Congresswoman Kosmas Helps Improve Veterans Benefits

Press Release

Congresswoman Kosmas Helps Improve Veterans Benefits

Votes on Key Legislation Echo Kosmas' Local Efforts, Commitment to Veterans

Today, Congresswoman Suzanne Kosmas voted to pass a series of bills that will improve benefits for America's men and women in uniform. These bills will ensure a cost-of-living adjustment for veterans' disability compensation, increase transparency in the veterans' health care budget, improve and expand health care for female veterans, and provide easier access to scholarship information. The House of Representatives approved the bills by wide margins.

"I am committed to protecting the benefits that our veterans have earned and to fully supporting our brave men and women in uniform," said Congresswoman Kosmas. "These bills will significantly improve the quality of care for Central Florida's 400,000 veterans while providing critical support during these difficult economic times."

Congresswoman Kosmas is ensuring that Central Florida's veterans get the support they deserve. She has formed a Veterans Advisory Council to keep her up to date on the issues that are important to Central Florida veterans, and she frequently travels across Florida's 24th District to meet with veterans about their issues and concerns. Earlier this year, Kosmas co-sponsored a series of bipartisan bills that will protect and improve benefits for Florida's veterans and military personnel, one of which, the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act, was included in the package that passed the House on Tuesday.

In addition, Congresswoman Kosmas has made funding the new Orlando VA Medical Center a top priority. She recently announced that the $371 million in funding that she had requested for the new medical center has been approved by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs. The approval is a critical step towards completing construction of the new medical center, which will make a difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of Central Florida's veterans.

Additional information on the veterans bills that passed the House of Representatives on Tuesday:

Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2009 (S. 407): S. 407 would direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase, as of December 1, 2009, the rates of veterans' disability compensation to be the same percentage as the increase in benefits provided under title II of the Social Security Act. Today's passage sends the bill to the President to be signed into law.

Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act of 2009 (H.R. 1016): Endorsed by veterans' organizations as "among the most important for veterans and their families," the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act (H.R. 1016) authorizes Congress to approve investments in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical care one year in advance to provide time for the VA to plan how to deliver the best care to an increasing number of veterans with increasingly complex medical conditions.

Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act (H.R. 1211): The bill would expand and improve health care services available to women veterans, especially those serving in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The bill requires the VA to conduct a comprehensive study on barriers encountered by women veterans when attempting to access the VA health care system.

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to include on the Internet website of the Department of Veterans Affairs a list of organizations that provide scholarships to veterans and their survivors. (H.R. 1172): This bill would direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to include on the Internet website of the Department of Veterans Affairs a list of organizations that provide scholarships to veterans and their survivors and, for each such organization, a link to their Internet website.

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