06.27.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Today,
the
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
held
a
hearing
on
the
capital
investment
options
available
to
the
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs
(VA)
in
light
of
changes
made
by
the
Congressional
Budget
Office
(CBO)
on
how
the
cost
of
major
medical
facility
leases
are
scored.
Due
to
COB's
scoring
changes,
the
full
costs
of
certain
leases
are
now
required
to
be
accounted
for
up
front.
"The
implications
of
CBO's
scoring
of
VA
medical
facility
lease
authorizations
are
… Read More
06.18.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Today,
the
House
Veterans'
Affairs
Subcommittee
on
Disability
Assistance
and
Memorial
Affairs
held
a
hearing
examining
the
growing
backlog
of
appeals
pending
with
the
Department
of
Veterans'
Affairs
(VA).
In
recent
years,
VA
regional
offices
have
shifted
resources
away
from
appeals
and
towards
claims,
which
has
led
to
lengthy
appeals
timeframes.
The
subcommittee
is
concerned
that
a
large
increase
in
the
adjudication
of
claims,
as
assumed
by
VA's
efforts
to
eliminate
the
… Read More
06.04.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Today,
the
U.S.
House
of
Representatives
passed
H.R.
671,
the
Ruth
Moore
Act,
by
a
voice
vote.Introduced
by
Rep.
Chellie
Pingree
(ME-01),
the
Ruth
Moore
Act
aims
to
spur
reform
of
the
evidentiary
standards
for
survivors
of
military
sexual
trauma
(MST)
who
file
claims
for
mental
health
conditions
with
the
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs.
The
ultimate
goal
of
the
bill
is
to
make
it
easier
for
veteran
sexual-assault
victims
to
receive
service-connected
benefits
and
treatment
… Read More
06.04.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Today,
the
Subcommittee
on
Oversight
and
Investigations
of
the
House
Veterans'
Affairs
Committee
held
a
hearing
that
examined
the
security
of
veterans'
private
information.
"Veterans
need
to
know
the
information
they
submit
to
VA
will
not
be
compromised
under
any
circumstances,"
said
Rep.
Ann
Kirkpatrick
(Arizona-01),
the
subcommittee's
ranking
member.
"Whether
it's
reducing
the
claims
backlog,
system
integration
with
the
Defense
Department
on
records,
or
safeguarding
… Read More
06.03.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Today,
Representative
Mike
Michaud,
Ranking
Member
of
the
House
Veterans'
Affairs
Committee,
issued
the
following
statement
on
the
passing
of
Senator
Frank
Lautenberg
of
New
Jersey:
"Senator
Lautenberg
committed
much
of
his
life
to
serving
this
country.
His
service
in
World
War
II
and
his
subsequent
work
in
the
United
States
Senate
speaks
not
only
to
his
commitment
to
our
country's
future,
but
also
to
the
enduring
contributions
that
he
and
all
of
our
veterans
have
made,
… Read More
05.22.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Joined
by
veteran
groups
on
Capitol
Hill,
House
lawmakers
unveiled
a
legislative
package
today
designed
to
help
the
Department
of
Veterans'
Affairs
(VA)
accomplish
its
goal
to
eliminate
the
backlog
by
2015.
All
ten
bills
in
the
package
have
now
been
introduced,
and
a
summary
of
the
plan
can
be
found
here.
"I
applaud
the
VA's
ambitious
goal,
but
the
time
for
relying
on
them
to
get
the
job
done
alone
is
over,"
said
Rep.
Mike
Michaud
(Maine-02),
the
Ranking
Member
of
the
… Read More
05.22.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Today,
Representative
Mike
Michaud
(Maine-02),
Ranking
Member
of
the
House
Veterans'
Affairs
Committee,
expressed
disappointment
in
the
Department
of
Defense
(DoD)
announcement
that
it
will
put
out
to
bid
for
a
new
system
to
manage
its
health
records.
Michaud
and
his
Republican
and
Democratic
colleagues
on
the
committee
sent
a
letter
today
to
President
Obama
urging
him
to
show
leadership
and
end
the
bureaucratic
back
and
forth
on
records,
which
has
a
direct
impact
on
… Read More
05.08.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Today,
the
Subcommittee
on
Oversight
and
Investigations
of
the
House
Veterans'
Affairs
Committee
held
a
hearing
examining
the
Department
of
Veterans'
Affairs
(VA)
construction
program.
GAO's
May
2013
report
"VA
Construction:
Additional
Actions
Needed
to
Decrease
Delays
and
Lower
Costs
of
Major
Medical-Facility
Projects"
found
that
VA's
four
largest
medical-facility
construction
projects
(Las
Vegas,
Orlando,
Denver
and
New
Orleans)
all
had
cost
increases
ranging
from
59%
to
… Read More
05.08.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
The
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
voted
to
approve
six
bills
during
a
full
committee
markup
today.
The
bills
cleared
today
address
a
number
of
issues,
including:
military
sexual
assault,
VA
executive
bonuses,
training
and
education
programs
for
veterans,
and
veterans'
Second
Amendment
rights.
"Today's
markup
continues
our
committee's
bipartisan
approach
to
serving
our
nation's
veterans,"
said
Ranking
Member
Mike
Michaud
(Maine-02).
"I
look
forward
to
advancing
… Read More
04.30.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Representative
Mike
Michaud
(Maine-02),
Ranking
Member
of
the
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs,
reacted
to
today's
White
House
announcement
that
American
businesses
have
hired
or
trained
290,000
veterans
and
military
spouses
over
the
past
two
years
and
have
committed
to
hiring
435,000
more
by
2018.
"It's
great
news
that
the
business
community's
commitment
to
hiring
veterans
and
their
families
has
not
only
been
successful,
but
is
being
expanded.
Too
many
of
our
men
… Read More
04.25.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Today,
Democrats
on
the
House
Veterans'
Affairs
Committee
announced
a
coordinated
legislative
effort
to
help
the
Department
of
Veterans'
Affairs
(VA)
in
its
efforts
to
address
the
growing
backlog
of
claims.
The
10
bills,
which
are
outlined
here,
seek
to
help
VA
accomplish
its
goal
to
eliminate
the
backlog
by
2015.
"We
need
to
address
the
unacceptably
large
backlog
of
claims
in
order
to
get
veterans
the
benefits
they've
earned
faster.
The
VA
has
set
an
aggressive
goal
of
… Read More
04.24.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Today,
the
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
held
an
oversight
hearing
on
the
strategic
and
policy
implications
of
the
Affordable
Care
Act
(ACA)
on
veterans
eligible
for
and
engaged
with
health
care
provided
by
the
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs
(VA).
Committee
members
examined
the
potential
impact
of
the
law
and
VA's
efforts
to
understand,
implement,
and
meet
the
ACA's
requirements.
"The
implementation
of
the
Affordable
Care
Act
will
be
an
historic
accomplishment.
… Read More
04.16.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
-
Today,
the
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
sent
a
bipartisan
letter
to
Department
of
Defense
(DoD)
Secretary
Chuck
Hagel
urging
him
to
follow
through
on
a
February
2013
plan
to
improve
disability
benefits
claims
processing
for
transitioning
service
members
and
veterans.
The
mutually
agreed
upon
plan
that
the
DoD
and
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs
(VA)
struck
calls
for
the
DoD
to
begin
the
transfer
of
complete
and
certified
Service
Treatment
Records
(STRs)
to
VA
… Read More
04.11.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Today,
the
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
held
a
hearing
on
President
Obama's
recently
released
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs
(VA)
budget
request.
VA
Secretary
Shinseki,
VA
leaders
and
veteran
service
organizations
all
testified
at
today's
full
committee
hearing.
The
overall
VA
budget
request
for
fiscal
year
2014
is
$152.7
billion.
"Especially
during
a
time
of
austerity,
this
request
for
a
VA
funding
increase
represents
our
nation's
ongoing
commitment
to
those
who
… Read More
04.10.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Today,
the
House
Veterans'
Affairs
Committee's
Subcommittee
on
Economic
Opportunity
received
testimony
on
a
number
of
bills,
including
ones
related
to
the
Post
9/11
GI
Bill,
veterans'
vocational
rehabilitation
and
retraining,
transition
assistance,
work
study,
and
participation
in
U.S.
Paralympics
programs.
"This
hearing
explored
a
number
of
issues
important
to
our
veterans,
and
I'm
pleased
that
our
committee
continues
to
operate
in
such
a
bipartisan
manner,"
said
… Read More
04.10.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Today,
the
House
Veterans'
Affairs
Committee's
Subcommittee
on
Disability
Assistance
and
Memorial
Affairs
held
a
hearing
on
the
state
of
veterans'
cemeteries,
including
upkeep
and
areas
for
improvement.
Additionally,
the
hearing
examined
a
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs
Office
of
Inspector
General's
(VAOIG)
report
from
February
7,
2013,
entitled
"Audit
of
Internal
Gravesite
Review
of
Headstone
and
Marker
Placement,"
which
found
that
the
National
Cemetery
Administration
… Read More
04.09.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Today,
Representative
Mike
Michaud
(ME-02),
Ranking
Member
of
the
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs,
issued
the
following
statement
on
the
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs
(VA)
announcement
that
it
will
expedite
claims
for
veterans
who
have
waited
a
year
or
longer
for
compensation
decisions:
"The
announcement
today
by
Secretary
Shinseki
and
Undersecretary
Hickey
shows
that
the
VA
is
serious
about
reducing
the
backlog
and
is
willing
to
put
forward
new
ideas
to
get
it
… Read More
03.20.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Today,
the
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
held
a
hearing
examining
the
efforts
of
the
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs
(VA)
to
address
the
nearly
900,000
pending
claims
from
veterans
seeking
compensation
and
pension
disability
benefits.
Of
the
total
inventory
of
claims,
588,011,
or
72
percent,
have
been
pending
for
more
than
125
days.
"I'm
as
frustrated
as
anyone
that
this
unacceptably
high
backlog
of
claims
has
persisted.
It
affects
our
veterans
and
their
families
… Read More
03.14.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Today,
the
Subcommittee
on
Economic
Opportunity
of
the
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
held
a
hearing
that
looked
at
the
unemployment
rate
and
employment
challenges
among
members
of
the
National
Guard
and
Reserves.
Members
of
the
committee
also
solicited
suggestions
that
witnesses
may
have
for
reducing
unemployment.
Veterans
who
were
on
active
duty
in
2011
had
an
unemployment
rate
of
8.3
percent
while
RC
members
had
a
9.1
unemployment
rate.
"The
Bureau
of
Labor
… Read More
03.14.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Today,
the
House
Veterans'
Affairs
Subcommittee
on
Oversight
and
Investigations
held
a
hearing
on
the
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs'
(VA)
policies
on
scheduling
and
measuring
patient
wait
times.
The
Subcommittee
reviewed
work
conducted
by
the
U.S.
Government
Accountability
Office
(GAO)
identifying
inconsistencies
in
patient
wait
times
reported
by
the
VA,
including
unreliable
information
and
varying
degrees
of
policy
implementation.
The
hearing
also
reviewed
VA's
metrics
… Read More
