16 confirmed positions filled by the Senate VA Committee that were previously empty long term.

25 major pieces of legislation passed that are now law. Here are some of the highlights:

• A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize per diem payments under comprehensive service programs for homeless veterans to furnish care to dependents of homeless veterans, and for other purposes.

 

• A bill to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to enter into a contract or other agreement with a third party to review appointees in the Veterans Health Administration who had a license terminated for cause by a State licensing board for care or services rendered at a non-Veterans Health Administration facility and to provide individuals treated by such an appointee with notice if it is determined that an episode of care or services to which they received was below the standard of care, and for other purposes. This bill is a welcome breath of fresh air considering the low ratings of VA hospitals across the country.

 

• A bill to provide for an increase, effective December 1, 2018, in the rates of compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for the survivors of certain disabled veterans, and for other purposes.

 

• To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase the number of peer-to-peer counselors providing counseling for women veterans, and for other purposes.

 

• Service-Disabled Veterans Small Business Continuation Act
  This bill provides that the surviving spouse of a veteran who died with less than a 100% disability rating maintains the same Department of Veterans Affair’s contracting preference for a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business as the spouse of a 100% disabled veteran until: (1) three years after the veteran’s death, (2) the surviving spouse remarries, or (3) the surviving spouse relinquishes ownership of the business.

  Join us for the Case Manager or Attorney Conference where we will be going over all of the new VA rules, amounts, and laws that will change how you do business.  Learn More