NewsBytes March 26, 2021
In this issue:
Veterans Vaccine Bill Becomes Law
Veterans Toxic Exposure Bill Introduced
FRA Supports Gulf War Illness Research
Hearing on Improving Women Veterans’ Health
President Signs Veterans Vaccine Bill into Law
The House unanimously approved a Senate amendment and passed the “VA Vaccine Act” (H.R.1276) sending it to the president, who signed it into law. “Today, we sent vital legislation to the President’s desk that will ensure VA has the authority to provide COVID-19 vaccines to all veterans, caregivers, and veteran spouses who walk through its doors,” said House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Takano (Calif.). “VA has proven itself as one the most effective vaccinators in the nation — but it’s clear VA needs additional authority to continue leading this effort to get as many shots into arms as possible. After hearing some veterans were turned away because they weren’t eligible for VA care, I saw a need and worked with Ranking Member Bost (Ill.), to speedily pass the bill in two weeks. This expansion must be contingent on having adequate supply of the vaccine and VA must continue to prioritize vaccinations and healthcare delivery for our nation’s veterans that are enrolled in VA care. …When COVID-19 vaccine supply is readily available, our bipartisan legislation will give VA the authority it needs to vastly ramp up its vaccination efforts, and I look forward to President Biden signing my bill, as amended, into law.”
The bill will expand the VA’s authority to provide vaccines to:
• Veterans who are not currently enrolled in the VA’s health care system, including veterans without compensable service-connected disabilities and veterans who have incomes above VA’s threshold;
• Caregivers of veterans who are enrolled in various VA home-based and long-term care programs;
• Veterans living abroad who rely on the Foreign Medical Program (including those who reside in the Philippines);
• Spouses of veterans; and
• CHAMPVA recipients (spouses or children of permanently and totally disabled veterans or of veterans who have died from service-connected disabilities).
According to Stars and Stripes, the legislation requires the VA to offer coronavirus vaccines to 24 million more people. The FRA wants to thank members for weighing in on this issue through the FRA Action Center. Your efforts helped pass this important legislation.
Veterans Toxic Exposure Bill Introduced
Exposure to toxins, whether herbicides or toxic fumes from burn pits, has long been an issue facing certain service members both at home and abroad. Years of research has produced reports of the debilitating health problems and, in some cases, deaths attributed to exposure to these toxins. Sen. Thom Tillis (N.C.) and Rep. Mike Bost (Ill.) recently introduced a comprehensive legislation to cover all possible toxicants developed by the TEAM (Toxic Exposure in the American Military) Coalition, which includes FRA. “The Toxic Exposure in the American Military Act” (TEAM Act, S.927) expands access to preventative and diagnostic services for veterans who were exposed to toxins, establishes an independent scientific commission tasked with researching the health effects of such toxic exposure, and reporting its findings to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Congress. Members can weigh in on this legislation listed on the FRA Action Center by going online.
FRA Supports Funding of Gulf War Illness Research
The FRA has signed onto a letter to the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Subcommittees on Defense Appropriations to provide funding for the treatment-focused Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP), which is part of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) within the DoD. Peer-reviewed studies have consistently concluded that Gulf War Illness (GWI) affects approximately 25-32 percent of the veterans who served in the 1990-91 Gulf War. GWI is characterized by multiple, diverse symptoms that typically include chronic headache, widespread pain, cognitive difficulties, debilitating fatigue, gastrointestinal problems, respiratory symptoms, sleep problems, and other abnormalities that could not be explained by established medical diagnoses or standard laboratory tests. FRA members can weigh in on this funding issue on the FRA Action Center online.
HVAC Subcommittee Hearing on Improving Female Veterans’ Health
The House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health and Women Veterans Task Force conducted a joint hearing to look beyond the “Deborah Sampson Act” and continue to improve women veterans’ health care. The FRA is thankful that Congress passed, and former President Trump signed into law the “Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act” (H.R.7105) last year. It includes major provisions of the FRA-supported Deborah Sampson Act. The intent of the Act is to assist female veterans by including the creation of the VA Office of Women’s Health, which provides $20 million to retrofit VA hospitals with women’s health spaces and makes permanent a program to provide child care at VA facilities, as well as other measures.
During the hearing, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) staff responded to questions concerning VA’s policies and procedures regarding implementation of the act. The FRA welcomes the oversight hearing and wants to increase access to gender-specific medical and mental health care to meet unique needs of women service members and women veterans.
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