The U.S. Capitol seen through a window of the Cannon House Office Building. (Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — Seven bills to improve the delivery of benefits at the Department of Veterans Affairs and address service-connected illnesses in veterans will move to the Senate after being adopted in the House.
The bills range from establishing studies on exposure to liver flukes in Vietnam veterans later diagnosed with bile duct cancer to prioritizing the delivery of survivors benefits for family members of deceased veterans.
There also is legislation to simplify the notification letters veterans receive about their VA disability claims, another bill to make it easier for veterans to use their GI benefits for commercial trucking school and other job training, and a third to ensure the value of group life insurance plans for service members and veterans is adjusted for cost of living and inflation.
“These are solutions that make a real difference in veterans’ day-to-day lives,” Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said after the House adopted the bills last week. “Each of these bills will cut through the bureaucratic red tape and get veterans their benefits faster.”
Six of the seven bills were sponsored by Republicans. Here is information on the adopted bills:
The Prioritizing Veterans’ Survivors Act would place the Office of Survivors Assistance within the VA secretary’s office. Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., the bill’s sponsor, said the move will ensure survivors benefits are prioritized by the VA. Putting the survivors assistance office within the VA’s secretary office will “provide a direct line to the VA secretary,” he said.
The VETT Act, sponsored by Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., establishes an online portal as a resource center for veterans job training. The Veterans Education Transparency and Training Act seeks to ease the process by which veterans access higher education benefits to enroll in police academies, attend commercial truck driving school, and receive education and certification at other job-training schools.
The bill also would end the required two-year wait for veterans to use their GI benefits to obtain their commercial truckers license. “This provision opens up great paying jobs to our veterans and aids in filling necessary roles in a sector that critically needs skilled professionals,” Van Orden said.
The Vietnam Veterans Liver Fluke Cancer Study Act, led by Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., would require the VA to conduct a long-term study on the prevalence of bile duct cancer in Vietnam veterans exposed to the liver fluke. Infection from the tiny parasitic worm is a risk factor for developing bile duct cancer, according to the VA. The worms are commonly found in the fresh waters of Southeast Asia. Individuals can acquire the parasite by eating undercooked fish.
The Clear Communication for Veterans Claims Act, led by Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Mich., requires the VA to make notification letters that veterans receive about their disability claims easier to read and understand. The letters often are lengthy and filled with legal jargon, according to lawmakers and veterans.
The Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserves Tuition Fairness Act, sponsored by Van Orden, would require public universities to charge the same in-state tuition rates for veterans using the Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserves Tuition as veterans using other GI Bill programs. The goal is to establish parity between reservists and active-duty personnel seeking higher education, according to supporters.
The Deliver for Veterans Act, led by Rep. James Moylan, the Republican delegate from Guam, requires the VA to cover delivery costs when paying the full purchase price of an automobile or “other conveyance” for certain disabled veterans.
The Fairness for Servicemembers and their Families Act, sponsored by Rep. Marilyn Strickland, D-Wash., requires the VA to review and ensure group life insurance packages for service members and veterans account for increases in the cost of living and inflation.
“From 2006 to 2023, the maximum insurance value available for service members and veterans remained fixed, sliding behind inflation rates,” said Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, a co-sponsor.
The VA will be instructed to periodically review the automatic maximum coverage under the Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance program and the Veterans’ Group Life Insurance program, according to the legislation.
“Adjusting the value of the life insurance policies of service members and veterans in line with inflation will ensure that America rightly honors their memory and cares for their loved ones after they are gone,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, another co-sponsor.
