Washington,
DC — Today, four of the nation’s leading
veterans service organizations—AMVETS (American Veterans), DAV (Disabled
American Veterans), Paralyzed Veterans of America (Paralyzed Veterans) and VFW
(Veterans of Foreign Wars)—released a report calling on renewed focus on access
to timely, high quality care, particularly for women veterans; continued
commitment to reducing the claims backlog; real investments in infrastructure;
and support for all veterans in need of caregiver support. The policy recommendations are included in the
29th edition of The
Independent Budget (IB), available online at www.independentbudget.org.
This year’s IB marks a change from
past editions. The new IB represents a
policy guide to support the two-year term of the 114th
Congress. The IB outlines many policy
concerns that impact the millions of veterans who comprise the four
organizations’ membership. Additionally,
the groups have highlighted critical issues that they believe should be at the
forefront of any oversight and legislative activity in Congress. The five critical issues include:
- Ensuring Timely Access to High Quality Care
- Expanding Access to Caregiver Support for
Veterans of All Eras
- Fixing the VA’s Claims Process, to Include
the Appeals Systems
- Maintaining
and Rebuilding VA's Critical Infrastructure
- Ensuring
Programs and Services Meet the Gender Specific/Unique
Needs of Women Veterans
The nationwide crisis in care and
confidence that broke across the Department of Veterans Affairs health care
system last year demonstrated the serious access problems that exist throughout
the VA. The co-authors of the IB were
all directly involved in the efforts to address these problems.
“No issue matters more to veterans
than timely access to high quality care. This became clearly apparent during
the crises in VA last year,” explained Al Kovach, Jr., national president of
Paralyzed Veterans of America. “However,
simple passage of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act does not
absolve the VA or Congress from its responsibility to care for the men and
women who have sacrificed for this country.”
Without question, the needs of veterans with catastrophic disabilities are a high priority for the IB coauthors. Unfortunately, thousands of veterans are excluded from the Comprehensive Caregiver Assistance Program. “No reasonable justification can
be provided as to why veterans with a service-connected injury or illness incurred
prior to September 11, 2001, should be excluded from the comprehensive
caregiver program,” declared Stewart Hickey, Executive Director for
AMVETS. “It is time for Congress to
correct this inequity.”
Meanwhile, the VA continues to
struggle with deciding veterans claims for disability benefits in an accurate
manner. And now it faces a
rapidly-approaching, self-imposed deadline to end the claims backlog once-and-for-all.
“The Veterans Benefits
Administration cannot lose sight of the real goal to establish a credible and
efficient claims processing system that delivers accurate benefits decisions
for veterans,” stated DAV National Commander Ron Hope.
“It has made significant progress, particularly with regards to the
Veterans Benefits Management System, but more remains to be done.”
The VA also faces serious challenges with its current
physical infrastructure, and with a growing need for more medical care
space. Unfortunately, events like those surrounding the development of
the Denver facility only serve to undermine confidence in the VA to deliver on
the need for more physical space.
“With a rapidly aging system that needs serious investment, it
is more important than ever that the administration commit real resources to
increase and modernize VA’s infrastructure,” emphasized John W. Stroud,
commander-in-chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States.
The Independent Budget
is an annual comprehensive budget and policy document, written by veterans for
veterans, detailing funding requirements for VA. The Independent Budget aims to present a full picture of veterans’
needs—and how government can meet these needs. The full report can be viewed
online at www.independentbudget.org.
ENDS
MEDIA CONTACTS:
AMVETS: Dave Gai, 703-966-2267, dgai@amvets.org
DAV:Charity Edgar,
202-641-4822, cedgar@davmail.org
Paralyzed Veterans: Lani Poblete, 202-416-7667,
lanip@pva.org
VFW: Joe Davis, 202-608-8357, jdavis@vfw.org
About AMVETS:
AMVETS—A leader since 1944 in preserving the
freedoms secured by America’s armed forces, provides support for veterans and
the active military in procuring their earned entitlements, as well as
community service and legislative reform that enhances the quality of life for
this nation’s citizens and veterans alike. AMVETS is one of the largest
congressionally-chartered veterans’ service organizations in the United States,
and includes members from each branch of the military, including the National
Guard, Reserves and Merchant Marine. Learn more at www.amvets.org.About DAV:
DAV empowers veterans to lead
high-quality lives with respect and dignity. It is dedicated to a single
purpose: fulfilling our promises to the men and women who served. DAV does this
by ensuring that veterans and their families can access the full range of
benefits available to them; fighting for the interests of America’s injured heroes on Capitol Hill;
and educating the public about the great sacrifices and needs of veterans
transitioning back to civilian life. DAV, a non-profit organization with 1.2 million
members, was founded in 1920 and chartered by the U. S. Congress in 1932. Learn
more at www.dav.org.
About Paralyzed Veterans of America:
Paralyzed Veterans of America is the
only congressionally chartered veterans service organization dedicated solely
for the benefit and representation of veterans with spinal cord injury or disease. For nearly 70 years, Paralyzed Veterans has
ensured that veterans have received the benefits earned
through their service to our nation; monitored their care in VA spinal cord
injury units; and funded research and education in the search for a cure and
improved care for individuals with paralysis. With more than 70 offices and 34
chapters, Paralyzed Veterans serves veterans, their families and their caregivers in all 50 states, the District of
Columbia and Puerto Rico. (www.pva.org)
About the
VFW:
The Veterans
of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is a nonprofit veterans service organization
comprised of eligible veterans and military service members from the active,
Guard and Reserve forces. Founded in 1899 and chartered by Congress in 1936,
the VFW is the nation's largest organization of war veterans and its oldest
major veterans organization. With nearly 1.9 million VFW and Auxiliary members
located in more than 6,800 Posts worldwide, “NO ONE DOES MORE FOR VETERANS.”
The VFW and its Auxiliaries are dedicated to veterans’ service, legislative
advocacy, and military and community service programs worldwide. For more
information or to join, visit our website at www.vfw.org.