March 17 2017



In this issue:
White House Petition on Agent Orange/Blue Water Navy Issue
Bills to Expand Caregivers Program Introduced
FY 2018 Budget Outline Released and House Passes FY 2017 Defense Spending Bill
VA Offers Veterans MST Care Regardless of Service Connection


White House Petition on Agent Orange/Blue Water Navy Issue
A petition has been put on the White House website asking President Trump to direct the VA to rescind the exclusion of Blue Water Navy Veterans, who served in the bays, harbors and territorial seas of the Republic of Vietnam, from the presumption of exposure to Agent Orange.  The petition can be found here.

FRA is seeking a legislative remedy by supporting the “Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act” (H.R. 299/S. 422) that will bring a degree of justice to several thousand Navy personnel who have been denied service connection by the VA since 2002. They will no longer have to prove direct exposure to Agent Orange, and they will receive expedited consideration for VA benefits if they are afflicted with any of the health conditions associated with exposure to this defoliant. The herbicide was used to destroy foliage on river shore used by the Viet Cong to hide and shoot at passing ships.  The chemical got into rivers that ran out to sea. Ships used water for bathing and drinking.  It has been proven the desalinization process for water intensified toxicity of the small amounts of herbicide in water.  Members are urged to use the FRA Action Center to contact their legislators and voice their support.

Bills to Expand Caregivers Program Introduced
“The Military and Veteran Caregiver Services Improvement Act” (H.R. 1472/S. 591) has been introduced in the House and Senate to expand the Department of Veterans Affairs Caregivers program to include veterans catastrophically disabled before September 11, 2001. The current program applies to veterans disabled on or after September 11, 2001.

A 2014 RAND study commissioned by the Elizabeth Dole Foundation estimates the services caregivers provide veterans, saves our nation $13.6 billion annually. These caregivers too often pay a price by suffering from physical stress, emotional stress and illnesses. They have difficulty maintaining employment and can suffer from financial or legal problems, family strains and isolation.

These military caregivers shoulder the everyday responsibilities of providing care to those who suffered the emotional and physical tolls of war. These dedicated individuals make many sacrifices to care for their loved ones and they deserve our support. This bill will expand access to services for caregivers and help ensure they have the resource they need to care for these severely disabled veterans. Members are urged to use the Action Center and ask their legislators to support these bills.

FY 2018 Budget Outline Released and House Passes FY 2017 Defense Spending Bill
The Trump Administration released an FY 2018 budget outline—often referred to as the “skinny budget”—that calls for a major increase in Defense spending by $54 billion (nine percent increase) and increases spending for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) by $4.4 billion (six percent increase).  These increases are offset by deep cuts in some programs and eliminating other programs.  FRA welcomes the increase in Defense spending. Press reports of a $1.3 billion cut in the U.S. Coast Guard budget ($9.1 billion in the budget outline) appear to be baseless.  A complete budget submission is expected to be released in May.

In related news, the House recently passed the FY 2017 Defense spending bill, which would fund the Department of Defense (DoD) for the remainder of current fiscal year that ends September 30, 2017. The Pentagon is currently operating under a Continuing Resolution (CR) wish extends spending based on the FY 2016 spending plan. Funding by CR limits DoD’s ability to operate because it limits implementation of new programs that have been authorized and also complicates deployment cycles. The House bill would provide Defense with $577.9 billion, which is a $5.2 billion increase to fiscal year 2016 enacted level and $1.6 billion more than the Obama administration’s request. The bill now heads to the Senate. The current CR expires on April 28, 2017.

VA Offers Veterans MST Care Regardless of Service Connection
The Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently announced during a House Veterans Affairs Committee hearing that it would offer veterans physical and mental health care services for military sexual trauma (MST). Care would be provided without proof of service-connected disability, and the VA is providing outreach to both men and women veterans who may be experiencing difficulty with MST. According to Kayla Williams, director for the VA’s Center for Women Veterans, “VA provides all care for mental and physical health conditions related to MST, free of charge. Veterans do not need to have reported their experiences of MST at the time of the trauma or have other documentation that MST occurred in order to receive free MST-related health care.”

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