Good morning, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Lamborn, and distinguished Members of the Subcommittee. Thank you for giving Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) the opportunity to offer our comments on the important legislative proposals under consideration today.

H.R. 3407, the “Severely Injured Veteran Benefit Improvement Act” would increase rates of the following veterans' benefits: (1) wartime disability compensation for veterans in need of regular aid and attendance or higher levels of care; and (2) the non-service-connected disability pension for veterans of a period of war whose disability is rated permanent and total and who are permanently housebound.

H.R. 3407 also makes disabled veterans with severe burn injuries eligible for automobile and adaptive equipment assistance; and, it makes veterans who suffer traumatic brain injury eligible for wartime disability compensation; and, this bill also authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to increase the rate of the special pension for persons entered on Medal of Honor rolls.

Lastly, H.R. 3407 would extend to September 30, 2021, provisions concerning the treatment of pension amounts of Medicaid-covered veterans who are receiving nursing facility services.

Vietnam Veterans of America applauds Congressman Buyer for introducing this much needed legislation, and also commends the more than two dozen co-sponsors from both sides of aisle. This proposal would recognize the needs of veterans with severe Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) and terrible burns to make sure that the special needs of these severely wounded veterans are properly recognized and compensated to put them on an appropriate par with veterans suffering more “traditional” catastrophic injuries. Frankly TBI and terrible burns from explosive devices have become “signature wounds” of our current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). When Congressman Buyer introduced this important legislation, almost one year ago, he correctly noted that many (if indeed not most) of these servicemembers would likely have died of their wounds in earlier conflicts, therefore it is incumbent on us to make sure that the law (and the regulations) reflect the fact that they survived and have significant needs that need to be properly addressed. It is right and fitting to modify the statutes to ensure that those with severe TBI and burns are eligible for automobile and for adaptive equipment, and that those with TBI be eligible for wartime disability compensation and eligible for aid and attendance.

Earlier this year Congress passed the so-called “Care Givers” bill, which VVA supported, even though this bill only assisted the caregivers for the veterans of a single conflict. This distinguished Committee has a long and history and deep tradition of at least trying to ensure equity among the generations, and trying to ensure that one generation of veterans is not in effect pitted against another generation. The referenced legislation was and is much welcomed by the caregivers for the current generation of veterans who have returned from the Global War On Terror, as well as by all of us who care deeply about their well-being, and the Congress is to be commended for this important step. That program is indeed needed to ensure that these veterans and their families have every opportunity to stay together, solvent, and in their home with dignity and with a relatively decent standard of living. The motivation to “do right by this new generation” and not repeat what the country did to those returning from Vietnam and our families is very strong.

While H.R. 3407 takes a somewhat different approach, enactment of this proposed legislation would go a long way toward restoring equity for those who have been providing care for veterans of earlier conflicts by significantly increasing the rate of special compensation to all severely disabled veterans, thereby easing the strain of caring for these veterans most in need. It would also accord a major increase to non-service connected severely disabled wartime veterans who are housebound, many of whom served our country well in earlier wars and are now in need of such assistance. It will have the effect of making it possible for these veterans to stay in their homes, with dignity, as they approach the end of life. While we are grateful for COLAs when they come, this has not been enough to have nearly the effect that this bill will have on these deserving veterans.

Lastly, H.R. 3407 authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase the special pension for persons entered on the Medal of Honor rolls, within the limit of existing funds, up to $2,000 per month. As there are only 80 or fewer living recipients, this will obviously not be fiscal strain on the country, but will help better recognize these extraordinary Americans.

H.R. 3787 the “Honor America’s Guard-Reserve Retirees Act” (As Amended By Nature of A Substitute) would deem as active duty service, for purposes of benefits provided through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), service of a person entitled to retired pay for non-regular (reserve) service or, but for age, would be so entitled.

With the advent of the “total force” concept in the overall United States military, and the very heavy reliance on Reserve forces of all of the braches of our military, and also heavy reliance on the National Guard, to wage war and to accomplish the mission of defending the nation, the very nature of service in these units has so dramatically changed for these personnel since they first entered service as to make the previous distinction between active duty and Guard-Reserve a very blurred line indeed. There is a need to change the law regarding benefits accorded by the VA to reflect these changes in the nature of service. The axiom “same hostile fire – same benefits” is appropriate here. VVA strongly favors enactment of this bill.

H.R. 4541 the “Veterans Pensions Protection Act of 2010” would exclude from annual income, for purposes of eligibility for pensions for veterans and their surviving spouses and children, reimbursements resulting from: (1) any accident; (2) any theft or loss; (3) any casualty loss; (4) medical expenses resulting from any such accident, theft, or loss; and (5) pain and suffering (including insurance settlement payments and general damages awarded by a court) related to such accident, theft, or loss.

The VA practice of including all funds received from any source, including one time receipt of restitution of property for theft or fire, as income for those on non-service connected pension from VA was never a particularly wise one, and was often seen a just plain perverse and mean spirited. VVA commends Mr. Hastings and his colleagues who have co-sponsored this measure, and urge the Congress move toward enactment at an early date.

H.R. 5549 “The Rating and Processing Individuals' Disability Claims Act' or the `RAPID Claims Act'”  would allow a veteran who has representation from an accredited representative to waive lengthy waiting periods when filing a claim if they and their representative have gathered all evidence and relevant information, and it would further require the Secretary to consider the claim in an expeditious manner.

VVA ha long maintained that the key to eliminating the backlog is proper preparation of claims, and making the process yield more accurate determinations. This very simple and straightforward bill will codify what is just common sense.

VVA favors early passage of this legislation.

H.R. 5064 the “Fair Access to Veterans Benefits Act of 2010” would extend the 120-day limit for the filing of an appeal to the Court of Veterans Appeals after a final decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals upon a showing of good cause for such time as justice may require. The proposal considers as good cause the inability of a person to file within the 120-day period due to a service-connected disability. Further, the bill would make such extension applicable to appeals of final Board decisions issued on or after July 24, 2008.

It has never made any sense to those of us at Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) that the VA can take any amount of time such as they may consume to take an action on a claim by an individual veteran, but woe to the veteran who misses a VA deadline, no matter how valid the reason. This proposed action simply makes this process a bit more equitable in that if the veteran misses a deadline due to that very disability in question, or a related disability, then the appeal will be considered.

VVA strongly favors early passage of this legislation.

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my remarks. Many thanks to you and your colleagues again for allowing Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) to share our views with this distinguished committee today. I will be pleased to answer any questions you or your colleagues may have.