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Washington, D.C. — House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Steve Buyer made the following statement on the bipartisan veterans’ benefits package approved by the House this evening:   

“H.R. 3219, the Veterans’ Benefit Act of 2010 as amended, is an omnibus benefits and health bill with a number of provisions to help veterans and their families. I am glad that we were finally able to work things out with our Senate colleagues and take action on many provisions that the House orginally passed in the summer of 2009.”

“I am pleased that this legislation includes provisions I introduced to expand the Homeless Veteran Reintegration Program (HVRP) to help homeless women with children, and to allow veterans to purchase additional amounts of Veterans Group Life Insurance (VGLI) coverage.

“The bill also contains important provisions introduced by my Republican colleagues, including   initiatives introduced by Ranking Member John Boozman of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity to reauthorize HVRP and to assist the Pat Tillman Scholarship Initiative and other worthy foundations by requiring VA to publish on its website a list of college scholarship opportunities that are available to veterans.”

“HVRP is a Department of Labor program that provides grants to local homeless veteran providers for job skill training and counseling. HVRP has been lauded as one of the most successful federal government programs for combating homelessness.”

“Along with reauthorizing HVRP, the bill includes one of my ‘Noble Warrior Initiatives’ to expand the program to include homeless providers that offer job skill training for homeless women veterans and homeless veterans with children.  VA data indicates that nine percent of the homeless veteran population is women, many of whom have children. These individuals obviously require a safe, supportive environment in a private setting, in which they can regain their footing and acquire skills that will lead to meaningful employment.”

Click Here to View a Series on Buyer’s Legislation by National Journal

“Also, my provision authorizing additional amounts of Veterans Group Life Insurance to be purchased by veterans is important because currently the level of coverage must be selected within the first year of discharge and it cannot be subsequently changed. Since most separating servicemembers are young and single, many select levels that become insufficient as they age and have families. H.R. 3219 would allow veterans to purchase up to $400,000 of VGLI coverage in $25,000 increments every five years until the age of 60. The cost of such increases would be offset by premiums, so there would be no new direct cost to taxpayers.” 

“The final provision I want to highlight was introduced by Congressman Boozman to establish a program to make grants of up to $200,000 to encourage the development of new assistive technologies for specially adapted housing.  Through these grants, we hope to encourage the development of technology that will provide the maximum level of independence to severely disabled veterans in their daily living.  This includes emerging technologies such as voice-commanded operations, integrated computer-managed functions, and fall prevention devices.”

“I am also pleased this bill includes many other improvements for veterans and their families such as:

·         Creating a new veterans energy related employment program;

·         Increasing training for veteran employment specialists;

·         Increasing protections for deployed servicemembers under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act in regard to cell phone contracts;

·         Providing numerous VA life insurance program improvements;

·         An increasing the plot and burial allowances for deceased veterans;

·         Authorizing aid and attendance benefits for veterans with traumatic brain injury;

·         Increasing the number of veteran who can begin receiving independent living services;

·         Expanding eligibility for adaptive auto grants to disabled veterans and servicemembers with severe burn injuries;

·         Requiring a National Academies study of best treatments for chronic multi-symptom illness in Persian Gulf War veterans; and

·         Authorizing funding for construction of medical facilities or community outpatient clinics including:

o    Long Beach, California;

o    Billings, Montana;

o    San Diego, California;

o    Boston, Massachusetts;

o    San Francisco, California; and

o    San Juan, Puerto Rico”

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