Advances Important Legislation to Strengthen Aid to Veterans
Published: 06-15-07
Published: 06-15-07
WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. John Cornyn joined with his colleagues on the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday in approving an important bill aimed at helping America’s wounded soldiers. Included in that legislation were two amendments offered by Sen. Cornyn that he developed after recent meetings with wounded soldiers and their families in Texas. Sen. Cornyn successfully amended the Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act S. 1606 to include a provision to strengthen the law by explicitly adding “burns” to the listed serious medical conditions for directed Department of Defense development of requirements and standards for helping family members with care for their wounded service members.
Sen. Cornyn with the co-sponsorship of Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) introduced another amendment that was accepted that requires the Secretary of Defense to provide an assessment to the relevant Congressional oversight committees on the need for additional employment assistance or protection for a family member that is caring for a wounded service member.
Sen. Cornyn noted that the basis for these important legislative changes came directly from recent meetings he had in Texas with wounded soldiers and their families including a recent roundtable he convened at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio on March 10 as well as discussions with other military members and their families.
“The care and support our nation provides to our wounded service members and veterans is a direct reflection of the level of respect it has for both its military and its veterans” U.S. Sen. Cornyn said today. “With continued attention to our veterans we can fashion a revised system that best supports them and their families. They deserve nothing less—they are the finest our nation has to offer.”
Among other things the bipartisan wounded warrior assistance bill S. 1606 that Sen. Cornyn was an original co-sponsor of would:
1) Require the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop a comprehensive policy on the care management and transition from the military to VA or civilian life all service members with a serious injury or illness that may render them unfit for duty
2) Provide enhanced health care to the wounded and injured service members:
• Authorizes medically retired service members with a disability rating of 30 or higher to receive the active duty health care benefit for 3 years.
• Authorizes certain family members not otherwise eligible for military health care who are caring for a member with combat-related injuries at a military or VA hospital to receive medical care from military or VA providers.
• Authorizes medically retired service members with a disability rating of 30 or higher to receive the active duty health care benefit for 3 years.
• Authorizes certain family members not otherwise eligible for military health care who are caring for a member with combat-related injuries at a military or VA hospital to receive medical care from military or VA providers.
3) Require the Secretary of Defense in consultation with the Secretary of the Veterans Administration to develop a comprehensive plan on prevention diagnosis mitigation and treatment of Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Require the Secretary of Defense to establish two centers of excellence: one for TBI and one for PTSD. Authorize $50M for improved diagnosis treatment and rehabilitation of service members with TBI or PTSD.
4) Establish a DOD/VA Interagency Program Office to develop and implement a joint electronic health record.
5) Strengthens and Reforms the DOD Disability Evaluation System by requiring the military departments to use VA standards to make disability determinations and prohibit deviation from VA standards except to give the service member a higher disability rating requiring the military departments to take into account all medical conditions that render the member unfit for duty. Also requires pilot programs to test and reform the disability evaluation system:
6) Increase severance pay for service members separated with less than 30 disability:
• Minimum 1 year pay for those separated for disabilities incurred in a combat zone
• Minimum 6 months pay for others and
• Eliminate requirement that severance pay be deducted from VA disability compensation for disabilities incurred in a combat zone.
6) Increase severance pay for service members separated with less than 30 disability:
• Minimum 1 year pay for those separated for disabilities incurred in a combat zone
• Minimum 6 months pay for others and
• Eliminate requirement that severance pay be deducted from VA disability compensation for disabilities incurred in a combat zone.
