John Plahovinsak
The first half of the 118th Congressional Session is complete at the closing of 2023. January of 2024 marks the last half of the 118th Session.
Proposed bills that are not passed by Congress by the second half of the Session, must be re-introduced in the new Congressional Session.
As of January 1, 2024, Congress has enacted 27 bills into law. Only 10 of the laws deal, in part, with veteran-related matters. Two (2) of these laws deal with re-naming of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Centers; one (1) deals with authorizing a military commemorative coin; and one (1) deals with Cadets at State Maritime Academies.
Both the House and the Senate have proposed a total of 326 veteran-related bills in the first half of the 118th Congressional Session. Based upon what Congress has accomplished in the first half for laws related to veteran-related issues, very few of these 326 proposed bills will be passed.
Enclosed is a brief listing of twelve (12) proposed bills that Congress should pass and be enacted into law, before the ending of 2024:
S. 141 The Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act of 2023. The House has already passed their version of this legislation and 27 Senators have already co-sponsored the Senate’s version of the bill. This Act, described in the December 13, 2023 issue of the Clermont Sun newspaper, will provide caregivers of our veterans with resources.
S. 344/H.R. 1282 The Major Richard Star Act of 2023. This Bill would assist over 50,000 veterans who are medically retired before serving 20 years receive full access to their VA disability benefits and military retirement pay. Seventy (70) Senators have co-sponsored the Senate’s version of the bill and 326 Representatives have co-sponsored the House’s version.
H.R. 4150 Improving the Whole Health for Veterans with Chronic Conditions Act. This bill would establish a pilot program for the provision of dental care by the VA for veterans diagnosed with diabetes and heart disease. This Act, which was described in the November 22, 2023 issue of the Clermont Sun newspaper, could impact over 3 million veterans. It was initially introduced as S. 3017 during the 117th Congressional Session.
H.R. 2413 Dental Care for Veterans Act. This Act would make all veterans who are enrolled in the VA health care system eligible for VA-provided dental services. The bill phases in eligibility over four years based upon existing eligibility, degree of service-connected disability or other disability, award of a Purple Heart, and financial need.
H.R. 333 The Disabled Veterans Tax Termination Bill. This Act would authorize disabled veterans with a service-connected disability of less than fifty (50%) percent to receive both their earned retired pay and VA disability compensation. The bill would also extend benefits to Chapter 61 veteran retirees with less than 20 years of military service.
H.R. 232 Real Justice for our Veterans Act of 2023. This Act would authorize the Department of Justice (DOJ) to provide grants to local governments for improving retention rates in Veterans’ Treatment Courts (VTCs) and specialized programs that integrate substance use treatment services with criminal justice proceedings.
S. 414/H.R. 1083 The Caring for Survivors Act of 2023. The Act increases the monthly rate of dependency and indemnity compensation payable to surviving spouses through the VA. It would reduce, from 10 years to 5 years, the period that veterans must have been rated totally disabled due to a service-connected disability for a survivor to qualify for benefits. S. 414 has 21 Senators co-sponsoring the bill and H.R. 1083 has 65 Representatives co-sponsoring this proposed legislation.
S.1635/H.R. 3718 The VA Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Processing Claims Act. This Act would require the VA to take certain actions to improve the processing by the VA of claims for disability compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder. Processors would be required to participate in PTSD Training once a year. The Training Program must be standardized to include instruction on stressor development and verification.
S. 928/H.R. 4157 The Not Just a Number Act. This bill requires the VA to take specified actions related to its suicide prevention services. The VA would be required to submit a National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report. It must analyze and report on which benefits and services from the VA have the greatest impact on suicide prevention. H.R. 4157 has 37 co-sponsors and S. 928 has 20 co-sponsoring the proposed legislation.
S. 1266/H.R. 3651 The Love Lives on Act of 2023. This Act is a bipartisan bill that will allow spouses of deceased servicemembers to retain survivor benefits upon remarriage. Currently, a surviving spouse is at risk of losing survivor benefits if they are under the age of 55 years old. There are 35 co-sponsors of H.R. 3651 and 27 Senators co-sponsoring the Senate proposal.
H.R. 645 The Healthy Foundations for Homeless Veterans Act. This Act authorizes the VA to use specified funding to provide direct assistance to homeless veterans participating in the Department of Housing and Urban Development-VA Supportive Housing Program. Fifty-eight (58) members of Congress have co-sponsored this proposed legislation.
H.R. 1378 Veterans’ Appeals Backlog Improvement Act. This Act enables the VA Secretary to establish a competitive internship program within the Board of Veterans Appeals for the purpose of providing an opportunity for high-achieving students at law schools accredited by the American Bar Association to gain experience with the Board. Currently, there is a backlog of over 200,000 disability claims filed with the Board of Veterans Appeals, awaiting a determination.
My Opinion: These are a dozen proposed bills that should be passed during the 118th Congressional Session. I will continue to monitor these bills and hope that Congress will hear the voices of disabled veterans, who need these bills passed and enacted into law.
BioSketch: John Plahovinsak is a retired 32-year Army veteran, who served from 1967 to 1999. He is the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Department of Ohio’s Hospital Chairman and Adjutant of DAV Chapter #63 (Clermont County). He can be reached at: plahovinsak@msn.com.
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