VA Legislation Held Hostage

摘要

Two bills to improve VA care for wounded warriors ended up getting shelved for 2007 because of holds placed on them by former Ranking Member Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee (SVAC). S. 1233, an omnibus veterans' health measure, would direct the VA to develop individualized plans for the treatment and rehabilitation of veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI), among many other provisions. S. 1315, the Veterans Benefits Enhancement Act, would authorize additional wounded warrior benefits, including a new term life insurance program for disabled veterans. The sticking point was that the bill also would increase disability benefits for Filipino World War II veterans, including non-citizens living outside the U.S., funding the increase at least in part by barring recent court-directed expansion of VA compensation to certain additional categories of disabled American veterans.