Veterans Benefits Awareness Act of 2008

Mr. President, I am pleased that the Senate is acting on S. 3023, as amended, the proposed Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 2008, as passed by the House of Representatives earlier this week. The bill, as it comes before the Senate, is a compromise agreement developed with our counterparts on the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. I thank Chairman Filner and Ranking Member Buyer of the House committee for their cooperation on this legislation. I also thank my good friend, the committee's ranking member, Senator Burr, for his cooperation as we have developed this bill.

This omnibus veterans' benefits bill will provide much needed support to our Nation's veterans. It contains provisions that are designed to enhance compensation, claims processing, housing, labor and education and insurance benefits for veterans. A full explanation of the Senate and House negotiated agreement can be found in the Joint Explanatory Statement, which I will ask appear in the Record at the conclusion of my remarks.

I will highlight a few of the provisions that I have sponsored in the legislation that is before us today.

This legislation would result in improved notices being sent to veterans concerning their claims for VA benefits. Following a number of decisions by the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, VA's notification letters to veterans about the status of their claims have become increasingly long, complex, and difficult to understand. These notification letters must be simplified, as veterans, VA, veterans' advocates, and outside review bodies have all recommended. The notices should focus on the specific type of claim presented. They should use plain and ordinary language rather than bureaucratic jargon. Veterans should not be subjected to confusing information as they seek benefits.

To further improve the VA compensation system, this legislation would end the prohibition on judicial review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit of matters concerning the VA rating schedule. VA issues regulations which are used to assign ratings to veterans for particular disabilities. Under current law, actions concerning the rating schedule are not subject to judicial review unless a constitutional challenge is presented. This legislation would amend the law to treat actions concerning the rating schedule in the same manner as all other actions concerning VA regulations.

I expect VA to comply with all laws passed by Congress in developing and revising the rating schedule. However, justice to our Nation's veterans requires that actions concerning the rating schedule be subject to the same judicial scrutiny as is available for the review of actions involving other regulations.

VA's Home Loan Guaranty Program may exempt homeowners from having to make a downpayment or secure private mortgage insurance, depending on the size of the loan and the amount of the VA guaranty.

Public Law 108-454 increased VA's maximum guaranty amount to 25 percent of the Freddie Mac conforming loan limit determined under section 305(a)(2) of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Act for a single-family residence, as adjusted for the year involved.

The Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, Public Law 110-185, temporarily reset the maximum limits on home loans that the Federal Housing Administration may insure and that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may purchase on the secondary market to 125 percent of metropolitan-area median home prices but did so without reference to the VA home loan program. This had the effect of raising the Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA limits to nearly $730,000, in the highest cost areas, while leaving the then-VA limit of $417,000 in place. On July 30, 2008, the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 was signed into law as Public Law 110-289. That law provided a temporary increase in the maximum guaranty amount for VA loans originated from July 30, 2008 through December 31, 2008, to the same level as provided in the stimulus act.

The compromise agreement would extend the temporary increase in the maximum guaranty amount until December 31, 2011. This would enable more veterans to utilize their VA benefit to purchase more costly homes.

The compromise agreement would also increase the maximum guaranty limit for refinance loans and increase the percentage of an existing loan that VA will refinance under the VA home loan program.

Under current law, the maximum VA home loan guaranty limit for most loans in excess of $144,000 is equal to 25 percent of the Freddie Mac conforming loan limit for a single-family home. Public Law 110-289 set this value at approximately $182,437 through the end of 2008. This means lenders offering loans of up to $729,750 will receive up to a 25- percent guaranty, which is typically required to place the loan on the secondary market. Under current law, this does not include regular refinance loans.

Current law limits to $36,000 the guaranty that can be used for a regular refinance loan. This restriction means VA will not guarantee a regular refinance loan over $144,000, essentially precluding a veteran from using the VA program to refinance his or her existing FHA or conventional loan in excess of that amount.

VA is also currently precluded from refinancing a loan if the homeowner does not have at least 10 percent equity in his or her home.

The compromise agreement would remove the equity requirement for refinancing from an FHA loan or conventional loan to a VA-guaranteed loan. This would allow more veterans to use their VA benefit to refinance their mortgages. Many veterans do not have 10 percent equity and thus are precluded from refinancing with a VA-guaranteed home loan.

Given the anticipated number of non-VA-guaranteed adjustable rate mortgages that are approaching the reset time when payments are likely to increase, the committee believes that it

is prudent to facilitate veterans refinancing to VA-guaranteed loans. In light of today's housing and home loan crises, additional refinancing options will help some veterans bridge financial gaps and allow them to stay in their homes and escape possible foreclosures. These provisions would allow more qualified veterans to refinance their home loans under the VA program.

This omnibus benefits bill would also make crucial updates to the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, which protects service members' rights to return to their prior jobs with the same wages and benefits. The provisions in the committee bill are derived from S. 2471, the proposed USERRA Enforcement Improvement Act of 2007, which Senator Kennedy and I introduced on December 13, 2007. This legislation would ensure that Federal agencies assist service members in a more effective manner by requiring the Department of Labor to investigate and refer cases in a more timely manner and by requiring reports from the Department of Labor on their compliance with the deadlines.

The omnibus benefits bill includes a provision derived from S. 3000, the proposed Native American Veterans Access Act of 2008, which I introduced on May 8, 2008. This provision is intended improve VA's ability to understand and respond to the needs of Native American veterans. While Native Americans are more likely to serve in uniform than the general population, many of them find cultural and geographical barriers between themselves and the benefits they earned through service. In addition, those returning to traditional homelands, especially reservation communities, frequently come home to dismal job opportunities and starved economies. The proposed bill would require a study to help us understand the employment needs of Native American veterans and how best to address them.

The compromise agreement also includes provisions derived from legislation I introduced on April 25, 2007, S. 1215, which would update the Special Unemployment Study required to be submitted by the Secretary of Labor to the Congress by mandating that it cover veterans of Post 9/11 global operations. It would also require the report to be submitted on an annual, rather than a biennial, basis. By updating this report, Congress will have more data available on more recent groups of veterans--those who served and are serving in the Post-9/11 global operations. This will help with assessments of the needs of current veterans entering the work force and develop appropriate responses.

Before I close, I recognize and thank the individuals involved in putting together this comprehensive measure. Specifically, I thank Kimberly Ross, Brian Lawrence, Juan Lara, and Mike Brinck from the House committee and Amanda Meredith, Mindi Walker, and Kevin Tewes from the minority staff on the Senate Committee. I also thank the majority staff who assisted me in developing the compromise agreement and all the legislation that led up to it. Patrick McGreevy, Mary Ellen McCarthy, Ted Pusey, Babette Polzer, and Dahlia Melendrez have worked throughout the 110th Congress on many of the provisions included in this legislation, and I am pleased that our collective efforts have led to this compromise agreement becoming a reality.

I urge our colleagues to support this important legislation that would benefit many of this Nation's nearly 24 million veterans and their families.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have the Joint Explanatory Statement, which was developed with our colleagues in the House, printed in the Record.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to talk about some important legislation that honors the sacrifice and courage of our women who have served and are currently serving in our armed forces.

The Veteran's legislation we considered today provides an opportunity for each of us, regardless of political views, religion, ethnicity, gender, or background to come together, and to recognize and honor our Nation's heroes.

We gather here today, in the midst of ongoing conflict and warfare, to celebrate the dedication of our men and women in uniform. Though we may be divided by our positions on the war in Iraq, we stand together to support our veterans. Our Nation has a proud legacy of appreciation and commitment to the men and women who have worn the uniform in defense of this country. We must be united in seeing that every soldier, sailor, airman, and marine is welcomed back with all the care and compassion this grateful Nation can bestow.

All too many of our veterans are left without the help and support they need to transition from the horrors they bravely face on the front lines of battle to successful civilian life. According to the Veterans Affairs Department, as of 2006, on any given night, 196,000 veterans of all ages were homeless.

The V.A. also reports 400 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan alone have already become homeless, and this figure only takes into account those who have sought services from V.A.-sponsored programs. Experts have predicted that the trauma resulting from the extreme horrors of these modern wars could lead to a surge in homeless veterans in the coming years.

I chose to celebrate one of our heroic daughters of Texas, Specialist Monica L. Brown of the United States Army with House Concurrent Resolution 320 for her efforts earlier this year.

Spec. Brown was the first woman in Afghanistan and only the second female soldier since World War II to receive the Silver Star, the Nation's third-highest medal for valor. This solider from Lake Jackson, Texas is only 19 years old.

On April 25, 2007, Specialist Brown was part of a four-vehicle convoy patrolling near

Jani Kheil in the eastern province of Paktia on April 25, 2007, when a bomb struck one of the Humvees.

When Spec. Brown saw her fellow soldiers were injured, she grabbed her aid bag and started running toward the burning vehicle as insurgents opened fire. All five wounded soldiers from her platoon scrambled out. Under this commotion, she assessed her patients and moved them to a safer location because they were still receiving incoming fire.

The Pentagon's official policy is to prohibit women from serving in front-line combat roles in the infantry, armor or artillery, but the nature of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, with no real front lines, has seen women soldiers take part in close-quarters combat more than previous conflicts.

According to the army four Army nurses in World War II were the first women to receive the Silver Star, though three nurses serving in World War I were awarded the medal posthumously in 2007. Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester, of Nashville, Tenn., was the first to receive the Silver Star in 2005 along with two fellow male soldiers for her gallantry during an insurgent ambush on a convoy in Iraq.

The Army has stated that Spec. Brown's ``bravery, unselfish actions and medical aid rendered under fire saved the lives of her comrades and represents the finest traditions of heroism in combat.''

Though I have opposed the war in Iraq from its inception, I remain absolutely committed to ensuring that we recognize, celebrate, and honor the service of our sons and daughters returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Our troops in Iraq did everything we asked them to do, and I firmly believe that we must commend the men and women of our military for their exemplary performance and success in Iraq.

I am proud to be a cosponsor on H. Res. 1054--Honoring the service and achievements of women in the Armed Forces and female veterans (Representative Davis (CA)--Armed Services) and H.R. 3819--Veterans Emergency Care Fairness Act of 2007 (Representative Space--Veterans' Affairs).

We are providing for our Veterans with legislation such as:

H.R. 6081--The Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008 (Representative Rangel--Ways and Means).

H. Res. 986--Recognizing the courage and sacrifice of those members of the United States Armed Forces who were held as prisoners of war during the Vietnam conflict and calling for a full accounting of the 1,729 members of the Armed Forces who remain unaccounted for from the Vietnam conflict (Representative Boehner--Armed Services)--Recorded Vote

H.R. 2790--To establish the position of Director of Physician Assistant Services within the office of the Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health as amended (Representative Hare--Veterans' Affairs).

H.R. 3681--Veterans Benefits Awareness Act of 2007 (Representative Boozman--Veterans' Affairs).

H.R. 3889--To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a longitudinal study of the vocational rehabilitation programs administered by the Secretary (Representative Boozman--Veterans' Affairs)--Passed

H.R. 5554--Veterans Substance Use Disorders Prevention and Treatment Act of 2008 (Representative Michaud--Veterans' Affairs)--Passed

H.R. 5664--To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to update at least once every six years the plans and specifications for specially adapted housing furnished to veterans by the Secretary (Representative Rodriguez--Veterans' Affairs).

H.R. 5826--Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2008 (Representative Rodriguez--Veterans' Affairs)--Recorded Vote

H.R. 5856--Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Facility Authorization and Lease Act of 2008 (Representative Michaud--Veterans' Affairs).

H.R. 6048--To amend the Service members Civil Relief Act to provide for the protection of child custody arrangements for parents who are members of the Armed Forces deployed in support of a contingency operation (Representative Turner--Veterans' Affairs).

I firmly believe that we should celebrate our veterans after every conflict, and I remain committed, as a Member of Congress, to both meeting the needs of veterans of previous wars, and to provide a fitting welcome home to those who are now serving. Veterans have kept their promise to serve our Nation; they have willingly risked their lives to protect the country we all love. We must now ensure that we keep our promises to our veterans.

Currently, there are over 25 million veterans in the United States. There are more than 1,633,000 veterans living in Texas and more than 32,000 veterans living in my congressional district alone. I hope we will all take the time to show appreciation to those who have answered the call to duty. As Winston Churchill famously stated, ``Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.''

Madam Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting our troops of yesteryear and our troops of today.

Thank you to the chairman for his outstanding and tireless work for our veterans. A special thank you also to Mr. Boozman, who has been an unending friend and supporter and effective leader in helping our veterans. I thank you. This is just one more example of your continued work.

I stand in strong support of H.R. 3681, the Veterans Benefits Awareness Act. This just simply, as you have heard the speakers talk about, ensures the ability of the VA to reach out and gather our veterans back in, making sure that those veterans understand all the benefits that are available to them, from suicide prevention to health care benefits, training, education, pension benefits, vocational rehabilitation, assistance for homeless veterans, veterans owning small businesses.

This Nation and this past Congress in the 110th Congress has done much to care for our veterans. One of the problems is that when our veterans return home, only about 36 percent of them enter into the VA system or apply for benefits, and what this does is take advantage of what all 435 Members of this body know well, is you need to advertise well to get that message out. The Department of Defense has done a great job of advertising for recruitment. It's time for the VA to put that money into making sure our veterans get their care.

The Rand Corporation said the capacity of the DOD and the VA to provide mental health services has increased substantially, but significant gaps in access and quality remain. There is a large gap between the need for mental health services and the use of those services.

Last year, this Congress put in a hotline for veterans seeking help with possible suicide and suicide prevention, and that hotline has received over 9,000 calls. Those may have been calls that would have never been received. So this 24-hour national hotline is working. I am pleased that the amendment that I put in to address this with the veterans suicide issue has been addressed. I would also like to thank the ranking member, Representative Buyer from Indiana, for his perfecting amendment on this bill.

This piece of legislation is a great example of bipartisan support that rises above and transcends politics to care for our Nation's veterans. This will be a good piece of legislation. It will get our veterans in. It will fulfill our moral obligation to care for our veterans and it will ensure that future generations of our young Americans understand that if they raise their hands, take an oath, and service this Nation, we will be there to serve them.

With that, I again thank Mr. Boozman. I thank the ranking member and I thank the chairman for continuously moving information and moving legislation forward that helps our veterans.

This bill will ensure that the Department of Veterans Affairs is able to use the power of modern advertising to reach out in as wide-ranging and an effective way as possible to our veterans.

The bill authorizes the Secretary of the VA to purchase advertising in the national media about the benefits VA makes available to veterans. VA offers health care and mental health care benefits, including for the prevention of suicide, an issue that we have been vigorously addressing on the House Veterans Committee; education, training, compensation, and pension benefits; vocational rehabilitation; assistance for homeless veterans, opportunities for veteran-owned small businesses; and direct opportunities for employment in the Department itself, among other things.

But if veterans don't know about these benefits, they're not in a position to take full advantage of them.

There is more than enough evidence that advertising works to promote awareness of whatever the advertising is about. Study after study has shown that advertising through the major media works. In fact, the Department of Defense itself knows that. That's why it devotes a lot of time and energy to advertising, including on television, as a means of recruitment.

We advertise to recruit our servicemembers, many of whom will put themselves in harm's way; that same means should be used to tell them what benefits they have earned when they return. In effect, we are saying to VA, ``If our veterans aren't coming to you, use the modern media to go to them!''

This bill is also a perfect illustration of how we on the House Veterans Affairs Committee strive to work on a bipartisan basis to serve our veterans. This bill was introduced by Congressman Boozman on behalf of himself and Congresswoman Herseth Sandlin. I offered an amendment to the bill, and then one of my Republican colleagues offered a perfecting amendment, which I was happy to accept. In that way, we worked together to produce a bill that is good for our veterans.

My amendment specified that the advertising VA would do could and should include a focus on suicide prevention, which has been an issue of much concern and some controversy lately. There have been several recent reports about VA's sometimes halting efforts to address what appears to be a series of major emerging mental health problems among our veterans. I have a great deal of confidence in the new Secretary of VA, whom I have been working with on a number of issues, and his commitment to resolve the problems that exist at VA and better serve our veterans.

An excellent and disturbing new report from the think tank the Rand Corp. observed that ``The capacity of DoD and the VA to provide mental health services has increased substantially, but significant gaps in access and quality remain,'' and went on to say in particular, ``There is a large gap between the need for mental health services and the use of those services.'' My amendment was meant to encourage VA to bridge that gap.

On July 25, 2007, the VA began operation of a 24-hour national suicide prevention hotline for veterans. The hotline reported greater than 9,000 calls. Callers included veterans who previously would have called a non-VA suicide hotline, veterans who would not have utilized a non-VA hotline, family members and friends of veterans, and other distressed non-veterans. Bottom line--veterans are calling the hotline. It is common sense that with more outreach, more veterans are likely to call the VA hotline. And advertising in the national media is one form of that outreach.

I am pleased that my amendment to this legislation was adopted, and perfected with the help of the Ranking Member on the VA Committee, Representative Buyer.

I strongly urge the passage of H.R. 3681.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3681) to amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to advertise in the national media to promote awareness of benefits under laws administered by the Secretary, as amended.

I would yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, we are in the midst of a package of 10 separate pieces of legislation that honors our Nation's veterans, our Nation's most deserving citizens, appropriately enough, as we prepare to honor them on Memorial Day. As we honor our fallen heroes, we cannot forget those who need either health or other benefits from our Nation.

That is what these bills do. They extend benefits in a whole range of areas: Health care, substance abuse and spina bifida, reimbursement for emergency treatment outside the VA facilities, construction of new facilities to serve these heroes. We also address our responsibility for oversight of the VA by mandating the revision and update of administrative policies so that the VA can better serve our veterans.

As you know, Mr. Speaker, we have had many opportunities for oversight recently. We have had in a court case the discovery of e- mails which seem to indicate that our VA management was not being totally transparent on the number of suicides, for example, of our recent Iraqi veterans. Just last week, another e-mail was discovered that indicated that we should not adequately diagnose PTSD, post- traumatic stress disorder, and instead give these young men and women lesser kinds of diagnoses, which would cost us less.

It is unacceptable to the Congress of the United States and to the American people that the administration set up to serve our veterans would be finding ways to save money and not treating the veterans for their needs. We intend to root that kind of attitude out of the VA and to make sure that all our veterans, whether they are just coming back from Iraq or Afghanistan, or those that served us earlier in Vietnam or World War II and Korea and the Persian Gulf War I, to make sure that all of their needs are met, and that is what we are committed to and that is what these bills on the floor today indicate.

We also address the compensation cost-of-living adjustment that is so important to our veterans who base their income on the dependency and indemnity compensation. They need an annual increase to cover the cost of living, and this bill before us today will assure that.

It is my hope that on this Memorial Day we, as a Nation, remember the words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. A half century ago he said ``Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men,'' and he would say, I am sure today, women, ``have died to win them.'' President Washington, over 220 years ago, said, ``The best guarantee of the morale of our fighting troops is a sense of how they are going to be treated when they come home.''

So let us remember these words of Roosevelt, of Washington, as we prepare on Memorial Day to recognize and remember those heroes who have died in uniform. Our Nation has a proud legacy of appreciation and commitment, and we have to make sure that they know that we appreciate them and we know that our liberty, which we enjoy today, depended on them.

The bills before us today have come from all of our legislative subcommittees. Members on both sides of the aisle and all the committee worked very hard. I want to thank Chairman Michaud of the Health Committee, with his Ranking Member Miller of Florida, I want to thank the chair and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, Ms. Herseth Sandlin of South Dakota, and Mr. Boozman of Arkansas, and also the chair and the ranking member of the Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, the gentleman from New York, Mr. Hall, and the gentleman from Colorado, Mr. Lamborn.

We are now looking at H.R. 3681, which would authorize the VA Secretary to purchase national media outlets to inform veterans of their benefits. You would think we would not have to do such legislation, Mr. Speaker, but apparently we do. Over the past 2 years, the Committee on Veterans' Affairs has conducted several hearings to determine how to improve the outreach to our veterans, and while various agencies have made tremendous improvement, more needs to be done to inform veterans of the entitlements they rightfully deserve and how to access those benefits.

Providing our veterans the information they need on television is a crucial component that can affect the livelihood of our veterans and their dependents. So I ask all of you to join me in supporting H.R. 3681.

I would reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to a very hard working new member of our committee, in fact, the highest enlisted man ever elected to the Congress of the United States, Command Sergeant Major Tim Walz of Minnesota.

I have no further speakers.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3681, as amended.

I urge all my colleagues to support H.R. 3681 and yield back the balance of my time.

Thank you, Congressman Miller. Thank you, Congressman Walz. I always feel like he speaks with such authority when I am around him; I am always concerned he is going to ask me to do 10 pushups or something.

I rise in support of H.R. 3681, the Veterans Benefits Awareness Act. This simple, straightforward legislation authorizes VA to purchase advertising in national media outlets for the purpose of promoting awareness of veterans benefits.

When was the last time you saw the Super Bowl or other prime time recruiting advertisement for one of the military services? Now, when was the last time that you saw the Super Bowl or other prime time ad for veterans health care and benefits sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Probably never. It's one reason that many veterans and their dependents are not aware of the benefits due to them.

Over the years, Congress has authorized millions to improve outreach, and the results are disappointing. In spite of the additional funding, VA still relies on the public service announcements, pamphlets, meetings with small groups of veterans, and the one-on-one outreach to deliver its message to veterans. Unfortunately, PSAs are often most broadcast at times when few people are watching, and small groups and individual meetings are often difficult to arrange and are not very efficient.

Our veterans continue to tell us that they were not aware of the VA programs that would improve their lives. That is why I introduced H.R. 3681, the Veterans Benefits Awareness Act of 2008, which authorizes VA to purchase advertising in national media outlets for the purpose of promoting awareness of veterans benefits.

H.R. 3681 will provide VA with the authority to buy radio and TV time to ensure that veterans and their dependents are aware of health care options and benefits for education, disability compensation, nondisability pensions, training, loan guarantees, and survivors' programs.

I want to thank Chairwoman Herseth Sandlin for moving this bill, for her cooperation in working with the subcommittee; Chairman Filner, and Ranking Member Buyer for their support; and also to our staffs that worked so hard in preparing these bills. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3681.