Issues Veterans Benefits
Outreach
The federal government should be doing
all that it can to make sure that the men and women who served
this country so courageously are aware of the benefits they
have earned. In response to my conversations with Wisconsin's
veteran community, I re-introduced the Veterans Outreach Improvement
Act in May 2007. This legislation would improve Veterans Affairs’
outreach programs by ensuring that the VA is consistent in
its efforts to inform veterans about the benefits to which
they are entitled.
The Veterans Outreach Improvement Act would improve current
outreach programs by requiring the VA to set aside a special
fund for veterans outreach efforts, create an intra-agency
structure to identify those veterans who are not currently
receiving their benefits, and make sure outreach occurs in
areas where veterans are located.
The legislation also ensures that the VA can enter into cooperative
agreements with state departments of Veterans Affairs and
gives the VA grant-making authority to award funds to state
departments of Veterans Affairs for outreach activities. These
grants would not replace the VA’s mandate to perform outreach;
rather they are intended to supplement outreach that is performed
by the federal VA.
The legislation was inspired by the overwhelming response
to the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs’ “I Owe You”
program, which encourages veterans to apply, or to re-apply,
for benefits that they earned from their service in the military.
If thousands of Wisconsin veterans are unaware of benefits
that may be owed to them, as this program indicated, many
veterans around our country may also be unaware of these benefits.
It is time for Congress to take action to make sure that veterans,
including men and women just returning from Iraq, receive
the federal benefits they have earned.
I am proud to have the following groups
support this legislation:
- The Disabled American Veterans
- The Vietnam Veterans of America
- The Paralyzed Veterans of America
- The National Association of County Veterans Service Officers
- The National Association of State Directors of Veterans
Affairs
- The Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs
- The Wisconsin Association of County Veterans Service Officers
- The Wisconsin Department of Disabled American Veterans
- The Wisconsin Department of Veterans of Foreign Wars
- The Wisconsin Paralyzed Veterans Association
- The American Legion Department of Wisconsin
- The American Legion Auxiliary Department of Wisconsin
- The Wisconsin State Council
- Vietnam Veterans of America
- The National Association for Black Veterans
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