The Mid-Atlantic Regional Group
Blinded Veterans Association
Legislative News
May 20 2009,
The following veterans’ legislation was passed by the House of Representatives.
Also included here is some news of interest to many individuals on the problem of the waiting times for Social Security which is two years, and Social Security Disability Insurance SSDI which takes five months. National Council on Disability sent out the following information and we would encourage members to contact there congressmen to support this legislation.
Disability Equity Act
The Disability Equity Act (H.R. 2263), which eliminates the two year waiting period for Medicare benefits and the five month waiting period for SSDI, was introduced on May 4 by Representative Betty Sutton (D-OH).
According to NCD Chairman John R. Vaughn, "Lengthy application processes, eligibility determinations, and waiting periods are often cited as the reason someone with a disability is without income, health coverage, personal assistance services, or access to housing or transportation. Surely, the human cost and the cost to society when someone with a disability falls through one of these cracks is significantly greater than the cost of the bridges that could facilitate a seamless transition. Elimination of the Medicare 24-month eligibility qualifying period for Disability Income beneficiaries will go a long way toward correcting a process that has had an extremely negative impact on individuals and families affected by disabilities."
NCD has long been interested in eliminating these disparities for people with disabilities. For additional information on this issue, please see NCD’s 2009
National Disability Policy: A Progress Report and NCD’s 2005
The Social Security Administration's Efforts to Promote Employment for People with Disabilities: New Solutions for Old Problems.
Current Issues
NCD’s list of current and proposed research projects include studies and reports on:
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• Effective Emergency Preparedness Practices for Use by Communities and People with Disabilities
• National Disability Policy: A Progress Report
• Housing
• Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act: Implementation Evaluation and Recommendations for Reauthorization
• Workforce Infrastructure in Support of People with Disabilities: Matching Human Resources to Service Needs
• Accessibility of
New NCD Publications List
In an effort to make its Web site more accessible and more user-friendly, NCD will be adding a new HTML list of its publications by subject since 2002. The categories include the Americans with Disabilities Act, civil rights, disability statistics and research, education, emergency preparedness and homeland security, employment, healthcare, international, progress reports, technology, and transportation. We believe this will aid researchers in finding documents much quicker and easier.
A publications list of all NCD documents arranged chronologically will still exit at http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/index.htm.
VETERANS NEW RELEASE BELOW:
House Passes Bills to Honor
H.Res. 360 – Urging all Americans and people of all nationalities to visit the national cemeteries, memorials, and markers on Memorial Day (Roe)
“This Memorial Day, Members of the House came together to show our support for our veterans and their families,” said Chairman Filner. “While we can never fully repay our nation's veterans for their service and sacrifice, we must, at a minimum, do our very best to ensure that they are properly cared for when they return home. Our nation has a proud legacy of appreciation and gratitude to the men and women who have worn the uniform in defense of this country. I encourage patriotic Americans to reach out and support the brave service members, veterans, and their families, many who are mourning the loss of one of their own or have loved ones far from home.”
Three of the bills approved by the House of Representatives strengthen the protections and benefits for returning veterans.
H.R. 1088 – Mandatory Veteran Specialist Training Act of 2009 (Herseth Sandlin)
This bill reduces from three years to one year the period during which a disabled veterans' outreach program specialist or a local veterans' employment representative must complete the training program provided by the National Veterans' Employment and Training Services Institute.
H.R. 1089, as amended – Veterans Employment Rights Realignment Act of 2009 (Herseth Sandlin)
This bill allows the U.S. Office of Special Counsel to receive and investigate certain USERRA claims containing a related prohibited personnel practice allegation. The bill was introduced to respond to hearing testimony from veterans and results of a pilot program showing that the U.S. Office of Special Counsel was equipped to handle these cases.
H.R. 1170, as amended – To establish a grant program to encourage the development of new assistive technologies for specially adapted housing (Boozman)
This bill directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to make grants to encourage the development of new assistive technologies for specially adapted housing for disabled veterans. Grant amounts would be limited to $200,000 annually per recipient.
Tom Zampieri
Blinded Veterans Association
Director Government Relations
BVA's Legislative Alerts Group
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