Issues: Veterans

“It is the Veterans to whom we owe our thanks for the freedoms and liberties we enjoy today in America.”— Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson

The United States prides itself on having the world’s greatest military. Our nation understands that military men and women are the backbone of our national security so it is imperative to provide them with the tools and resources they need as they defend America.

But our commitment to these brave soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines does not end on battlefields. It is also crucial that we fulfill our promises to those who have served so ably in the past.

That is why Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson works for our military veterans to ensure that they receive the benefits they deserve. Today, and as a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee from 2001 through 2004, Nelson has worked to enhance and expand veterans’ benefits while collaborating with the Veterans Administration to ensure veterans health care is accessible and available throughout Nebraska.

Working for Veterans

In Nebraska:
Senator Nelson supported recommendations to create three new Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) to serve Nebraska veterans in the Holdrege, O’Neill and Bellevue areas. Nelson urged the VA to accept this recommendation after the Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services (CARES) Commission originally rejected the proposal. The Commission subsequently adopted Nelson’s recommendation.

In Washington:

  1. Senator Nelson has consistently urged full funding for veterans programs. Nelson has written to President Bush in support of full funding and in opposition to higher co-payments and new fees for veteran’s health services.
  2. Senator Nelson cosponsored the Retired Pay Restoration Act of 2007 (S. 439) that will allow disabled veterans to receive compensation without having to sacrifice part of their retirement pay.
  3. Senator Nelson supports and has cosponsored legislation to repeal the requirement for the reduction of survivor annuities under the Survivor Benefit Plan by veterans’ dependency and indemnity compensation.
  4. Senator Nelson introduced the Emergency Energy Assistance for Disabled Veterans Act (S. 3276) in 2006 to increase the VA mileage reimbursement rate for rural area veterans from 11 cents to 44 cents – the same rate as federal employees are reimbursed.
  5. Senator Nelson supports designating veterans' healthcare funding as mandatory spending just as veterans' compensation and pension payments are mandatory.
  6. Senator Nelson has reintroduced the Belated Thank you to the Merchant Marines of World War II Act of 2007 (S. 961) which pays $1,000 (tax free) per month to merchant mariners or their widows. World War II merchant mariners were denied any GI Bill of Rights for forty years and only later given access to a watered down version. This legislation helps to make up for that lack of recognition of the vital role merchant mariners played in defending our nation.
  7. Senator Nelson sponsored an amendment encouraging companies to employ America’s veterans as part of the Tax Reconciliation Act of 2005
  8. Senator Nelson supported extending an increase in TRICARE fees for retirees and reservists and increasing funds for the Defense Health Program.
  9. Senator Nelson advocated for authorizing payment of combat-related special compensation to service members medically retired for a combat-related disability. As part of this program, payment is equal to the amount of retired pay forfeited because of the prohibition on concurrent receipt of military retired pay and VA disability compensation.

As a response to the inadequate health care for our returning veterans and wounded warriors, the Senate passed the Wounded Warriors Act, which was included in the Defense Authorization Act signed by the President in January 2008. The Wounded Warriors Act included provisions that would:

  • Require DOD and VA to jointly develop a comprehensive policy on improvements to care, management, and transition of recovering service members in an outpatient status;
  • Require DOD to develop a comprehensive plan on prevention, diagnosis, mitigation, treatment, and rehabilitation of, and research on, traumatic brain injury, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and other mental health conditions in members of the armed forces; and
  • Authorize Centers of Excellence in the prevention, diagnosis, mitigation, treatment, and rehabilitation of traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, and traumatic eye injuries.

Updated: 2.4.08