Joe Sestak on Veterans

JOE SESTAK’S EFFORTS TO SUPPORT VETERANS

I. Awards:

Received an A+ Voting Record in 2008 from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans for America (IAVA).

Named “2009 Congressman of the Year” by Disabled American Veterans of Philadelphia.

II. Hosts Annual Veterans Summits

2007; attended by Director, VISN 4 Medical System; Directors of the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Coatesville VA Medical Centers; and Director, Regional Office & Insurance Center; as well as 300 Veterans and their families.

2008; attended by all of the above as well as Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, Representative Bob Filner (CA-51), as well as more than 700 Veterans.

2009; attended by Chief of Staff of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA); Director, VISN 4 Medical System; Directors of the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Coatesville VA Medical Centers; and Director, Regional Office & Insurance Center, as well as more than 800 Veterans.

III. Veterans Health Care

$375 million in FY2009 and $533 million in FY2010 allotted to Priority 8 Veterans: Following the 2008 7th Congressional District Veterans Summit, Chairman Filner and Congressman Sestak both submitted bills to expand the availability of health benefits to Priority 8 Veterans. This led to the inclusion of funding in the FY2009 and FY2010 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations act allotted to Priority 8 Veterans, who had been denied vital medical resources by VA protocol since 2003.

Voted for the Largest Increase in Funding in VA history: With this increase in funding in H.R. 2764, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008, Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan will receive the high-quality health care, educational opportunities, and employment opportunities that our Vietnam Veterans did not.

3.   Co-Sponsored:

H.R. 1016, Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act of 2009: authorized appropriations for the VA up to one year in advance to more effectively care for Veterans.

H.R. 2990, Disabled Military Retiree Relief Act of 2009: temporarily allowed for concurrent receipt of retirement pay and disability pay for Veterans with less than 20 years of service and 90 or more percent disability rating.

H.R. 1211, The Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act: targeted care toward the needs of women Veterans, especially those of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Opposed: Any plan that would force Veterans to use private health insurance to pay for treatment of service-related injuries or disabilities.

Supported Additional Legislation:

H.R. 1538, The Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act: improved the care of injured soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan.

VA Medical Construction: authorized $2.1 billion for construction of medical     facility projects as well as medical facility leases in H.R. 1, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

H.R. 3819, The Veterans Emergency Care Fairness Act of 2008: would have required the VA to reimburse Veterans for emergency treatment at non VA facilities.

IV. Education

Helped Pass Post-9/11 G.I. Bill: Restored full, four-year college scholarships for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans, similar to the educational benefits available after WWII.  The VA will match any tuition grants given by participating schools to our Veterans as a provision of the Post 9/11 GI Bill.

Sponsored H.R. 3625, Higher Education Relief for U.S. Troops (HEROS): Made permanent the Secretary of Education’s authority to provide U.S. Troops called to active duty with education relief, including leeway on repaying student loans.

Established the 7th Congressional District OIF/OEF Scholarship at the Pennsylvania Institute of Technology: Offers full tuition at an institution which is part of Drexel University

Supported development of a “Young Vets Club” at Delaware County Community College:

Provided that club guest lecturers on VA benefits, employment opportunities, and IRS services

In September 2009, that group will be integrated with The Veterans Owned Business Coalition to build a network for job opportunities for young Veterans in Veteran-owned businesses.

V. Employment

Helped Pass: H.R. 4253, The Military Reservist and Veterans Small Business Reauthorization Opportunity Act: expanded small business opportunities for Veterans and helped military reservists keep their businesses afloat during and after deployment.

VI. Families

Wrote language into H.R. 5658, The Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2009: Mandated a minimum of $5,000 per month for autistic therapy services for the children of service members.

Co-Sponsored: H.R. 5826, the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2008 (COLA): increased rates of compensation for those with service-connected disabilities, as well as dependency and indemnity compensation to survivors of Veterans.

Supported:

H.R. 6081, The Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008 (HEART Act): provided $1.2 billion in targeted tax breaks to military personnel and their families.

H.R. 2346, The 2009 Supplemental Appropriations Bill for Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Pandemic Flu: secured $276 million for 25 child development centers that will provide 5,000 child care spaces for military families.

VII. Homeless Veterans

1.   Supported Legislation:

H.R. 403, The Homes for Heroes Act of 2009: required the Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide at least 20,000 rental vouchers each year to homeless Veterans and creates a new supportive housing program.

H.R. 1171, The Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program Reauthorization Act of 2009: amended to provide an additional $10 million for services dedicated to homeless women and homeless Veterans with children.

VII. Supporting Our Troops

Supported Legislation:

H.R. 1585, The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008: included numerous readiness initiatives to strengthen our military and contains a 3.5% military pay raise.

H.R. 3222, The Department of Defense Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2008: helped improve military readiness, provided the National Guard and Reserve with needed equipment, upgraded military health care, and provided additional support to military families.

H.R. 5658, The Duncan Hunter National Defense Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2009: helped to restore military readiness, provided a 3.9% military pay raise, and contained provisions to reform military contracting.

H.R. 2346, 2009 Supplemental Appropriations for Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Pandemic Flu: provided $2.8 billion to cover identified shortfalls in military personnel accounts, gave $240 million above the president’s request for defense health and programs to support military families, including $94 million in family advocacy services.

Co-Sponsored Legislation: Department of Defense Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2009: Extended bonuses and special pay to members of the Armed Forces. The benefits are available for enlisted servicemen and women and encourage them to reenlist, remain on active duty, and accept certain special assignments until December 31, 2010.

VIII. Constituent Services

District Office Staff: Has worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week since January 2007 to support over 1400 individual cases for Veterans active-duty and members of the PA National Guard. An Intern was added from the Widener University Veterans Law Clinic to help manage that caseload.

SUMMARY OF FUTURE INITIATIVES

Looking forward, Joe will continue to work to:

Address the epidemics of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), each of which afflict up to one in five of our brave service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan:

Continue working with the medical research community on implementing mild TBI treatment.

Ensure that the arbitrary exclusion of Priority 8 veterans from VA health care coverage is completely overturned:

Many of these retired service members, while not financially destitute, nevertheless do not earn enough to cover health insurance fees.

Overhaul veteran disability compensation, which at present is hampered by a gridlocked, dual-tracked process:

Introducing legislation to unify military disability retirement benefits and VA compensation benefits under a single system administered by the VA. This legislation will ensure 180 day time limits for adjudication of initial claims, grant claimant the right to take depositions from VA doctors and other witnesses, and allow claimants to issue subpoenas.

Provide quality of life services to returning service members:

Provide adequate drug and alcohol treatment, counseling and housing for homeless or elderly veterans, continuing to work with organizations such as Give an Hour and support legislative programs such as HUD-VASH; and

Work towards solutions for the record-high divorce and suicide rates which the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have caused amongst service members.