MOAA Legislative Update: Senate Hears Disability Commission Concerns

January 25, 2008

Senate Hears Disability Commission Concerns

The Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee heard testimony this week from LTG James Terry Scott (USA-Ret.), Chairman of the Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission, and several veterans' service organization representatives as the committee continues to review veterans' disability compensation and benefits.

Scott's testimony honed in on nine of the 113 recommendations outlined in the Commission's October 3, 2007 report (PDF):

• The impact of disability on quality of life
• The VA rating schedule (VASRD)
• Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Individual unemployability
• Presumptive conditions
• Transition from active duty to veteran status
• Concurrent receipt
• Compatible electronic information systems
• Disability claims processing

The majority of the testimony and questioning by Committee Chairman Daniel Akaka (D-HI) and ranking member Richard Burr (R-NC) focused on three specific issue areas: compensation for loss of quality of life; modernizing ratings under the VASRD; and the signature injuries of the current conflict - PTSD and traumatic brain injury (TBI). General Scott's responses did not stray far from the VDBC recommendations MOAA reported in our October 2007 legislative updates.

In his opening statement, Senator Burr provided insight on a bill "in the works" that would revamp the disability systems for both DoD and VA. He said, "The intent of that bill would be to get DoD out of the business of assigning disability ratings; to require that the entire [outdated] rating schedule be replaced by a modern schedule; and to compensate veterans for loss of quality of life."

His draft bill would also authorize a "transition" payment and help cover family living expenses as disabled servicemembers adjust to civilian life. The legislative proposal "will not distinguish between combat and non-combat injuries and would be open to veterans of any generation."

MOAA's government relations team will be offering the association's perspective on any legislative proposals that address the major findings and recommendations of the VDBC.

No Vet Left Behind in 2009

On January 17, MOAA's Deputy Director for Government Relations, CDR Rene Campos, USN (Ret) attended a House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Health hearing at which several members of the full committee and subcommittee discussed bills they had introduced that were aimed at fixing unresolved issues in the VA health care system.

A number of veterans' service organizations (VSOs) and VA Health Administration officials were also present to give their perspective on the bills, which address a broad range of issues such as emergency care, health care staffing, suicides and mental health, traumatic brain injury (TBI) care in rural areas, and care for women veterans.

For the most part, VSOs were very supportive of the bills and the work the VA has done to date. In addition to addressing broad issues of funding, staffing and in-house capabilities, they offered additional suggestions, including:

• Expanding the VA Vet Center Program
• Involving veterans in collection of data for studies and reports
• Providing additional caregiver benefits and services
• Conducting more research for diagnosis and treatment of mild TBI
• Standing up more research centers to address signature wounds and other environmental issues from the current war

Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL), the subcommittee's ranking minority member, said, "As we consider these bills, we need to develop solutions that are principle-centered, patient-centered, and complement rather than replicate existing authorities and ongoing efforts."

MOAA looks forward to working with the subcommittee's members and staff on these important issues in the coming year, with the goal of ensuring that no veteran is left behind.

Military Widows Take On Uncle Sam

Next Wednesday, January 30, a group of military widows will get their day in federal court, pressing their case that a December 2004 law change should have awarded them full payment of military SBP annuities in addition to the Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) they receive from the VA because military service caused their husbands' deaths.

At the time, the House Veterans Affairs Committee believed its language would not only restore DIC benefits to previously eligible survivors who remarried after age 57, but would also end the deduction of DIC from SBP annuities.

Subsequent government legal review indicated the 2004 law didn't, in fact, make the latter change, but the difference of opinion hasn't entirely gone away. And now three widows are taking the government to court.

When the case was filed in September, the Department of Defense responded with a motion to dismiss the case. The widows' lawyers filed a rebuttal, and now there will be a hearing before the US Court of Federal Claims, 717 Madison Street, NW in Washington, DC so the judge can make a decision on the DoD motion to dismiss.

The oral arguments in the case will be open to the public at 9:30 am. A specific court room won't be assigned until the morning of the 30th.

Past efforts to sue the government in this way have rarely been fruitful, but one never knows how the courts might rule when legislative language is murky. MOAA would like nothing better than to see a favorable court ruling in this case and end the unfair offset experienced by SBP/DIC widows.

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