U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs RSS 2.0 Feed

Cost-of-Living Adjustment for Veterans Proposed

Wed, 8 May 2013 00:05:00 GMT

WASHINGTON, May 8 – Veterans benefits would rise to keep pace with inflation under legislation introduced today by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.), the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

Other committee members who cosponsored the bill are Sens. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.V.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Mike Johanns (R-Neb.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), John Boozman (R-Ark.) and Dean Heller (R-Nev.).

The cost-of-living adjustment would boost benefits for veterans with service-connected disabilities and for their survivors. It is projected that more than 4.2 million veterans and survivors will receive compensation benefits during the next fiscal year.

“Providing adequate financial compensation to our veterans and their families is our responsibility as a nation,” said Sanders. “We owe them an enormous debt of gratitude for their service and sacrifices and these adjustments ensure that we fulfill that obligation.”

“The men and women who have suffered service-related injuries while serving our nation and their survivors deserve to be compensated at a rate that reflects the current cost-of-living,” Burr said. “One of my top priorities as ranking member is to ensure that they receive the assistance and care they have earned through their brave service.”

The Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2013 would increase compensation benefits on December 1, 2013. in accordance with the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index, the same index that determines the annual rate adjustments for Social Security benefits.

Sanders, Burr Propose Legislation for Homeless Veterans

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 00:04:00 GMT

WASHINGTON, April 25 – The chairman and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs today proposed legislation to help the Department of Veterans Affairs meet its goal to eliminate veteran homelessness by 2015.

The Homeless Veterans Prevention Act of 2013 is sponsored by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.), the chairman and ranking member of the Senate veterans’ panel.

While there has been a 17 percent decline in the number of homeless veterans since 2009, there still were more than 62,000 homeless veterans as of the latest count by the VA.

“We must continue to invest in the progress that has been made and remove any remaining barriers to housing for veterans,” Sanders said.

“Our veterans served our country with honor and they should not be forgotten when they return home,” Burr said. “Helping homeless veterans get off the street and back on their feet is our obligation, and this legislation is an important step in that direction.”

John Driscoll, president and CEO of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, welcomed what he called “the most comprehensive and well-resourced homeless veterans assistance bill ever introduced in Congress.” Driscoll said the bill “provides the support necessary to ensure our nation’s plan to end veteran homelessness succeeds.”

A VA survey of homeless veterans for the past three years identified access to legal services as one of the top unmet needs among homeless veterans. In addition, barriers that prevent homeless women from utilizing VA programs have been identified by the department’s inspector general and the Government Accountability Office.

Both legal services and women’s issues are addressed in the legislation by Sanders and Burr. Their bill would allow the VA to enter partnerships with public and private entities to increase the availability of legal services for homeless veterans. It also would require transitional housing providers to meet the gender-specific needs of homeless women veterans.

Other provisions in the bill would:

• Permanently authorize the Department of Labor Incarcerated Veterans Transition Program.

• Keep veteran families together by allowing VA to house the children of homeless veterans in transitional housing programs.

• Provide incentives to avoid disruptions that arise when veterans complete transitional housing programs and move on to permanent housing.

• Expand eligibility for the Homeless Veterans Dental Program.

• Reauthorize VA programs for homeless veterans, including drop-in centers, transitional housing programs, rapid re-housing programs, and employment programs for homeless veterans.

To read the bill, click here. To read a summary, click here.

Senate Panel Encourages VA Outreach

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 00:04:00 GMT

WASHINGTON, April 24 – The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs today held a hearing on how the Department of Veterans Affairs is reaching out to make veterans aware of benefits they are entitled to receive.

“In many areas, the VA does an enormously good job, but no matter how good the programs are it doesn’t mean anything if veterans don’t know about them,” Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said.

“We are making progress but more needs to be done. I am especially impressed that 55 percent of returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are utilizing VA health care today. That’s a very impressive number,” Sanders added. “On the other hand, we must be cognizant that a 2010 survey found fewer than half of the 22 million veterans in the United States are accessing any VA benefits.”

Tommy Sowers, VA’s assistant secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs, testified at the hearing that the VA is improving outreach efforts. VA is deploying mobile vet centers in rural areas, establishing more community based outpatient clinics, providing mental health crisis line services and strengthening partnerships with other federal agencies, state, city and local governments, he said. Veterans’ service organizations and military support organizations also play important roles.

Coleman Nee, the head of the Massachusetts Department of Veterans’ Services, said cooperation among all levels of government is one reason his state leads the nation in veterans’ benefits and services. “In Massachusetts, we have found that there is not a lack of resources for our veterans and their families,” Nee said. “The major impediment to accessing benefits is the lack of knowledge of those benefits and resources and the navigation of the various bureaucracies associated with those benefits.”

The committee also heard from Wendy Spencer, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service CEO, Eric Weingartner of the Robin Hood Foundation and Mike Monroe, a vice president of Points of Light. “Their shared commitment to supporting veterans and their families is exactly what the VA should be encouraging,” Sanders said.

Legislation to Strengthen Survivor Benefits Proposed

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 00:04:00 GMT

WASHINGTON, April 16 – Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today introduced legislation to strengthen Department of Veterans Affairs survivor benefits.

About 350,000 widows, widowers and children of fallen service members or veterans who died as a result of their service-connected conditions receive benefits today. Many of them are struggling financially. In a recent survey, 44 percent of surviving spouses reported living on less than $20,000 a year.

“Men and women who gave their lives in war or as a result of service to this country have left behind loved ones who deserve a grateful nation’s support,” Sanders said. “Low-income survivors are at a disadvantage when it comes to reestablishing stability for their families, but their challenges are shared by survivors of all income levels,” he added.

The Survivor Benefits Improvement Act of 2013 would:

· Expand help for children. Supplemental payments would be provided for five years instead of the current two years for survivors with children. For the first time, children with the spinal disease spina bifida caused by their parent’s exposure to Agent Orange in Thailand during the war in Vietnam would receive care and benefits.

· Remove barriers to benefits. Surviving spouses could remarry at a younger age, consistent with other federal programs, and still maintain their survivor benefits.

· Provide counseling. A pilot program would be created to provide grief counseling in retreat settings for widows and widowers whose spouses died while on active duty in the armed services. The counseling would include information on VA benefits and services available to survivors. To encourage participation, child care would be provided.

Debra Kraus, the Gold Star Wives of America board chairman, called the legislation “the most comprehensive single piece of legislation for survivors in a decade.” The leader of the organization for the spouses and children of those who lost their lives while serving in the armed forces added that the bill “addresses many of the concerns of survivors and the inequities within their benefits that have existed for years.”

Veterans' Committee Examines VA Budget

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 00:04:00 GMT

WASHINGTON, April 15 – The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs today questioned Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki at a hearing on President Barack Obama’s proposed $153 billion budget for the VA in 2014.

Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) told Shinseki that the overall budget for the department “reflects a strong commitment by this administration to provide veterans and their families with the care and benefits they deserve.” That commitment, he added, is a welcome change from “woefully inadequate” VA budgets in prior administrations.

At the hearing, Shinseki acknowledged a soaring backlog of claims for disability benefits and restated his goal to eliminate the backlog by 2015. Sanders commended the goal but said “VA took too long” to address the “completely unacceptable” backlog. As of today, nearly 70 percent of claims have been pending longer than 125 days. In the future, Sanders added, “VA must do a better job of showing not only the Congress but also veterans and their survivors how it plans to accomplish this ambitious goal.”

In addressing suicide prevention among veterans, Sanders welcomed a 7.2 percent increase in funding for mental health services. “We are all aware of the staggering statistic that up to 22 veterans commit suicide every day,” Sanders said. He supported VA’s commitment to hire more mental health clinicians but questioned whether it would meet its own goal. “VA must pick up the pace of hiring if it intends to meet its goal of 1,600 new clinicians by the end of June.”

Sanders also said he will continue to press the administration to better coordinate health records maintained by the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs. He faulted both departments for the slow progress and limited success on a long-planned effort to develop a single electronic health record. “We must ensure that both VA and DoD are working together in an effective and efficient manner,” Sanders said.

Sanders also said he was “deeply disappointed” that the White House budget calls for significant cuts in benefits for disabled veterans and their survivors. Obama proposed a new way to calculate cost-of-living adjustments that would mean that veterans who started receiving disability benefits at age 30 would have their benefits reduced by $1,425 at age 45, $2,341 at age 55, and $3,231 at age 65. “Any attempt to balance the budget on the backs of those who served and sacrificed is unacceptable,” Sanders said.

“The challenges that veterans and their families continue to face demonstrate the true cost of war,” Sanders said. “Years of conflict have made a significant impact, not only on the men and women who serve in uniform, but also on their families who provide the tremendous love and support these men and women need to do their jobs.”

To read Sanders’ opening statement, click here.

Senators Call for Greater Pentagon, VA Cooperation on Claims Backlog

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 00:03:00 GMT

WASHINGTON, March 25 – The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs today urged Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to help the Department of Veterans Affairs curb a growing backlog of claims for disability benefits.

The letter from Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.), the chairman and the ranking member of the Senate panel, spoke of “the absolute need for continued collaboration, cooperation and commitment between these two agencies.”

All of the other members of the committee also signed the letter, including Sens. John D. Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Mike Johanns (R-Neb.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), John Boozman (R-Ark.) and Dean Heller (R-Nev.).

Veterans receive disability compensation for injuries or illness incurred during their active military service. As of this month, more than 600,000 claims have been pending for more than 125 days and are considered backlogged.

The senators said the Pentagon has an “increasingly vital” role to play in VA’s effort to transform the compensation claims process. They called the backlog “one of the largest challenges confronting the Department of Veterans Affairs.”

They praised a recent agreement to speed the delivery of Department of Defense documents to the VA on the treatment of service-related injuries. They also encouraged a planned switch from paper to digital records by the end of this year.

“We look forward to working together to ensure that the brave men and women who have put their lives on the line to defend our country receive the benefits that they undoubtedly earned and deserve,” the letter said.

To read the letter, click here.

Senate Opposes Chained CPI Cuts to Social Security, Veterans' Benefits

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 00:03:00 GMT

WASHINGTON, March 22 – The Senate tonight voted to block cuts in benefits for Social Security and disabled veterans.

The amendment by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) put the Senate on record against changing how cost-of-living increases are calculated in a way that would result in significant cuts.

“The time has come for the Senate to send a very loud and clear message to the American people: We will not balance the budget on the backs of disabled veterans who have lost their arms, their legs and their eyesight defending our country. We will not balance the budget on the backs of the men and women who have already sacrificed for us in Iraq and Afghanistan, nor on the widows who have lost their husbands in Iraq and Afghanistan defending our country,” Sanders said.

The amendment opposed switching from the current method of measuring inflation to a so-called chained consumer price index.

The proposed change would affect more than 3.2 million disabled veterans receiving disability compensation benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Veterans who started receiving VA disability benefits at age 30 would have their benefits reduced by $1,425 at age 45, $2,341 at age 55 and $3,231 at age 65. Benefits for more than 350,000 surviving spouses and children who have lost a loved one in battle also would be cut. Dependency Indemnity Compensation benefits already average less than $17,000 a year.

More than 55 million retirees, widows, orphans and disabled Americans receiving Social Security also would be affected by the switch to a chained CPI. That figure includes 9 million veterans with an average yearly benefit of about $15,500. A veteran with average earnings retiring at age 65 would get nearly a $600 benefit cut at age 75 and a $1,000 cut at age 85. By age 95, when Social Security benefits are probably needed the most, that veteran would face a cut of $1,400 – a reduction of 9.2 percent.

A chained CPI would cut Social Security benefits for average senior citizens who are 65 by more than $650 a year by the time they are 75 years old, and by more than $1,000 once they reach 85.

Groups supporting Sanders include AARP, the AFL-CIO, National Organization for Women, the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, AMVETS and others.

Sanders is chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and the founder of the Defending Social Security Caucus.

Senate Hearing Focuses on Veterans Suicides

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 00:03:00 GMT

Senate Hearing Focuses on Veterans Suicides

Vermont Witness Testifies on Outreach Program

WASHINGTON, March 20 – A Senate panel today examined Department of Veterans Affairs efforts to provide mental health counseling for veterans who are committing suicides at a rate of more than 8,000 a year.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has made progress, but is short of its own goal set last year to hire 1,600 clinicians by June 30. As of March 13, the VA had hired 1,105 clinicians.

“I want to commend VA for the strides it has made,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. “However, I am very concerned that VA has hired only 47 clinicians in the last two months. Clearly the VA must step up the pace of hiring if it intends to meet its goal of 1,600 new clinicians by the end of June of this year. In order to meet this goal, VA will need to hire almost 500 clinicians in the next two months. Frankly, I don’t see how this is possible, and I want to know what the VA is going to do about it.”

Dr. Robert A. Petzel, the head of the Veterans Health Administration, told Sanders that the VA would streamline its hiring process to meet the June 30 goal. “We know our work to improve the delivery of mental health care to veterans will never be truly finished, but we are confident that we are building a more accessible system that will be responsive to the needs of our veterans,” he testified. Petzel told Sanders the VA is treating 119,000 service members from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars for post-traumatic stress disorder.

In other testimony at the hearing, Andre Wing of South Burlington, Vt., told the committee about a successful outreach program in Vermont, where fellow veterans go to the homes of service members who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan. “One of the reasons the Vermont Veterans Outreach program has been so successful is our grassroots way of doing business. We are the ones going to the veterans’ home and working with them to find what they really need. The issues range from health care, emotional support, disability benefits, homelessness, employment, or financial assistance,” said Wing, the outreach program’s team leader.

The veterans outreach program in Vermont was launched in 2007 with federal funds secured by Sanders. It has since been adopted in other states.

Other witnesses at today’s hearing spoke about their personal experiences.

Kim Ruocco is the national director of suicide education at the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors. “We have found at TAPS that peer-to-peer support plays a key role in helping traumatized families find healing and comfort,” said the widow of Marine Corps Maj. John Ruocco, who committed suicide seven years ago while awaiting a redeployment to Iraq.

Jacob Wood served in Afghanistan with a Marine who took his own life after returning from the war. To instill a sense of purpose in returning veterans, Wood founded Team Rubicon, an organization which has used veterans’ military experience to aid victims of natural disasters, such as the earthquake in Haiti.

Chairman Sanders Announces Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Hearing

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 00:03:00 GMT

Chairman Sanders Announces Senate

Veterans’ Affairs Committee Hearing

WAASHINGTON, Mar. 18 - Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will hold a committee hearing on March 20 entitled “VA Mental Health Care: Ensuring Timely Access to High-Quality Care.”

In February, the Department of Veterans Affairs released a comprehensive report on veterans who die by suicide. The report indicates that the percentage of veterans who die by suicide has decreased slightly since 1999, while the estimated total number of Veterans who have died by suicide has increased.

Witness List:

PANEL I

Jacob Wood, President and Co-Founder, Team Rubicon

Ms. Kim Ruocco, Director, Suicide Postvention Programs, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS)

Mr. Andre Wing, Director of Vermont’s National Guard Outreach Program

LTC Kenny Allred, Lt. Col., USA (Ret.), Veterans and Military council Chair, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)

Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen, President and Founder, Give an Hour

PANEL II

Dr. Robert Petzel, Under Secretary for Health

Dr. Janet Kemp, Director, Suicide Prevention and Community Engagement National Mental Health Program Office of Patient Care Services, Veterans Health Administration

Dr. Sonja Batten, Deputy Chief Consultant, Specialty Mental Health Office of Patient Care Services, Veterans Health Administration

Dr. William Busby, Acting Director, Readjustment Counseling Service and Regional Manager for Northeast Region

COL. Rebecca Porter, Chief, Army Behavioral Health

What: Committee hearing on mental health care for veterans

When: 10 a.m., March. 20, 2013

Where: 418 Russell, Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs hearing room

'Take Care of Our Heroes,' VFW Commander Says

Tue, 5 Mar 2013 00:03:00 GMT

WASHINGTON, March 5 – Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today asked the national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars about a proposal to cut benefits for disabled veterans and their survivors.

“Our disabled veterans have given enough,” John E. Hamilton told Sanders during testimony on the VFW’s legislative priorities before a joint hearing of the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees. “Take care of our heroes,” he added to applause from the packed Senate hearing room.

Sanders has led opposition in Congress to reducing benefits for disabled veterans, their survivors and Social Security recipients. A so-called chained CPI would change how the consumer price index is calculated in a way that would significantly lower annual cost-of-living adjustments.

The proposed change would affect more than 3.2 million disabled veterans receiving disability compensation benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. It would also impact more than 350,000 survivors who receive service-connected death benefits.

Veterans who started receiving VA disability benefits at age 30 would have their benefits reduced by $1,425 at age 45, $2,341 at age 55 and $3,231 at age 65. More than 55 million retirees, widows, orphans and disabled Americans on Social Security also would be affected by the switch to a so-called chained CPI.