Bill to Boost Veterans Benefits Signed Into Law
Press Release
Bill to Boost Veterans Benefits Signed Into Law
Includes Provisions from Salazar Bill for Rural Veterans, Authorizes Construction of New Colorado Springs VA Clinic, Fitzsimons Hospital
Today, United States Senator Ken Salazar hailed President Bush's signing of the Veterans' Mental Health and Other Care Improvements Act of 2008 (S. 2162), bipartisan legislation that expands access to quality, affordable health care for military veterans, especially those with service-related disabilities, in Colorado and across the nation.
Specifically, the bill authorizes $10 million in funding to expand health care services at the VA Clinic in Colorado Springs and $568 million in funding to begin construction on a state-of-the-art Veterans Hospital at Fitzsimons. S. 2162 also includes provisions drawn from S.1146, Senator Salazar's Rural Healthcare Improvement Act.
Additionally, the bill will help reduce the cost of health-care related travel for veterans across the nation, particularly those in rural areas, by reducing the deductible for VA mileage reimbursement from $15.44 to $6, roundtrip, and making permanent the increase in the VA's health care-related mileage reimbursement rate for disabled veterans from 11 cents to 28 cents per mile.
"This legislation will make health care more affordable and more accessible for rural veterans, boost the VA's capacity to adequately meet mental health care needs, and move us one step closer to fulfilling the promise of a state-of-the-art, stand-alone veterans' hospital at Fitzsimons," said Senator Salazar.
"And for veterans in the Pikes Peak region, I am pleased this bill authorizes a significant increase in funding to improve the quality and scope of services available at the community-based outpatient clinic in Colorado Springs. The Pikes Peak Region has contributed mightily to our nation's military defense, and it is only appropriate that we provide veterans in the area, and their families, with services and benefits that adequately reflect the magnitude of their sacrifice."
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