Neil's Notebook House approves three key veterans' bills
March 30, 2009
The House today passed three important veterans bills to provide earned benefits and crucial services to veterans. These measures provide a cost-of-living increase for veterans’ disability benefits, expand employment services for homeless veterans, and fully reimburse veterans for emergency care.
Veterans Cost of Living Increase (H.R. 1513) – Provides a cost of living increase for veterans’ disability benefits and to dependency and indemnity compensation for veterans’ families, effective December 1, 2009. The cost-of-living increase is based on the cost-of-living adjustment made annually for Social Security payments.
Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program Reauthorization Act (H.R. 1171) – Reauthorizes for five years the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program for five years, which provides employment assistance to homeless veterans. HVRP provides services to homeless veterans with special problems such as legal issues, HIV, substance abuse, and post-traumatic stress disorder and provides them with the specialized assessment and counseling that they need. The bill provides dedicated services for homeless women veterans and homeless veterans with children. Grants would be made available to provide job training, counseling, placement services, and child care services to expedite the reintegration of veterans into the labor force. The VA now estimates that 154,000 veterans are homeless. This program has successfully provided employment to 65 percent of the veterans’ participating.
Veterans Emergency Care Reimbursement (H.R. 1377) -- Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to reimburse veterans receiving emergency treatment in non-Department of Veterans Affairs facilities, if a third party is not responsible for paying for the full cost of care.}
