NEWS FROM….

CONGRESSMAN LANE EVANS

RANKING DEMOCRATIC MEMBER

COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS

    U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FOR RELEASE: June 29, 1999

Washington, DC -Today, the House voted to enact three veterans bills, including the omnibus Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 1999 (H.R. 2280) which contained several provisions which Lane Evans, the Illinois Democratic Leader of the House Veterans Affairs Committee authored. In addition, the House adopted the Veteran Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act (H.R. 1568) and a joint resolution congratulating and commending the Veterans of Foreign Wars on its 100^th anniversary (H.J.Res. 34).

Evans, a co-sponsor of the three bills, said, "It’s a very good day for veterans. As a strong supporter of these measures, I encourage the Senate to take quick action and approve each measure soon."

The Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act

The most comprehensive measure, H.R. 2880, the Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 1999, provides improvements in a broad range of benefits for veterans and their survivors and also provides for the orderly transition of Judges at the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Many of the provisions included in H.R. 2880 were first included in Evans’ authored legislation.

One section includes provisions of the National Cemetery Act of 1999, introduced by Evans, which requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to plan four new national cemeteries in areas of the country most in need. "Just as the need for veterans cemeteries is peaking," he says, "VA has stalled on developing new facilities to meet our Nation’s commitment to a final resting place of honor for those who have served in uniform. This provision directs VA to begin planning four new national cemeteries," Evans explained.

The bill also incorporates provisions of Evans’ Selected Reserve Housing Loan Fairness Act, which would provide permanent eligibility for veterans’ housing loans to members of the Selected Reserve who complete six years of service. "This authority," says Evans, who also serves on the House Armed Services Committee, "will give the Selected Reserve added incentive to recruit the best young people out there."

Another section of the omnibus legislation will restore eligibility for CHAMP-VA medical care, education benefits, and home loan assistance to remarried surviving spouses who lost eligibility for these benefits upon remarriage and whose subsequent marriage has ended. "This one is close to my heart," Evans says. "I’m very pleased the House agrees."

Evans also introduced the bill’s provisions to assure that the Veterans Benefits Administration’s internal quality assurance activities meet recognized appropriate governmental standards for independence and internal control. "While VBA has made some improvements by developing an accuracy measure which focuses on VA’s rating claims for benefits," Evans says, "further improvements are needed in claims processing quality assurance. In fiscal year 2000, the VA will pay over $22 billion dollars in monetary benefits to veterans. Without a mandated program of quality assurance, which meets generally accepted governmental auditing standards for program performance audits, impartial and independent oversight of the quality of claims adjudication decisions will not be assured."

H.R. 2280 will also:

• Add bronchiolo-alveolar carcinoma, a rare form of lung cancer not associated with tobacco use, to the list of diseases presumed to be service connected and thus compensable for certain radiation-exposed veterans;
• Expand the fundraising authorities of the American Battle Monuments Commission to expedite the establishment of the World War II memorial;
• Authorize appropriations to the Department of Labor of $10 million for fiscal year 2000, $15 million for fiscal year 2001, $20 million for fiscal year 2002, $25 million fiscal year 2003, and $30 million for fiscal year 2004 for the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP);
• Make needed technical amendments to the transitional housing loan guarantee program;
• Improve the retirement and survivor annuity programs applicable to judges of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, so as to be more consistent with those of other federal judges;
• Provide a cost-of-living increase for veterans receiving compensation for a service-connected disability and survivors of service-connected disabled veterans receiving dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC);
• Expand the fund-raising authorities of the American Battle Monuments Commission to hasten the establishment of the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC; and
• Authorize additional funding for the Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program administered by the Department of Labor.

The Veteran Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act

"As a long-time supporter of veterans small business efforts and veterans employment programs," Evans says, " I signed on immediately as an original co-sponsor of the Veterans Entrepreneurship Act. The hard-working veteran business owners of America have called for the creation of a National Veterans Business Development Corporation and a clear congressional mandate for the Small Business Administration (SBA) to champion their efforts to gain access to business opportunities. This is a good bill."

Most net job growth in the last 10-15 years in the United States has resulted from small businesses. "Not only does America need small business," Evans says, "it needs the networking skills, the inventiveness, the can-do attitude of veterans that we as taxpayers have paid to develop. Our country has an investment in the success of veteran entrepreneurs - including many disabled veterans -- and this legislation will help protect our investment."

The National Veterans Business Development Corporation created by the bill would set up a nationwide network of small business assistance to veterans, using public and private sector initiatives and partnerships. Existing SBA microloan and Delta Loans would be made available to veterans, and an SBA Office of Veterans Business Development would oversee and support these efforts.

"Veterans who go into their own businesses are a double asset to America," says Congressman Evans. "They contribute their service-honed skills to the development of our economy, and they are a key link in the expansion of employment opportunities for their brother and sister veterans. It is just plain good sense to give them meaningful support in today’s global economy. I believe we’ll have strong Senate support for this bill."

House Joint Resolution 34 - Congratulating and Commending the Veterans of Foreign Wars

"With the rest of the House of Representatives," says Evans, "I congratulate the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States on the 100th Anniversary of its founding. We all commend VFW’s two million members and thank them for their service to the Nation."

"I’ve worked with the VFW both in Washington and across Illinois," Evans says. "I’ve seen their generous volunteer programs, their national advocacy for veterans and their everyday representation of individual veterans making benefits claims. Together, these activities create a pattern of national service that every American can commend and appreciate."

Evans shares credit for what he terms a day of serious victories with his colleagues on the Veterans’ Affairs and Small Business committees. "We have all worked very hard to bring so much useful veterans’ legislation forward," he says.