From: PATBNAAV@aol.com
Date: Sat, 13 Feb 1999
To: pdxavets@aracnet.com
Subject: Legislative stuff
Hello all
Today I received from the Disabled American Veterans "THE INDEPENDENT
BUDGET, Fiscal Year 2000. It's a follow-up to what I sent to Bernie yesterday
outlining meetings with the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees with
all of the veterans' organizations. It is the 13th edition and was developed
by four major veterans service organizations -- AMVETS, Disabled American
Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America and Veterans of Foreign Wars of the
United States--and is the catalyst for legislative budgetary and policy
iniatives within the veteran and advocacy communities.
In addition to the above, 30 additional veterans' organizations have signed on
to the measure. (I didn't know there were that many). Attached to the book
was a note from Joe Violante, National Legislative Director of the DAV in
which he stated they were able to include the following:
Enact legislation to include in the statutory presumption for service
connection of radiation-related disabilities, lung cancer, bone cancer, skin
cacolon cancer, posterior subcapsular cataracts, nonmalignant thyroid nodular
disease, ovarian cancer, parathyroid adenoma, tumors of the brain and central
nervous system, and rectal cancer.
Repeal the inequitable requirement that veterans' military retired pay based
on longevity be offset by an amount equal to their disability compensation.
(Nothing about the same for DIC widows, however, which we have to work on.)
Enact legislation to remove the requirement that military nondisability
separation, severance, or readjustment pay be offset against VA disability
compensation.
Repeal the prohibition on service connection for smoking-related
disabilities.
There are tons more, but those were the ones I felt were more appropriate for
this group.
And now, of course, you know what the next step is--contact your elected
representatives and veterans' organizations and insist that these issues be
taken up in the 106th Congress. Senator Paul Wellstone has already indicated
he will re-introduce S. 1385 which includes the above-listed radiogenic
illnesses.
Caio,
Pat Broudy
Legislative Advisor