June 2 2017

In this issue:
HVAC Budget Hearing
VA Disability Appeals Reform Passes
Bipartisan Agreement Reached on Accountability of VA Employees
White House Veterans Complaint Line

HVAC Budget Hearing
National President Donald Larson and Assistant Director of Veterans Program Brian Condon attended a House Veterans Affairs Committee hearing to review President Trump's proposed FY2018 budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  VA Secretary Dr. David J. Shulkin explained the administration's priorities for the next fiscal year that includes expanding the VA Choice Program, modernizing VA disability claims process, improving suicide prevention and programs tailored to meet the special needs of women veterans.

As mentioned in last week's Newsbytes the proposed budget also eliminates the Individual Unemployability benefit payments to retirement-age disabled veterans.  Under current policies, the Individual Unemployability program allows the VA to award payouts at the 100-percent disabled rate to veterans who cannot find work due to service-connected injuries, even if they are not deemed 100-percent disabled.  The Administration has proposed stopping those payouts once veterans are eligible for Social Security retirement benefits. This cut would impact more than 225,000 veterans currently receiving this benefit.  

Veterans receiving benefit checks from the VA would also have their annual cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) reduced or "round down" to the nearest dollar.

Members are urged to use the FRA Action Center on our website to ask their legislators to oppose these benefit cuts.

VA Disability Appeals Reform Passes
The House and Senate approved the "Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act" (H.R.2288), sponsored by Rep. Mike Bost (Ill.) that addresses the growing backlog of disability appeal cases. Currently, there are more than 470,000 cases awaiting appeal.

The bill would create three "lanes" for veterans' appeals, and would give the Secretary the authority to test the new system prior to full implementation. As well as, allow some veterans, already going through the appeals process, to opt-into the new system. It would require the VA to provide a comprehensive plan for processing legacy appeals-appeals filed before the effective date of the bill.

The bill now goes to President Trump to be signed into law.  Thank you to all the Shipmates that used the FRA Action Center and weighed in on this important legislation. 

Bipartisan Agreement Reached on Accountability of VA Employees
Top lawmakers have apparently reached a bipartisan and bicameral agreement on how the Department of Veterans Affairs should have a more streamlined process for dismissing dishonest employees. The "Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act" (S.1094), sponsored by Senator Marco Rubio (Fla.) reforms the VA by allowing the secretary to dismiss bad employees and ensure appropriate due process protections for whistleblowers. The VA Secretary Dr. David Shulkin and the two top members of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, Chairman Rep. Phil Roe (Tenn.) and Ranking Member Tim Walz (Minn.) support the legislation. The bill has been approved by the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and is awaiting consideration on the Senate floor. 

White House Veterans Complaint Line
During the 2016 Presidential election campaign, then Presidential candidate Donald Trump pledged to create a White House complaint line for veterans. The phone line is now available and the number is 855-948-2311. It is intended to "collect, process and respond to the complaints of individual veterans in a responsive, timely and accountable manner," according to Department of Veterans Affairs officials. 

VA Secretary Dr. David Shulkin has described the initial rollout of the line as a soft launch, with "live-answer agents" receiving and processing some of the calls. He promised that by August 15, the hotline will have continuous coverage from a live operator 24 hours a day, every day of the week. Calls to the hotline will be kept confidential, but information will be shared with VA officials. In some cases veterans will be asked to give personal information for responses to specific problems.

If you would like to hear a recorded version of NewsBytes, dial 1-800-FRA-1924 (ext. 112)

Follow FRA on Twitter (https://twitter.com/FRAHQ); Follow FRA on Instagram (www.instagram.com/fra_hq) and "like" FRA on Facebook (use the shortcut of www.fra.org/fb)