENT PAY AGREEMENT FOR DISABLED VETS |
| 09/30/2003 |
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HOUSE PASSES MILLER LEGISLATION HONORING BOB HOPE |
| 08/19/2003 |
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VA/DOD HEALTHCARE SUMMIT TO BE HELD AT OWCC |
| 07/28/2003 |
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MILLER STATEMENT ON THE PASSING OF BOB HOPE |
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| Related Speeches |
| 06/27/2005 |
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Floor Statement in Support of H.Con.Res. 188, in honor of the fallen airmen of the Khobar Towers |
| 05/10/2005 |
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Tribute to Mr. George Poole |
| 05/09/2005 |
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VA/Navy Joint Ambulatory Care Clinic Groundbreaking Remarks |
| 07/20/2004 |
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In Support of H.R. 4608, to name the Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic located in Peoria, Illinois, as the "Bob Michel Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic" |
| 06/08/2004 |
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WELCOME HOME DUSTIN TULLER |
| 06/01/2004 |
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H.R. 4317, TO NAME THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS OUTPATIENT CLINIC LOCATED IN LUFKIN, TEXAS, AS THE “CHARLES WILSON DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS OUTPATIENT CLINIC” |
| 05/19/2004 |
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Restores the Survivor Benefit Plan Annuity |
| 03/01/2004 |
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HONORING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF LT. COL. ROBERT L. REINLIE |
| 11/21/2003 |
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VETERANS HEALTH CARE, CAPITAL ASSET, AND BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2003 |
| 10/29/2003 |
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PENSACOLA VA-DOD CLINIC AUTHORIZATION |
| 10/16/2003 |
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CONCURRENT RECEIPT PRESS CONFERENCE STATEMENT |
| 09/30/2003 |
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HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF BOB HOPE |
| 06/11/2003 |
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BEING FAIR TO VETERANS |
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