DAVA # 64

DAVA # 64 Making a difference in the lives of disabled veterans and their families.

12/18/2023

My sweet daddy, Silas Adams just went to see God. Please send prayers up as we muddle thru this.

12/03/2022

I missed the 6pm meeting for the Auxiliary Unit 64, 1st Friday of the month.

07/20/2022

Dear Friend,

On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court held in Obergefell v. Hodges that the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution requires a state to license a marriage between two people of the same s*x and to recognize a marriage between two people of the same s*x when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-state.

Accordingly, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) now recognizes all same-s*x marriages without regard to a veteran’s state of residence. However, 38 U.S.C. 101(3) and § 101(31) define "surviving spouse" and "spouse" as persons "of the opposite s*x." These definitions were not specifically addressed in the Supreme Court’s decision or by a subsequent statute.

The Veterans Marriage Recognition Act would amend the existing statutes and define a spouse as “who was lawfully married to a veteran, including a marriage between two persons of the same s*x.” This bill would also remove the requirement “of the opposite s*x.”

DAV supports S. 4308—the Veterans Marriage Recognition Act of 2022, which would codify the VA’s current practice of recognizing same-s*x marriages into law. This would provide protection of same-s*x marriages within the VA and not allow a change based on policy.

Please contact your Senators and urge their support for this important protection. Thank you for your support of America’s disabled veterans and their families.

07/20/2022

Dear Friend,

DAV Supports S. 4223 and H.R. 7846, the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Act of 2022.

The Veterans’ Compensation COLA Act would increase compensation rates for Department of Veterans Affairs benefits, including clothing allowance, and dependency and indemnity benefits paid to survivors and families of service members who died in the line of duty or suffer from a service-related injury or disease.

These bills would increase compensation rates based on the same percentage that Social Security benefits are increased for 2023. If passed, these rates would be effective December 1, 2022, and most importantly, would be realized in compensation benefits paid on January 1, 2023.

Consistent with DAV Resolution No. 070, we support S. 4223 and H.R. 7846. With inflation reaching a 40-year high, we must ensure that veterans’ benefits keep pace for the many veterans and survivors who are on fixed incomes and largely rely on their compensation payments.

Please contact your Senators and Representative and urge them to co-sponsor and support S. 4223 and H.R. 7846. Thank you for standing with DAV to provide a cost-of-living increase for our nation’s service disabled veterans, their families and survivors.

05/28/2022

Dear Friend,

VA’s national screening program found one in three women and one in fifty men indicate they were s*xually assaulted during military service. Military Sexual Trauma (MST) survivors may require specialized treatment for their conditions. Many veterans also feel re-traumatized by an impersonal and adversarial claims process.

DAV supports companion bills S. 3025 and H.R. 5666, the Servicemembers and Veterans Empowerment and Support Act of 2021, in accordance with DAV Resolution No. 074, which urges improvement of the process for determining service connection for conditions related to MST. It would codify current policy easing some of the evidentiary requirements for veterans filing claims for service-connection for conditions related to the after-effects of a MST and allow non-military documentation and opinions of medical professionals to bolster claims. Furthermore, the bill would require VA to resolve every reasonable doubt in favor of the veteran with the reasons for granting or denying service-connection recorded in full.

Numerous reports of the VA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) document VBA’s struggle to adhere to its policy and correct long-standing problems in administering claims for MST survivors. Even after its most recent reform attempting to consolidate claims adjudication for PTSD due to MST at five regional offices, a recent poll of DAV service officers found 70% identified little difference in the timeliness or quality of its decisions on MST. In addition, respondents indicated that veterans’ preference for s*x of their examiner was not honored for 40% of claimants.

S. 3025 and H.R. 5666 would address many of the problems in the claims adjudication process.

Please send your messages to urge your representatives in Congress to cosponsor and support these bills for final passage.

05/28/2022

Dear Friend,

Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester (D-MT) and Senator John Boozman (R-AR) introduced S. 4156, the VA Workforce Improvement, Support and Expansion (WISE) Act of 2022 to improve recruitment and retention of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) workforce.

Health staffing shortages continue to challenge the entire industry, and VA is among many organizations experiencing vacancies for key health professionals including nurses, doctors, certain therapists and mental health providers. Rural locations and areas identified as medically underserved often lack health professionals to provide basic primary, mental and dental care. The impact of the pandemic has further affected availability of these essential health providers. This bill would provide increased pay and benefits for VA’s workforce, expand opportunities in rural VA facilities, support training for current and future VA clinicians, and provide additional oversight of VA Human Resource functions and its use of VA’s hiring authorities.

Specifically, the VA WISE Act of 2022 would:
1. Allow increased pay for certain VA employees;
2. Extend the Department's hiring, recruitment, and retention authorities, including extending temporary appointments and waive pay limitations for employees performing mission critical work during the ongoing pandemic;
3. Direct VA to develop and implement a national VA Rural Recruitment and Hiring Plan
4. Create a Rural Health Quality and Access Fellowship program for graduate or post-graduate health care professionals to serve at rural or highly rural VA facilities.

DAV supports this legislation in accordance with DAV Resolution No. 113 which calls for improved HR practices for VA to recruit and retain qualified medical personnel along with pay and benefits that are competitive with the private sector.

Please join DAV in supporting this important bill by writing to your Senators to urge them to cosponsor and support S. 4156—the VA WISE Act of 2022 for final passage.

Thank you for your support of the Commander’s Action Network on behalf of our nation’s service disabled veterans.

05/28/2022

Dear Friend,

DAV supports H.R. 7524, the Aviator Cancer Examination Study (ACES) Act. The bill will require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to enter into an agreement to study the incidence of cancer among individuals who served on military air crews.

Military aircrew personnel may experience occupational exposure to galactic cosmic radiation, ultraviolet radiation and non-ionizing intra-cockpit radiation, leading some to speculate about an increased risk of malignancy. In 2020, a retrospective study of Air Force air crews found there were over 900 incidents of cancer. However, the study had its limitations and found no difference in the cancer rates between pilots and other military officers.

H.R. 7524 would require the VA to enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine to study the incidence and mortality among individuals who served in the regular or reserve components of the Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps as air crew members of a fixed-wing aircraft.

DAV strongly supports the ACES Act in accordance with DAV Resolution No. 080, which calls for studies and presumptive service connection for diseases related to the numerous hazardous exposures facing our active military members. This legislation will assist in determining if those who served on air crews are more likely to develop cancer.

Please contact your Representative and urge them to co-sponsor and support H.R. 7524, the ACES Act. Thank you for your advocacy for our nation’s veterans, their families and survivors..

05/28/2022

Dear Friend,

H.R. 7369, the Veteran Eligibility for Necessities to Undertake Rewarding Entrepreneurship or VENTURE Act would expand eligibility for self-employment training within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) program.

As of July 2021, there were only 162 service-injured veterans in the VR&E self-employment track, while there were over 76,000 veterans participating in the long-term services track for employment. More service-injured veterans should have the opportunity and ability to become small business owners and entrepreneurs. The need for change is clearly demonstrated.

H.R. 7369 would remove the restriction that a veteran have the most severe service-connected disabilities (requiring home-bound training or self-employment or both) to be eligible for the self-employment track. This legislation will open eligibility allowing more service-connected disabled veterans to participate in the self-employment track in VR&E.

DAV supports the VENTURE Act, in accordance with DAV Resolution No. 174, which calls for improvements for VA’s education and employment benefits for service-disabled veterans. Veterans with service-related injuries deserve the opportunity for self-employment that accommodates their employment barriers and provides them and their families with financial empowerment.

Please contact your Representative and urge them to co-sponsor and support H.R. 7369, the VENTURE Act. Thank you for your advocacy for our nation’s veterans, their families and survivors.

05/22/2022

Dear Friend,

On March 18, 2022, Rep. Clay Higgins introduced H.R. 7158, the Long-Term Care Veterans Choice Act. This legislation would give VA the authority to place and pay for veterans who want to reside in a medical foster home. Veterans who have a service-connected disability rated at 70% or greater, or who need nursing home care due to a service-connected disability, would be able to request placement in a medical foster home certified and inspected by the VA.

Medical foster homes offer veterans long-term care in a more family- and community-oriented setting. These homes provide a long-term care alternative for veterans who want to have greater independence and remain closer to their families and communities than institutional care might provide. It also allows VA to meet the veterans’ needs for assistance with daily living when these needs are no longer able to be met safely at home.

Currently, while veterans eligible for nursing home care may elect to receive their care at medical foster homes VA does not cover the cost for such placement. Instead, these veterans must pay for this service out of pocket or through private insurance. H.R. 7158—the Long-Term care Veterans Choice Act would authorize the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to cover the cost of medical foster homes for veterans otherwise eligible for nursing home care through the VA.

As the number of veterans needing long-term care is expected to significantly increase over the next decade, it is important that VA implement policies that honor veterans’ preference to age at home or in their communities. DAV strongly supports this legislation, in accordance with DAV Resolution No. 022, which notes that VA lacks sufficient non-institutional long-term care alternatives, such as medical foster homes, and calls for VA to provide veterans access to a wider range of options for this unique type of care support.

We are calling on all DAV members and supporters to contact their Representatives and urge them to co-sponsor and support H.R. 7158. Thank you for all you do for America’s veterans and their families.

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Hazard, KY
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