From Washington News for the Enlisted July 28, 2014 BREAKING NEWS: THE REPORT BELOW WAS WRITTEN PRIOR TO THE ANNOUNCEMENT TODAY (MONDAY, JULY 28) THAT AN AGREEMENT HAS BEEN REACHED BETWEEN SENATE AND HOUSE NEGOTIATORS ON A BILL TO DEAL WITH THE ISSUE OF ACCESS TO CARE FOR VETERANS IN VA HOSPITALS. WE WILL HAVE DETAILS OF THE AGREEMENT IN OUR UPDATE NEXT WEEK. Congress has until the end of this week to try and pass legislation before their August recess begins. But if last Thursday was any example, they may get nothing more done before they leave town. Besides passing spending bills to keep the government open after October 1, they still have to pass legislation meant to deal with the crisis in access to care at veterans’ hospitals. But right now it is up in the air. We explain that, and more, below. Veterans Access to Care Bill in Jeopardy Senate Veterans Committee Approves Nomination of New Secretary of Veterans Affairs VA Scheduling System Will Not be Replaced for Two Years House Approves Bill to help Honor Flight Vets xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Veterans Access to Care Bill in Jeopardy Last week began with a report in the press that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) had predicted Congress would fail to pass a fix for the veterans’ health crisis. In a speech he gave on the floor of the Senate Reid stated, “We had a big show here, not long ago, where we provided $35 billion to help veterans. We’ve spent trillions of dollars in two wars, unpaid-for by the way. That’s what President [George W.] Bush wanted, and that’s what he got. “But now, when we’re being asked to spend a few dollars to take care of these people who have come back in need as our veterans … it looks to me like they’re going to come back with nothing,” Reid said, blaming the GOP for penny-pinching. “The conference is not being completed. Why? Because they have to spend some money on these people who they were glad to spend the money to take them to war, but now they’re back they’re missing limbs, they’ve got lots of post-traumatic stress problems … no money there.” Then on Thursday morning news began circulating that discussions between the Senate and House of Representatives on the veterans’ bill had broken down. According to a report from CQ Roll Call, “Talks on a fix for the Department of Veterans Affairs’ health care crisis have collapsed, after the lead Senate Democratic negotiator accused the top House GOP negotiator of a ‘take-it-or-leave-it gambit.’ Senate Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., said House Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Jeff Miller, R-Fla., had signaled he had abandoned talks after calling a noon meeting of the conference committee in an effort to ram a GOP plan through. Sanders told CQ Roll Call he did not plan to attend the noon conference meeting called by Miller. ‘It’s not a conference. A conference is when two sides agree to meet. This was decided at 10 last night by the chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs,’ Sanders said, adding he would be prepared to talk with Miller over the weekend. After Sanders and Senate Democrats opted not to post, [Speaker of the House] John Boehner sent out a statement blasting them: ‘In the wake of the shocking scandal at the Veterans Administration, the House passed a bipartisan VA reform and accountability bill, and we’re ready to complete work on an agreement the president can sign. Unfortunately, Senate Democrats refused to even show up and discuss bipartisan solutions, preferring instead to talk behind closed doors. That is shameful. If President Obama cares about America’s veterans, he needs to pick up his phone out in California and tell Senate Democrats to get to work’” MilitayTimes reported on the events this way: “Plans for a comprehensive Veterans Affairs Department reform bill that appeared all but finished a month ago devolved into partisan bickering and funding fights on Thursday, casting doubt on the future of a deal. House and Senate leaders insisted they’re still hopeful a compromise can be reached next week while simultaneously blaming the other side for putting their own agendas ahead of veterans’ interests.” It added, “Both Miller and Sanders had expressed hope of passing comprehensive veterans legislation by mid-June, then by July 4, then by the end of July. By the end of Thursday, both expressed only exasperated optimism, promising to try and find common ground before the legislative calendar deadline.” As it happened, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi had scheduled a meeting with TREA and other veterans groups that Thursday afternoon. TREA Legislative Director Larry Madison attended the meeting. At a previous meeting with Leader Pelosi just a few weeks ago Madison and other veterans’ representatives had stressed the importance of working in a non-partisan way to pass needed veterans’ legislation and fix the problems that are plaguing the VA. Leader Pelosi raised that issue in the Thursday meeting and said she had heard us loud and clear but expressed her frustration with her perception of what had happened that morning. A lengthy discussion followed concerning the events of the day and the urgent need to address the lengthy wait for access to health care being experienced by so many veterans, as well as the need for other issues concerning veterans to be addressed. The main sticking point in passing legislation is how to pay for the changes that are needed. The Democratic position is that the bill ought to be paid for through “emergency spending,” meaning the money would be borrowed and added to the national debt, which is the way the entire wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan were paid for. The Republican position has been that the new veterans spending should be paid for by cutting spending in other areas of the government. However, on Thursday House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) had agreed to compromise on legislation that would have counted $10 billion of the total cost of $35 billion as emergency spending while offsetting the remaining $25 billion from other current government spending. TREA’s position is that Congress needs to pass legislation to begin to fix this problem as soon as possible. We have not taken a position on how to pay for it. That is up to Congress to figure it out. They were elected to make the hard decisions and we believe it’s time they start to do so. We will report in our next update whether a compromise was reached before they leave town at the end of this week. Senate Veterans Committee Approves Nomination of New Secretary of Veterans Affairs On Wednesday of last week the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee unanimously approved Robert McDonald, former chairman, chief executive and president of Procter and Gamble, to be the new Secretary of Veterans Affairs. The Committee approved McDonald on a vote of 14-0 and sent his nomination to the full Senate for a vote, although it was unclear if the full Senate would vote on his nomination before they adjourn for the August recess this coming Friday. During his confirmation hearing on Tuesday, he promised to hold the VA’s employees “accountable” and reform the troubled agency. McDonald, a 1975 graduate of West Point told the committee that “Those employees that have violated the trust of the department and of veterans must be, and will be, held accountable.” He also told the committee that applying the West Point Honor Code and Prayer could go a long way toward resolving the problems that have plagued the VA’s patient scheduling and disability systems for so long. The Honor Code states, “a cadet will not lie, cheat, steal or tolerate those who do.” The West Point Cadet Prayer “encourages us to choose the harder right rather than the easier wrong,” McDonald said in his written testimony to the committee. VA Scheduling System Will Not be Replaced for Two Years In testimony before the House Veterans Affairs Committee last Thursday acting VA Secretary Sloan Gibson said the VA will not replace its existing patient scheduling system until 2016. The current system was put in place in 2002 and has been cited as one of the reasons for the crisis in access to health care in the VA for new veteran patients. Adequate funding for a new system appears to be the main cause for the delay. House Approves Bill to help Honor Flight Vets According to a press release from the office of Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), the House of Representatives recently passed H.R. 4812, the Honor Flight Act.The bill would codify the process by which the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) provides expedited and dignified passenger screening services for veterans traveling to visit war memorials built and dedicated to honor their service in Washington D.C. Expedited screening services will save veterans’ time and show them their proper respect and appreciation. “The ‘Honor Flight Act’ is a measure that seeks to pay a debt of gratitude to a group of Americans who were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that we are able to enjoy the freedoms that we have today, “said Rep. Richmond. “Although we may never be able to fully repay our veterans for their bravery, our national memorials bring into focus their lasting contribution and their impact on American history. It just makes sense that they are treated with the reverence and gratitude they deserve when visiting memorials erected in their honor.” The Honor Flight Act of 2014 is supported by the Honor Flight Network, a non-profit organization that works with airlines and other non-profits to transport American veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit memorials built and dedicated in honor of their service. TREA needs two experienced volunteers to lead our Convention POW/MIA Ceremony. Dress uniform required. Call Christine at National HQ for more information or to volunteer. 1-800-338-9337 TREA is requesting Product/Service Donations for the Silent Auction at our Convention this year in Norfolk, VA. Donations received support TREAs Memorial Foundation Scholarship Program. Call Christine at National HQ for more information, 1-800-338-9337. If you no longer wish to receive e-mail from us, please click here.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 21:24:35 +0000
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