Pending Veterans Benefits Legislation
June 24, 2015
Chairman Abraham, Ranking Member Titus and distinguished Members of the committee, on behalf of National Commander Michael D. Helm and the over 2 million members of The American Legion, we thank you and your colleagues for the work you do in support of service members, veterans, and their families.
H.R. 303: Retired Pay Restoration Act
To amend title 10, United States Code, to permit additional retired members of the Armed Forces who have a service-connected disability to receive both disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs for their disability and either retired pay by reason of their years of military service or combat-related special compensation.
H.R. 303, the Retired Pay Restoration Act of 2015, provides concurrent receipt to retirees with 20 or more years of military service that are rated less than 50 percent service-connected disabled. It eliminates the phase-in for all disabled veterans. It also allows Temporary Early Retirement Authority (TERA) retirees (also known as Chapter 61 retirees) to apply for Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC), for which they currently do not qualify.[1]
The American Legion supports this bill.
H.R. 1302: VA Appeals Backlog Relief Act
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a deadline for the certification of certain forms by regional offices of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The June 7, 2010, Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) Monday Morning Workload Report (MMWR) indicated that there were 192,527 appealed claims that were awaiting adjudication[2]. The June 8, 2015, VBA MMWR indicated that there were 305,020 appealed claims awaiting adjudication In five years, the number of claims have exploded by 58.4 percent causing veterans to wait years to have their claims adjudicated[3].
H.R. 1302 directs VA to require the regional offices (RO’s) to certify claims to the Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA) within one year of receipt of VA Form 9 indicating the veteran’s intent to appeal the claim to the BVA. According to the June 8, 2015, MMWR, the average days pending for certification to the BVA is 620 days.
By resolution, The American Legion urges VA “to address all claims, to include its growing inventory of appeals in an expeditious and accurate manner.” [4] Through enactment of H.R. 1302, this will direct VA to certify claims in a manner significantly more expeditious than the current policy allows.
The American Legion supports this bill.
H.R. 1338: Dignified Interment of Our Veterans Act of 2015
To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a study on matters relating to the burial of unclaimed remains of veterans in national cemeteries, and for other purposes.
This measure urges the VA to complete a study on matters relating to the interring of unclaimed remains of veterans in national cemeteries and submit a report to Congress on the findings. The study would determine the issues relating to the unclaimed remains of veterans (including an estimate of the number of unclaimed remains of veterans). In addition, the study would assess the effectiveness of the procedures of the Department of Veterans Affairs for working with persons or entities having custody of unclaimed remains to facilitate interment of unclaimed remains of veterans in national cemeteries under the control of the National Cemetery Administration (NCA), as well as assessing State and local laws that affect the ability of the Secretary to inter unclaimed remains of veterans in national cemeteries under the control of the NCA.
Since 2007, The American Legion has supported the mission of the Missing In America Project (MIAP) in locating and identifying the unclaimed cremated remains of veterans and securing a final resting place for these forgotten heroes. This bill would assist in dignifying veterans who have passed away but whose remains are still unclaimed. All of America’s veterans deserve to be remembered for eternity with dignity and honor for their ultimate sacrifice.[5]
The American Legion supports this bill.
H.R. 1380
To amend title 38, United States Code, to expand the eligibility for a medallion furnished by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to signify the veteran status of a deceased individual.
The medallion is for veterans whose grave is located in a private cemetery and is marked with a privately purchased headstone or marker. Each medallion has the word “Veteran” inscribed across the top and indicates what branch of service the veteran served in. Currently, under Title 38, United States Code (U.S.C.), Section 2306 (d) (4) it states that the Secretary is to furnish upon request a medallion or other device of a design determined by the Secretary to signify the deceased’s status as a veteran to be attached to a headstone or marker.[6] Nevertheless, this benefit is only made available for those eligible veterans that died on/or after November 1, 1990, per Public Law 110-157 Section 203 (b).[7] This bill would expand the eligibility for veterans to receive a medallion regardless of the date of their death.
The American Legion supports legislation that would eliminate the legislation from expiring, making such authority permanent, and granting eligibility for this medallion to all veterans other than dishonorably discharged, regardless of their date of death.[8]
The American Legion supports this bill.
H.R. 1384: Honor America’s Guard-Reserve Retirees Act
To amend title 38, United States Code, to recognize the service in the reserve components of certain persons by honoring them with status as veterans under law.
This legislation would provide a purely honorific title of “veteran” for those individuals who completed appropriate service in the National Guard and Reserve components of the Armed Forces, but for whatever reason do not have active duty service sufficient to bestow a title of veteran subject to the conditions provided for under the normal titles of the United States Code which assign veteran status for the purposes of benefits. This bill would not provide any benefit beyond the title of “veteran” and is stated to be intended purely as a point of honor.
The American Legion supports this bill.
H.R. 2001: Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act
To amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify the conditions under which certain persons may be treated as adjudicated mentally incompetent for certain purposes.
Veterans are not required to give up their weapons for the purpose of receiving VA health care for mental health conditions. Under the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States each citizen has the right to keep and bears arms. However, there are concerns that the threat of being placed on a list that might deny veterans their Second Amendment rights could act as a deterrent for those who might otherwise seek treatment for their mental health conditions. The American Legion’s concern is that some of the stigmas that are associated with mental illnesses may force a veteran to lose their Second Amendment rights as a result of seeking treatments and therapies for mental conditions such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety.
The American Legion reaffirms its recognition that the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees each law-abiding American citizen the right to keep and bear arms; and, that the membership of The American Legion urges our nation’s lawmakers to recognize, as part of their oaths of office, that the Second Amendment guarantees law-abiding citizens the right to keep and bear arms of their choice, as do the millions of American veterans who have fought, and continue to fight, to preserve those rights, hereby advise the Congress of the United States and the Executive Department to cease and desist any and all efforts to restrict these right by any legislation or order.[9]
The American Legion supports this bill.
H.R. 2214: Disabled Veterans’ Access to Medical Exams Improvement Act
To improve the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to enter into contracts with private physicians to conduct medical disability examinations.
To receive compensation manifesting from service or a service connected condition, a veteran must have a current diagnosis of a chronic medical condition, an incident in service, and a nexus statement (the connection of an event that happened while you were on active duty to a diagnosed condition today) from a medical professional. Due to higher rates of application for benefits by veterans and VA’s difficulty in hiring medical professionals, it has become necessary to utilize private contractors for compensation and pension (C&P) examinations.
H.R. 2214 will allow greater authority to enter into contracts with private medical professionals to help alleviate the burden on VA for C&P examinations and ultimately allow for a quicker adjudication of claims. Through passage of Resolution 28, The American Legion urges VA to discover and employ efficient manners to adjudicate claims; through allowing greater access to medical professionals for C&P examinations, we believe will reduce the amount of time for veterans to wait for nexus statements regarding their claims for disability benefits.[10]
The American Legion supports this bill.
H.R. 2605: Veterans Fiduciary Reform Act of 2015
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the supervision of fiduciaries of veterans under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
VA’s fiduciary program is designed to assign an individual to manage veterans’ financial affairs because of injury, disease, being infirmed, or is deemed incompetent by the VA. Despite VA’s efforts to expedite the fiduciary assignment process through its consolidation in recent years, little progress has been made in reducing the wait time to adjudicate claims pertaining to assigning a fiduciary.
H.R. 2605 attempts to address this issue by requiring VA to adjudicate fiduciary claims within 120 days and allowing veterans to receive their retroactive payments. The American Legion supports VA discovering methods to effectively and efficiently adjudicate claims[11]; however, we have concerns regarding if VA has the capability to adjudicate these claims in the prescribed time period if they are not provided the necessary funding to accomplish the objective. Prior to requiring VA to adjudicate the claims fairly for these veterans, The American Legion believes this needs further study to ensure veterans are protected.
The American Legion will support this bill provided VA is provided the necessary funding to meet the objectives.
H.R. 2691: Veterans’ Survivors Claims Processing Automation Act of 2015
To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to adjudicate and pay survivor’s benefits without requiring the filing of a formal claim, and for other purposes.
Eligibility for survivors’ benefits can often be easily obtained either by evidence held by VA or through items such as a death certificate. For example, if a veteran received 100 percent service connection for 10 years prior to their death, the surviving spouse is entitled to Dependency Indemnity Compensation (DIC). DIC benefits could also be awarded based upon a service connected condition either causing or contributing to the veteran’s death. This information could easily be extracted from a death certificate.
H.R. 2691 strives to reduce the burden for many grief-stricken surviving spouses. If evidence obtained by VA clearly indicates the veteran’s death was caused or contributed toby military service or a previously service connected condition, then the award should be granted. Resolution No. 28 supports VA discovering effective and efficient methods to administer its disability benefits[12]. The American Legion strongly believes H.R. 2691 would assist in reducing the burden on surviving spouses and allows VA to adjudicate claims in a more efficient manner.
The American Legion supports this bill.
H.R. 2706: Veterans National Remembrance Act
To amend title 38, United States Code, Section 2403 part A to provide priority for the establishment of new national cemeteries by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes
For those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country, in 1862 Congress established the Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration (NCA) for the sole purpose of providing those veterans who fought in the Civil War a proper burial. The Veterans National Remembrance Act aims to amend title 38, U.S.C. Section 2403 part A which gives the Secretary the authority to “designate those cemeteries which are considered to be national cemeteries.” [13]
This bill aims to add a new subsection that would give priority to a State that does not have a national cemetery. In the event that multiple states do not have a national cemetery, the Secretary would give priority “to that State that has the largest population of veterans.”
While it would be beneficial to establish cemeteries where there is the greatest need, Section 2, Paragraph (2) (A) states that “the Secretary shall give priority to a state that does not have a national cemetery.” Only after the Secretary “establishes two national cemeteries” in states without national cemeteries, the Secretary can waive the priority and “establish a national cemetery that will serve a larger population of veterans.”
This bill seeks to prioritize states to receive national cemeteries regardless of veteran population. The American legion supports the prioritization of national cemeteries based on the needs of veteran population regardless of presence within a particular state.
The American Legion supports the proposition that cemetery placement must be based upon the needs of the veterans’ community. However, The American Legion does not believe this need be based upon the presence or absence of a cemetery on a state by state basis, but rather on the overall need of the general veterans’ population.
The American Legion does not support this bill.
Conclusion
As always, The American Legion thanks this committee for the opportunity to explain the position of the over 2 million members of this organization. Questions concerning this testimony can be directed to Warren J. Goldstein in The American Legion Legislative Division (202) 861-2700, or wgoldstein@legion.org
[2] Monday Morning Workload Report, June 7, 2010
[3] Monday Morning Workload Report, June 8, 2015
[13]38 U.S. Code Section 2404 part A