[Blind] FW: [BVA-FRG Distribution List] Fw: [BVALAG#305] Vital Senate Veterans Bill Being Held up by Senator Coburn

Thu Nov 5 08:52:42 PST 2009

Judy Hayes 
Coordinator 
Visual Impairment Services (VIS) Team 
VA Medical  Center (11CA) 
619 S. Marion Ave. 
Lake City, Fl. 32025 
Direct: (386) 755-3016 ext. 2088 
Toll Free: (800) 308-8387 ext. 2088 

  _____  

From: bvagovrel at yahoogroups.com [mailto:bvagovrel at yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf Of FRG INFO
Sent: Thursday, November 05, 2009 11:26 AM
To: FRG Distribution List
Subject: [BVA-FRG Distribution List] Fw: [BVALAG#305] Vital Senate
Veterans Bill Being Held up by Senator Coburn

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Tom Zampieri <mailto:tzampieri at bva.org>  
To: bva-lag at googlegroup <mailto:bva-lag at googlegroups.com> s.com 
Sent: Thursday, November 05, 2009 10:29 AM
Subject: [BVALAG#305] Vital Senate Veterans Bill Being Held up by
Senator Coburn

November 5, 2009

For all BVA contacts and membership, a week ago we sent out news on the
problem of getting a vote on the floor of the senate for Senate bill
1963, and outlined in this story today is where it now stands. BVA
working with 13 other veterans' service organizations VSO's, are still
pushing for this to be voted on before Veterans Day next week. Yesterday
in meeting with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and several house
chairmen of key committees, the various military and veteran
organizations requested that the house leadership help push for the
senate to complete voting on the bill now.

For BVA, we have two sections in this bill, that are real important, one
provides for scholarship funding from VA to students enrolled in
Orientation and Mobility Training program to create more BROS for the VA
system. Second is a section that would Eliminate the large co-payments
that blinded veterans must now make if they attend a VA Blind Center,
both are bills that passed the full house months ago....and passed the
Senate VA Committee with bipartisan support two months ago.

STORY BELOW:

Sen. blocking bill: Objection is cost, not vets

By
<mailto:rmaze at atpco.com?subject=Question%20from%20MarineCorpsTimes.com%2
0reader> Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Nov 5, 2009 5:48:05 EST

The senator holding up consideration of an omnibus veterans' health bill
doesn't hate veterans and their families, but he does hate the idea of
creating new benefits without paying for them, his spokesman says.

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., is using Senate rules to block a vote on S
1963, a major veterans bill, unless he has the chance to offer
amendments to pay for the new benefits it creates, especially stipends,
health benefits, counseling and other programs aimed at family
caregivers of seriously wounded combat veterans.

Coburn spokesman John Hart said the senator has questions about the new
benefit, wondering why, if it is such a good thing for families, it is
limited to helping only those of Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans.
But the main objection is cost.

"We are at a point in our history when we have to start paying for
things," Hart said.

Coburn has been in discussions with Senate leaders about the bill, but
he objects to plans to pass the Veterans' Caregiver and Omnibus Health
Benefits Act of 2009 by voice vote and without amendments, Hart said. He
is willing to let the bill be brought up for debate, as long as he gets
the chance to amend it to provide a way to pay for the new benefits.

One of the ideas would be to divert unspent money for economic stimulus
projects to cover veterans benefit costs, Hart said. Other ideas, like
cutting other programs, are also under consideration, Hart said.

Hart's comments come as 13 major military and veterans' groups are
urging Senate leaders to move forward despite Coburn's objections. There
has been no word if this might happen, but there has been a flurry of
discussion about what it might take to get the Senate to approve the
measure before Veterans' Day.

In a letter sent Monday night to the Senate majority leader, Sen. Harry
Reid, D-Nev., the 13 military and veterans groups ask the Senate to get
on with it.

"It is essential that Congress act on this comprehensive measure without
further delay," the letter reads. "Thousands of disabled veterans with
serious medical conditions and the family members who care for them are
counting on this additional support."

The letter says passing the bill by Veterans Day would be a "fitting
way" to honor veterans.

Those signing the letter include the nation's major veterans groups -
The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American
Veterans, AmVets, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Blinded Veterans
Association, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Vietnam Veterans of
America, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and Jewish War
Veterans, plus the Military Officers Association of America, National
Military Family Association and Wounded Warrior Project.

Steve Robertson, legislative director for The American Legion, said
delaying the bill hurts families caring for severely wounded combat
veterans who would benefit from the stipends, health care, counseling
and respite care that would be provided to caregivers in the bill.

"For a lot of family caregivers, delay is costing them their jobs and
their savings. It's having a big impact," he said.

Robertson said he has spoken to Coburn's staff about the earlier holds
on S 252 and S. 728, but the conversation was fairly one-sided, with
Coburn's aides trying to get Robertson to dissuade veterans from
flooding the senator's office with calls.

"They made it clear that Sen. Coburn sees this as using his rights as a
senator to place a hold on a bill, and that he was not doing anything
illegal or wrong," Robertson said. "I agree with that, but that doesn't
mean it makes sense to hold up a bill that would do a lot of good things
for veterans that has cleared a committee and is ready for a vote."

Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., the Senate assistant majority leader,
mentioned Coburn's hold in a Tuesday floor speech without citing Coburn
by name, saying that the bill was being held up by one senator over
cost.

"How much is a veteran's life worth?" Durbin asked, adding that he hopes
the hold is lifted.

<http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2009/11/military_veteransbill_cobu
rnhold_110309w/> Coburn named as senator holding up vets bill

Tom Zampieri

Blinded Veterans Association

--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
BVA's Legislative Alerts Group
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---

__._,_.___
Reply  <mailto:frg_info at bellsouth.net?subject=Fw: [BVALAG#305] Vital
Senate Veterans Bill Being Held up by Senator Coburn> to sender | Reply
<mailto:bvagovrel at yahoogroups.com?subject=Fw: [BVALAG#305] Vital Senate
Veterans Bill Being Held up by Senator Coburn> to group 
Messages
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bvagovrel/message/614;_ylc=X3oDMTMzNDFoZ3
JzBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzE3MzQwODM2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNjE3MzUxMgRtc2dJZA
M2MTQEc2VjA2Z0cgRzbGsDdnRwYwRzdGltZQMxMjU3NDM4MzY3BHRwY0lkAzYxNA--> in
this topic (1) 
Recent Activity: 

Visit
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bvagovrel;_ylc=X3oDMTJmdm5xazBzBF9TAzk3Mz
U5NzE0BGdycElkAzE3MzQwODM2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNjE3MzUxMgRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2Z2
hwBHN0aW1lAzEyNTc0MzgzNjc-> Your Group Start
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bvagovrel/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJmODh0NmRnBF9TA
zk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzE3MzQwODM2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNjE3MzUxMgRzZWMDZnRyBHNsa
wNudHBjBHN0aW1lAzEyNTc0MzgzNjc-> a New Topic 
This is an informational one-way news line.  Use the following email
address if you need to reply to any message sent in this group:

List moderator: bvagovrel-owner at yahoogroups.com 

Visit My Florida To Learn More About The Blinded Veterans Association:
http://dbs.myflorida.com/org/FBV.shtml

MARKETPLACE
Mom
<http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=14kmlsqg2/M=493064.12016295.13271503.108355
68/D=groups/S=1706173512:MKP1/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1257445568/L=/B=cERzHESO5_A-/J
=1257438368094736/K=g5r.ObfZ0kntY1_4MM1pBw/A=5697381/R=0/SIG=11eaa5dke/*
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mompowergroup/> Power: Discover the
community of moms doing more for their families, for the world and for
each other 

<http://groups.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTJlOHVpdjQ2BF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkA
zE3MzQwODM2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNjE3MzUxMgRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNnZnAEc3RpbWUDMTI1N
zQzODM2Nw--> Yahoo! Groups 
Switch to: Text-Only
<mailto:bvagovrel-traditional at yahoogroups.com?subject=Change Delivery
Format: Traditional> , Daily
<mailto:bvagovrel-digest at yahoogroups.com?subject=Email Delivery: Digest>
Digest * Unsubscribe
<mailto:bvagovrel-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com?subject=Unsubscribe>  *
Terms of Use <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> 
.

<http://geo.yahoo.com/serv?s=97359714/grpId=17340836/grpspId=1706173512/
msgId=614/stime=1257438367/nc1=4507179/nc2=3848644/nc3=4025291> 

__,_._,___
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.rbts.us/pipermail/blind-rbts.us/attachments/20091105/a02812ce/attachment-0001.htm>