VETERANS LEGISLATION APPROVED BY HOUSE

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	CONTACT: Kate Dwyer
December 12, 2001	(202) 225-3031

VETERANS LEGISLATION APPROVED BY HOUSE

WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday passed three bills by voice vote that will improve veterans compensation rates, boost services to homeless veterans, and increase the amount of educational benefits under the Montgomery GI Bill for an approved program of education on a full-time basis for servicemen and women who have served for three or more years. First District Congressman Paul Ryan supported this legislation.

"We owe our veterans a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid," Ryan said. "Through their honorable service to our country, they and their families have earned our respect and support. This legislation is an important step toward demonstrating that support with action that will help veterans and their loved ones."

One of the bills – the Veterans Benefits Act (H.R. 2540) – will provide a cost-of-living adjustment to the rates of disability compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and to the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for survivors of certain service-connected disabled veterans. This cost-of-living adjustment is 2.6 percent.

The second bill – the Homeless Veterans Assistance Act (H.R. 2716) – consolidates and improves laws relating to homeless veterans. Among its specifics this legislation:

Increases authorization funding for a Department of Labor program to reintegrate homeless veterans into the workforce;
Coordinates outreach services among agencies dealing with homeless individuals;
Authorizes $285 million in grants to nonprofit organizations to cover 65 percent of the day-to-day operating cost of providing shelter to homeless veterans;
Authorizes establishment of a grant program for homeless veterans with special needs.

The third piece of legislation – the Veterans Education and Benefits Expansion Act (H.R. 1291) – increases the amount of educational benefits under the Montgomery GI Bill for an approved program of education on a full-time basis from the current monthly rate of $672 for an obligated period of active duty of three or more years to $800 effective January 1, 2002; $900 effective October 1, 2002; and $985 effective October 1, 2003. This is an increase of 47 percent over the next two years. This bill also provides for similar increases in education benefits based on two years of active military service.

H.R. 1291 also makes improvements in compensation for Vietnam-era and Persian Gulf-era illnesses. Specifically, the legislation removes the 30-year limitation on the manifestation of respiratory cancer in order to qualify for benefits. It also requires the Veterans Administration (VA) to presume (for the purposes of compensation) that veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam during the time when herbicides were used were exposed to herbicides. In addition, the bill expands the authority of the VA to pay compensation to Gulf War veterans with undiagnosed illnesses. It also revises the definition of an undiagnosed illness for Persian Gulf veterans to include fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and chronic multisyndrome illnesses.

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