House Veterans Subcommittees on Economic Opportunity and Health Host Legislative Hearings By: Matthew Schwartzman, AFSA Policy Advisor, Legislative Affairs Yesterday, at 10:00am and 2:00pm EST respectively, the House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittees on Economic Opportunity and Health hosted legislative hearings on 15+ pieces of legislation and draft proposals pending before the 117th Congress. For those who are unfamiliar, a legislative hearing is the first formal action a committee (normally) takes when considering a bill for codification in public law. A hearing provides a forum at which committee members and the public can hear about the strengths and weaknesses of a proposal from selected parties. Hearings are also a way to spotlight legislation to colleagues, the public, and the press. However, it is important to note that a hearing is not technically required for a bill to receive further action from the committee. Our team is providing the following BLUF summaries of the following bills that were discussed by the members of the committee. For more information, please visit https://www.congress.gov/event/117th-congress/house-event/114491?s=1&r=12 and/or https://veterans.house.gov/events/hearings/03/09/2022/subcommittee-on-health-legislative-hearing. Economic Opportunity Bills of Discussion
Discussion Draft, the Veteran Health Transition Training Act This draft bill would amend title 10 to require the SecVA to prepare TAP counseling for: - male members
- female members
- LGBTQ+ members;
and provide a said member with the flexibility to elect which such counseling to receive through TAP. Discussion Draft, Permanent Authorization for Education Assistance Benefits During Emergency Situations This draft bill would make permanent the capacity of the SecVA to continue to pay certain education benefits (monthly housing allowances; vocational rehabilitation subsistence allowances; work-study allowances) during times of national emergency and prohibit the SecVA from charging students who are unable to pursue a program of education due to an emergency situation. Discussion Draft, Permanent Authorization for Flexible Use of Funds for Homeless Veterans This draft bill would provide the SecVA with the flexibility to use monies designated to the Sec. via title 38 for the purposes of providing for veterans participating in low-income housing program(s): - food, shelter, clothing, blankets
- transportation to support stability and health of the veteran
- communications equipment and services to support the stability and health of the veteran
Discussion Draft, HUD-VASH Flexibilities This bill expands eligibility for services by changing the language describing who the program will serve from "homeless veterans who have chronic mental illnesses or chronic substance-use disorders" to "veterans who are homeless, formerly homeless, or at risk of homelessness." Discussion Draft, the VA Home Loan Transparency and Consumer Protection Act of 2022 This draft bill would require the SecVA, on a quarterly basis, to publish additional information on the VA Home Loan program for transparency purposes. Information includes but is not limited to: - # of loans guaranteed
- the aggregate amount of such loans
- Demographic information for the borrower
Discussion Draft, Expand Eligibility for Self-Employment Assistance Under Veteran Readiness & Employment (VR&E) Program This draft bill would expand VR&E assistance to veterans who are choosing to pursue self-employment in their transition to civilian life. Discussion Draft, Foreign School GI Bill Payment This bill would require the SEcVA to "update the payment system" of the VA to allow for electronic fund transfer(s) of educational assistance to a foreign institution of higher education that: - provides an approved course of education to an eligible recipient and does not have an employer ID #/an account w/ a domestic bank
Health Bills of Discussion
H.R. 4993, the Veterans Emergency Care Reimbursement Act of 2021 This bill would allow the SecVA to provide reimbursements for emergency treatment of amounts that are owed to a third party or for which the veteran is responder under a health-plan contract. H.R. 5738, the Lactation Spaces for Veteran Moms Act This bill requires the SecVA to ensure that each VA medical center contains a lactation space, that is: - shielded from view
- free from intrusion
- accessible to disabled individuals
- contains a chair/working surface
- clearly identified with signange; and
- available for use by female veterans, VA employees, and members of the public
H.R. 5754, the Patient Advocate Tracker Act This bill requires the Office of Patient Advocacy within the Veterans Health Administration to establish an information technology system that allows veterans or their representatives to electronically file a complaint with a patient advocate and review the status of a filed complaint. H.R. 5819, the Autonomy for Disabled Veterans Act This bill increases the maximum amount authorized under the Home Improvements and Structural Alterations (HISA) grant program to $10,000 for veterans with a service-connected disability and $5,000 for those with disabilities that are not service-connected and requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to increase the dollar amount of the grant in accordance with inflation as determined by the Consumer Price Index. H.R. 6823, the Elizabeth Dole Home and Community Based Services for Veterans and Caregivers Act of 2022 This bill would: - Expand access to home and community-based services for veterans living in US territories and to Native veterans enrolled in IHS or tribal health program
- Raise the cap on how much the VA can pay for the cost of home care from 65% of the cost of nursing home care to 100%
- Coordinate expanded VA home care programs with other VA programs, like the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers
- Review existing service gaps in geriatric and extended care at the VA
- Establish a pilot project to address home health aide shortages
- Provide respite care for caregivers of veterans enrolled in home care programs
- Establish a "one stop shop" webpage to centralize information for families and veterans on programs available
- Require VA to provide a coordinated handoff for veterans and caregivers denied or discharged from the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers into any other home care program they may be eligible for
If you have any questions about any of the bills summarized above, please don't hesitate to reach out at mschwartzman@hqafsa.org.
IMPORTANT TO REITERATE: VA releases Asset and Infrastructure Review (AIR) report By: Vanessa Lee, AFSA Legislative Communications & Administrative Assistant On March 14, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) released its Asset and Infrastructure Review (AIR) report, which includes recommendations from the VA Secretary, Denis McDonough, regarding the modernization, realignment, and/or closure of Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facilities. For those who are unfamiliar, AIR is a congressionally mandated process (as per the MISSION Act, Section 203[b], signed by former President Trump in 2018) designed to "modernize and realign" VA's aging health care infrastructure. The recommendations from AIR are the byproduct of market assessments conducted by the VA in 95 markets across the country. According to the report, the anticipated outcomes of the recommendations are as follows: VA-delivered Outpatient Care Improved primary care access: The number of Veteran enrollees within 30 minutes of VA delivered primary care will increase by 146,540 (from 7,162,145 to 7,308,685). Improved outpatient mental health access: The number of Veteran enrollees within 30 minutes of VA-delivered outpatient mental health care will increase by 187,259 (from 7,028,260 to 7,215,519). Improved specialty care access: The number of Veteran enrollees within 60 minutes of VA delivered specialty care will increase by 378,294 (from 7,630,411 to 8,008,705). VA-delivered Inpatient Care Improved inpatient medical and surgical care access: Sites providing inpatient medical services will increase from 134 to 140, and the number of Veteran enrollees within 60 minutes of VA delivered inpatient medical care will increase by 130,857 (from 5,712,366 to 5,843,223). Sites providing both inpatient medical and surgical services will increase from 114 to 134. Improved inpatient mental health care access: Inpatient mental health sites will increase from 117 to 118, and the number of Veteran enrollees within 60 minutes of VA-delivered inpatient mental health care will increase by 148,031 (from 5,379,933 to 5,527,964). Improved CLC care access: CLC sites will increase from 134 to 156, and the number of Veteran enrollees within 30 minutes of VA-delivered CLC care will increase by 545,639 (from 2,985,196 to 3,530,835). RRTP: The number of RRTP facilities will increase by 12, and all 18 VISNs will continue to have an RRTP. SCI/D: The number of SCI/D Centers will decrease by 4, but all 15 VISNs that currently have an SCI/D Center will continue to have an SCI/D Center. Blind rehabilitation: The number of Blind Rehabilitation Centers will decrease by two, but all five Blind Rehabilitation Regions that currently have a Blind Rehabilitation Center will continue to have a Blind Rehabilitation Center. The publication of the report marks the start of a lengthy deliberation process. Before submitting its own recommendations to the president for further assessment in 2023, the AIR Commission will hold public hearings as part of its review of VA's suggestions. According to the report, VA developed its suggestions to the AIR Commission by focusing on one question: what is best for the Veterans we serve? VA Secretary Denis McDonough stated "We've spent the last several weeks and months communicating about this with VA employees, union partners, state partners, Veteran service organizations, Congress, and more. I'm continuing to consult with our unions, and will do so moving forward, because I so appreciate the strong partnership we have with them." Our team is currently in the process of going through the lengthy report to best understand just how these recommendations would impact the quality and access to VA healthcare. As more updates unfold, we will keep you posted.
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