On June 8, the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee held a hearing to discuss programs for female veterans. There are approximately 1.2 million women veterans (4.8 percent of the veteran population), and women represent roughly 15 percent of the active duty forces. Statistics project that by the year 2010 women will constitute 10 percent of the veteran population. Saying that “the issue of women veterans has not been addressed in the committee since 1994,” Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL) called for the hearing in response to a 1998 report from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Advisory Committee on Women Veterans.
The 1998 report made 42 recommendations on how the VA could better improve its services for women veterans in the areas of outreach, health care, benefits entitlement, homelessness, minority women veterans, Women Veterans Coordinators, research, the future of women veterans, Reserve and National Guard benefits, the National Cemetery System, and the employment of women veterans within the VA.
Congress first responded to the needs of women veterans after a 1982 General Accounting Office report found extreme inequities in the provision of VA services to male and female veterans. In 1983, the Women’s Veterans Advisory Committee was created under P.L. 98-60. In 1992, Congress authorized a sexual trauma counseling program at the VA through the Veterans Health Care Act (P.L. 102-585). That program was reauthorized in 1994 and again in 1999. Additionally, in 1995, Congress established the Center for Women Veterans and the Center for Minority Veterans (P.L. 104-46). The 104th Congress also required the VA to implement standards consistent with the Mammography Quality Standards Act (P.L. 102-539) by accrediting and inspecting VA facilities performing mammographies.
Despite these efforts, women veterans and their advocates contends that more needs to be done to better serve women veterans’ needs. “We acknowledge that the VA has made an effort over the last seven years to address the unique needs of this population; however, some women veterans still experience obstacles when trying to obtain health care services and other benefits they need from the VA,” stated Joy Ilem of the Disabled American Veterans Women’s Auxiliary.
Witnesses were unanimous in their call to make permanent the sexual trauma counseling program. According to the VA, in 1999, 50 percent of all women assaulted in the military developed signs of post traumatic stress disorder, and 60 percent of all women in the military have experienced at least one instance of sexual harassment or assault while on active duty. “As more is learned about the dynamics of sexual assault and trauma in a military setting, its is unquestionably a moral and ethical responsibility of the Congress to eliminate all restrictions and time limits on the VA’s authority to provide care to those who are victimized while in military service,” stated Linda Spoonster Schwartz of the VA Advisory Committee on Women Veterans.
Currently, women who are sexually assaulted or harassed while on active duty are eligible to receive counseling services; however, women serving in the Reserves or National Guard are not eligible for counseling if the incident occurs while they are on “active duty for training.” Witnesses urged Congress to eliminate this restriction.
While the VA agreed with 36 recommendations of the 1998 report, including making the sexual trauma counseling program permanent, Joan Furey of the VA’s Center for Women Veterans detailed the VA’s concerns with several of the recommendations. Most notably, the VA expressed concern about continuing to operate women’s clinics or offer other gender-specific services. “While it is true that the disparate ratio of men to women in VA facilities presents specific problems for the women veteran population in VA, the development of specialized, in-house women’s services is not seen as an optimal method to provide cost-effective quality health care in every facility,” stated Ms. Furey. She added that “with VHA’s [Veterans Health Administration] shift from disease-oriented specialty care to holistically-oriented primary care, the trend has been to mainstream women’s health, as well as other specialties, into primary care clinics/teams.”
Other issues addressed at the hearing included initiatives for homeless women veterans, privacy and safety concerns of women veterans utilizing VA facilities, and special compensation for service-connected mastectomies. Noting the challenges that face homeless women veterans, several witnesses urged Congress to expand VA homeless programs. In FY2000, Congress increased funding for VA Homeless Programs by $50 million and included a $2.3 million earmark for homeless women veterans projects. Currently, 10 projects have been awarded funding; however, the VA has determined that funding for these projects is available for FY2000 only.
“Approximately 3 to 4 percent of the 275,000 homeless veterans across this country are women,” stated Marsha Tansey Four of the Women Veterans Committee of Vietnam Veterans of America. She added, “Homeless women veterans present different needs with reference to privacy, gender-related care, treatment for physical and sexual trauma, and care for dependent children. Due to these compounding issues very few programs are available to serve and appropriately meet the needs of this particular homeless population.”
Addressing the issue of privacy and safety, Ms. Ilem noted that it was not uncommon for a woman veteran admitted for inpatient care at a VA facility to be placed in an open ward with 30 men. “It is understandable in this situation that a woman might feel threatened or that her safety might be endangered,” she stated, adding: “Privacy and safety protocols for women veterans should be consistent and strictly adhered to at every VA facility.”
Under current law, a Special Monthly Compensation k-award is authorized for veterans who have either lost a limb or lost the use of a limb. The k-award is also available for the loss of buttocks, either eye, both ears, or the vocal organs. Women veterans’ advocates are urging the VA to provide the k-award to women veterans who have survived a modified or radical mastectomy. Rep. Lane Evans has (D-IL) sponsored legislation (H.R. 3998) that would allow the Special Monthly Compensation k-award to be granted to individuals who have survived a modified or radical mastectomy. The VA responded that it would consider the proposal internally and would make a formal recommendation in the future.
