House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Advances Bills to Enhance Veteran Protections

Washington, D.C. – On Wednesday, October 28, 2009, the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, led by Chairman Bob Filner (D-CA), approved two bills that would improve benefits and services to veterans provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

“This Committee passed two very important pieces of legislation that will provide needed changes for veterans and their families while addressing the unique needs of veterans and service members as they serve our country,” said Chairman Filner.  “These bills would not be possible without the hard work of many Members of this Committee and the Congress.  It is our duty as a Nation, when we put our men and women in harm’s way, to care for them when they return, and that is what these bills do.”     

H.R. 3949 – Veterans Small Business Assistance and Servicemembers Protection Act of 2009 (Filner)

The bill would: 

• Clarify current law and require VA to verify that firms are veteran-owned small businesses or service disabled veteran-owned small businesses in order to be listed in the Vendor Information Pages database maintained by the VA Secretary;      
• Improve outreach efforts at the VA;
• Establish a scholarship program for students learning to care for veterans with visual impairments;
• Permit a parent whose child gave their life in service to our country to be buried in a national cemetery with that child when their veteran child has no living spouse or children;
• Reauthorize the Veterans Advisory Committee on Education until the end of 2015;      
• Expand the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act protections to service members seeking to cancel certain service contracts due to a change in duty station where such service is not provided; and,
• Amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to improve the equitable relief available for service members called to active duty, including allowing greater flexibility for family cell phone plans, rental leases, and motor vehicle leases when a service member has changed duty stations or been deployed.  

H.R. 1168, as amended – Veterans Retraining Act of 2009 (Boozman)
H.R. 1168 authorizes $100 million per year to provide a living stipend and moving assistance to veterans who have been unemployed for at least 4 months, who are not eligible for training or education under the Department of Veterans Affairs, and are enrolled in a U.S. Department of Labor re-training program.

The bills will next be considered by the House of Representatives.  

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