Posts Tagged ‘veterans benefits’
House GOP Turned Its Back on Veterans
Congressman Gerry Connolly said he is outraged that the House Republican budget cuts passed at 5 am Saturday morning includes the termination of a small but critical program that addresses the urgent nature of homelessness among America’s veterans. Connolly joined other House Democrats and several Republican Congressmen in voting against the House GOP’s Continuing Resolution that makes massive cuts in funding for the federal government until September 30, 2011.
“By approving the elimination of this federal funding to help homeless vets secure housing and other critical services, the House GOP leadership has turned their backs on brave men and women who put their lives on the line to defend our country and now need and deserve our help,” Connolly said.
The Virginia Congressman said the elimination of a $75 million program that offers housing vouchers to homeless veterans in the U.S. “is one of the most egregious examples of an array of unconscionable proposals” that also include the zeroing out of federal funding for Washington’s Metro safety and capital improvements, and many other deep cuts in important federal programs.
The homeless veterans program is a cooperative effort between the Veterans Affairs Department (VA) and the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) that has been effective in providing a small element of stability in the lives of the military veterans – a population that has experienced a spike in homelessness in recent years.
According to a government report in 2009, at least 75,000 veterans were homeless on a single January night and a total of 136,334 veterans spent at least one night in an emergency shelter or transitional housing. An estimated 57 percent of homeless veterans were staying in emergency shelters and the remainder were living on the streets or in abandoned buildings. Included in this population are a substantial number of younger veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars – many battling drug and PTSD issues.
The VA has been charged by President Obama to reach the goal of ending homelessness among veterans in five years, and this one program—HUD/VA Supportive Housing – offered housing vouchers for more than 10,000 veterans across the nation in the past year and another 20,000 since 2008. HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan indicated to Congress last year that a total of at least 60,000 vouchers would be required to respond to the urgent need.
“The fact that this absolutely critical program was placed on a list of expenditures to be terminated in the Republican budget is indicative of how thoughtless and insensitive the process became after the most conservative members of the Republican caucus demanded further cuts in a budget that would already have caused tremendous harm and dislocation throughout the country,” Connolly said.
“As long as there are veterans sleeping in shelters, cars, under bridges and on the streets, we have an obligation to continue this voucher program,” he said.
Connolly said he expects the Senate will act responsibly and produce a short-term budget plan that reinstates the homeless veterans funding and other critical funding.
Source: connolly.house.gov
Deadline Extended For Military & Vets To Seek Stop Loss Pay
Current service members and veterans whose tours of duty were involuntarily extended in Iraq and Afghanistan have until December 3 to apply for retroactive pay, Congressman Gerry Connolly said today. The deadline was extended to accomodate tens of thousands of eligible service members who have not applied for the benefit.
Service members are eligible for retroactive pay of $500 a month for each month their service was extended. Connolly said Defense Department statistics show that only 67,000 claims have been paid out of an estimated 145,400 service members and veterans who are eligible to receive the stop loss pay.
“The men and women of the military have served our nation with bravery and honor in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Connolly said. “All of them, and their families, have made tremendous sacrifices on our behalf, and those who were required to serve in combat longer than anticipated deserve fair and just compensation.”
Connolly said Congress passed legislation in 2009 to compensate service members for tours of duty that were involuntarily extended in Iraq and Afghanistan. “With the deadline fast approaching, I urge all eligible service members to submit their claims so that they can receive the retroactive pay they have earned, he said.”
In 2009, Connolly voted to pass HR 2346, the War Supplemental Appropriations Act which established retroactive stop loss special pay (RSLSP). The establishment of RSLSP allows service members and veterans whose service was involuntarily extended between September 11, 2001 and September 30, 2009 to file claims in order to receive retroactive pay if eligible. The deadline for submissions is December 3, 2010 and the average payment is $3,800.
For more information or to submit a claim please visit www.defense.gov/stoploss or contact Congressman Connolly’s District Office at 703-256-3071 for further assistance.
Deadline Nears For Military & Vets To Seek Stop Loss Pay
Current service members and veterans whose tours of duty were involuntarily extended in Iraq and Afghanistan have until October 21 to apply for retroactive pay, Congressman Gerry Connolly said today.
Service members are eligible for retroactive pay of $500 a month for each month their service was extended. Connolly said Defense Department statistics show that only 58,000 claims have been paid out of an estimated 145,400 service members and veterans who are eligible to receive the stop loss pay.
“The men and women of the military have served our nation with bravery and honor in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Connolly said. “All of them, and their families, have made tremendous sacrifices on our behalf, and those who were required to serve in combat longer than anticipated deserve fair and just compensation.”
Connolly said Congress passed legislation in 2009 to compensate service members for tours of duty that were involuntarily extended in Iraq and Afghanistan. “With the deadline fast approaching, I urge all eligible service members to submit their claims so that they can receive the retroactive pay they have earned, he said.”
In 2009, Connolly voted to pass HR 2346, the War Supplemental Appropriations Act which established retroactive stop loss special pay (RSLSP). The establishment of RSLSP allows service members and veterans whose service was involuntarily extended between September 11, 2001 and September 30, 2009 to file claims in order to receive retroactive pay if eligible. The deadline for submissions is October 21, 2010 and the average payment is $3,800.
For more information or to submit a claim please visit www.defense.gov/stoploss or contact Congressman Connolly’s District Office at 703-256-3071 for further assistance.
Dems: Health Reform Threat to Tricare Overblown
Republican lawmakers raised the specter of military families and survivors of veterans seeing health care costs rise as a result of the national health reform law that President Obama signed March 23.
But the threat was never more than a notion and it is fading away. That’s the consensus among most military associations and veterans groups, as reinforced by statements from the secretaries of defense and veterans affairs, the White House and chairmen of key congressional committees. …more
VA Benefits Article on CBS 60 Minutes
Watch “60 Minutes” on Sunday, January 3rd.
Two wars and a recession have significantly increased the claims handled by the U.S. Dept. of Veteran’s Affairs, slowing the large bureaucracy and frustrating many veterans. Byron Pitts reports. Veterans for Common Sense has provided in-depth data and interviews for this article.