Senate & House Senate Veterans’ Affairs and House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Hearing
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As National Commander of The American Legion I have been given a unique opportunity. As the members of this joint committee recall, I sat before you six months ago on
Even though it has been just a short six months since the last time The
Defense spending continues to suffer drastic and dangerous reductions, even as new threats have emerged across the world. Our military tells us they must do more with less, when the world shows no sign of stepping back from dangerous situations that threatens America, America's interests, and the interests of freedom loving people worldwide.
Veterans wait far too long for decisions about their earned benefits from the
The American Legion Family, made up of more than four million patriotic citizens, continues in 2014 to look to
The
The
Through our social network and coordinated action alert program, our members and stake holders have contacted their elected officials hundreds of thousands of times; and it was through their active and continuous campaigning that The
An effective government serving veterans needs to take their cues from its stakeholders. Those concerned stakeholders include veterans, active duty and reserve component servicemembers, and their families as these are thecitizens who all will bear the brunt of the government's policy decisions.
Today's testimony provides The
VETERANS AFFAIRS
Improve VA Health Care
The
As the needs of enrolled veterans evolve, VHA must ensure it is also evolving to meet those unique needs. The rural veteran population is growing. Nearly 30 percent of the veteran population today resides in rural areas n1. A total of 41 percent of the enrolled population in the VA health care system are rural veterans n2. Options, such as Telehealth medicine and clinical care, must expand to serve that population.
Increasing numbers of female veterans mean that a system that traditionally catered to male veterans must now adapt to meet the unique health care needs of both male and female veterans whether they live in an urban or rural area of the country.
An integrated response to mental health care is necessary, as rising rates of suicide and severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) impact our veterans, active-duty, and reserve component servicemembers.
So, if veterans are to continue to receive the best possible care from VA, the VA system needs to continue to adapt to the changing requirements of the diverse population it serves.
The
This year the
One of the troubling trends that have emerged in recent years is an apparent lapse in accountability for negative actions at VA, especially management positions.
For example, VA
The
Accountability and transparency must be in the VA system to foster enrolled veteran trust in their VA health care. That is why The
The
This report, issued
To illustrate the importance of that last recommendation, in 2011, a System Worth Saving site visit to the VA medical center in
With 152 medical centers nationwide, VACO cannot properly respond to every local crisis from
Communication to the veterans' community must be a top priority for VA, and The
Enhance Care for Women Veterans
Last year the
The goal of the System Worth Saving Women Veterans Report was to:
* Understand what perceptions and barriers prevent women veterans from enrolling at VA,
* Determine what quality of care challenges women veterans face with their VA health care, and
* Provide recommendations and steps VA should take to improve access, remove barriers, and meet those identified quality of care challenges.
During the course of the task force field work several major concerns were identified, including:
* Many women veterans do not identify themselves as veterans,
* Many women veterans do not know what benefits they are eligible to receive, * VA medical facilities do not have a one, two, and five-year baseline plan to close the gaps between the catchment area, enrollment numbers, and actual users among women veterans,
* Additional research is needed to determine the purpose, goals, and effectiveness of the three VA women health care models on overall outreach, communication, and coordination of women veteran health services,
* Many women veterans do not receive mammograms in a timely manner, and,
* Many VA medical facilities do not offer inpatient/residential mental health programs for women veterans.
Although VA has made improvements in care, many challenges remain, including recruitment and performance of VA staff, personal and electronic communications, and delivery of gender-specific healthcare services for women veterans.The
Mental Health Care - Access And Availability
The
Prioritize Finding Treatments for PTSD and TBI
The
The
During a three year study the committee met with leading authorities in
The findings and recommendations in that report are covered in the National Commander's testimony document issued in
The
The survey data, still under evaluation, consisted of veteran gender, era of service, number of deployments, diagnoses, access to care, access to treatments, therapies and medications and an examination of potential side effects. The
In addition to the survey, this year's annual
2014: "Past, Present, and Future of VA Health Care":
*
*
*
* The Atlanta VAMC offers acupuncture for veterans. The PTSD treatment program provides treatment using several CAM modalities including mindfulness-based treatment and compassion-meditation treatment. It also has a recently developed Trauma Focused Yoga group for female veterans. Some of the guest services provided by Voluntary Service and used by veterans include therapeutic drumming and bedside chatters (companions for those who do not have family or friends visit them while on inpatient status).
* The Charlie Norwood VAMC offers mindfulness and relaxation programs and, as part of the holistic care offered to veterans in their facility, recreational therapy, compensated work therapy, and nutritional counseling programs are also available. Recreational therapists coordinate regularly scheduled activities for women veterans within inpatient programs. They also plan quarterly outings for women in the MST program who are recovering from traumatic experiences. The mind-body connection is addressed through nutritional programs that provide education and monitoring of health behaviors that impact physical and mental health.
* The Dallas VAMC offers
* The Jackson VAMC offers chiropractic service and acupuncture on a limited basis.
*
Finally, on
The
The Claims Backlog
The
Now, more than ever, it is critical to get out of
To this end, The
The
VETERANS EMPLOYMENT AND EDUCATION
American troops are returning home from war and are looking for jobs, education, health care, and economic opportunities worthy of their sacrifice. The
Apprenticeships
Though overall the veterans unemployment rate is now trending downward, the unemployment rate for veterans between the ages of 18-34 remains higher than that of their civilian counterparts. The
Apprenticeship is incorporated in federal government hiring programs as it has on-the-job training (OJT) programs that allow veterans to enter the federal workforce. The
However, it is not possible for the federal government to hire every veteran, and therefore The
Higher Education
Student Loans - The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) caps the interest rate on loans to military personnel at six percent, along with providing protections against default judgments and garnishments. However, federal regulators are now investigating allegations of student loan corporations charging military personnel excessive interest on their student loans. Under the law, if a person borrows money at a higher rate and then enters the military and requests legal lower rate, the lender must reduce the rate to six percent and forgive interest, if any, above that level.
In October last year, the federal government's
GI Bill for Small Business
Championed by The
Last fall The
From its genesis, the GI Bill was intended to give returning servicemembers the training or education they needed to become gainfully employed in civilian life. The
The
Veteran Homelessness - New Data
The latest data regarding veteran homelessness indicates:
* There were 57,849 homeless veterans on a single night in
* Homelessness among veterans has declined yearly since 2010. Furthermore, homelessness among veterans declined by 24 percent (or 17,760) between 2009 and 2013. Between 2012 and 2013, veteran homelessness declined by 8 percent, or 4,770.
* The decrease in veteran homelessness during the past year was driven mostly by reductions in the number of unsheltered veterans. In 2013, there were 4,322 fewer unsheltered veterans than there were in 2012, a decline of 16 percent.
The
*
* Temporarily increase the allocation of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits to create affordable rental housing for veterans - The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit is the largest and most effective current program for creating rental housing. It combines the flexibility of state level allocation with private capital investment and asset management. It has been an essential capital resource in most of the permanent supportive housing developed to serve veterans. Rental assistance helped 339,000 veterans afford housing in
* Permanent authority for National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans (NCHAV) - The VA's National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans provides critical research and evaluation of major programs for homeless and at-risk veterans. The Center is also responsible for developing a national homeless and at-risk veteran registry and monitoring the services, and their effectiveness, provided to those veterans. This information is critical to the Five-Year Plan to end veteran homelessness and will be just as vital in the prevention phase after 2015. Currently, the Center is funded at the Secretary's discretion.
*
VETERANS AFFAIRS AND NATIONAL SECURITY
To earn the title of "Veteran" in this country, one must first honorably serve in our military and proudly wear a military uniform of our nation. Because veterans and servicemembers are one over the course of their lifetimes,
The War on Military Compensation and Benefits
The
The country is ending two wars, and
Even so, The
Furthermore, The
Lastly, The
The Commission report is due in
The
To that last point, The
As the members of the Veterans' Affairs committees know, before anyone can become a veteran and obtain VA healthcare, or service-connected disability compensation, or GI Bill benefits, or a home mortgage, or any other VA earned benefit; this person must first have served our Nation as a soldier, or sailor, or Marine, or airman.
Consequently, The
The
Integrated Electronic Health Record
The most important issue facing VA and
The project is simple. From the day a servicemember takes their oath of office and passes their initial physical examination to enter military service the VA must be aware of that servicemember's healthcare record because, at some point in time -- whether it be the near future or thirty years later --
Thank you for allowing The
n1
n2 IBID
n3 Resolution No. 99: Increase the Transparency of the
n4 http://www.legion.org/publications/217090/2013-sws-report-women-veterans-healthcare
n5 Resolution No. 21: Improvements to
n6 Resolution No. 72: Support and Strengthen the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act
Read this original document at: http://www.veterans.senate.gov/download/commanders-testimony-3262014
Copyright: | (c) 2010 Federal Information & News Dispatch, Inc. |
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