Native American Veterans Access 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.

Mr. President, I am pleased that the Senate is acting on S. 3023, the proposed Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 2008, as reported by the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. This omnibus veterans' benefits bill will provide much needed support to our Nation's veterans. It contains six titles and 34 provisions that are designed to enhance compensation, housing, labor and education, and insurance benefits for veterans. A full explanation of the bill is available in the committee's report accompanying this legislation, Senate Report 110-449.

I believe that it is important that we view veterans' compensation, and indeed all benefits earned by veterans, as a continuing cost of war. This legislation reflects that perspective.

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 United States 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 down payment or secure private mortgage insurance, depending on the size of the loan and the amount of the VA guaranty. In general, eligibility is extended to veterans who served on active duty for a minimum of 90 days during wartime, or 181 continuous days during peacetime, and have a discharge other than dishonorable. Members of the Guard and Reserve who have never been called to active duty must serve a total of six years in order to be eligible for the benefit. Certain surviving spouses are also eligible for the housing 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.

S. 3023, as amended, 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 committee bill 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 committee bill would decrease the equity requirement from 10 percent to 5 percent 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.

The omnibus benefits bill would also make crucial updates to the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, which protects servicemembers' 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 servicemembers 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.

Finally, 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 to 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.

I thank the committee's ranking member, Senator Burr, for the agreements we have been able to reach. I truly appreciate his cooperation and that of the other members of the committee that have aided our work. I look forward to working with all those on the committee and our colleagues in the House in order to bring this legislation to final action before the end of this month.

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

Mr. President, as ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I rise today to express my support for S. 3023, the Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 2008. This veterans' benefits omnibus bill will make a wide assortment of improvements to benefits programs for veterans.

I commend Chairman Akaka for his efforts in crafting this committee bill which reflects the bipartisan work of almost every member of our committee and over 30 other Senators. The result of our work is a bill with 35 provisions touching on education, vocational rehabilitation, employment, housing, compensation, insurance, memorial affairs, and other issues.

Among many other valuable provisions, this bill includes an education benefit that draws its inspiration from a North Carolinian who has become one of the foremost advocates of the needs of severely injured servicemen and women and their families. Sarah Wade, spouse of Ted Wade, an Iraq war veteran who lost his right arm and has battled the effects of severe traumatic brain injury after an explosive detonated under his Humvee in 2004, has

been at her husband's side as a primary caregiver from the beginning. She quit her job to take care of Ted and has doggedly ensured that he receives the highest quality of care. It is likely that her intensive involvement in Ted's ongoing recovery will last for several more years.

Sarah's effort on behalf of her husband leaves little time for herself. Sarah would one day like to go to school. Although VA provides an educational assistance benefit for the spouses of totally disabled veterans and servicemembers, the law requires that the benefit be used within 10 years of the date the veteran receives a total disability rating. For a spouse like Sarah Wade, there is next to no time to take advantage of this benefit within that timeframe. The recovery period for a TBI-afflicted veteran--the very period that Ted needs Sarah the most--simply precludes her from pursuing that option.

In recognition of hundreds of spouses like Sarah, the Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 2008 would extend from 10 to 20 years the period within which certain spouses of severely disabled veterans could use their education benefits. That longer window will allow Sarah and others to focus on their first priority, the care of their injured spouses, while giving them some flexibility to pursue their educational goals later on. This provision is simply the right thing to do.

Another provision that I would like to discuss is one that would require human resource specialists in the Federal executive branch to receive training on the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act or USERRA. This law provides a wide range of employment protections to veterans, future and current members of the Armed Forces, and Guard and Reserve members.

More than 60 years ago Congress recognized that those who serve our country in a time of need should be entitled to resume their civilian jobs when they return home. After Congress passed the first law providing reemployment rights to servicemen and women in 1940, President Roosevelt said these rights were part of ``the special benefits which are due to the members of our armed forces--for they `have been compelled to make greater economic sacrifice and every other kind of sacrifice than the rest of us.' ''

As we all know, the sacrifices by this generation of servicemen and women are just as profound. In North Carolina alone, we have over 1,000 members of the Guard and Reserves currently deployed, and more than 45,000 members of the Guard and Reserves have deployed since the beginning of the War on Terror. Many left behind not only family and friends, but valued civilian careers.

For them, the modern reemployment law, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, requires that they be given their jobs back when they return home. It also requires that they receive all the benefits and seniority that would have accumulated during their absence.

While every employer should strive to meet or exceed the requirements of USERRA, Congress has stressed that ``the Federal Government should be a model employer'' when it comes to complying with this law. In my view, this means the Federal Government should make sure that not a single returning servicemember is denied proper reinstatement to a Federal job. But unfortunately, this is not happening yet.

At a hearing last year, the Committee on Veterans' Affairs learned that the Federal executive branch continues to violate this law. Worse, these violations are often the result of lack of understanding or knowledge about what the law requires. In fact, the Assistant Secretary for Veterans' Employment and Training of the U.S. Department of Labor testified at our hearing that ``about half' of Federal USERRA cases occur because ``the Federal hiring manager just doesn't understand the law or the . . . regulations that spell out how to implement the law.''

Based on that, it seems clear that we need to do more to prevent these USERRA violations from occurring in the first place. We owe nothing less to those who have served and sacrificed so much for our nation. That is why I have championed this provision to require the head of each Federal executive agency to provide training for their human resources personnel on the rights, benefits, and obligations under USERRA. I am very pleased that this provision was included in the omnibus bill and hope it will soon become law.

The Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 2008 also includes a provision that would require VA to provide Congress with a plan for updating its disability rating schedule and a timeline for when changes will be made. This rating schedule--which is the cornerstone of the entire VA claims processing system--was developed in the early 1900s and about 35 percent of it has not been updated since 1945. It is riddled with outdated criteria that do not track with modern medicine. Take for example traumatic arthritis. The rating schedule requires a veteran to show proof of this condition through x-ray evidence. But doctors today would generally diagnose the condition using more modern technology, like an MRI.

Even worse, experts have been telling us the rating schedule is not adequate for rating conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, which are afflicting so many of our veterans from the War on Terror. Also, experts have told us that the schedule does not adequately compensate young, severely disabled veterans; veterans with mental disabilities; and veterans who are unemployable.

To address this situation, VA has been conducting studies on the appropriate level of disability compensation to account for any loss of earning capacity and any loss of qualify of life caused by service- related disabilities. To make sure these studies don't get put on a shelf to collect dust--as has happened in the past--this bill would require VA to submit to Congress a report outlining the findings and recommendations of those studies, a list of the actions that VA plans to take in response, and a timeline for when VA plans to take those actions. My hope is that this will finally prompt the type of complete update that the VA rating schedule has needed for so long.

These are only a few of the 35 items in this bill. I am confident that each of the bill's provisions will improve the lives of and veterans, even if only in a small way. My hope is that these provisions, and others, will be passed by both Houses before Congress leaves for the year. I ask my colleagues for their support as Chairman Akaka and I work to make sure that happens.

Mr. President, today I proudly introduce, along with my good friend and colleague, the senior Senator from Hawaii, Senator Daniel Inouye, the Native American Veterans Access Act. This measure would provide equitable veterans' services to Native Americans by allowing tribal governments to apply for veterans' program grants currently limited to States, and in some cases, even U.S. Territories.

Native veterans have a long history of honorable and extraordinary service in our national defense. From the American Indians who served alongside General George Washington, to Nainoa Hoe, a Native Hawaiian soldier who was killed on patrol in Iraq while carrying the battle flag his father held in Vietnam, native veterans have served bravely and honorably.

Unfortunately, too often our Nation's track record in serving native veterans does not match their service. Especially in the case of native veterans who return to their ancestral homelands, reservation communities, or tribal villages, many native veterans are geographically and culturally disconnected from the services provided by State and Federal veterans' programs.

Part of the problem is that veterans' programs are not always designed with native veterans in mind. For example, while the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Labor operate several exemplary veterans' grant programs for State governments, most of these programs are not open to tribal governments. The bill I am introducing today would address this issue, by giving tribal governments access to many of these important programs.

First, my bill would provide access to VA's two nursing home grants, which help local governments construct veterans' nursing homes and pay for nursing home care, adult day care, domiciliary care, and hospital care. It is important that tribal governments be included in these grants, given the expected rise in the number of older native veterans. The U.S. Census projects that while the overall number of older veterans will decrease by 10 percent by 2020, during that same period the number of older native veterans will increase by 60 percent. This expected boom in older native veterans makes it important that we give tribal governments the same opportunities we already provide State governments to care for their elder veterans.

My bill would also give the Secretary of Labor discretion to include tribal governments in Veterans Employment and Training programs and grants. Veterans' employment services are much needed among native veterans, and in Indian Country. Census data indicates that American Indian and Alaska Native veterans are twice as likely as other veterans to be unemployed. For those veterans living on-reservation, the labor market is shamefully dismal: a recently published report from the Bureau of Indian Affairs found on-reservation unemployment to be 49 percent. That unemployment rate is twice as high as national unemployment was during the worst year of the Great Depression. Surely it is not too much to ask that tribal governments in these circumstances be considered for the veterans' employment programs States and U.S. Territories already have access to.

I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting these measures, as we work towards parity in access and benefits for Native American veterans.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the the Record.

Mr. President, today I proudly introduce, along with my good friend and colleague, the senior Senator from Hawaii, Senator Daniel Inouye, the Native American Veterans Access Act. This measure would provide equitable veterans' services to Native Americans by allowing tribal governments to apply for veterans' program grants currently limited to States, and in some cases, even U.S. Territories.

Native veterans have a long history of honorable and extraordinary service in our national defense. From the American Indians who served alongside General George Washington, to Nainoa Hoe, a Native Hawaiian soldier who was killed on patrol in Iraq while carrying the battle flag his father held in Vietnam, native veterans have served bravely and honorably.

Unfortunately, too often our Nation's track record in serving native veterans does not match their service. Especially in the case of native veterans who return to their ancestral homelands, reservation communities, or tribal villages, many native veterans are geographically and culturally disconnected from the services provided by State and Federal veterans' programs.

Part of the problem is that veterans' programs are not always designed with native veterans in mind. For example, while the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Labor operate several exemplary veterans' grant programs for State governments, most of these programs are not open to tribal governments. The bill I am introducing today would address this issue, by giving tribal governments access to many of these important programs.

First, my bill would provide access to VA's two nursing home grants, which help local governments construct veterans' nursing homes and pay for nursing home care, adult day care, domiciliary care, and hospital care. It is important that tribal governments be included in these grants, given the expected rise in the number of older native veterans. The U.S. Census projects that while the overall number of older veterans will decrease by 10 percent by 2020, during that same period the number of older native veterans will increase by 60 percent. This expected boom in older native veterans makes it important that we give tribal governments the same opportunities we already provide State governments to care for their elder veterans.

My bill would also give the Secretary of Labor discretion to include tribal governments in Veterans Employment and Training programs and grants. Veterans' employment services are much needed among native veterans, and in Indian Country. Census data indicates that American Indian and Alaska Native veterans are twice as likely as other veterans to be unemployed. For those veterans living on-reservation, the labor market is shamefully dismal: a recently published report from the Bureau of Indian Affairs found on-reservation unemployment to be 49 percent. That unemployment rate is twice as high as national unemployment was during the worst year of the Great Depression. Surely it is not too much to ask that tribal governments in these circumstances be considered for the veterans' employment programs States and U.S. Territories already have access to.

I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting these measures, as we work towards parity in access and benefits for Native American veterans.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the the Record.