VFW WI Legislative Updates

MOAA's LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Posted at 12:30 PM on Friday, May 1, 2009 by Legislative

This is courtesy of Mike "Gunner" Furgal

MOAA Federal Charter: Questions and Answers

Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Representatives Chris Van Hollen
(D-MD) and Walter Jones (R-NC) have recently introduced
legislation to award a Federal Charter to the Military Officers
Association of America.
What's the purpose behind the charter?  Find out with MOAA's
Federal Charter Q and A's.
http://echo4.bluehornet.com/ct/4572771:5401205066:m:3:230910909:4DE88849A00A2CC10C7AA168CB70B522

Wounded and Families: Care Isn't Seamless Yet.   Three separate
hearings this week focused on continuing problems experienced by
wounded troops, veterans and their families despite two years of
sweeping legislative and policy efforts to make transition
seamless between DoD and VA.

Post-9/11 GI Bill Sign-Ups Begin.  Currently serving men and
women, military retirees and veterans who have qualifying active
duty service after September 10, 2001 can enroll in the new
Post-9/11 GI Bill beginning today, May 1.

Disability Board to Loosen Restrictions.  Pentagon officials
announced this week that the Physical Disability Board of Review
(PDBR) will expand the criteria under which medical separatees
can apply to have their records evaluated for upgrade to
disability retirement status.

Wounded and Families: Care Isn't Seamless Yet.
The same issues were played out at a number of hearings this
week in both chambers as the Armed Services and Veterans Affairs committees gathered information on just how effective wounded warrior policies and programs are between DoD and VA.

"Care continues to be a confusing maze of massive
bureaucracies," said one wounded warrior.

"They [DoD/VA] don't tell you about the process, you just have
to stumble on the information and care," said a wounded warrior
spouse.
One mother of a young disabled veteran stated that families are
desperate for information, but would rather get counsel from
other wounded families instead of DoD or VA.
Witnesses from DoD, VA and other federal agencies spoke to their leaderships' commitment and intentions to continue making
progress on transition issues.  Wounded warriors and family
members in attendance agreed that things are improving, but said
the government is nowhere close to actually delivering seamless
care and transition services.

MOAA is encouraged by the much-improved collaboration and
cooperation between the DoD and VA secretaries, but believes far
more needs to be done.  And the first requirement is permanent
statutory authority for a joint DoD/VA transition office staffed
by senior, full-time DoD, service and VA personnel with
responsibility and authority to develop joint policies, programs,
new initiatives and oversight of the entire transition process
from start to finish.
There are still too many disconnects between the services, DoD
and VA, too little authority vested in a temporary joint office,
too little emphasis on funding and staffing some of the joint
activities, even for such basic things as offices and phones in
some cases.
Further, there's still too little regular collaboration between
House and Senate Armed Services and Veterans Affairs and
Appropriations Committee leaders and staffs.  There are too many
cases where real people are having real problems today, and too
many people saying the short term fix is someone else's
responsibility, or that someone else isn't doing their part, or
arguing over which agency and which committee is going to pay for
what.  Working on solutions for 3 to 5 years down the road is
fine, but far more close collaboration is essential to get real
help to real people who needed it yesterday.
There are still too many significant breakdowns in records,
care, compensation, benefits, caregiver support, and information
once the wounded warrior and his or her family leave active duty.

Just as DoD and VA need a joint agency, Congress may need a
joint subcommittee to enforce closer and more effective
collaboration and take better care of those who bear the severe,
personal consequences of our national wartime decision-making.

Post-9/11 GI Bill Sign-Ups Begin

The Department of Veterans Affairs announced this week that
qualifying military personnel and veterans may enroll in the new
Post-9/11 GI Bill program beginning today - May 1.

To qualify for the benefit, a servicemember, including members
of the National Guard or Reserve, must have completed at least 90
days of active duty service after September 10, 2001 unless
separated for medical reasons.  Full benefits are awarded upon
completion of an aggregate of 36 months of active duty service.

For those who have 36 months of qualifying active duty, the
Post-9/11 GI Bill pays for:

Tuition and fees up to the highest-cost public college or
university in the respective state A monthly housing stipend payable at the E-5 with-dependents Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) rate for the ZIP code of the school.  The housing stipend is available only to veterans -- not active duty servicemembers -- who attend a physical campus full-time
An annual book stipend of $1,000

Servicemembers or veterans with Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB)
entitlement may make an irrevocable election for the Post-9/11 GI
Bill program.  But the VA cautions MGIB participants to weigh all
aspects of this option.  MOAA recommends that currently serving
members consult an education counselor before making the
decision.  Veterans and military retirees with the MGIB should
contact the VA before giving up those benefits for the new
program.

MGIB participants who elect to transfer to the Post-9/11 GI Bill
may use their benefits for vocational training, on the job
training, apprenticeships and approved flight training instead of
academic study, if they wish.  Other participants can use the
Post-9/11 GI Bill only for post-secondary study at schools that
award traditional academic degrees (no vocational training).

A "yellow ribbon" feature of the new program allows enrollment
in private colleges which have agreed with the VA to waive up to
half the difference between the cost of tuition and fees at the
private school and the highest amount the VA pays in that state.
The Post-9/11 GI Bill will pick up the other half of the
tuition-and-fees for participating private colleges.

The VA's GI Bill website provides additional information and a
link to the application form.

http://echo4.bluehornet.com/ct/4572772:5401205066:m:3:230910909:4DE88849A00A2CC10C7AA168CB70B522

The VA will begin making payments directly to colleges and
universities for enrolled veterans after Aug. 1, 2009.

Also this week, the Department of Defense announced "rules of
engagement" for currently serving men and women to transfer their benefits to spouses and/or children.  Servicemembers must agree to complete the service required under the transfer policy.

In essence, anyone who is eligible for retirement on Aug. 1,
2009, or who has an approved retirement date after Aug. 1, 2009
and before July 1, 2010 will be able to transfer their benefits
with no additional service requirement.  There are also
exceptions for servicemembers who will be mandatorily separated
or retired due to service policy or statutory requirements.

Additional questions and answers on the Post-9/11 GI Bill are
available on MOAA's website.

http://echo4.bluehornet.com/ct/4572774:5401205066:m:3:230910909:4DE88849A00A2CC10C7AA168CB70B522

Disability Board to Loosen Restrictions

Pentagon officials announce this week that the Physical
Disability Board of Review (PDBR) will loosen current
restrictions in two main areas in order to meet Congress'
original intent of the board.

The PDBR allows disabled servicemembers who were medically
separated since September 11, 2001 an opportunity to have their
disability ratings reviewed to ensure fairness and accuracy.

The acting director of the board, testifying at a Senate Armed
Services Personnel Subcommittee hearing this week on the PDBR's progress, said the Pentagon will soon make two major changes that increase the possibility of an applicant's disability retirement upgrade.

Currently the board is limited to reviewing the specific
condition(s) that made a member unfit for continued military
service.  The board will now expand its review to include all
disability findings of a service during the medical evaluation
process.

Additionally, any service-specific and DoD guidance at the time
that conflicted with the VA Schedule of Rating Disabilities
(VASRD) will be disregarded during the review.  In many cases,
the more restrictive DoD/service guidance caused the member to
receive a lower disability rating than the VASRD would have
provided.

MOAA previously identified these board shortfalls to
congressional staffers and Pentagon officials, and we applaud
DoD's decision to make these adjustments and provide fairer
evaluations for many who were previously separated with
"low-balled" disability ratings.