Perriello's Bills To Help Veterans Heading To House Floor

Press Release

Today, the U.S. House Committee on Veterans' Affairs unanimously passed three of Congressman Tom Perriello's bills to help veterans. If signed into law, the bills would make sure payments for disabled veterans keep pace with the rising cost of living, prevent mortgage lenders from foreclosing on a veteran's home after their service, and increase on-the-job training opportunities for returning veterans.

"As a nation, we have an obligation to provide for those who have selflessly answered the call to defend the liberties that make America great. In these challenging economic times, with returning veterans experiencing unemployment rates in the double digits, we must do more to provide for our veterans' basic needs. My legislation shows that the U.S. is grateful for our veterans' service and will take care of them when they return home. I'm glad these bills received unanimous, bipartisan support in committee and I will fight for them to become law," said Rep. Perriello.

Today, the Committee on Veterans Affairs passed with unanimous support the following bills introduced by Rep. Perriello:

H.R. 4667, the Veterans Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2010: This bill would increase the rate of compensation for disabled veterans and their survivors and dependents to keep pace with the rising cost-of-living. The disability COLA would become effective December 1, 2010 and will be equal to that provided on an annual basis to Social Security recipients.

H.R. 3976, the Helping Heroes Keep Their Homes Act of 2009: This bill would reauthorize home-foreclosure protections to prevent lenders from foreclosing on a veteran's home within nine months after the end of military service. If Congress does not act, these protections would expire at the end of the year. Rep. Perriello's bill extends the protections for another five years.

H.R. 4079, The Veterans Employment and Home Preservation Act of 2010 (this was adopted as an amendment to the preceding bill, H.R. 3976): This bill would temporarily reduce the wage burden on businesses offering on-the-job training programs for veterans to encourage more participation during the tough economic climate.

Source