Veterans Benefits and Economic Welfare Improvement Act of 2010

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, you are moving fast today. Had I known, I would have been here for the first bill. And I am serious about that comment. You have to give us adequate time to get to the floor so we can respond to the bills.

I am recognized, and I am making a statement, because I am really upset. I am upset because this is the way the majority has been running the Congress, Mr. Speaker.

If you want to know why the American people are upset with the majority, it is because of this. If you don't give adequate notice to even a ranking member to be on the floor on bills, people are going to know. Do you know why they are going to know? Because I am going to tell the story. Rules matter around this place.

Now, let me go back to the first bill. The only reason I mention this is because I want to thank--you just passed it, by voice vote.

Let me tell you what is upsetting, something else that matters around here, and it is the Parliamentarian. You drop that bill, and the Parliamentarian makes those bills go to the appropriate jurisdictions. Something may get added by amendment to a particular bill that some other committee thinks that they want a view on it. Then what happens is the majority, not giving a doggone about the minority, puts bills onto this floor, whatever they want to do, so long as it is in comfort with someone else. They don't care about the minority or what our views are, so they just put it on the floor.

So once again we try to change the ``may'' to ``shall'' language in the last bill. The Small Business Committee prevents it. Now, why would you do that? Why would the Small Business Committee, run by the Democrat majority, alienate the disabled veterans? Why do you keep doing this? We keep appealing to you to place the disabled veteran in a higher position with regard to other set-asides, and you won't do it.

Mr. President, don't stand up and tell the American people, well, now we are going to focus on small business. Or, Madam Speaker, don't stand up and say we are now going to focus on small business. What did you do at the moment of calling? At the moment of calling, when you had an opportunity to do something about it, what did you do? Don't give the American people rhetoric. What did you do at the moment of acting? Oh, no, no, no, we are not going to do it.

Oh, you do your stimulus bill. I want to respond to a $1 billion small business bill on veterans. No, we're not going to do that; we are going to do VA construction.

Now you say, oh, my gosh, what are we going to do to stimulate small business? You had your opportunity over and over and over.

So, yes, I am pretty upset, Mr. Speaker. I am really upset. I am upset at what happened on that last bill. I am retiring. I am leaving Congress. And I am hopeful that the chairman--that you are as pugnacious as you can be and focus on that to help that disabled veteran, and change that language, Mr. Filner, from ``may'' to ``shall,'' and I think it will go a very long way.

Mr. Speaker, with regard to the bill in front of us, I rise in support of it. It

is the Veterans Benefits and Economic Welfare Improvement Act of 2010. It is a bipartisan, omnibus veterans benefits bill that includes many provisions that help veterans and their families.

H.R. 6132 will assist transitioning servicemembers by creating a new program through the Veterans Employment and Training Service to assist unemployed veterans who are not eligible for other VA education programs by creating a new on-the-job training and apprenticeship program.

The bill also codifies programs that the VA is currently using to transform its disability claims processing system and provide veterans the right to equitable tolling when a claim reaches the Board of Veterans' Claims.

The bill would assist pensioners by excluding the repayment of medical expenses or medical insurance awards or settlements from the veteran's annual income when determining their pension amount.

I am also pleased and also appreciate the chairman's supporting of the provision by the ranking member, Henry Brown of the Subcommittee on Health to increase the pension for Medal of Honor recipients to $2,000 a month.

Mr. Speaker, while I am sure we all agree that the provisions in this bill are laudable, it is unfortunate that certain provisions have also been left out.

Ranking Member Boozman of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity was also successful at the full committee markup of this bill in adding a provision that would have protected the veteran's Second Amendment right to bear arms. His amendment would have prevented veterans from losing this right without a judicial decision or due process. The amendment was agreed to by voice vote.

The provision was supported by the American Legion, AMVETS, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the NRA, and the Gun Owners of America. Chairman Conyers of the Judiciary Committee raised questions on the jurisdictional issue regarding the provision and insisted that it be taken out.

Here we go again. So to America, bills are coming to the floor, people are yanking things out of the bill. So what is happening is we are rushing bills to the floor, rather than allow them to be properly vetted through all jurisdictions. We are not going to do that.

So what do we have? We have a bill now on the floor that had a gun provision taken out of it right before an election. That is great. I am not running again, so those of you who are pleased that I guess the gun provision was taken out of the bill, you can answer to your constituents about why that happened.

So I'm, once again, bothered. It's unfortunate. I am leaving an institution that I love and respect, but, boy, am I bothered with the way it is being run.

I ask Members to support this bill.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6132, the Veterans Benefits and Economic Welfare Improvement Act of 2010, which the Veterans Affairs Committee approved with bipartisan support on September 15th.

I would like to thank Veterans Affairs Chairman Filner for his leadership in introducing H.R. 6132, as well as the support and leadership of Ranking Member Buyer.

I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this legislation, which contains a number of important provisions that will directly improve the lives of veterans and the services available to those veterans and their families. Included among these provisions are four bills that I originally introduced. All four of these bills--H.R. 1088, H.R. 1089, H.R. 2461, and H.R. 1037--have previously passed the House, and I am pleased they have been included in this legislation.

H.R. 1089, the Veterans Employment Rights Realignment Act, originally passed the House without opposition by a vote of 423 to 0 on May 19, 2009. The provisions before us today create a three-year demonstration project to move the enforcement of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) protections of veterans and members of the Armed Services employed by Federal executive agencies to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC).

Under a previous demonstration project established by Public Law 108- 454, OSC investigated some federal sector USERRA claims from 2004 to 2007. This demonstration project showed that the OSC had the expertise and ability to quickly obtain corrective action for federally employed veterans, and that success warranted a further continuation of this study.

H.R. 1088, the Mandatory Veteran Specialist Training Act, originally passed the House by voice vote on May 19, 2009. The provisions before us today take an important step toward providing better employment assistance to those who have bravely served their country.

These provisions reduce from 3 years to 18 months the period during which Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program (DVOP) specialists or Local Veterans' Employment Representatives (LVER) with the Department of Labor (DOL) must complete the specialized veterans employment training program provided by the National Veterans' Training Institute (NVTI).

Through several Economic Opportunity Subcommittee hearings I chaired during the 110th Congress, I learned it was taking, on average, 2.5 years before DOL veterans employment specialists were completing the NVTI program. This leaves untrained specialists who don't have the necessary skills trying to help veterans with their employment needs, and this bill helps correct that situation.

H.R. 2461, the Veterans Small Business Verification Act, passed the House as part of

H.R. 3949 with overwhelming bipartisan support on November 3, 2009. The provisions before us today clarify the responsibility of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to verify the veteran status of owners of small businesses listed in the VetBiz Vendor Information Pages database. Furthermore, it requires that the VA notify small businesses already listed in the database of the need to verify their status.

The Economic Opportunity Subcommittee learned through hearings, and meetings with VA staff and the veterans community that the database contained firms that didn't qualify because the verification process was voluntary. Since firms registered in the database can qualify to receive set-aside or sole-source awards, this new legislation will help ensure our veterans are afforded the small business opportunities they are due.

H.R. 1037, the Pilot College Work Study Programs for Veterans Act of 2009, originally passed the House on July 14, 2009 without opposition by a vote of 422 to 0. The provisions before us today improve the educational benefits available to our country's veterans by expanding the scope of work-study activities available to veterans receiving educational benefits through the VA.

Currently, eligible student veterans enrolled in college degree programs, vocational programs or professional programs are eligible to participate in the work-study allowance program. However, they are limited to positions involving VA related work, such as processing VA paperwork, performing outreach services, and assisting staff at medical facilities or the offices of the National Cemetery Administration.

This legislation both reauthorizes the work-study program for 3 additional years and expands the list of qualifying work-study activities to include positions with State veterans agencies, Centers for Excellence for Veterans Student Success and other veterans-related positions at institutions of higher learning.

Given the wide variety of tasks our men and women in uniform perform while serving their country, our Nation should be capitalizing on the unique training and skill sets that veterans who are pursuing their degrees bring to their educational institutions.

In conclusion, H.R. 6132 takes a number of important steps toward helping veterans who have bravely served their country. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6132.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 6132, the Veterans Benefits and Economic Welfare Improvement Act of 2010. This important legislation extends much-needed improvements to benefits and services for our Nation's veterans, who deserve the best we can offer. This legislation makes a number of critical corrections and updates to streamline services, expedite benefits, and ensure that veterans can take advantage of educational and vocational training opportunities to develop skills relevant to today's job market.

I am extremely pleased that the underlying legislation includes my bill, H.R. 4541, the Veterans Pensions Protection Act of 2010. This legislation protects veterans from losing their pension benefits because they received payments to cover expenses incurred after an accident, theft, loss or casualty loss.

Under current law, if a veteran is seriously injured in an accident or is the victim of a theft and receives insurance compensation, he or she may lose their pension if the money exceeds the income limit set by the VA. This means that the law effectively punishes veterans when they suffer from such an accident or theft.

Such a tragedy happened to one of my constituents, a Navy veteran with muscular dystrophy who was hit by a truck when crossing the street in his wheelchair. His pension was abruptly cut off after he received an insurance settlement payment to cover medical expenses for himself and his service dog, and material expenses to replace his wheelchair. As a result, he could not cover his daily expenses and mortgage payments and almost lost his home. This is unacceptable.

The Veterans Pensions Protection Act exempts the reimbursement of expenses related to accidents, theft, loss or casualty loss from being included into the determination of a veteran's income.

I want to thank Chairman Bob Filner as well as Subcommittee Chairman John Hall and Ranking Member Doug Lamborn for their support on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, at a time when our Nation's service men and women are fighting two wars abroad and engaged in action in other parts of the world, we have a duty to our past, present, and future veterans to provide the very best in health care, job training, housing assistance, educational opportunities, and other services and benefits. We owe our veterans an enormous debt, and cannot thank them enough for their service. I urge my colleagues to give their unanimous support to this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6132, which improves the social services currently offered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VA, by reaching out to and providing benefits for many veterans not currently enrolled accounted for under our current federally-funded programs.

I want to thank Chairman Filner for his leadership in bringing this resolution to the floor. I also thank the Congressman for sponsoring this legislation and for his dedication to ensuring that this nation does everything it can to repay our veterans for the sacrifices they have made to protect us.

Mr. Speaker, as the representative of a district that is home to over 23,000 veterans and the VA Medical Center of Long Beach, I know how important it is to ensure that our veterans have the resources to access affordable health care, housing, and financial security.

H.R. 6132 establishes a transition program for new veterans not eligible for other employment aid programs. With 40 percent of young veterans from who Iraq and Afghanistan more likely to be unemployed than anyone in their age group, it is vital that we continue to demonstrate our support for them through bills such as this.

The bill's provisions are aimed at directly improving the disability claim system by extending the 120-day limit for filing an appeal to the Court of Veterans Appeals after a final decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals. The bill would also increase the pension amount for Medal of Honor recipients, establish an award program that will allow the VA to recognize businesses for their contributions to veteran employment, and protect veterans from losing their non-service connected pension benefits.

Mr. Speaker, the bold actions taken by Congress and the Administration thus far have been critical in assisting our courageous Veterans. Not only have they provided the vital services that our veterans have earned, but they also equip our former soldiers with the resources they need to lift them out of unemployment and live stable, healthy lives.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 6132.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of H.R. 6132, The Veterans Benefits and Economic Welfare Improvement Act. This bill combines several measures into one solid piece of legislation that will serve our veterans by helping them transition into the job market and improving the disability claims and appeals process, among other things.

Included in this legislation is a bill I introduced to help improve the disability claims process, H.R. 5549, The RAPID Claims Act. The RAPID Claims Act codifies the already successful Fully Developed Claim pilot program that Congress created in 2008, with a few improvements.

Since veterans who participate in the Fully Developed Claim program are gathering their evidence without VA assistance, they should be able to notify VA to mark their date of disability compensation as soon as they begin to put their case together. The RAPID Claims Act ensures this date is protected.

Additionally, if VA decides that a claim submitted by a veteran for the Fully Developed Claim program is actually ineligible for that program, VA should immediately notify the veteran of what is needed to substantiate the claim to allow it to proceed efficiently through the normal disability claim process. If VA adjudicates an incomplete claim without notifying the veteran, the result would be more inaccurately processed claims and a longer appeals backlog. The RAPID Claims Act requires VA to assist such veterans in putting together a regular disability claim to prevent unsatisfactory decisions and unnecessary appeals.

Finally, The RAPID Claims Act ensures that veterans receive an appeals form at the same time as the decision on their disability claim. This will help veterans more quickly prepare and file an appeal if necessary.

I am proud to have worked with the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and the Disabled American Veterans in crafting this legislation, as well as 60 bipartisan colleagues who support it.