| Offices : Beckley • Charleston • Fairmont • Martinsburg • Washington, DC | E-mail Senator Rockefeller |
Veterans
West Virginia boasts perhaps the strongest tradition of military service of any state in the Union. Every time the nation has been called to arms, the men and women of the Mountain State have responded and proudly served their country. Whether in war or peacetime, Senator Jay Rockefeller has focused on making sure that veterans receive the health care, benefits, and support they need and deserve. Under his leadership on the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Rockefeller has led the charge for affordable and quality health care, and promised retirement and disability benefits. Rockefeller has worked extensively on Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) eligibility reform to modernize VA health care and establish the primary care facilities known as Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs). He has pushed tirelessly to improve the concurrent receipt benefit, which allows veterans to receive both their full VA service-connected disability benefits and retirement pay. And, he has fought for adequate resources to pay for and treat veterans suffering from Gulf War illness, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury. As a result, many veterans have received the specialized treatment and services they need, improved assistance with their benefit claims, and more of the disability and retirement pay they have earned. Rockefeller will never stop pushing to ensure that the government lives up to its promise to care for those who have sacrificed so much for our country. Rockefeller has won numerous awards for his efforts on behalf of veterans, including the West Virginia Paralyzed Veterans Achievement of the Year Award, West Virginia State Veterans Council Award, West Virginia Disabled American Veterans Award, West Virginia American Legion, AMVETS Silver Helmet Award, the American Ex-POW's Barbed Wire Award, and other awards from the national Veterans of Foreign Wars, Jewish War Veterans, Vietnam Veterans of America, and the Military Order of the Purple Heart.Senator Rockefeller has consistently fought to get the VA health care system the money needed to take care of the nation's veterans. More... Recognizing the importance of long-term care for the nation's veterans, Senator Rockefeller authored successful legislation that required the Department of Veterans Affairs, for the first time, to provide a wide-range of extended care services -- such as home health care, adult day care, respite care, and hospice care -- to veterans who use the VA health care system. More... During his eight-year chairmanship, and as the ranking member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, Senator Jay Rockefeller worked hard to make sure that military personnel who make a career of serving their country are not forced to subtract their VA service-connected disability benefits from their hard-earned retirement pay. More... The benefit claims process can be time consuming and frustrating for veterans. Knowing that this is one of the biggest problems within the VA, Senator Rockefeller has worked hard to improve the claims process. More... Easing the Transition to the VA One of the most disturbing discoveries in recent years was of the horrific problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Not only were wounded soldiers living in dilapidated quarters - now known as Building 18 - but it was also revealed that the transition process for many soldiers from DoD to VA was broken - both for health care and disability benefits. Computers couldn't talk to each other, veterans were drowning in paperwork, and the bureaucracy created needless headaches and obstacles. After these problems were discovered by the media, Senator Rockefeller went to work to fix them. More... Supporting our Wounded Soldiers (PTSD and TBI) A Pentagon Task Force has estimated that 40% of U.S. troops returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan are suffering from "daunting and growing" psychological problems. Senator Rockefeller believes we must make this one of our top priorities, and that includes making sure the VA has the resources it needs to meet the growing mental health problems facing our veterans. More... Senator Rockefeller has long sought to improve a wide-range of benefits for veterans and has succeeded on many fronts. More... Following the 1991 Gulf War, many returning troops began to report a range of unexplained illnesses that they believed might have resulted from their service. During his tenure as Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee from 1993-2002, Senator Rockefeller led the effort to pressure the Department of Defense to acknowledge that Gulf War veterans were returning with serious illnesses.More... Senator Rockefeller has a long history of expanding and building new veterans facilities in West Virginia. More... |
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