×
×
homepage logo
STORE

House approves three veterans bills

By Staff | May 19, 2009

Several bills in the House of Representatives were passed Tuesdayin Washington that will improve benefits for veterans, particularly disabled veterans living in specially adapted housing.

HR 1170, which passed by a voice vote, would establish a grant program to encourage the development of new assistive technologies, such as computer and other electronic aids, for specially adapted housing for severely disabled veterans.

Other legislation that affects America’s veterans were also passed. They include:

HR 1088, the Mandatory Veteran Specialist Training Act: Reduces the training period from three years to one year for disabled veterans outreach program specialists and veterans employment representative.

H.R. 1089, the Veterans Employment Rights Realignment Act of 2009: Allows veterans to file discrimination complaints with the Office of Special Counsel. Currently, veterans can only file complaints with the Secretary of the VA.

The bills now await action in the Senate.

Rep Connie Mack (R-14) said that while the VA’s Specially Adapted Housing benefit has enabled thousands of severely disabled veterans to live in structurally modified homes, more needs to be done to expand and develop new adaptive technologies that can improve the livability of these adapted homes. New, emerging technologies, such as voice-recognition, have great potential to aid disabled veterans living in these adapted homes, he said.