Congressman Pete King

Veterans

Our country can never repay the debt which we owe to our nation’s veterans. These are the Americans who answered the call to duty and put their lives on the line to preserve our nation’s freedoms. These are the same type of Americans as those who are fighting today in Afghanistan and Iraq.

As your Congressman I have consistently voted to increase benefits to our veterans and to make sure that today’s military receives the very best equipment, weaponry and training. That is why I make it a point to visit our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and vote to expand education benefits, provide vocational training and make housing more affordable to returning veterans.

Since coming to Congress in 1993, I have sponsored legislation to establish a committee on POW/MIA Affairs, introduced the Returning Soldiers’ Bill of Rights, supported the Long Island State Veterans Home, voted for veterans housing benefits, voted to keep TRICARE costs low, voted for a tax deduction on TRICARE benefits, and voted for increases to the VA budget. In addition, in August 2006, thanks to years of persistence and working with VA Secretary Nicholson, I was instrumental in keeping the Manhattan VA open.

Even in this year of budget cuts, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs has never been better funded. In fact, the VA budget has doubled since 2000, and this year both parties in the House of Representatives supported budget resolutions that included an 11% increase in VA funding. In fact, the VA Budget for Fiscal Year 2010 increased to $106.5 billion - an 11.7 percent increase over last year's budget for healthcare and other programs. Our veterans have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, and deserve to be treated with honor and gratitude. That is why I will continue to support initiatives that ensure our veterans receive the best and highest quality care available.

Sponsored Legislation:

This Congress, I introduced the Jobs for Veterans Act (H.R. 620), which offers a tax incentive to businesses that hire Iraq and Afghanistan veterans – a win-win plan to help veterans and businesses get through the tough economy. In 2008, the Department of Labor found the rate of unemployment among veterans to be higher than non-veterans – and impacting our youngest veterans the hardest.

The transition from combat to civilian life can be a difficult experience that is made much worse when greeted with high rates of unemployment. Our veterans put their lives on the line for us, and we owe it to them to make the move back home as easy and opportunity-rich as possible. My legislation not only encourages job creation for these veterans, but also provides tax relief to businesses that may also be struggling.

The Jobs for Veterans Act creates a $5,000 nonrefundable tax credit for employers who hire an Iraq/Afghanistan veteran for more than 10 weeks/ 400 hours of work. Business owners may carry the credit over to subsequent years, in order to maximize the benefits. Since work opportunity tax credits (WOTC) already exist for disabled veterans, this credit may be claimed in addition to the disabled veterans WOTC, so as not to discourage the hiring of disabled veterans. The tax credit may be applied to any veteran discharged or released from active duty after September 11, 2001. It will be offered to employers through 2011.

Perpetual Purple Heart Stamp Act (H.R. 1305)
The Perpetual Purple Heart Stamp Act is a bipartisan bill that recognizes that the Purple Heart is as much a symbol of freedom as the American flag. It honors our brave veterans by creating a Purple Heart Forever Stamp. The “forever stamp” will be a first-class stamp without denomination and will remain valid regardless of rate changes.

POW/MIA Affairs Select Committee (H.Res.111)
Since my first term in Congress I have introduced legislation to create a Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs. There are thousands missing soldiers from our wars. Finding new information on American POWs and MIAs can help thousands of families who are yearning to know the truth about the fate of their loved ones.

Cosponsored Legislation:

H.R. 23: Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2009
Merchant Mariners played an important role in our World War II victory, and suffered the highest casualty rate of any of the branches of service while delivering tanks, food, airplanes, fuel and supplies to our troops. Unfortunately, they were denied the benefits offered under the G.I. Bill. H.R. 23 would provide a modest payment for the 40-plus years of lost benefits which denied many of them the opportunity to attain a degree, obtain a home loan, or receive compensation for their service-connected injuries like other WWII veterans.

H.R. 147: A bill for homeless veterans
This bill increases resources for homeless veterans by allowing tax filers to redirect up to three dollars of their federal taxes to a homeless veterans fund. In the United States, there are an estimated 154,000 veterans who are homeless and twice as many veterans that have experienced homelessness at some point. Roughly 26% of all homeless Americans are veterans. I have introduced this bill as an original cosponsor along with Rep. Israel for the past two Congresses.

H.R. 929:
Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a program of training to provide eligible veterans with skills relevant to the job market.

H.R. 1016: Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act of 2009
Due to lags and uncertainty in Congress’s appropriations process, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is unable to create a budget in advance and does not always have funds when the fiscal year begins on October 1. This affects the equipment procurement process and can affect care. H.R. 1016 reforms the appropriations process so that VHA administrators will know one year in advance what their fiscal year appropriations will be and can thus plan accordingly for delivering quality medical care services to all enrolled veterans who need it.

This bill became law on October 22, 2009.

H.R. 1428: Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide wartime disability compensation for certain veterans with Parkinson's disease.

H.R. 2254: Agent Orange Equity Act of 2009
This bill clarifies current law so that every service member who served in the Vietnam War or who otherwise deployed to land, sea or air in Vietnam is fully covered by the current laws regarding Agent Orange. This bill will expand eligibility and facilitates veterans’ claims for treatment of service-connected illnesses related to Agent Orange.

H.R. 2632: Korean War Veterans Recognition Act
This bill encourages the display of the flag of the United States on National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day.

H.R. 3943: Post 9/11 Troops to Teachers Enhancement Act
This bipartisan bill makes the Troops to Teachers Program more accessible to those who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. It expands the number of school districts in which participants can qualify for a $5,000 stipend to be put towards the cost of becoming a teacher. Finally, it creates an advisory board to improve awareness of the program, increase participation, and make sure the program meets the needs of our schools and our veterans.

H.R. 4241: A bill to allow for increased flexibility in payments for State veterans homes
State veterans homes like the Long Island State Veterans Home, do excellent work to care for our aging veterans in need of constant care. While State veterans homes receive a per diem per patient, in some instances the cost of care for more advanced treatments, like chemotherapy or dialysis, exceeds the daily rate. This bill will allow the veterans homes to tap into additional funds like Medicare to cover the costs beyond the daily rate. The outcome will be better care for those veterans who need it most.

 

On the House Floor:

With my strong support, the following bills to improve services and care to veterans have recently passed in the House:

H.R. 1171: Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program Reauthorization Act of 2009
This bill reauthorizes the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program at current funding levels ($50 million annually) through 2014. It also establishes a women veterans program and a homeless veterans with a children reintegration grant program.

H.R. 1377: To amend title 38, United States Code, to expand veteran eligibility for reimbursement by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for emergency treatment furnished in a non-Department facility, and for other purposes.
This bill would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to pay for emergency care that certain veterans receive at non-VA medical facilities or to reimburse veterans if they have paid for that care. Specifically, veterans with non-service-connected conditions whose third-party insurer does not cover the full cost of care would be reimbursed.

H.R. 1513: Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2009
This bill would increase the amounts paid to veterans for disability compensation and to their survivors for dependency and other compensation by the same cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) payable to Social Security recipients. These compensations include clothing allowances and indemnity compensation. The increase would take effect on December 1, 2009.

H.R. 4810: End Veteran Homelessness Act of 2010
This bill would increase the annual amounts authorized for the VA's Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem program from $150 million to $200 million. This legislation will also require that the VA secretary ensure that each VA medical center employs a specialist that would conduct outreach to landlords to encourage participation in the program, mediate disputes between veterans and landlords, and maintain a list of available units.

H.R. 1879: National Guard Employment Protection Act
The National Guard Employment Protect Act would provide employment and reemployment rights for individuals ordered to full-time National Guard duty.

H.R. 3976: Helping Heroes Keep Their Homes Act
This bill extends through December 31, 2015, specified protections for service members relating to mortgages and mortgage foreclosures. It also prevents foreclosure actions until 9 months after deployment ends.

H.R. 4667 Veteran’s Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2010
This bill increases the amounts paid to veterans for disability compensation and to their survivors for dependency and indemnity compensation by the same cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) payable to Social Security recipients. The increase would take effect on December 1, 2010.

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I also do all I can to give veterans the recognition they deserve by obtaining their service medals for them. Most veterans are modest about their achievements. Many never bothered to get these medals and decorations which they earned. Very often, however, their children and grandchildren are anxious to see these medals and find out what their parents and grandparents did in service to their country.

My office can assist all veterans – or their spouses and children – in obtaining these medals. So if you or any member of your family wants me to help them get their medals, please call and it will be a privilege to obtain them for you.