VETERAN LEGISLATION

S. 242 – (1 Cosponsor), Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), 1/22/15 – Wounded Warriors Federal Leave Act – Provide leave to any new Federal employee who is a veteran with a service-connected disability rated at 30 percent or more for purposes of undergoing medical treatment for such disability.

H.R. 388 – (24 Cosponsors), Rep. Paul Ruiz (D-CA), 1/14/15 - Provide for a lifetime National Recreational Pass for any veteran with a service-connected disability.

H.R. 473 – (1 Cosponsor), Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL), 1/22/15 – Increasing the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability to Veterans Act – Improve the accountability of employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

H.R. 517 – (No Cosponsors), Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV), 1/22/15 – Establish a task force to evaluate the backlog of appeals to claims submitted to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

H.R. 607 – (No Cosponsors), Rep. Julia Brownley (D-CA), 1/28/15 – Amend the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 to extend the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program.

H.R. 658 – (1 Cosponsor), Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY), 2/2/15 – Require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress an annual report on the performance of the regional offices of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

H.R. 800 – (7 Cosponsors), Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX), 2/9/15 – Direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot program to provide veterans the option of using an alternative appeals process to more quickly determine claims for disability compensation.

H.R 303 – (12 Cosponsors), Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), 1/13/15 – Permit additional retired members of the Armed Forces who have a service-connected disability to receive both disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs for their disability and either retired pay by reason of their years of military service or combat-related special compensation.

H.R. 333 – (10 Cosponsors), Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA), 1/13/15 – Disabled Veterans Tax Termination Act – Permit retired members of the Armed Forces who have a service-connected disability rated less than 50 percent to receive concurrent payment of both retired pay and veterans’ disability compensation, to extend eligibility for concurrent receipt to chapter 61 disability retirees with less than 20 years of service.

S. 271 – (1 Cosponsor), Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), 1/27/15 – Retired Pay Restoration Act – Permit certain retired members of the uniformed services who have a service connected disability to receive both disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs for their disability and either retired pay by reason of their years of military service or Combat-Related Special Compensation.

H.R. 675 – (1 Cosponsor), Rep. Ralph Lee Abraham (R-LA) 2/3/15 – Increase, effective as of December 1, 2015, the rates of compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for the survivors of certain disabled veterans.

Vietnam Veterans of America Legislative Update

VETERAN LEGISLATION