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Washington D.C., May 23, 2006 - Congressman Mike Bilirakis (R-FL), Vice-Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs today announced that the House of Representatives approved S. 1235, the Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 2005, by a vote of 372 to 0. S. 1235 includes similar language from his bill H.R. 1598, the Prisoner of War Benefits Act of 2005, which adds heart disease, stroke, diabetes (type 2), and osteoporosis to the list of diseases presumed to be service-connected for former prisoners of war.
Bilirakis said, "I am very pleased that prisoners-of-war (POW) with strokes and other heart diseases will be automatically eligible for disability compensation for those common ailments, and their spouses and dependents will be eligible for service-connected survivors' benefits if these diseases contribute to the death of a former POW."
In 1981, Congress established several service-connected presumptions for certain medical conditions that affect former POWs. However because a very high level of research certainty (95%) was required before establishing presumptive status, many other medical problems common in POWs have been excluded.
In the 108th Congress, Bilirakis introduced the Prisoner-of-War Benefits Act (H.R. 348), a bill which would have established service-connected presumptions for five additional medical conditions: heart disease, stroke, liver disease, Type II diabetes and osteoporosis. In a 2004 decision, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) expanded benefits to all former POWs who suffer from strokes and common heart diseases.
S. 1235 includes language which codifies the 2005 VA decision regulation adding heart disease and strokes to the list of diseases presumed to be service-connected for former prisoners of war who were interred for at least 30 days.
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