INTRODUCTION

Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) is the only congressionally chartered Veterans Service Organization exclusively dedicated to serving the needs of our Nation’s blinded veterans and their families for 65 years. On behalf of BVA, thank you for this opportunity to present BVA's legislative concerns on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Specially Adaptive Housing programs. Chairwoman Herseth-Sandlin, Ranking member Boozman, and members of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, thank you for the changes you already have made to these special adaptive housing grant programs in the past and we appreciate the introduction of HR 5360 “Blinded Veterans Adaptive Housing Improvement Act of 2010.” BVA does have concerns over the existing programs ability though to provide the amounts for adaptive housing construction costs necessary to meet the future needs of visually disabled veterans. 

VA screening TBI studies find that about 60 percent diagnosed with TBI have associated visual disorders of diplopia, convergence disorder, photophobia, ocular-motor dysfunction, and an inability to interpret print. Approximately 4 percent of those veterans with TBI injury result in legal blindness standard of 20/200 or less so they often meet legal standard of blindness. They have significant functional visual impairments, diagnosed as Post-Trauma Vision Syndrome (PTVS) from their TBI. They often enter VA Low Vision Optometry clinics and are prescribed wide variety of adaptive visual technology devices and they need additional electrical wiring in there homes for both the equipment and for increased lighting along with other home modifications. The problem has been that with the current 5/200 criteria those who are service connected for blindness at 20/200 or 20 degrees or less of peripheral vision do not meet the VBA standard in Section 2101 (b) (2) (A) for the SHA grant.  

If accessible housing grants are not sufficient to allow disabled veterans to live independently at home, the alternative high cost of institutional care in nursing homes will occur. The average private room charge for nursing home care was $212 daily, ($77,380 annual), and for semi-private $191 ($69,715) annually according to MetLife 2008 Survey. Even assisted living centers charges of $3,031 month ($36,372) rose another 2% in 2008. BVA would point to these more costly alternatives than VA providing sufficient adaptive housing grants for a veteran to remain in their home functioning independently.

BVA appreciated this committee enacted Public Law 110-157 (HR 797) to make similar change to the paired organ statute for blinded veterans who were service connected blind in one eye and then lost vision in their other remaining eye to make the standard 20/200 or 20 degrees of visual field loss to remove the problem with the 5/200 standard being used by VBA for rating the loss of vision. This one change impacted a small percentage of the total number of veterans who already receive VA service connection benefits for vision related conditions but have improved their quality of life by allowing for the benefits they needed when blinded in both eyes.

CURRENT SPECIALLY ADAPTED HOUSING SERVICES

 Special Home Adaptation Grant (SHA). The Special Home Adaptation (SHA) grant, on the other hand, helps service-connected veterans with specific mobility problems within the home. The SHA grant is for $12,756. The disability must be permanent and total due to:

• Blindness in both eyes with a 5/200 visual acuity or less, or 
• Anatomical loss or loss of both hands and extremities below the elbow.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The current SAH requirement from the Veterans’ Housing Opportunity and Benefits Improvement Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-233), June 15, 2006 and previous laws used standard of blindness of 5/200 acuity and requirements of loss of use of both hands should be modified to permanent service connected blindness of 20/200 or less, or loss of peripheral visual fields to 20 degrees or less in HR 5380 and we urge passage of this bill this session of congress. The current standards now for this restricts helping those returning OIF and OEF functionally blinded veterans and some TBI veterans with visual impairments requiring assistance and adaptive technology because they would never qualify for this current 5/200 standard leaving them with no grants.

Other Pending Legislation

BVA is supportive of HR 3685 to provide internet website information for VetSuccess to assist veterans in finding links for job information. BVA also would support HR 4319 to provide for certain improvements in specially adapted housing assistance under Section 2102A.BVA supports HR 4765 to authorize expansion of work study allowance to include certain outreach services provided through congressional offices for distribution of information to veterans and families on benefits and services. BVA has no resolutions regarding these following bills being considered today HR 114, HR 4664, HR 4635 and therefore can not make recommendations on these bills.

CONCLUSION

Chairwoman Herseth-Sandlin and ranking member Boozman, BVA again expresses our thanks for the recent changes that the VA committee has made to these various grant programs in the past couple years.  Those severely disabled from all previous wars accessing the adaptive housing grants programs necessary to live independently in their own homes must have adequate grants to meet the costs of renovations. BVA appreciated the opportunity to testify today and I will be glad to answer any questions now.