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June 23, 2006 (Washington, DC) Three bills sponsored by U.S. Senator Larry Craig to improve benefits for veterans were approved Thursday by the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Among the legislation is an omnibus bill which includes a provision to allow veterans to hire attorneys to represent them in claims before the Department of Veterans Affairs, another bill to increase pay for disabled veterans, and a bill which authorizes the construction of VA hospitals throughout the country. All three measures now go to the floor of the Senate for further consideration. "I’m pleased there was such strong bi-partisan support to move this legislation forward," said Sen. Craig (R-Idaho), who chairs the Veterans’ Affairs Committee. If approved by the House and Senate, starting in December of this year, veterans with service connected disabilities will receive the same rate of increase in disability payments that those receiving Social Security benefits receive – currently estimated between 2.2 and 2.6 percent. The legislation will also increase the compensation for the survivors of some disabled veterans. One of Craig’s bills, co-sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), is considered landmark legislation. It overturns a Civil War-era law which currently denies veterans the right to hire attorneys until well into the appeals process. "No one will be forced to hire an attorney. We just want to make it an option," Craig said. Part of that same bill also calls for the removal of the remains of a convicted double murderer, Russell Wagner, from Arlington National Cemetery. On Valentine’s Day in 1994, Wagner brutally murdered Daniel Davis, 84, and Wilda Davis, 80, in Maryland. He was later convicted, died in prison, and was then buried at the nation’s premier national cemetery. Wagner’s remains were placed in Arlington as the result of a loophole in the law that has since been closed. The Davis’ son, Vernon, is a veteran who testified before the committee last year and asked for Wagner’s remains to be removed. Craig’s legislation also includes changes to the Montgomery G.I. Bill and Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance benefits sought by Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Montana) and Mike DeWine (R-Ohio). If approved by Congress, veterans and survivors would be allowed to obtain accelerated benefits to assist them in finding jobs in four targeted sectors of the economy: transportation, construction, hospitality and energy. In the case of transportation, someone enrolled in a $4,000 truck driving training program can currently only obtain about $1,000 in benefits. With the change, the same veteran would be eligible for 60 percent, or $2,400, of the costs of the training. Craig’s legislation also includes a provision sought by Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) that would require VA to pay full costs for service-connected veterans residing in veterans’ homes run by state governments, as well as provide medications for certain service-connected conditions in those state-run facilities. Under current law, the federal government only pays a portion of those costs. The Akaka-sought provisions would also require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to designate beds in privately-run care centers as "state homes" for purposes of per diem payments. "In rural parts of the country, we often don’t need a full fledged nursing homes. But having a few beds available could help, and this measure will help make that happen," Craig said. Other measures in the bill the committee approved would:
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