By Patrick Pellerin
VRNA legislative director
The House of Representatives has legislation increasing Veterans' benefits, the House and Senate Veterans Appropriations bills contain program funding for next fiscal year and President George W. Bush has signed a law that now allows construction of the National World War II Memorial to begin on the Mall in Washington, DC.
Veterans' Benefit Act
The House has passed legislation that, if agreed to by the Senate, would increase pension and service-connected disability compensation by more than $400 million annually. The Veterans' Benefits Act of 2001 would also make Gulf War Veterans with undiagnosed illnesses eligible for compensation.
In passing the legislation, Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, said that there are more than 2.3 million disabled Veterans or survivors of disabled Veterans who would receive an increase under this legislation. Those Veterans rated 100 percent disabled would receive additional funds each year, Chairman Smith estimates, if this legislation is enacted into law.
The legislation also would make a number of chronic conditions eligible for compensation as undiagnosed illnesses stemming from service in the Persian Gulf War. Chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and chronic multisymptom illness would be added to the list of undiagnosed illnesses for purposes of providing service-connected compensation.
The bill also includes new provisions to allow payment of National Service Life Insurance or United States Government Life Insurance policies to alternate beneficiaries when the first beneficiary cannot be located within three years of the death of the insured and establishes a twoyear nationwide pilot program to expand available hours for the VA's toll-free information service.
Appropriations Bill
The House and Senate also have approved separate Veterans' appropriations bills that include looking at funding for such programs as the Veterans Medical Health Care, Veterans Medical and Prosthetic Research and funding to assist the Veterans Benefits Administration in expediting claims processing.
The bills also provide funding for Veterans State Extended Care Facilities, for major and minor construction and for new cemetery land purchases in selected cities around the country.
Proposed funding is also included for the Veterans Hospital Emergency Repair Act for repairs to dilapidated and obsolete VA medical facilities and cost of living increases in compensation and pensions. Final funding figures will be available following a House-Senate Conference Committee on the appropriations bills.
World War II Memorial
President Bush has signed into law legislation that clears the way for construction to begin on the National World War II Memorial on the Mall in Washington, DC. The American Battle Monuments Commission has announced that a $56 million contract to build the memorial has been awarded to the joint venture of Tompkins Builders and Grunley-Walsh Construction, thus ending an eight year battle to construct this new Memorial. Representatives of the VRNA were in Washington, DC for Veterans' Day 2000 and VRNA Board Member Jan Scruggs participated in the ground breaking for this new Memorial. We will bring you updates on the construction process through articles in Veterans Resource and our Web site, www.VRNA.org.
Winter 2001-2002 Table of Contents
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