Stand Up for Veterans Update
From Joseph A. Violante, DAV National Legislative Director
April 22, 2010
Historic Veteran Caregiver Legislation Passes House
The House of Representatives gave final approval to S. 1963, the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act, which provides an array of supportive services to family caregivers of disabled veterans, including up to $1.7 billion in caregiver benefits to financially strapped family members caring for the most severely wounded and disabled Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. The legislation, which was first proposed more than two years ago, and has been strongly backed by DAV and other veterans organizations, now goes to the Senate for their approval.
New Services for Women Veterans, Rural Veterans and Homeless Veterans
S. 1963 also expands and improves health care access and services for the nation's 1.8 million women veterans, veterans living in rural areas, and homeless veterans. Once enacted into law, the legislation will help ensure that women veterans, who have played an increasingly essential role in our military, receive quality, timely and gender-appropriate health care services, and will for the first time allow VA to provide seven days of care to newborn infants of women veterans.
About the Stand Up for Veterans Initiative
Stand Up for Veterans is an initiative of the Disabled American Veterans, an organization of 1.4 million disabled veterans who are focused on building better lives for disabled veterans and their families. The initiative seeks to find public policy solutions for all veterans, particularly those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, who have incurred devastating injuries and disabilities, including traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychological wounds of war. Please visit www.standup4vets.org to learn more about this effort.
Stand up for veterans. They stood up for us.
