“Paired Organ bill” for veterans blinded in one eye

For everyone in the BVA who has followed and helped push the famous journey of the Dr. James Allen “Paired Organ bill” for veterans blinded in one eye, for the SECOND time this year it has now passed on the house floor! For those with interest in this, last April it also passed the house, went over to the senate side where it waited until November 2nd for a vote over there. Well, the senate version had some other changes made that caused this whole thing to have to be returned to the house for a vote over there again this week.

Next, it must be voted on again in the senate to get final passage of this legislation, but we have concerns because obviously congress is stuck in middle of major battles over appropriations bills in the senate, several of which have not passed. So, we are working now to get Senator Akaka and other members to figure out some way to get this thing done by next week.

Please also note that Chairman Bob Filner’s press release has a very incorrect number on it, we have no idea where that figure comes from because Major Weichel the Chief of Retinal Surgery for Ophthalmology Service at Walter Reed Army Medical Center has told members of congress, and the VA both that they alone have treated more than 540 combat severely eye injured service members from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Veterans Benefits Administration is already paying Service Connected Disability to 111 veterans blinded in one eye from the war in Iraq.

Washington, D.C. – Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Bob Filner (D-CA) announced that the U.S. House of Representatives passed The Dr. James Allen Veteran Vision Equity Act of 2007. The House passed H.Res. 855, which amends H.R. 797, a bill to expand compensation benefits for some blinded veterans. The legislation allows veterans who receive disability compensation for impairment of vision in one eye to be eligible to receive additional compensation for impairment of vision in the eye that is not service-connected.

“I am pleased to support any effort which will help our veterans who have service-connected blindness or loss of vision,” said Chairman Filner. “This legislation will apply to newly returning servicemembers as well as veterans from past conflicts. Walter Reed Army Medical Center alone has treated more than 140 service members from Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom for visual injuries.”

Additional provisions in H.R. 797 include extending authorization of the veterans’ work study program until 2010 and allowing the Department of Veterans Affairs to continue to furnish a government headstone or marker for the grave of certain veterans buried in private cemeteries.

The Blinded Veterans Association again expresses its appreciation to Chairman Filner on pushing this bill through the floor process, but a very special thanks to Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin who has persisted in this effort for four years now.

Thanks to everyone who helped find co-sponsors on house side, and we need a push on contacting senate members this week asking them to pass the senate version. Senator Akaka, Senator Brown, Senator Isakson, Senator Sanders, Senator Hagel, Senator Feingold were all sponsors of senate version of Paired Organ bill S 1163 and should be contacted to ask there legislative staff who takes care of veterans issues to ask for a vote on this bill soon.