The Mid-Atlantic Regional Group

Blinded Veterans Association

Legislative News

April 24, 2008

This week the Senate VA Committee held a hearing on the issue of Seamless Transition and cooperation between DoD and VA on several issues. Below is the link for those interested in complete information about the hearing. The problem was that during this hearing, there were no questions directed at the witnesses about the status of the Military Eye Trauma Center of Excellence and Eye Trauma Registry. I did attend this meeting and Senator Brown from Ohio, did raise the issue in his opening remarks, and included some of the details of the April 2, 2008 House VA Hearing on TBI and Visual Impairments that we testified at with the two blind OIF veterans

Blinded Veterans Association continues to advocate for the funding for the Military Eye Trauma Center of Excellence to be part of the Iraq War Supplemental which is $108 BILLION and due to come up in congress in the next two weeks. BVA is asking all members of congress to support the inclusion of this funding in the War Supplemental this week. 

It is very difficult to believe that they will not fund the $5,000,000 for the Eye Trauma Center and Registry, when currently BVA has found over 1,348 combat eye wounded evacuated from the wars. While only 163 of them are classified as having significant visual impairments and 57 have attended VA Blind Centers, we know others are at risk of complications because of there extensive eye injuries of needed future VA specialized low vision services. 

AKAKA PUSHES VA, DEFENSE SECRETARIES ON TRANSITION OF SERVICEMEMBERS AND ACCURATE DATA TO PREVENT SUICIDES 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), Chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, held a hearing today on the work of the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense to ensure a seamless transition from military service to veteran status. 

“While VA and DOD are working in a variety of ways to improve transition from military service and veteran status, all of these improvements depend upon top-level involvement,” said Akaka.  “I am willing to take the necessary steps to ensure that the VA and DOD continue to work aggressively towards seamless transition for all veterans, and to be especially mindful of veterans at-risk of suicide and PTSD.”   

Chairman Akaka questioned Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England and Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs Gordon Mansfield on the work of their Departments to respond to the rising suicide rate among servicemembers and veterans.  Akaka noted that the Congress has not received accurate information on the true number of suicides, and that some data have been suppressed.  Akaka insisted that both Departments provide accurate suicide data to the Committee.  

Witnesses at today’s hearing, including the Co-Chairs of the Senior Oversight Committee (the body charged with ensuring VA/DOD inter-department coordination for transitioning servicemembers), detailed the important VA/DOD progress made.  Witnesses also outlined the immense amount of work still left to be done, and the human toll of a sometimes-disjointed VA/DOD transition where servicemembers do not receive the assistance they need and deserve. 

The full witness list can be viewed here: link

The Chairman’s opening statement can be viewed here: link

Tom Zampieri

Director Government Relations

Blinded Veterans Association

Washington DC

BVA's Legislative Alerts Group

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