President Barack Obama recently signed into law the Veterans' Benefits Act of 2010, which paves the way for changes to many Veterans' Affairs programs and benefits, including insurance, healthcare, employment and education. The bill is an amendment to Title 38 of the United States Code and 2003's Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.
Introduced and passed in the U.S. House of Representatives in July 2009, H.R. 3219 was then sent to the Senate, which it passed on Sept. 28 this year. With Obama's signature on Oct. 13, the bill became Public Law 111-275.
The Veterans' Benefit Act of 2010 will "ensure that those who were willing to lay down their lives for our country, and their families and survivors, receive meaningful, world-class, 21st century benefits," said Rep. Bob Filner, a Democrat from California's 51st District who sponsored the bill, in a press release dated Sept. 29.
"This bill will make a big difference in the lives of many of America's brave veterans."
Among other benefits, the bill works to enhance employment opportunities for veterans by reauthorizing the expired VA work-study program (and permitting students to work in congressional offices and state veteran agencies) and creating a Veterans Energy Related Employment Program. It also allows the U.S. Office of Special Counsel to investigate Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, or USERRA, claims. USERRA protects service members from employment discrimination and is especially important for members of the Guard and Reserve who are called to active duty. Other benefits of the bill include:
- Reauthorizes the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program through fiscal year 2011, and provides an additional $1 million to services for homeless women veterans and homeless vets with children
- Allows 100-percent disabled veterans to receive Servicemembers Group Life Insurance, or SGLI, coverage for two years following separation at no charge (retroactive to those separated on or after June 15, 2005) and allows veterans under age 60 to increase Veterans' Group Life Insurance coverage
- Increases the maximum loan guarantee amount under the Veterans' Mortgage Life Insurance from $90,000 to $150,000. On Jan. 1, 2012, this will increase to $200,000
- Extends the life of the Veterans' Advisory Committee on education and authorizes the Secretary of the VA to grant up to $200,000 per year to address housing needs of disabled veterans
- Prohibits cell phone services to charge termination fees if a service member receives orders to an area that does not support the company's contract
- Allows parents of a child who died in service to the country to be buried in a national cemetery with their child (if the veteran child has no living spouse or children)
- Increases burial and funeral benefits and plot allowances (for veterans who are eligible for burial at a national cemetery or die at a VA facility) from $300 to $700
- Prohibits the VA from collecting copayments or other fees for VA hospital care or medical services from catastrophically disabled veterans
The Veterans' Benefit Act of 2010 also addresses health care issues for veterans of all ages. For instance, it allows the VA authority for care permanently for Vietnam-era herbicide-exposed veterans and Persian Gulf War veterans who have insufficient medical evidence to establish a service-connected disability and creates a Committee on Care of Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury within the Veterans Health Administration. It also establishes a priority level for Medal of Honor recipients to equal that of former prisoners of war and Purple Heart recipients in regard to VA care. To read the full text of the bill, visit http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:h3219.