Press Releases

Today, the Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Rep. Jeff Miller discussed the importance of the urgent need to pass legislation to curb the rising rates of unemployment among America’s veteran population in the Hill. “60,000 veterans were added to the unemployment rolls in June. That brought the total number of America’s out-of-work veterans to… Read more »

Today, the Subcommittee on Health held an oversight hearing entitled, “Implementation of Caregiver Assistance: Moving Forward,” to track the progress of the implementation of the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010, which the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) only recently brought online after months of delay. Due to Congressional pressure this… Read more »

Today, Rep. Jeff Miller, Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, introduced complementary legislation to the Veteran Opportunity to Work (VOW) Act of 2011 (H.R. 2433) to help curb rising veteran unemployment. The Tax Credit to Hire Veterans Act of 2011 (H.R. 2443) would provide a tax incentive to be applied toward capital equipment purchases to small businesses that… Read more »

To watch a preview of the legislation, please click here. Today, Rep. Jeff Miller, Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, introduced comprehensive legislation to help stem the rising unemployment rate among America’s veteran population, which stands at nearly 1 million. The Veteran Opportunity to Work (VOW) Act of 2011 (H.R. 2433) is a 360 approach that… Read more »

“The First Amendment of the Constitution grants all Americans the right of free speech and religion. This week, however, there are allegations that these basic liberties are being violated at the Houston National Cemetery by prohibiting the use of the word ‘God’ on cemetery grounds. If true, then we, and the Courts, must take immediate action against the activism that is… Read more »

Yesterday, the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs held an oversight hearing to obtain an update from Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) on the problems that have plagued the Cemetery. It was disclosed at the hearing that boxes of records from the Cemetery had recently been discovered at an off-site public storage facility on June 10, when a bill for the facility… Read more »

Today, the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs heard testimony concerning the apparent disconnect between Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) mental health programs and disability compensation in helping veterans heal from the invisible wounds of war. Witnesses were called to bring forth a diversity of suggestions to better assist veterans seeking mental health treatment, while… Read more »

Today, the Subcommittee on Health questioned members of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and several veterans service organizations (VSO) regarding the recent GAO report on sexual assaults at VA facilities. Although VA has formed a work group to begin to address the recommendations set forth by the GAO, it has not yet implemented a… Read more »

Today, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report entitled, “VA Health Care: Actions Needed to Prevent Sexual Assaults and Other Safety Incidents.” In the report, requested by Rep. Jeff Miller, Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and Rep. Bob Filner, Ranking Member of the Committee, GAO found that between 2007-2010, 284 sexual assaults… Read more »

Yesterday, the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs held a hearing entitled, “How to Improve Underperforming Regional Offices.” The oversight hearing focused on the performance of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regional offices in adjudicating veterans claims for disability compensation. At the end of May, VA had more than 800,000 disability… Read more »