Concurrent Receipt:
This year, as in most years during the last decade, Concurrent Receipt of retired and disability pay is a big issue. Many veterans are concerned because of a Congressional Budget Office recommendation, that has received much publicity, to reduce the federal deficit by eliminating Concurrent Receipt in 2018. This is not the first time this has been proposed and there are currently several bills in the 115th Congress to increase eligibility for Concurrent Receipt for those with less than a 50% VA disability rating. Now might be an excellent time to contact our Senators (especially Senator Kaine who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee) and Congressman (especially Congressmen Wittman and McEachin who sit on the House Armed Services Committee) to make sure they know our feelings about balancing the budget on the backs of those who put their lives on the line for this country (and ended up injured). Bills addressing this issue in the 115th Congress include H.R303, H.R.333, and S.66.
Agent Orange/Blue Water Navy:
H.R.299, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2017, was introduced on January 19, 2017, by Congressman David G. Valadao of California. This bill would expand the presumptions for service connection related to exposure to herbicides containing dioxin, including Agent Orange, to veterans who served in the territorial seas of the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. H.R.299 currently has 148 cosponsors (to include several from VA) and has been referred to the House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs. Although no Virginia Senators/Congressman currently serve on either the House or Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees, you are encourage to write them and express your support.
VA to Expand Mental Health care:
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced that it intends to expand mental health care to former service members with other-than-honorable (OTH) administrative discharges.As part of the proposal, former OTH service members will be able to seek treatment at a VA emergency department, Vet Center or contact Veterans Crisis Line. This is being done in large part to reduce the incidents of veteran suicide. For more information click here.
Widows Tax:
Senate Bill 339 (S.339) introduced on February 7, 2017 by Senator Bill Nelson from Florida repeals certain provisions which require the offset of amounts paid in dependency and indemnity compensation from Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuities for the surviving spouses of former military personnel who are entitled to military retired pay or who would be entitled to such pay, except for being under 60 years of age.
Individuals who qualify for either SBP or DIC benefits receive full payouts from the respective programs. But family members who qualify for both are currently subject to an offset, where for every dollar paid out in DIC their payouts under SBP are reduced by one dollar. This is commonly referred to as the Widows Tax and Veterans groups have pushed for a solution to the problem for almost three decades, calling it an unfair practice that strips thousands of dollars in benefits payouts from veterans’ survivors without good justification. The amounts in question are small in terms of federal spending totals but significant in the impact on military families. For more general information click here or click on the bill number above.
Women Veteran Health Care Equality
Senator Jon Tester, introduced S.681, the Deborah Sampson Act. This comprehensive measure addresses gender disparities and would improve and expand programs and services for women veterans provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
The bill would establish a pilot program for peer-to-peer counseling and authorizes group retreat counseling for women veterans recently separated from military service. It would expand the capabilities within the VA Women Veterans Call Center and extend the number of days, from seven to 14, VA can cover the cost of care for newborns of women veterans and authorize medically-necessary transportation for newborns.
The legislation aims to eliminate barriers to care by ensuring every VA medical facility has at least one full-time or part-time women's health provider, as well as a Women Veterans Program Manager and a Women Veteran Program Ombudsman. Additional resources are authorized for mini-residency training in women's health for clinicians, and retrofitting VA facilities to enhance privacy, safety and improve the overall environment of care for women veterans. For more details and the status of the bill click on the bill number above.
Camp Lejeune Contaminated Water:
The government has agreed to pay more than $2.2 billion over the next five years to the nearly 900,000 Marine Corps veterans and their families who were stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C. between August 1, 1953 and December 31, 1987 and who suffer with one of the following medical conditions: Adult leukemia, aplastic anemia, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and Parkinson’s disease. Service members exposed may find more information on this issue here. Family members will find more information here.