The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is dedicated to ensuring that America’s veterans receive the care and services they need and deserve. As Ranking Member, Senator Burr’s priority is providing veterans with the benefits they have earned through their service to our country in a timely, effective, and hassle-free manner.
Reducing the Disability Claims Backlog
The disability claims processing system continues to be a source of frustration for many veterans. On March 1, 2011, Senator Burr introduced S. 423, a bill that will help address the problem by allowing veterans who file "fully-developed claims" to be compensated for a period up to one year prior to the date the claim was filed. This bill enables veterans who file complete claims to receive answers more quickly and ensures that veterans do not lose out on benefits during the time they spend collecting evidence. To read more about the bill, read the press release here. In the 111th Congress, the Committee crafted S. 3447, a bill that will make a number of technical changes, substantive reforms, and general improvements to the Post-9/11 GI Bill, such as: The expansion of these benefits was entirely paid for through offsets in spending and, in fact, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bill would save $734 million over 10 years.
Improving the Post-9/11 GI Bill
• Creating a single national cap for tuition/fees paid on behalf of students at private colleges (rather than each state having its own cap based on the highest cost public school in that state).
• Allowing Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to be used for vocational and on-the-job training.
• Providing books and supplies stipends to those using these benefits while on active duty.
• Allowing eligibility for certain National Guard members who were inadvertently left out.
• Allowing a housing allowance for students attending classes entirely on-line.
Pass omnibus veterans’ benefits bill
Senator Burr and Senator Akaka led the Committee in negotiating an omnibus bill that contains over 50 provisions compiled from Senate and House bills, including measures to enhance insurance benefits for veterans, boost the funds available to help severely disabled veterans purchase automobiles that will accommodate their disabilities, increase burial benefits, and strengthen protections under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. The increases in veterans’ benefits were entirely paid for with a spending offset. To read more about the veterans’ benefits provisions that were sponsored by the Ranking Member, CLICK HERE.
Require cost-of-living adjustments for certain VA benefits
Current law provides for an automatic cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security benefits based on any annual increase in consumer prices. Although some VA benefits receive automatic increases tied to the adjustments in Social Security benefits, the majority of VA disability compensation benefits paid by VA do not increase automatically when Social Security benefits are increased. Rather, Congress regularly enacts legislation providing a cost-of-living adjustment. This Congress, Sen. Burr and the Committee agreed to require VA to automatically increase the amounts of certain VA benefits by the same percentage and effective on the same date as adjustments made to Social Security benefits.
