House Committee Addresses GI Bill for Reserve Component (11/26/2007)
On November 7 the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs unanimously approved HR 3882, the Fair Benefits for Guard and Reserve Act, to amend the Montgomery G.I. Bill to ensure education benefits are available to Reserve Component troops.
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Small Business Loans Available for New York Reservists (11/26/2007)
The State of New York is providing small-business loans up to $150,000 with below-market, fixed interest rates to eligible state residents returning from active duty.
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Illinois Offers Tax Credits for Employing Veterans (11/26/2007)
Beginning in tax year 2007, Illinois employers can earn tax credits for hiring veterans who have recently been on active duty overseas. Employers can earn the new Veteran’s Tax Credit of 5 percent of total wages paid, up to a maximum of $600 annually, for wages paid to each veteran hired after January 1, 2007.
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New Legislation Affects TRICARE Supplements (11/07/2007)
Many TRICARE beneficiaries are getting letters from their employer stating they will no longer offer TRICARE supplements as an employer sponsored medical option effective January 1, 2008. TRICARE beneficiaries should look closely at their health care options.
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House Subcommittees Discuss Tax Breaks for Servicemembers (11/05/2007)
The House Ways and Means Subcommittees on Select Revenue Measures and Income Security and Family Support held a joint hearing on October 17 on the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2007 (HR 3594).
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New Legislation Would Mandate In-State Tuition for Children of Active Duty Military (10/30/2007)
The House Military Quality-of-Life Subcommittee is debating a bill (HR 3780) that would make in-state college tuition available to the children of active duty military families who are stationed in that state per government orders.
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Administration Seeks Lifetime Care for Medically ‘Unfit’ Veterans (10/03/2007)
The White House plans to ask Congress to extend TRICARE coverage to Servicemembers who have been discharged from the Armed Forces because of service-related mental or physical health conditions.
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Congress Addresses Family and Medical Leave Act (10/03/2007)
Congress is considering amending the Family and Medical Leave Act to allow spouses caring for injured Servicemembers to have up to 26 weeks of leave.
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Dwell-Time Amendment May Get New Vote
Legislation requiring that regular and reserve units of the armed forces have at least the same time at home as the length of their previous tour of duty overseas may be up for vote again in the Senate.
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Bush Administration to Propose Improved Disability Package for Veterans (10/03/2007)
A new legislative initiative being prepared by the White House would provide Servicemembers who are found unfit for duty because of injuries sustained during combat or in training for combat with a lifetime annuity from the Defense Department.
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Retired Pay Restoration Act of 2007
Legislation introduced into the House and the Senate in January would allow concurrent receipt of both military retired pay and VA disability compensation, regardless of disability rating.
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Oregon Offers Tax Credit Incentives to Health Care Providers Serving Military Families (10/03/2007)
The State of Oregon recently passed legislation featuring a tax incentive package to encourage health care providers to support military families by participating in TRICARE, the health care plan for the uniformed services, retirees, and their families.
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Indiana Governor Signs Military Family Leave Act
On July 1 2007, Indiana joined a growing number of states that have passed Military Family Leave Acts in an effort to ease the burden faced by Reserve and National Guard families.
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House Approves Defense Spending Bill; Includes 3.5% Pay Raise
On Sunday, 4 August, the House passed the fiscal 2008 Defense Appropriations Bill (HR 3222) approving almost $460 billion for defense programs, increased personnel levels, military healthcare, housing and benefits.
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FY 2008 Defense Authorization Bill Put on Hold (07/25/2007)
On Wednesday, 19 July, Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) pulled the Fiscal 2008 Defense Authorization Bill (HR 1585) when it became clear that there would not be enough votes to end debate on an amendment that would require U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq by April 2008.
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Senate Passes ‘Wounded Warrior’ Bill (07/25/2007)
On Wednesday, 25 July, the Senate passed by voice vote the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act of 2007 (HR 1538). In addition, the Senate also provided for a 3.5 percent pay raise for members of the military to take effect at the beginning of 2008.
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Illinois Introduces Mental Health Screening for All Returning National Guard Troops (07/16/2007)
In an effort to ensure that Illinois’s National Guard receive timely diagnosis and care of Traumatic Brain Injuries and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the state is introducing a mandatory screening program aimed at all Guard personnel retuning from deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Bill Proposes Change to DIC Law Governing Age Threshold for Remarriage (07/16/2007)
A new bill (HR 704) would reduce the age limit at which a military survivor can remarry and retain Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) from 57 to 55. Currently, military survivors who remarry before age 57 have their Dependency and Indemnity Compensation payments suspended.
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SCRA Protections May be Expanded under New Laws (07/16/2007)
On June 29 the House Veterans Affairs Economic Opportunity Subcommittee approved a measure (HR 1750) to amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) to extend the period during which a discharged Servicemember is protected from mortgage foreclosure from 90 days to one year.
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Congress Addresses Shortfalls in Benefits and Services to Veterans (07/16/2007)
Recently both the House and the Senate have considered and approved broad measures to ensure that the new generation of veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are provided with adequate medical care, transition services, housing and education and employment benefits.
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Senate Focuses on Family Support and Child Custody Issues Affecting Deployed Servicemembers (07/16/2007)
The Senate introduced a number of new bills in late June to enhance the level of support afforded to military families. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) introduced the Military Family Support Act (S 1649) to establish two pilot programs authorizing the use of leave by caregivers of military family members when the military member is deployed.
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Colorado and New York Signal Support of Military Families (06/20/2007)
Military personnel and their families living in the states of New York and Colorado are getting a boost from state leaders.
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Congress Addresses Military Spouse Employment (06/20/2007)
Congress is acting to improve employment opportunities for military spouses. On June 12, Congressman John Carter of Texas introduced the Military Spouses Employment Act (HR 2682) which would make employers of spouses of military personnel eligible for the Workforce Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC).
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FY 2008 Defense Authorization Bill Would Improve Pay and Benefits (06/20/2007)
The Senate Armed Services Committee approved the FY 2008 Defense Authorization Bill on May 24, 2007. The bill includes provisions to improve military pay, benefits, healthcare and military family well-being.
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Wounded Warrior Bill Passes Senate Committee (06/20/2007)
On June 14, the Senate House Services Committee approved the “Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act” (S 1606). The bill is specifically designed to address shortfalls in the care and treatment of injured Servicemembers which were identified in a series of Washington Post articles in February 2007.
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Education Benefits Improve for Minnesota Veterans (06/06/2007)
Minnesota’s state legislature recently passed into law an act that would supplement federal GI bill benefits.
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Home Care for Veterans Proposed under New Bill (06/06/2007)
In late May, Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) introduced the State Veterans Home Modernization Act (S. 1441) to allow more veterans to have long term care provided at home rather than in state homes.
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Six Veterans’ Benefits Bills Pass House (05/24/2007)
On Wednesday, May 23, the House of Representatives passed six bills that would improve health care, benefits and services for veterans.
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Senator Clinton, Representative Murphy Introduce New GI Bill for the 21st Century (05/23/2007)
On May 16, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Patrick Murphy (D-PA), announced a new bill that will expand educational, housing, and entrepreneurial opportunities for Soldiers, veterans, and their family members.
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Defense Bill Amendment Would Protect Servicemembers’ Custody Rights (05/21/2007)
An amendment to the House version of the fiscal year 2008 defense authorization bill, which passed the House on May 15, would prevent courts from changing the custody status of the child of a Servicemember who has been activated or deployed.
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Legislation Proposes Expansion of Eligibility of VA Mortgage Life Insurance (05/16/2007)
Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) introduced a bill on May 2, S 1265, which would extend Veterans’ Mortgage Life Insurance (VMLI) to some active-duty Servicemembers.
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Indiana and Arkansas Pass Military Friendly Legislation (05/16/2007)
Two more states have passed legislation that improves benefits for military personnel and their family members.
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New Bill Would Improve Benefits for Blind Veterans (05/07/2007)
On April 19, 2007, U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), Chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, introduced the Blinded Veterans Paired Organ Act of 2007 (S. 1163).
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Military Pay Improvement Act Introduced (05/07/2007)
Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R- Fla., introduced H.R. 2027, the Military Pay Improvement Act, which would ensure that the minimum Fiscal Year 2008 increase for uniformed service members' basic pay would be 3.5 percent.
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Bill to Improve Treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury Introduced (04/09/2007)
On March 29, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) introduced a bill to improve the detection, assessment, and treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI).
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Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2007 Passes Senate; Faces Presidential Veto (04/03/2007)
On Thursday, March 29 the Senate approved a $123 billion supplemental war spending bill.
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Wounded Warrior Assistance Act of 2007 Approved By House Panel (03/29/2007)
On March 20 the House Armed Services Committee unanimously approved bipartisan legislation (H.R. 1538) aimed at fixing health care problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and other military medical facilities.
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Legislation Proposed to Improve Survivor Benefits (03/29/2007)
Two bills introduced on March 20 would enhance the benefits available to surviving military spouses.
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AUSA’s President Responds to Plans for Increased TRICARE Fees (03/28/2007)
AUSA President Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan, USA, Ret., sent a letter to the House Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee’s Chairman Rep. Vic Snyder, D-Ark., and Ranking Member Rep. John McHugh, R-N.Y., to express his concern about proposed TRICARE fee increases as well as the independence of the congressionally-mandated Department of Defense Task Force on the Future of Military Health Care.
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Congress Proposes Changes to Military Death Gratuity
Several members of Congress have recently introduced legislation to change the eligibility provisions for payment of the military death gratuity.
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FCC Provides Address for Military Families to Comment on Costs of Long Distance Calls
On December 22, 2006 President George Bush signed the Call Home Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-459) into law.
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Virginia In-State Tuition Rules Benefit More Servicemembers
In February, the Virginia House and Senate passed a bill to reduce tuition rates for members of the military.
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