Veterans' Affairs

We owe a tremendous debt to the men and women who have shown their commitment and sacrifice by bravely wearing the uniform of our military forces. As a member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, I am working hard in Congress to ensure that we are honoring that commitment by providing the highest possible care to every veteran.

Sufficient, Timely, & Predictable Funding:
I supported a Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill which included the single largest funding increase in the 77-year history of the VA. These additional resources will help provide better health care for new veterans, repair VA health care facilities, make needed investments in veterans’ mental health care, and speed up and improve the accuracy of disability claims processing.

However, despite this increase, I realize that this method of funding is insufficient. Seventeen out of the last 19 VA budgets have been late. Our veterans deserve better. Therefore, I introduced H.R. 2514, the Assured Funding for Veterans Health Care Act to make VA health care a mandatory spending item within the federal budget, like Social Security and Medicare.

I also played a role in the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform Act, a compromise piece of legislation that authorizes advance appropriations for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care programs one year in advance of the start of the fiscal year. In other words, VA health care would have a one year advantage over other discretionary programs. I believe assured funding should be the law of the land, but I also want a bill that can move quickly through the process. The goal is to help our veterans—no matter what the legislative vehicle.

Mental Health Care:
Research shows 25 percent of troops returning from Iraq are psychologically wounded as a result of combat, many with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). In my role on the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health, I have participated in a number of oversight hearings to examine the performance of the VA in providing mental health care treatment and services to veterans with PTSD and TBI.

I am a proud cosponsor of H.R. 6445, the Veterans' Health Care Policy Enhancement Act of 2008, which passed the House of Representatives in July of 2008. This bill contains a provision that I wrote, the Mental Health for Heroes' Families Act, which addresses the VA’s ability to provide counseling, training or mental health services to family members of veterans who are seeking treatment for non-service connected disabilities.

Personality Disorder and the Fair Mental Health Evaluation for Returning Veterans Act:
Despite an increase in cases of PTSD and TBI, over 22,000 servicemen and women from all branches of the military have been discharged under pre-existing personality disorders since 2001. One such individual is Iraq veteran and Chillicothe resident, Donald Louis Schmidt.

Sadly, this discharge prevents soldiers from receiving compensation for PTSD, TBI, and other health claims despite their combat service records, and many have been required to return part of their signing bonuses. The fact is that personality disorder is a pre-existing condition. Servicemembers go through several physical and psychological screenings before deemed fit for combat and again as they transition to the VA. So, either the military is allowing servicemembers to serve in combat who they know have PD, or are using this diagnosis in order to avoid paying a lifetime of disability and medical benefits when servicemembers return home.

In response to this, I introduced H.R. 3167, the Fair Mental Health Evaluation for Returning Veterans Act, which would require DOD to place a temporary moratorium on personality disorder discharges, except in certain specified cases. This moratorium would be lifted upon:

1. Completion of a comprehensive review by the Secretary of Defense of the policies and procedures for diagnosing personality disorder;
2. Certification that diagnosis of personality disorder is based on standard clinical diagnostic practices, including the practices outlined in the most recent edition of the Diagnostic Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders; and
3. Establishment of an independent review board to review the cases of soldiers discharged with personality disorder.

In the Senate, a bipartisan group led by Senators Barack Obama (D-IL) and Kit Bond (R-MO) have introduced similar legislation.

Disability Backlog:
The VA currently has a backlog of hundreds of thousands of disability claims that is growing larger by the day. This delay—in which veterans are waiting an average of 177 days to have their claims adjudicated—is a moral black eye on our nation. In response, I proudly co-sponsored H.R. 5892, Veterans Disability Benefits Claims Modernization Act of 2008, which passed in July 2008. This bill will modernize the VA disability benefits claims processing system to ensure the accurate and timely delivery of compensation to veterans, their families, and survivors.

The legislation also has a provision I sought to focus on mental health issues in the study of the readjustment schedule. Of those veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan that have accessed VA care, 40% have sought mental health care. It is critical that any study on the ratings schedule take a good look at mental health conditions to ensure those veterans receive fair compensation.

A G.I. Bill for the 21st Century:
I believe we owe our veterans, who have sacrificed so much, the benefit of receiving the finest education available. Sadly, prior to May 2008, GI benefits only paid for about 60 percent of a public college education and 30 percent of a private college education. Meanwhile, college costs have grown nearly 40 percent over the last five years.

In May 2008, Congress passed and the President signed into law an improved GI Bill as part of the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act. This “GI Bill for the 21st Century” is designed to offer the men and women who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, including Reservists and National Guardsmen, a level of educational benefits on par with those provided to veterans of the World War II era. In order to qualify, veterans must have served at least three to 36 months of qualified active duty after September 11, 2001. Depending on their length of service, returning veterans would be eligible for up to 36 months of tuition at a rate equivalent to the most expensive public university in their state. The new GI Bill also includes a monthly stipend for books and living expenses.

Ensuring Access Through New Veterans’ Clinics:
In the 109th Congress, Lane Evans passed a provision as part of the Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006, requiring the VA to produce a business plan that would increase access to healthcare for veterans in Whiteside County. I believe Whiteside County needs and deserves a Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) and have been working hard to see that this happens. Currently, the application for a CBOC in Whiteside awaits review by the VA in the next budgetary cycle.