Statutes Amended In Order of Appearance

Synopsis As Introduced
Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides for issuance of Women Veteran license plates, at an additional initial charge of $15 with eligibility requirements to be determined by the Secretary of State. Provides that the $15 additional initial charge shall be deposited into the Secretary of State Special License Plate Fund. Effective immediately.

Actions 

We need your support! 

HB 4667 Passed the House with 102 in Favor and 7 Not in Favor...

We are almost there!!

 SB 2803 is now pending and we need everyone to please contact your State Senator and ask them to co-sponsor SB 2803.....update 2/14/10

*********************

Call your Illinois State representative and ask her/him to support HB 4667

A Women Veterans License Plate....

Women who served, deserve this recognition!click here

Stay informed.....

 Do you know who your State Congressional legislators are? Do you know what House and Senate Committees they serve on? Have you checked their voting record? Do you know who your State Representative or Senator is? 

We need your support! 

HB 4667 Passed the House with 102 in Favor and 7 Not in Favor...

We are almost there!!

 SB 2803 is now pending and we need everyone to please contact your State Senator and ask them to co-sponsor SB 2803.....update 2/14/10

*********************

Call your Illinois State representative and ask her/him to support HB 4667

A Women Veterans License Plate....

Women who served, deserve this recognition!click here

Stay informed.....

 Do you know who your State Congressional legislators are? Do you know what House and Senate Committees they serve on? Have you checked their voting record? Do you know who your State Representative or Senator is? 

 Filipino Veterans

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), Chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, issued a statement today regarding legislation to provide recognition to Filipino World War II veterans who served under U.S. military command.  Akaka vowed to renew his advocacy in the new Congress next year after efforts to bring the legislation to final passage last week was obstructed in the Senate.

Chairman Akaka said: "The record is clear on the Filipino veterans of World War II.  They are not foreigners who fought for a foreign government.  They were citizens of the Philippines - then a U.S. possession - who fought under the command of the U.S. military.  After World War II, General Omar Bradley and the U.S. government recognized them as U.S. veterans.  Tragically, less than a year after they helped us win the war, they lost their veteran status by an Act of Congress.  This was a shameful act against our brothers in arms - who fought side-by-side with America's greatest generation and risked their lives to rescue American prisoners of war."

"While Congress voted to establish a nearly $200 million Filipino Veterans Equity fund this year, opponents of Filipino veterans equity successfully blocked the legislation required to provide veteran status and compensation to the few remaining Filipino veterans of World War II.  We have been deterred, but we are not defeated.  I intend to return to this issue in the next Congress.  The march toward equity is not over." 

Akaka is the sponsor of S. 1315, the Veterans' Benefits Enhancement Act of 2007, an omnibus veterans' benefits bill which contained provisions to provide Filipino World War II veterans who served under U.S. military command with recognition as veterans, a limited pension, and increased compensation for their twilight years.  These provisions were adapted from S. 57, the Filipino Veterans Equity Act, introduced by U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI), Hawaii's senior Senator.  Akaka led a successful floor fight for S. 1315 in the Senate, defeating an amendment to remove the Filipino veterans language and securing Senate passage by a vote of 96 to 1.  However, the Filipino veterans' provisions were stripped in the House of Representatives, and Akaka's efforts to negotiate a final version of the bill were blocked when the bill was returned to the Senate. 

Chairman Akaka's full statement follows:

The record is clear on the Filipino veterans of World War II.  They are not foreigners who fought for a foreign government.  They were citizens of the Philippines - then a U.S. possession - who President Franklin D. Roosevelt inducted to fight under the command of the U.S. military.  After World War II, General Omar Bradley and the U.S. government recognized them as U.S. veterans.  Tragically, less than a year after they helped us win the war, they lost their veteran status by an Act of Congress.  This was a shameful act against our brothers in arms - who fought side-by-side with America's greatest generation and risked their lives to rescue American prisoners of war

In this Congress, we sought to right what an earlier Congress has done wrong by offering three separate bills that would move toward equity for Filipino veterans.  The first was S. 1315, the Veterans' Benefits Enhancement Act of 2007, which would have recognized Filipino World War II veterans and provided a limited pension, and increased compensation, for their twilight years.  This bill, which was adapted from S. 57, the Filipino Veterans Equity Act, introduced by my friend and colleague, Senator Daniel K. Inouye, was approved by the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs and passed the Senate, despite obstruction by a small group of Senators.  Unfortunately, when S. 1315 returned to the Senate with Congressional adjournment approaching, the provisions for Filipino veterans had been removed. 

In an effort to pass something during this Congress, my friend and counterpart on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, Chairman Bob Filner pushed a second option: H.R. 6897, a bill to provide a one-time payment to Filipino veterans - less than what S. 1315 would have provided, but more than nothing.  At the same time, a third bill moved forward, to provide money for Filipino veterans through the Continuing Resolution to fund the federal government - providing $198 million for a Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund, which would be established by Chairman Filner's legislation.

With time running out, I sought to convene a conference to negotiate S. 1315.  This would have allowed representatives from both chambers and both parties to meet and debate that bill.  Unfortunately, members of the Senate blocked my efforts to convene a conference.  Overcoming their hold would have required more floor time than we had, and kept the Senate from considering other issues, such as the economic crisis that is confronting our nation.  Effectively, my colleagues stopped any chance of the Congress passing S. 1315 with Filipino veterans equity language included, for the rest of this Congress.  Chairman Filner's lump-sum payment bill was also blocked.  For the opponents of these bills, the response seems to be to continue to ignore the veterans who have been denied benefits and recognition for over sixty-years.  That is not a responsible or appropriate response.  

As I mentioned before, this Congress has worked to move Filipino veterans equity forward by three means: a pension, compensation and recognition included in S. 1315; a one-time, lump-sum payment; and by establishing a Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund through the appropriations bill.  Opponents have effectively blocked our first two efforts, but I am pleased that the third approach succeeded.  While there is still a need for legislation to allow those funds to be paid to Filipino veterans and $198 million is not enough to provide the limited pension and compensation that would have come from S. 1315, this was a significant step forward.  In the long march toward equity, we have come closer than ever.

I commend the Filipino advocates for their support, and thank them for their hard work.  Democrats, Republicans and independents came together in support of this cause.  Filipino veterans who are now grandparents came together with their grandchildren's generation for this cause.  World War II veterans who served with Filipino veterans were joined by other men and women across the nation to support this cause.  It has been a long march, and it is not yet over.  But if we are ever to secure equity for those who served with us in the darkest days of World War II, we must continue this struggle. 

As this Congress ends, I pledge my commitment to continue to work with and for the World War II Filipino veterans in the next Congress.  I will continue to fight for final enactment of legislation which not only compensates them, but also recognizes their true status as U.S. veterans.  The Senate-passed version of S. 1315 would have done this.  I believe that any legislation which does not address the 1946 Rescission Act so as to recognize them for their service is unacceptable.  As long as they fight for their recognition, I will fight for it as well. 

I was just a boy when I watched, from the roof of my high school dormitory, as Japanese planes bombed nearby Pearl Harbor.  The very next day, Japan attacked the Philippines.  Both Hawaii and the Philippines were U.S. possessions, and important strategic assets for the U.S. military.  Both were attacked that December.  For the duration the Second World War, both Hawaii and the Philippines would send their children to battle under the command of the U.S. military.

Today Senator Inouye and I are U.S. Senators and U.S. veterans of World War II.  Our Filipino counterparts fought in the same war that we did, under the same command.  Having helped us win the war only to lose their benefits, they did without the assistance Senator Inouye and I enjoyed.  Now, all of the remaining Filipino veterans are in their twilight years.  Too many of them are spending their golden years in pain and in poverty, in Hawaii, the mainland, and the Philippines. 

We would not leave our fellow soldiers behind on the battlefield.  We will not leave behind the Filipino veterans of fellow World War II, who fought side-by-side with troops from across the U.S.  We will continue our fight into the next Congress.  This march toward equity is not over.

-END

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), Chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, issued a statement today regarding legislation to provide recognition to Filipino World War II veterans who served under U.S. military command.  Akaka vowed to renew his advocacy in the new Congress next year after efforts to bring the legislation to final passage last week was obstructed in the Senate.

Chairman Akaka said: "The record is clear on the Filipino veterans of World War II.  They are not foreigners who fought for a foreign government.  They were citizens of the Philippines - then a U.S. possession - who fought under the command of the U.S. military.  After World War II, General Omar Bradley and the U.S. government recognized them as U.S. veterans.  Tragically, less than a year after they helped us win the war, they lost their veteran status by an Act of Congress.  This was a shameful act against our brothers in arms - who fought side-by-side with America's greatest generation and risked their lives to rescue American prisoners of war."

"While Congress voted to establish a nearly $200 million Filipino Veterans Equity fund this year, opponents of Filipino veterans equity successfully blocked the legislation required to provide veteran status and compensation to the few remaining Filipino veterans of World War II.  We have been deterred, but we are not defeated.  I intend to return to this issue in the next Congress.  The march toward equity is not over." 

Akaka is the sponsor of S. 1315, the Veterans' Benefits Enhancement Act of 2007, an omnibus veterans' benefits bill which contained provisions to provide Filipino World War II veterans who served under U.S. military command with recognition as veterans, a limited pension, and increased compensation for their twilight years.  These provisions were adapted from S. 57, the Filipino Veterans Equity Act, introduced by U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI), Hawaii's senior Senator.  Akaka led a successful floor fight for S. 1315 in the Senate, defeating an amendment to remove the Filipino veterans language and securing Senate passage by a vote of 96 to 1.  However, the Filipino veterans' provisions were stripped in the House of Representatives, and Akaka's efforts to negotiate a final version of the bill were blocked when the bill was returned to the Senate. 

Chairman Akaka's full statement follows:

The record is clear on the Filipino veterans of World War II.  They are not foreigners who fought for a foreign government.  They were citizens of the Philippines - then a U.S. possession - who President Franklin D. Roosevelt inducted to fight under the command of the U.S. military.  After World War II, General Omar Bradley and the U.S. government recognized them as U.S. veterans.  Tragically, less than a year after they helped us win the war, they lost their veteran status by an Act of Congress.  This was a shameful act against our brothers in arms - who fought side-by-side with America's greatest generation and risked their lives to rescue American prisoners of war

In this Congress, we sought to right what an earlier Congress has done wrong by offering three separate bills that would move toward equity for Filipino veterans.  The first was S. 1315, the Veterans' Benefits Enhancement Act of 2007, which would have recognized Filipino World War II veterans and provided a limited pension, and increased compensation, for their twilight years.  This bill, which was adapted from S. 57, the Filipino Veterans Equity Act, introduced by my friend and colleague, Senator Daniel K. Inouye, was approved by the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs and passed the Senate, despite obstruction by a small group of Senators.  Unfortunately, when S. 1315 returned to the Senate with Congressional adjournment approaching, the provisions for Filipino veterans had been removed. 

In an effort to pass something during this Congress, my friend and counterpart on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, Chairman Bob Filner pushed a second option: H.R. 6897, a bill to provide a one-time payment to Filipino veterans - less than what S. 1315 would have provided, but more than nothing.  At the same time, a third bill moved forward, to provide money for Filipino veterans through the Continuing Resolution to fund the federal government - providing $198 million for a Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund, which would be established by Chairman Filner's legislation.

With time running out, I sought to convene a conference to negotiate S. 1315.  This would have allowed representatives from both chambers and both parties to meet and debate that bill.  Unfortunately, members of the Senate blocked my efforts to convene a conference.  Overcoming their hold would have required more floor time than we had, and kept the Senate from considering other issues, such as the economic crisis that is confronting our nation.  Effectively, my colleagues stopped any chance of the Congress passing S. 1315 with Filipino veterans equity language included, for the rest of this Congress.  Chairman Filner's lump-sum payment bill was also blocked.  For the opponents of these bills, the response seems to be to continue to ignore the veterans who have been denied benefits and recognition for over sixty-years.  That is not a responsible or appropriate response.  

As I mentioned before, this Congress has worked to move Filipino veterans equity forward by three means: a pension, compensation and recognition included in S. 1315; a one-time, lump-sum payment; and by establishing a Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund through the appropriations bill.  Opponents have effectively blocked our first two efforts, but I am pleased that the third approach succeeded.  While there is still a need for legislation to allow those funds to be paid to Filipino veterans and $198 million is not enough to provide the limited pension and compensation that would have come from S. 1315, this was a significant step forward.  In the long march toward equity, we have come closer than ever.

I commend the Filipino advocates for their support, and thank them for their hard work.  Democrats, Republicans and independents came together in support of this cause.  Filipino veterans who are now grandparents came together with their grandchildren's generation for this cause.  World War II veterans who served with Filipino veterans were joined by other men and women across the nation to support this cause.  It has been a long march, and it is not yet over.  But if we are ever to secure equity for those who served with us in the darkest days of World War II, we must continue this struggle. 

As this Congress ends, I pledge my commitment to continue to work with and for the World War II Filipino veterans in the next Congress.  I will continue to fight for final enactment of legislation which not only compensates them, but also recognizes their true status as U.S. veterans.  The Senate-passed version of S. 1315 would have done this.  I believe that any legislation which does not address the 1946 Rescission Act so as to recognize them for their service is unacceptable.  As long as they fight for their recognition, I will fight for it as well. 

I was just a boy when I watched, from the roof of my high school dormitory, as Japanese planes bombed nearby Pearl Harbor.  The very next day, Japan attacked the Philippines.  Both Hawaii and the Philippines were U.S. possessions, and important strategic assets for the U.S. military.  Both were attacked that December.  For the duration the Second World War, both Hawaii and the Philippines would send their children to battle under the command of the U.S. military.

Today Senator Inouye and I are U.S. Senators and U.S. veterans of World War II.  Our Filipino counterparts fought in the same war that we did, under the same command.  Having helped us win the war only to lose their benefits, they did without the assistance Senator Inouye and I enjoyed.  Now, all of the remaining Filipino veterans are in their twilight years.  Too many of them are spending their golden years in pain and in poverty, in Hawaii, the mainland, and the Philippines. 

We would not leave our fellow soldiers behind on the battlefield.  We will not leave behind the Filipino veterans of fellow World War II, who fought side-by-side with troops from across the U.S.  We will continue our fight into the next Congress.  This march toward equity is not over.

-END

Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010

Public Law 111-163

Title: To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide assistance to caregivers of veterans, to

improve the provision of health care to veterans, and for other purposes.

Mr. Akaka of Hawaii introduced S. 1963 on October 28, 2009

Public Law 111-163 will:

1. Create a caregiver support program where caregivers of veterans of all eras would receive

supportive services such as caregiver training and education, counseling and mental

health services, and respite care (including 24-hour, in-home respite care).

2. Provide additional caregiver support benefits to those caring for certain eligible OEF/OIF

veterans, which includes lodging and subsistence payments when accompanying the

veteran on medical care visits, health care coverage, and a monthly financial stipend.

3. Require the Secretary to submit a report to Congress, advising on the extension of the

more comprehensive benefits provided to the caregivers of OEF/OIF veterans to

caregivers of veterans of all other eras, no later than two years after the implementation

of the program.

4. Help women veterans by providing for a study on barriers to health care access, training

for mental health care professionals caring for veterans with sexual trauma, a

reintegration and readjustment pilot program, a child care pilot program, and up to seven

days of post-delivery health care for newborn children.

5. Require the VA to establish a grant program for veteran service organizations to provide

transportation options to veterans living in highly rural areas.

6. Raise the payment cap on the Education Debt Reduction Program and create a new

educational assistance program for visual impairment, orientation and mobility

professionals.

7. Authorize a demonstration project to expand care for veterans in rural areas by having the

VA partner and coordinate with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and

Indian Health Service of the Department of Health and Human Services.

8. Require a program on readjustment counseling and mental health services for OEF/OIF

veterans, which includes a peer outreach and support component and authorizes the VA

to contract with community mental health centers and other qualified entities in areas that

are not adequately served by VA facilities.

9. Authorize an increase in the travel reimbursement for veterans receiving care at VA

facilities to 41.5 cents per mile and allow reimbursements for airfare when that is the only

practical way to reach a VA facility.

10. Create a pilot program providing a financial incentive for VA physicians who maintain

inpatient privileges at community hospitals in health professional shortage areas.

11. Establish a grant program for veteran service organizations to provide innovative

transportation options to veterans in highly rural areas.

12. Clarify the definition of eligible veterans who are covered under an existing pilot

program of enhanced contract care authority for rural veterans by changing the eligibility

requirement from distance in miles to driving distance in minutes to the nearest VA

facility.

2

13. Provide VA readjustment services to any member of the Armed Forces and require the

VA to make referrals for non-VA counseling services for former members of the Armed

Forces who are not otherwise eligible for readjustment counseling.

14. Require the VA to conduct a veterans’ suicide study by coordinating with the Secretary

of Defense, veteran service organizations, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

and state public health offices and veterans agencies.

15. Repeal two annual reports, one relating to pay adjustments for registered nurses because

the annual General Schedule comparability increases are now mandatory and no longer at

the discretion of the facility Director, and one relating to VA’s long-range health

planning because this information is captured in the VA’s annual budget submission.

16. Modify the date for submitting the annual report on Gulf War research from March 1 to

July 1 of each year and sunset the reporting requirement in 2013.

17. Clarify that VA payments to providers who furnish medical care to a beneficiary covered

under CHAMPVA (Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans

Affairs) shall constitute full payment, thereby removing any liability of the beneficiary to

the provider.

18. Permit VA health care practitioners to disclose the relevant portions of certain VA

records to surrogate decision-makers who are authorized to make decisions on behalf of

patients who lack the capacity to make decisions.

19. Create a National Quality Management Officer to act as the principal officer responsible

for the Veteran Health Administration’s quality assurance program.

20. Provide for a pilot program studying the use of community organizations and local and

State government entities in providing care and benefits to veterans.

21. Authorize the VA to contract for specialized residential care and rehabilitation services

for certain OEF/OIF veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI), and allow veterans with

TBI to use non-VA facilities when the VA is unable to provide treatment or services at

the frequency or for the duration required by the individual’s treatment plan.

22. Require the VA to contract with the Institute of Medicine to study the health impact of

Project Shipboard Hazard and Defense.

23. Create a pilot program, which would provide specified dental services to veterans,

survivors, and dependents of veterans through a dental insurer.

24. Prohibit the VA from collecting copayments from veterans who are catastrophically

disabled.

25. Provide higher priority status for enrolling in the VA health care system to certain

veterans who are Medal of Honor recipients.

26. Require the VA to provide hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care for

certain Vietnam-era veterans exposed to herbicide and Gulf-War era veterans who have

insufficient medical evidence to establish a service-connected disability.

27. Establish a position for the Director of Physician Assistant Services in the central VA

office reporting to the Chief of the Office of Patient Services.

28. Create a Committee on Care of veterans with traumatic brain injury.

29. Increase the amount the VA is authorized to pay under the Home Improvements and

Structural Alterations (HISA) program from $4,100 to $6,800 for veterans with serviceconnected

disabilities and from $1,200 to $2,000 for veterans with non-service connected

disabilities.

3

30. Extend the statutorily defined copayments for certain veterans for hospital care and

nursing home care to September 30, 2012, and extend the authority to recover the cost of

certain care and services from disabled veterans with health-plan contracts to October 1,

2012.

31. Provide the Secretary with the authority to apply the title 38 hybrid employment system

to additional health care occupations to meet the recruitment and retention needs of the

VA.

32. Aid in the recruitment and retention efforts for VA health care professionals by providing

for pay increases, bonuses, and alternative work schedules, as well as placing limitations

on overtime and weekend duty.

33. Reestablish the Health Professionals Educational Assistance Scholarship Program and

provides for a loan repayment program for clinical researchers from disadvantaged

backgrounds.

34. Authorize the VA to make per diem payments to organizations that meet some, but not

all, of the criteria for the receipt of payments under the Grant and Per Diem Program.

35. Authorize the establishment of multi-medical center research corporations by merging

single facility nonprofit research corporations.

36. Provide for some clarifying changes regarding the composition of the board of directors

for the corporations and the powers of the corporations to disburse funds.

37. Improve the accountability and oversight of nonprofit research corporations by modifying

the revenue thresholds for obtaining audits and require nonprofit research corporations to

submit the Internal Revenue Service return form for organizations exempt from income

tax.

38. Authorize funds for major medical facility in FY 2010, which includes funding for

facility projects in Livermore, CA; Louisville, KY; Dallas, TX; St. Louis, MO; Denver,

CO; and, Bay Pines, FL.

39. Provide for the designation of the Merril Lundman VA Outpatient Clinic in Havre, MT,

the William C. Tallent VA Outpatient Clinic in Knoxville, TN; and, the Max J. Beillke

VA Outpatient Clinic in Alexandria, MN.

40. Authorize additional authorities to VA uniformed police officers to be consistent with the

powers granted to other Federal law enforcement officers, and provide for a higher

uniform allowance.

41. Requires the VA to submit reports to Congress in electronic format.

Legislative History:

Oct. 28, 2009: Introduced in Senate

Nov. 19, 2009: Passed the Senate without amendment by Yea-Nay Vote: 98-0. Record Vote

Number 352.

Nov. 19, 2009: Referred to the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

Apr. 21, 2010: Passed the House, as amended, by the Yeas and Nays: 419-0 (Roll No. 214).

Apr. 22, 2010: Senate agreed to the House amendment by Unanimous Consent.

May 5, 2010: Signed by the President in a bill signing ceremony. P.L. 111-163

Provisions of H.R. 402, H.R. 919, H.R. 1211, H.R. 1293, H.R. 2770 - which includes H.R. 2734,

H.R. 2738, H.R. 2898, H.R. 3155, H.R. 3157, H.R. 3219 - which includes H.R. 1197, H.R. 1302,

H.R. 1335, H.R. 1546, H.R. 2180, H.R. 2379, H.R. 2770, H.R. 2774, H.R. 2926, H.R. 2968, H.R.

Federal Legislation

H.R.1377
Title: To amend title 38, United States Code, to expand veteran eligibility for reimbursement by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for emergency treatment furnished in a non-Department facility, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51] (introduced 3/6/2009)      Cosponsors (2)
Related Bills: S.404
Latest Major Action: Became Public Law No: 111-137 [GPO: Text, PDF]
House Reports: 111-55

SUMMARY AS OF:
2/3/2010--Public Law.    (There are 4 other summaries)

(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on March 26, 2009. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Revises provisions concerning the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to reimburse a veteran for the cost of emergency care provided in a non-Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facility to provide that, if the veteran has contractual or legal recourse against a third party that would, in part, extinguish the veteran's liability to the provider of the emergency treatment and payment for the treatment may be made by both the VA and the third party, the amount payable by the VA shall be that which exceeds the cost payable by the third party. Prohibits the Secretary from reimbursing a veteran for any copayment or other charge owed to a third party under a health plan contract.

Authorizes the Secretary to reimburse a veteran for the cost of the emergency care described above which is provided before the enactment of this Act, if the Secretary determines that it is appropriate under the circumstances.

______________

S.2799

Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act of 2008

H.R.4107

Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act