April 2, 2009
Subcommittee Assesses VA Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment
For more information, contact: Brian Lawrence, (202) 225-3527
Washington, D.C. — Today, the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity held an oversight hearing on services the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides through its Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) program.
VR&E provides services to enable veterans with service connected disabilities and employment handicaps to obtain and maintain suitable employment. When the severity of disability prohibits suitable employment, VR&E assists those veterans to achieve maximum independence in daily living.
John Boozman of Arkansas, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee, said VR&E is, and should be, generous in its benefits for disabled veterans, and that wide latitude should be given in tailoring the type of rehabilitation program to the veteran’s specific needs.
“Among our nation’s highest obligations to veterans is the provision of vocational rehabilitation and education to help those with service-related disabilities obtain and maintain substantially gainful employment,” Boozman said. “While VA does a good job overall, we still must identify ways to document the program’s performance, and increase the number of disabled veterans who successfully complete rehabilitation programs that lead to meaningful careers.”
“For example, increasing the VR&E monthly living stipend to $1,200, as proposed by Ranking Member Buyer’s bill, H.R. 297, would significantly reduce the number of veterans who drop out of the program. As a co-sponsor of this bill, I believe increasing the stipend should be high on our list of uses for any monies that might become available under expenditure rules.”
For more news from House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Republicans, please go to:
http://republicans.veterans.house.gov/
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