Apr. 22, 2010
Conyers: Veterans Omnibus Bill Reaffirms Commitment to Veterans and their Families
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For Immediate Release: April 22,2010
Contact: Jonathan Godfrey (202) 225-5126
Conyers: Veterans Omnibus Bill Reaffirms Commitment
to Veterans and their Families
Washington, DC-- Yesterday, April 21, 2010, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich) inserted the following statement into the Congressional Record on S. 1963, the "Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Services Act of 2009."
Madame Speaker,
I rise in strong support of S.1963, the “Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2009.” As a Korean War veteran, I understand the various challenges that veterans face when returning home. This bill takes a significant step forward in terms of improving the overall access to quality, affordable health care for our nation’s veterans and provides much needed assistance to the devoted families across this nation that provide housing, food, and full-time care for wounded veterans.
Under S.1963, veterans who are catastrophically disabled would no longer be required to pay co-payments for their medical care. As we all know, in America, the sicker you are, the more you must pay in out-of-pocket costs. Passage of this bill means veterans and their caretakers will be able to live with less financial stress.
This bill also increases funding to expand VA clinics in rural areas where VA programs currently do not exist. Veterans living in rural areas must often travel hundreds of miles in order to receive care at a Veterans hospital—a crushing burden for veterans who need frequent health care services, and must pay for expensive travel due to increasing transportation costs.
The bill will also help address the many hardships and sacrifices associated with the lengthy recovery and rehabilitation associated with severe injuries. In particular, the bill improves access to counseling and mental health services. S.1963 also provides health care and a stipend for caregivers living with severely wounded veterans of the wars Iraq and Afghanistan. This stipend should help reduce the enormous financial pressures on caregivers who are providing food, clothing, transportation, and housing to their wounded loved ones during one of the worst economic downturns since the Great Depression.
Again, I thank the Democratic Leadership for introducing this important bill, which will go a long way in improving the lives of scores of Veterans and their caregivers for years to come. I encourage my colleagues to support the bill.
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