Last week, the House and Senate passed H.R. 6395, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (NDAA), over a presidential veto. This law will add bladder cancer, hypothyroidism, and parkinsonism to the VA’s list of presumptive conditions associated with exposure to Agent Orange. The VFW wishes to thank our members and advocates who contacted their members of Congress regarding this very important provision. We also thank the members of Congress who voted to expand care and benefits to veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange. If you need help filing a VA claim for disability compensation, make sure you get in touch with your Veterans Service officer. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many service offices remain in a telework capacity, but the network of service officers have the capability to continue assisting our veterans safely without face-to-face contact.
Landmark Veterans Legislation Now Law
On Tuesday, the President signed H.R. 7105, Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020 into law. This legislation includes several VFW-supported bills that were pending in the 116th Congress:
- Most notably the Deborah Sampson Act, which will break the cultural barriers impacting women veterans by requiring VA to address privacy concerns and improve access, expand the amount of time new mothers are given to find health care coverage for their newborns, increase staff cultural competency, eliminate harassment and assault, and make other much-needed improvements to women veterans’ health care.
- Will require VA to make Disability Benefits Questionnaires available for public use, again.
- Will lower the age from 57 to 55 to remarry without incurring penalties for surviving spouses receiving Dependency and Indemnity Compensation.
- Will modernize the Service-Disabled Veterans Insurance (SDVI) program.
- Will require VA to study incidents of cancer and other illnesses experienced by service members who served at the Karshi-Khanabad (K2) Air Base in Uzbekistan between Oct. 1, 2001, and Sept. 30, 2005.
- Will change the statutory definition of Vietnam veteran to include individuals who served in the Republic of Vietnam from Nov. 1, 1955, to Feb. 27, 1961.
- Will increase certain veteran funeral benefits and authorize VA to add spouses and eligible dependent children to VA-furnished headstones.
- Will increase the maximum amount VA may grant in a fiscal year to states and tribal organizations for maintaining veterans’ cemeteries from $5 million to $10 million.
- Will call for the elimination of the 12-year limit on using Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) benefits.
- Will require VA to create a database on its website to explain public institution requirements for in-state tuition.
- Will expand benefits and services for homeless veterans.
- Will create certain education, employment, and housing protections for veterans impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The enactment of this veterans’ legislation package satisfies a number of VFW resolutions and legislative priorities regarding women veterans’ health care, disability assistance and memorial affairs, and economic opportunity issues.
POW/MIA Update
Navy Mess Attendant 3rd Class Isaac Parker, 17, of Woodson, Arkansas, was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor. Parker will be buried June 8, 2021, in St. Louis.
Navy Fireman 3rd Class William L. Barnett, 21, of Fort Scott, Kansas, was assigned to the battleship USS West Virginia, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor. Barnett will be buried May 29, 2021, in his hometown.
Army Pfc. William J. Sharp, 18, was a member of Company C, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. He was reported killed in action on July 24, 1950, after his unit sustained heavy casualties while defending against the North Korean Army. Interment services are pending.
Army Cpl. Roy H. Thomas, 22, was a member of Company M, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division during the Korean War. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 12, 1950. Interment services are pending.
Till next week, praying for all.
– Charles Castelluccio
