Veterans

     I have strongly supported Veterans of the 4th District since I was first elected to serve as U.S. Representative.  Veterans have given so much to our country, and as a veteran myself, I understand the importance of supporting the men and women in the armed services.  To that end, I am pleased to report that I supported, and the House has approved, the following bills in support of veterans: 

H.R. 23:Belated Thank You to the Merchant Marines of World War II – Establishes the Merchant Mariner Equity Compensation Fund for payments of $1,000 to each documented member of the U.S. Merchant Marine serving as a crewmember in World War II.

H.R. 403:Homes for Heroes Act of 2009 – Establishes a Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs, who will work to ensure that veterans have access to HUD housing and homeless assistance programs, and coordinate all HUD programs and activities relating to veterans.

H.R. 466:Wounded Veteran Job Security Act – Entitles veterans who miss work due to treatment for a service-connected disability to be retained by the veteran’s employer, maintain seniority and other rights and benefits, and be considered on furlough or leave of absence during such treatment.

H.R. 1016: Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act– Authorizes funding, and requires a study of the accuracy of budget projections made by the Enrollee Health Care Projection Model.

H.R. 1017:Chiropractic Care Available to All Veterans Act- Amends the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Programs Enhancement Act of 2001 to require a program under which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs provides chiropractic care and services to veterans through Department of Veterans Affairs

H.R. 1037:Pilot College Work Study Programs for Veterans Act of 2009 – Conducts a five-year pilot project to test the feasibility and advisability of expanding the scope of qualifying veterans' work-study activities, including positions available on site at educational institutions.

H.R. 1088:Mandatory Veteran Specialist Training Act of 2009– Speeds up training for VA specialists to serve veterans more timely and efficiently.

H.R. 1089:Veterans Employment Rights Realignment Act of 2009– Enforces employment and unemployment rights of veterans and members of the Armed Forces employed by federal agencies.

H.R. 1168:Veterans Retraining Act of 2009- Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to pay to each covered veteran an assistance allowance for each month such veteran is enrolled in an employment and training program that teaches a skill in demand, as determined the Secretary.

H.R. 1171:  omeless Veterans Reintegration Program Reauthorization Act of 2009– Reauthorizes the VA homeless veterans reintegration programs, and allows for grants to programs and facilities that provide dedicated services for homeless women veterans and homeless veterans with children. 

H.R. 1211:Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act – Designed to update and improve VA healthcare services for women. 

H.R. 1293:Disabled Veterans Home Improvement and Structural Alteration Grant Increase Act of 2009 – Increases the amount that the VA is authorized to pay for improvement and structural alterations for homes of veterans with service-connected disabilities.

H.R. 1377:(Unnamed) – Authorizes the VA to reimburse a veteran for the cost of emergency care provided in a non-VA facility.

H.R. 1388:Serve America Act – Excludes veterans' education benefits from the calculation of a maximum national service, Summer of Service, or Silver Scholar educational award.  Made law on April 21.

 H.R. 1513:Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act – Ties the amounts paid to veterans for disability compensation and to their survivors to the same cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) payable to Social Security recipients. 

H.R. 1803:Veterans Business Center Act of 2009 – Authorizes a total of $22 million for the Small Business Administration to create a Veterans Business Center program to provide veterans and their surviving spouses with entrepreneurial training and counseling. We want our veterans to be leaders, not just on the field of battle, but also in the field of business.

H.R. 2632: Korean War Veterans Recognition Act– Adds National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day, July 27, to the list of days on which the flag of the United States should be displayed. Made Law on July 27.

H.R. 3082: Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act –Provides $76.5 billion in discretionary spending and $55.8 billion in mandatory spending.

H.R. 3155:Caregiver Assistance and Resource Enhancement Act– Directs the VA to develop and carry out support services for family and non-family caregivers providing non-institutional extended care to disabled veterans.

H.R. 3219:Veterans' Insurance and Health Care Improvements Act of 2009– Provides multiple improvements to veterans’ benefits. Makes permanent the extension of Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI) coverage for totally disabled veterans until two years after separation or release from active duty, and provides permanent VA authority to provide hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care to Vietnam-era herbicide-exposed veterans and Persian Gulf War veterans who have insufficient medical evidence to establish a service-connected disability.

H.R. 3689:To provide for an extension of the legislative authority of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. to establish a Vietnam Veterans Memorial visitor center, and for other purposes - Extends, to November 17, 2014, the legislative authority of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. to establish a Vietnam Veterans Memorial visitors center.

H.R. 3885:Veterans Dog Training Therapy Act- Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out a pilot program for assessing the effectiveness of addressing post-deployment mental health and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms through a therapeutic medium of assistance dog training and handling for veterans with disabilities.

H.R. 3949: Veterans' Small Business Assistance and Servicemembers Protection Act of 2009– Ensures that small businesses registered in the VA database are actually owned and operated by veterans. The bill allows active duty service members to terminate contracts for telephone, cable, internet or residential utilities without penalty under certain circumstances. 

H.R. 3976:Helping Heroes Keep Their Homes Act of 2010- Amends the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 to extend through December 31, 2015, specified protections for servicemembers relating to mortgages and mortgage foreclosures.

H.R. 4592:Energy Jobs for Veterans Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish a five-year pilot program (to be known as the Veterans Energy-Related Employment Program) to award competitive grants to three states to establish and administer a program of grants to energy industry employers and labor management organizations that provide training, apprenticeships, and certification classes to veterans employed by an energy employer.

H.R. 4667:Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2010- Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to increase, as of December 1, 2010, the rates of veterans' disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents, the clothing allowance for certain disabled veterans, and dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children.

H.R. 4810:End Veteran Homelessness Act of 2010- Extends through FY2010, and increases the amount of, the authorization of appropriations for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) comprehensive service programs for homeless veterans.

In addition to the above bills that have passed the House, I am a cosponsor of several other bills still working their way through Congress. One of those is H.R. 303, the Retired Pay Restoration Act. This law will allow for concurrent receipt of full retirement and disability benefits. It has been a long held belief of mine that our men and women should not be penalized twice, once with a disability and again with a reduction in pay. Other measures that I am supporting include:

• H.R. 430:              Lance Corporal Jeremy Burris Act
• H.R. 953:              Veterans Travel Tax Relief Act of 2009
• H.R. 775:              Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act
• HR 1203               Federal and Military Retiree Health Care Equity Act
• H.R. 1182:            Military Spouses Residency Relief Act
• H.R. 2254:            Agent Orange Equity Act of 2009
• HR 2698               Veterans and Survivors Behavioral Health Awareness Act
• H.R. 4088:            FortHoodFamilies Benefits Protection Act
• H. Res. 111:         Establishing a Select Committee on POW and MIA Affairs