On June 9, the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee held a hearing on a number of bills aimed at improving veterans’ health benefits.
The Veterans Health Care Act of 2005 (S. 1182), sponsored by Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID), would improve and expand mental health services provided to veterans. The bill would authorize $95 million in each of FY2006 and FY2007 for veterans’ mental health services. S. 1182 would authorize the Department of Veterans Affairs to furnish 14 days’ care for newborns of women veterans if the child was born in a VA facility or a facility under contract to the VA. During the 108th Congress, a similar provision was included in legislation (S. 2485) approved by the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee (see The Source, 7/23/04), but was excluded from a House bill (H.R. 4658) (see The Source, 10/08/04).
Legislation (S. 1177) sponsored by Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI) also would address mental health issues and, specifically, would “ensure that separating servicemembers receive standardized individual mental health and sexual trauma assessments as part of separation exams.” The bill also would establish a joint Department of Veterans Affairs/Department of Defense Workgroup on Mental Health to review education initiatives for families of servicemembers and veterans’ to help them deal with “potential readjustment issues or other mental health disorders.”
A bill (S. 1180) sponsored by Sen. Barak Obama (D-IL) includes a provision for a study on military sexual trauma and homelessness. The provision would require the secretary of veterans affairs to submit a report on “the results of a study on the intersection of military sexual trauma and homelessness and effective service models for addressing trauma among homeless veterans” no later than September 30, 2007. The study would examine “a possible correlation between military sexual trauma and homelessness among veterans,” a description of effective treatment and service models, and “an outcome evaluation of the ‘Seeking Safety’ treatment regime made available by the Secretary to homeless female veterans.” The bill notes that “female veterans are almost 4 times as likely to become homeless than their non-veteran counterparts.”
S. 1180 also would authorize $200 million for comprehensive service programs for homeless veterans and $50 million in each of FY2007 through FY2011 for homeless veterans reintegration programs.
Donald Mooney, assistant director of the American Legion, voiced his support for veterans’ newborn care, stating, “Women now account for 15 percent of active duty military personnel and are currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan under identical conditions as male servicemembers…Congress is wise to extend this care to the newborn children of these veterans.”
