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Dreier Backs Veterans’ Assistance Bills
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman David Dreier (R-San Dimas) supported three key bills this week designed to enhance benefits for veterans and their families and ensure the integrity of veterans’ small business programs. H.R. 1407, the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act, H.R. 1383, the Restoring GI Bill Fairness Act, and H.R. 1657, a bill to increase penalties on those abusing veterans’ small business programs, were approved by the House with overwhelming bipartisan support.
“I am proud to support our veterans and their families who served honorably in defense of our country,” Dreier said. “It’s essential that we ensure our returning Armed Forces personnel and their families receive enhanced compensation benefits and assistance to afford a college education. We must also continue to provide veteran small business entrepreneurs with opportunities to succeed by cracking down on those who seek to defraud veterans’ small business assistance programs.”
H.R. 1407 would provide a cost-of-living adjustment increase for veterans’ disability compensation and dependency and indemnity family benefits effective December 1, 2011. The bill also would reauthorize for five years a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) program providing assistance for families of disabled veterans to make their homes more accessible.
H.R. 1383 would help veterans pay for the cost of attending private colleges and universities by raising the current Post-9/11 GI Bill financial assistance cap to $27,000 from $17,500 for three years beginning August 1, 2011 through July 31, 2014.
H.R. 1657 would bar companies who falsely claim status as Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses or Veteran-Owned Small Businesses from contracting with the VA for five years.