Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Issues Testimony From American Legion
"Chairman Isakson, Ranking Member Tester, and distinguished members of the committee; On behalf of National Commander
H.R. 299
"To amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify presumptions relating to the exposure of certain veterans who served in the vicinity of the
"Veterans who served on open sea ships off the shore of
"Blue Water Veterans who did not set foot in
"We are aware the
"However,
"Through Resolution No. 246: Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans, The
"The
"Draft Bill: Veterans Dental Care Eligibility Expansion and Enhancement Act of 2018
"To improve dental care provided to veterans by the
"The
"Further, the average age of a veteran in
"The Veterans Dental Care Eligibility Expansion and Enhancement Act of 2018 is a comprehensive plan to provide needed dental care to veterans. This legislation, in addition to expanding needed dental services to veterans includes: carrying out pilot programs; acquiring new dental facilities; and hiring additional dental healthcare providers.
"Section 2 would provide discretionary authority to the Secretary to furnish restorative dental services to a veteran, as well as replace lost appliances and restore function loss suffered as a result of services or treatment furnished by the
"Section 3 would require the Secretary to carry out a pilot program to assess the feasibility and advisability of furnishing dental services and treatment to all veterans enrolled in the
"Section 5 would require the Secretary to carry out a program of education to promote dental health for veterans who are enrolled in
"The potential benefits to the veteran community from these expanded services is self-evident. The
"In addition to expanding services, this draft bill is likely to improve the access and quality of care received by veterans through sections 4 and 7. These sections have the ability to greatly expand access to dental healthcare to veterans. Section 4 of the act would require the Secretary to construct or lease a
"Similarly increasing flexibility and access for veterans receiving dental care through
"Through our Support for Veteran Quality of Life resolution, we support enhancing service to veterans by creating services for veterans not currently being provided vital health services. The
"The
S. 3184
"To amend title 38, United States Code, to modify the requirements for applications for construction of State home facilities to increase the maximum percentage of nonveterans allowed to be treated at such facilities, and for other purposes.
"The provisions of this bill fall outside the scope of established resolutions of The
"The
Discussion Draft Bill:
"To amend title 10, United States Code, to improve the
"The
"Improving employment opportunities for transitioning servicemembers includes introducing both service delivery, business process, and technology innovations in support of TAP and credentialing of servicemembers. Further, this includes examining all aspects of TAP and credentialing from resume writing, financial planning, goal setting, job search, interviewing, networking, peer-to-peer support, family transition support, higher education, individual career development plans, entrepreneurship,
"Sec. 2. Recodification, consolidation, and improvement of certain transition-related counseling and assistance authorities.
"TAP is now mandated for all servicemembers and optional for their spouses. TAP is presently five-days long with optional two-day classes.
"To help alleviate these two issues, The
"Through American Legion Resolution No. 70:
"The
"Sec. 3. Personnel matters in connection with
"Section 3 adds full-time personnel to the TAP program with real world experience in making the transition to civilian life.
"The
"Through American Legion Resolution No. 70:
"The
"Sec. 4. Tracking of participation in
"Section 4 requires the Secretary of Defense to establish and maintain an electronic tracking system and database applicable across the Armed Forces.
"The
"Through American Legion Resolution No. 70:
"The
"Sec. 5. Information on members of the Armed Forces participating in pre-separation counseling and surveys on member experiences with
"Section 5 requires the collection of basic information from transitioning servicemembers.
"The
"Additionally, we would implore
"Through American Legion Resolution No. 12: Accountability and Enhancements of
"The
"Sec. 6. E-mailing transition assistance materials to supporters of members of the Armed Forces transitioning to civilian life.
"Section 6 requires the
"Transitioning from military life to civilian life can be a stressful time for servicemembers; therefore, it is encouraged that servicemembers have a support system. In most cases, servicemembers are encouraged to bring their spouses to TAP; however, this may not always be feasible. The
"Through American Legion Resolution No. 12: Accountability and Enhancements of
"The
"Sec. 7. Command matters in connection with transition assistance programs.
"Section 7 requires each command climate assessment to include information about TAP participation.
"The
"Through American Legion Resolution No. 70:
"The
"Sec. 8. Comptroller General of
"Section 8 requires the Comptroller General of
"All transitioning servicemembers should attend TAP without regard to command size or remoteness. According to the Transition Assistance Program Lead, there are 206 installations
"Through American Legion Resolution No. 81:
"The
"Sec. 9. Education of members of the Armed Forces on career readiness and professional development.
"This section requires the
"The
"Through American Legion Resolution No. 70:
"The
"Sec. 10. Employment skills training - by amending striking "The Secretary of a military department may" and inserting "The Secretary of Defense shall". Expansion of Eligible Participants, such as a spouse of a member of the Armed Forces.
"Section 10 states the
"In a recent
"The
"Through American Legion Resolution No. 70:
"The
"Sec. 11. Identification of opportunities for Job training and employment skills training for employment with the
"Section 11 requires the Secretaries of the military departments to identify opportunities where the
"Since 2014, the
"The
"Through American Legion Resolution No. 79: Expanding Department of Veterans Affairs Employment Pathways, we support innovative retention practices that provide education and training incentives for
"The
"Sec. 12. Evaluation of transition training and counseling relating to postsecondary education and use of educational assistance from the
"Section 12 would establish standardized assessment criterion for evaluating the quality of training and counseling provided through TAP that has a focus on postsecondary education or the use of
"While The
"Through American Legion Resolution No. 12: Accountability and Enhancements of
"The
"Sec. 13. Longitudinal Study on changes to
"Section 13 requires the secretaries of
"The
"Through American Legion Resolution No. 12: Accountability and Enhancements of
"The
"Sec. 14. Establishment of Governing Board to Support Prevention of Drug Overdoses, Death by Suicide, and Alcohol-Related Mortality.
"Section 14 directs
"In 2015, The
"Through American Legion Resolution No. 377: Support for Veteran Quality of Life, The
"The
"Sec. 15. Review of economic risk factors in suicide prevention.
"Section 15 calls for two reports to be developed within 90 days of this bill becoming law. The first report would include how economic risk factors affect suicide prevention efforts. The second report topic is about the predictive analytics program Recovery Engagement and Coordination for Health - Veterans Enhanced Treatment (REACHVET) that utilizes economic risk factors in its algorithm to determine suicidality.
"Through American Legion Resolution No. 132: Request Congress Provide the
"The
"Sec. 16. Grants for provisions of Transition Assistance to members of the Armed Forces after separation, retirement, or discharge.
"Section 16 requires DOL, in consultation with
"The
"Through American Legion Resolution No. 70:
"The
"The
Draft Bill: VA Hiring Enhancement Act
"To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the non-applicability of non-
"The
"The VA Hiring Enhancement Act will help address the shortcomings in recruitment and retention of highly qualified physicians. The bill allows
"Further, this common-sense bill also releases physicians from "non-compete agreements" for the purpose of serving in the VHA. The
"Through American Legion Resolution No. 115,
"The
H.R. 5418
"To direct the Secretary of
"In terms of contracting, private sector hospitals use multiple Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs) who bid down the price of manufactured medical equipment. This practice forces the GPOs to compete among themselves, yielding the lowest possible prices, which benefits hospitals and the general market place. In summary, competition drives down prices.
"Utilizing Medical Surgical Prime Vendor (MSPV) Gen2,
"The
"In the current model that
"In short, The
"Through American Legion Resolution No. 154, Support Reasonable Set-Aside of Federal Procurements and Contracts for Businesses Owned and Operated by Veterans, we support reasonable set-asides of federal procurements and contracts for businesses owned and operated by veterans. Allowing the
"The
S. 1596
"To amend title 38, United States Code, to increase certain funeral benefits for veterans, and for other purposes.
"The
"According to the
"Currently,
"The BRAVE Act will increase the
"Additionally, The
"Through American Legion Resolutions No. 181:
"The
S. 2881
"To direct the Secretary of
"The
"
"S. 2881, directs the Secretary of
"Through American Legion Resolution No. 181,
"The
S. 1952
"To improve oversight and accountability of the financial processes of the
"The provisions of this bill fall outside the scope of established resolutions of The
"The
S. 1990
"To amend title 38, United States Code, to increase amounts payable by the
"
"Unfortunately and unfairly, many veterans do not reach the 100% level until they are much older because their condition has worsened with time. They often pass away before they have received their 100% rating for the required length of time. In many of these instances the spouse has been the primary caregiver and companion for these disabled veterans throughout their lifetime and the
"This detriment to their quality of life is something members of The
"The
S. 2485
"To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide payment of Medal of Honor special pension under such title to the surviving spouse of a deceased Medal of Honor recipient, and for other purposes.
"The provisions of this bill fall outside the scope of established resolutions of The
"The
S. 2748
"To amend title 10, United States Code, to require members of the Armed Forces to receive additional training under the
"The Better Access to Technical Training, Learning, and Entrepreneurship Act (BATTLE Act) seeks to ensure that servicemembers who leave the military receive the specific training they need to successfully transition to civilian life, whether they choose to pursue higher education, a career in a technical field, or entrepreneurship.
"An average of 200,000 servicemembers transition into the private sector annually. The
"Under current law, the
"While the core curriculum is mandatory (five days) for all servicemembers, the two-day workshops are less emphasized and therefore, sparsely attended. In a recent Government Accountability Office report, it was noted that less than 15 percent of transitioning servicemembers attend the two-day optional track for various reasons.36 This information can be vital for a seamless transition for a servicemember separating or retiring from the military. Therefore, The
"Through American Legion Resolution No. 70:
"The
Draft Bill: Suicide Prevention
"To require the Secretary of
"The provisions of this bill fall outside the scope of established resolutions of The
"The
Draft Bill: Modernization of Medical Records Access for Veterans Act
"To direct the Secretary of
"The
"In 2009, The
"In 2015,
"On
"On
"This information sharing system will set the standard for record transferability and standardization in American medicine. This new national standard will increase patient access, decrease wait times, and enhance good medicine for all Americans, not just veterans.
"The
S. 514
"To direct the Secretary of
"In the wake of serious concerns about over prescription of medications by
"We have previously testified on the
"The
"The
"Through American Legion Resolution No. 377: Support for Veteran Quality of Life, we support legislation and programs within the
"The
Conclusion
"The
* * *
Footnotes:
1 American Legion Resolution No. 246 (
2 Veterans Average Age: https://www.va.gov/VETDATA/docs/SurveysAndStudies/VETPOP.pdf
3 Prevalence of and Trends in Diabetes Among Veterans,
4 Veterans and Alzheimers: Meeting the Crisis Head on: available at https://www.usagainstalzheimers.org/sites/default/files/USA2_Veterans_Issue_Brief_April_10_2018.pdf
5 The American Legion Resolution No. 377 (2016): Support for Veteran Quality of Life
6 The American Legion Resolution No. 186 (2016):
7 The American Legion Resolution No. 83 (2016): Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record
8 Government Accountability Office: Transitioning Veterans https://www.gao.gov/assets/690/688203.pdf
9 The American Legion Resolution No. 70 (2016): Improve Transition Assistance
10 The American Legion Resolution No. 70 (2016): Improve Transition Assistance
11 The American Legion Resolution No. 70 (2016): Improve Transition Assistance
12 The American Legion Resolution No. 12 (2018): Accountability and Enhancements of
13 The American Legion Resolution No. 12 (2018): Accountability and Enhancements of
14 The American Legion Resolution No. 70 (2016): Improve Transition Assistance
15 The American Legion Resolution No. 12 (2016):
17 The American Legion Resolution No. 70 (2016): Improve Transition Assistance
18 The American Legion Resolution No. 70 (2016): Improve Transition Assistance
19 Report on job training, employment skills training, apprenticeships, and internships & skillbridge initiatives for members of the Armed Forces who are being separated
20 The American Legion Resolution No. 79 (2017): Expanding Department of Veterans Affairs Employment Pathways
21 https://www.gao.gov/assets/690/688203.pdf
22 The American Legion Resolution No. 12 (2018): Accountability and Enhancements of
23 The American Legion Resolution No. 12 (2018): Accountability and Enhancements of
24 The American Legion Resolution No. 377 (2016): Support for Veteran Quality of Life
25 The American Legion Resolution No. 132 (2016): Request Congress Provide the
26 The American Legion Resolution No. 70 (2016): Improve Transition Assistance
27 The American Legion Resolution No. 115 (2016):
28 The American Legion Resolution No. 154: Support Reasonable Set-Aside of Federal Procurements and Contracts for Businesses Owned and Operated by Veterans
29 The American Legion Resolution No. 181 (2016):
30
31
32 The American Legion Resolution No. 181 (2016):
33 The American Legion Resolution No. 377 (2016): Support for Veteran Quality of Life
34 The American Legion Resolution No. 181 (2016):
35 The American Legion Resolution No. 255 (2016): Reducing Eligibility for Dependency Indemnity Compensation (DIC) Payments for 100% Disabled Veterans from 10 Years to 5 Years
36 Transitioning Veterans: DOD Needs to Improve Performance Reporting and Monitoring for the Transition Assistance Program GAO-18-23: Published:
37 The American Legion Resolution No. 70 (2016): Improve Transition Assistance
38 The American Legion Resolution No. 83 (2016): Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record
39 What is MeRT: https://www.braintreatmentcenter.com/mert
40 The American Legion Resolution No. 377 (2016): Support for Veteran Quality of Life
Rep. Schakowsky Issues Statement on Health Insurance Plans
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News