The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs subpanel on disability assistance and memorial affairs examined legislation that would modify regulations for determining disability and indemnity benefits for veterans and their survivors. (Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — Cutting delays in the claims process for veterans filing for disability and adjusting the compensation rate for family members who are survivors of veterans or active-duty troops who died from service-related injuries are among pending bills before Congress that aim to smooth the benefits process at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs subpanel on disability assistance and memorial affairs examined several pieces of legislation that would modify existing regulations for determining disability and indemnity payments for veterans and their survivors.
The Veterans Appeals Options Expansion Act would lock in the date that a disability claim was filed with the VA, even if the form was done incorrectly, so that “veterans do not have to go to the back of the line because it is hard to figure out which is the right form and navigate the process,” said Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., chairman of the House VA Committee and sponsor of the bill.
For claims that are approved, the VA also would have to consider the date an incorrect claim was filed for backdating benefits for disability compensation.
The Survivor Benefits Delivery Improvement Act, introduced by Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., would increase the monthly rate for dependency and indemnity compensation for the surviving spouses and dependents of military members and veterans who died as the result of their service-related illnesses and injuries. A companion bill has been introduced in the Senate.
The rate has only been “minimally adjusted since 1993” when it was enacted, Hayes said. “The outdated policies have created unbearable stress for surviving families.”
“These families have endured the unimaginable and giving them more economic certainty is something everyone should support,” said Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee and sponsor of a companion bill in the upper chamber.
Current law also restricts benefits to survivors of veterans who were rated totally disabled for at least 10 years before they died. That restriction would change to five years under the bill.
Legislation sponsored by Rep. John Duarte, R-Calif., would seek to simplify notification letters that veterans receive from the VA regarding their disability claims. Veterans describe the letters as filled with legal jargon that is difficult to understand.
“They’re confusing,” he said.
Duarte said he knows of some veterans who abandoned pursuing benefits because they did not understand the findings and instructions in the letters.
The bill would authorize the hiring of an outside firm to review the notification letters with the intent to simplify them and put them in plain language that veterans and their families can understand.
