A bill to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a national cemetery for veterans in southern Colorado region, and for other purposes.

LEGISLATIVE PRIORITY GOALS FOR VETERANS: [See Next Page] Contacts made on the following legislative initiatives: HR 23 -- Belated Thank You to the Merchant Marines of WWII Act would grant a $1,000 monthly benefit to individuals who served in the Merchant Marines between 12/07/41 and 12/31/46; HR 249 --The Tax Relief and Fulfilling Our Obligation to Patriotic Soldiers Act by not taxing enlistment and re-enlistment bonuses, legislation would enhance bonuses that attract new recruits into military specialties that are in high demand; HR 819 -- legislation which provides Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) benefits to surviving spouses of former prisoners of war (POW), which also seeks to extend the receipt of DIC benefits to surviving spouses of former POWs who died on or before September 30, 1999 and will ease the financial strain left on survivors of POWs who do not currently qualify for DIC benefits; HR 1168 -- The Veterans Retraining Act would provide veterans with the training they need to seek meaningful employment; HR 1169 -- legislation that would amend title 38, United States Code, to increase the amount of assistance provided by VA to disabled veterans for specially adapted housing, automobiles and equipment; HR 1209 -- The Medal of Honor Commemorative Coin Act; HR 1295 -- The Service Members' Home Buyer Tax Credit Extension Act would ensure that members of the Armed Forces are not denied the first-time homebuyer tax credit granted to them under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as a result of theircurrent station outside of the United States; HR 1681 -- The Veterans Transitional Assistance Act would rationalize the transition process from DOD to VA; HR 1701 -- The PTSD/TBI Guaranteed Review for Heroes Act; HR 1821 -- The Equity for Injured Veterans Improvement Act to give rise to many befeficial improvements tot h Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) assistance program by providing childcare assistance to single-parent veterans with children and extendining the period of eligibility from 12 years to a more adequate 15 years; HR 2017 -- legislation that would grant the Military Officer Association of America (MOAA) a federal charter; HR 2082 -- The Military and Overseas Voting Enhancement Act to improve voting access and absentee ballot accountability for members of the armed services; HR 2126 -- The Correspondence With Our Heroes Act would allow active duty Armed Forces members serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as service members who are hospitalized due to injury or disease incurred in Iraq and Afghanistan, to receive one piece of mail per month free of charge to the sender; HR2243 -- The Surviving Spouses Benefit Improvement Act would raise the amount of VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) to an amount equal to 55% of VA disability compensation for a 100% disabled veteran; HR 2352 -- The Job Creation Through Entrepreneurship Act would expand the Small Veteran Business Center program within the Small Business Administration to serve as an outlet and resource for veteran business owners; HR 2379 -- The Veterans Group Life Insurance Act would allow those covered by Veterans Group Life Insurance (VGLI) to purchase additional coverage once every five years; HR 2393 -- The Military Voting Protection (MVP) Act would ensure that the ballots cast by service members stationed overseas are delivered to the appropriate state election officials by the jurisdiction's statutory deadline, while safeguarding voter privacy and ballot secrecy; HR 2410 -- would increase the likelihood that qualiofied individuals would become employees of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department of State; HR 2456 -- The Veterans Education Tuition Support Act; HR 2562 -- Service Members Home Ownership Act would extend the first-time homebuyer credit to members of the Armed Forces who are deployed during 2009; HR 2874 -- Helping Active Duty Deployed Act would discharge the student loans of students called to active duty. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- S. CON. RES. 20 would honor the World War 1 (WWI) veterans by permitting the last WWI veteran to lie in the rotunda of th Capitol upon his death; S. 263 -- the Servicemembers Access to Justice Act would close several loopholes and strengthen the protections in current law to ensure that servicemembers' and veterans' employment and reemployment rights are effectively enforced under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA); S. 315 -- The Veterans Outreach Improvement Act would increase congressional oversight of the VA's outreach activities and authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to work with state, local and community-based organizations to perform outreach; S. 407 -- The Veterans Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act alows our disaled veterans and their dependents to keep pace with the rising costs of goods and services; S. 514 -- The Veterans Rehabilitation and Training Improvements Act would require the amount of subsistence allowance paid to a veteran for a month n which the veteran participates in a VA rehabilitation program to be equal to the national average of the basic allowance for housing paid to a member of the Armed Forces in pay grade E-5; S. 663 -- The Belated Thank You to the Merchant Marines of WWII Act would amend Title 46 USC to provide benefits to certain individuals who served in the Merchant Marines during WWII; S. 691/S. 746 -- to allow the VA to establish national cemeteries in Eastern Nebraska and southern Colorado; S. 728 -- The Veterans Insurance and Benefits Enhancement Act addresses a broad range of veterans benefits and improves services for both young and old veterans; S. 820 -- would improve the lives of the the nation's most seriously disabled service-connected veterans; S 842 -- provides needed foreclosure protection for military families; S. 847 -- would allow those receiving Dependents Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits to be exempt from the 48-month total educational benefits restriction; S. 1015 -- would enhance disability compensationf or disabled veterans in need of aid and attendance for residuals of tramatic brain injury and for disabled veterans with difficulties using prostheses; S. 1106 -- Selected Reserve Continuum of Care Act would provide medical and dental treatment for members of the Guard and Reserve to guarantee medical readiness.

Client expense: $10,000 · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: Defense, Dept of (DOD), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE, Veterans Affairs, Dept of (VA)

PL 111-81: Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act of 2009 -- Beginning with FY2011 requires a two-fiscal-year discretionary new budget authority for the following accounts of the VA: (1) Medical Services; (2) Medical Support and Compliance; and (3) Medical Facilities Requires the Comptroller General to conduct a study on the adequacy and accuracy of VA baseline model projections for health care expenditures PL 111-82: Authorizes major medical facility leases for the Department of Veterans Affairs for fiscal year 2010, and for other purposes PL 111-97: Military Spouses Residency Relief Act -- Amends the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to prohibit, for purposes of voting for a federal, state, or local office, deeming a person to have lost a residence or domicile in a state, acquired a residence or domicile in any other state, or become a resident in or of any other state solely because the person is absent from a state because the person is accompanying the persons spouse who is absent from the state in compliance with military or naval orders Prohibits a service members spouse from either losing or acquiring a residence or domicile for purposes of taxation because of being absent or present in any US tax jurisdiction solely to be with the service member in compliance with the service members military orders if the residence or domicile is the same for the service member and the spouse Prohibits a spouses income from being considered income earned in a tax jurisdiction if the spouse is not a resident or domiciliary of such jurisdiction when the spouse is in that jurisdiction solely to be with a service member serving under military orders PL 111-98: A bill to authorize a major medical facility project at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Walla Walla, Washington, and for other purposes PL 111-117: Consolidated Appropriations Act, FY 2010 -- Makes appropriations for the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010 HR 23 / S 663: Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2009 -- Establishes in the Treasury the Merchant Mariner Equity Compensation Fund for payments by the VA Secretary of a monthly benefit of $1,000 to each individual who, between December 7, 1941, and December 31, 1946, was a documented member of the US merchant marine (including the Army Transport Service and the Naval Transport Service) serving as a crewmember of a vessel that was operated in US waters by the War Shipping Administration or the Office of Defense Transportation and under contract to, or the property of, the United States Requires such individuals to: (1) apply for such benefit before October 1, 2009; and (2) not have received benefits under the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 HR 174 / S 691: Legislation directing the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a national cemetery for veterans in southern Colorado region, and for other purposes -- Directs the VA Secretary to establish a national cemetery in El Paso County, Colorado HR 1017 / S 1204: Chiropractic Care Available to All Veterans Act -- Amend the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Programs Enhancement Act of 2001 and title 38, USC, to require the provision of chiropractic care and services to veterans at all Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers and to expand access to such care and services HR 1302 / S 1155: Amend title 38, USC, to establish the position of Director of Physician Assistant Services within the office of the Department of Veterans Affairs Under Secretary for Health HR 953: Veterans Travel Tax Relief Act --Help veterans afford medical treatment and ensure proper compensation without complicated programs. HR 1036: Veterans Physical Therapy Services Improvement Act of 2009 -- Would amend title 38, USC, to establish the position of Director of Physical Therapy Service within the Veterans Health Administration and to establish a fellowship program for physical therapists in the areas of geriatrics, amputee rehabilitation, polytrauma care, and rehabilitation research HR 1211: Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act -- Would amend title 38, USC, to expand and improve health care services available to women veterans, especially those serving in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, from the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes HR 1335: Amend title 38, USC, to prohibit the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from collecting certain copayments from veterans who are catastrophically disabled -- Prohibits the collection by the VA of copayments or other fees for hospital or nursing home care in the case of catastrophically disabled veterans HR 1546: Caring for Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury Act of 2009 -- Directs the VA Secretary to establish within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) the Committee on Care of Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury to continually assess VHA capability to meet the treatment and rehabilitation needs of veterans with traumatic brain injury HR 2504: Would amend title 38, USC, to provide for an increase in the annual amount authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out comprehensive service programs for homeless veterans HR 2990: Disabled Military Retiree Relief Act -- Provides special pays and allowances to certain members of the Armed Forces, expand concurrent receipt of military retirement and VA disability benefits to disabled military retirees, and for other purposes HR 3082: FY 2010 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs spending bill -- Support amendment to increase funds by $1 million to the Medical Services account at the Department of Veterans Affairs with an offset to the General Operating Expenses account in order to offer educational debt forgiveness for mental health professionals who agree to employment with the Department of Veterans Affairs. HR 3441: To provide for automatic enrollment of veterans returning from combat zones into the VA medical system, and for other purposes HR 3949: Veterans' Small Business Assistance and Servicemembers Protection Act of 2009 -- Amends the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to improve the equitable relief available for servicemembers called to active duty, and for other purposes HR 3961: Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act of 2009 -- Amend title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise the Medicare sustainable growth rate (SGR) payment system for determining the annual updates to the Medicare physician fee schedule. S 546: Retired Pay Restoration Act of 2009 -- Allows the receipt of both military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation with respect to any service-connected disability (under current law, only a disability rated at 50% or more) Makes eligible for the full concurrent receipt of both veterans' disability compensation and either military retired pay or combat-related special pay those individuals who were retired or separated from military service due to a service-connected disability S 669: Veterans Second Amendment Protection Ac t -- Clarify that Department of Veterans Affairs determinations of mental incompetency should not constitute adjudication as a mental defective with regard to that veterans inclusion in the National Criminal Background Check System (NICS), which governs who can legally purchase firearms. S 977: Prisoner of War Benefits Act of 2009 -- Amend title 38, USC, to provide improved benefits for veterans who are former prisoners of war, and for other purposes S 1109: Providing Real Outreach for Veterans Act of 2009 -- A bill to provide veterans with individualized notice about available benefits, to streamline application processes or the benefits, and for other purposes S 1118: Amend title 38, USC, to provide for an increase in the amount of monthly dependency and indemnity compensation payable to surviving spouses by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs , and for other purposes S 1302: Veterans Health Care Improvement Act of 2009 -- Provide for the introduction of pay-for-performance compensation mechanisms into contracts of the Department of Veterans Affairs with community-based outpatient clinics for the provisions of health care services, and for other purposes S 1427: Department of Veterans Affairs Hospital Quality Report Card Act of 2009 -- Amend title 38, USC, to establish a Hospital Quality Report Card Initiative to report on health care quality in Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers, and for other purposes S 1444: Compensation Owed for Mental Health Based on Activities in Theater Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Act -- Amend title 38, USC, to clarify the meaning of "combat with the enemy" for purposes of service-connection of disabilities S 1467: Lance Corporal Josef Lopez Fairness for Servicemembers Harmed by Vaccines Act of 2009 -- Amend title 38, USC, to provide coverage under Traumatic Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance for adverse reactions to vaccinations administered by the Department of Defense, and for other purposes S 1483: Designate the Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic in Alexandria, Minnesota as the "Max J. Beilke Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic" S 1518: Caring for Camp Lejeune Veterans Act of 2009 -- A bill to amend title 38, USC, to furnish hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care to veterans who were stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, while the water was contaminated at Camp Lejeune S 1531: Department of Veterans Affairs Reorganization Act of 2009 -- A bill to amend title 38, USC, to establish within the Department of Veterans Affairs the position of Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction, and for other purposes

Client expense: $6,600 · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: Defense, Dept of (DOD), Education, Dept of, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Homeland Security, Dept of (DHS), Labor, Dept of (DOL), Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention, SENATE, State, Dept of (DOS), Veterans Affairs, Dept of (VA)

HR 952--No Title--Amend title 38, USC, to clarify the meaning of "combat with the enemy" for the purposes of service connectiion of disabilities. HR 953--Veterans Travel Tax Relief Act--Help veterans afford medical treatment and ensure proper compensation without complicated programs. HR 1197--Medal of Honor Health Care Equity Act of 2009--Assigns priority status for hospital care and medical services provided through VA to certain veterans who are recipients of the Medal of Honor. HR 1211--Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act--Amend title 38, USC, to expand and improve health care services available to women veterans, especially those serving in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, from the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. HR 1302--Amend title 38, USC, to establish the position of Director of Physician Assistant Services within the office of the Under Secretary for Health on all matters relating to the educations and training, employment, appropriate utilization, and optimal participation of physician assistants within VHA programs and initiatives. Requires the VA Secretary to ensure that an individual is serving in such position no later than 120 days after the enactment of this Act. HR 1335--Amend title 38, USC, to prohibit the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from collecting certain copayments from veterans who are catastrophically disabled.--Prohibits the collection by the VA of copayments or other fees for hospital or nursing home care in the case of catastrophically disabled veterans. HR 1546--Caring for Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury Act of 2009--Directs the VA Secretary to establish within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) the Committee on Care of Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury to continually assess VHA capability to meet the treatment and rehabilitation needs of veterans with traumatic brain injury. HR 2254-- Draft Bill (Senate)--Agent Orange Equity Act of 2009--Establish presumption of Agent Orange/herbicide exposure for Blue Water Navy veterans. HR 2734--Health Care for Family Caregivers Act of 2009--Amend section 1781 of title 38, USC, to provide medical care to family members of disabled veterans who serve as caregivers to such veterans. HR 2738--Amend title 38, USC, to provide travel expenses for family caregivers accompanying veterans to medical treatment facilities--Amend title 38, USC, to provide travel expenses for family caregivers accompanying veterans to medical treatment facilities. HR 2874--Helping Active Duty Deployed Act of 2009--Amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to improve the equitable relief available for servicemembers called to active duty, and for other purposes. HR 2990--Disabled Military Retiree Relief Act--Provide special pays and allowances to certain members of the Armed Forces, expand concurrent receipt of military retirement and VA disability benefits to disabled military retirees, and for other purposes. HR 3200--America's Affordable Health Care Choices Act of 2009--Address veteran concerns in national health care reform legislation with an emphasis on maintaining the independence of the VA health care system. HR 3365--Medicare VA Reimbursement Act of 2009--Provide Medicare reimbursement to VA medical facilities for items and services provided to Medicare eligible veterans for non service-connected conditions. S 546--Retired Pay Restoration Act of 2009--Allows the receipt of both military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation with respect to any service-connected disability (under current law, only a disability rated at 50% or more). Makes eligible for the full concurrent receipt of both veterans' disability compensation and either military retired pay or combat-related special pay those individuals who were retired or separated from military service due to a service-connected disability. S 728--Veterans Insurance and Benefits Act of 2009--Directs the VA Secretary to grant level-premium term life insurance to veterans under age 65 with service-connected disabilities. Increases from $20,000 to $30,000 the maximum amount of supplemental insurance provided through the VA for totally disabled veterans. Removes a condition on the qualification of certain individuals for retroactive benefits from traumatic injury coverage under Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance. Increases the maximum loan guarantee amount under the veterans' mortgage life insurance program from $90,000 to $150,000, then to $200,000 after January 1, 2012. Establishes an annual cost-of-living adjustment for the temporary payment of dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) to a veteran's surviving spouse with one or more children under the age of 18. Provides eligibility requirements for the payment of a special monthly pension based on disability for veterans who already qualify for a service pension based upon age. Increases amounts of DIC payable to surviving spouses and parents of deceased veterans. Increases, and authorizes the annual adjustment of, pension amounts payable to hospitalized veterans and certain children of veterans of a period of war. Authorizes and directs the Secretary to pay a: (1) supplemental benefit for the funeral and burial expenses of veterans, making such amount $900 with respect to a non-service-connected death and $2,100 with respect to a service-connected death; and (2) supplemental burial plot allowance for veterans eligible for the current allowance. Authorizes the provision of specially adapted housing assistance for disabled veterans whose disability is due to a severe burn injury. Authorizes the Secretary to pay a supplemental benefit, for assistance in the purchase of automobiles and other conveyances, for disabled veterans currently eligible for such assistance. S 1467--Lance Corporal Josef Lopez Fairness for Service Members Harmed by Vaccines Act of 2009--Extend TSGLI benefit to service members with severe disabilities/injuries due to vaccines. HR 23, S 663--A Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2009--Establishes in the Treasury the Merchant Mariner Equity Compensation Fund for payments by the VA Secretary of a monthly benefit of $1,000 to each individual who, between December 7, 1941and December 31, 1946, was a documented member of the U.S. merchant marine (including the Army Transport Service and the Naval Transport Service) serving as a crewmember of a vessel that was operated in U.S. waters by the War Shipping Administration or the Office of Defense Transportation and under contract to, or the property of, the United States. Requires such individuals to: (1) apply for such benefit before October 1, 2009; and (2) not have received benefits under the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944. HR 174, S691--A bill to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a national cemetery for veterans in southern Colorado region, and for other purposes--Directs the VA Secretary to establish a national cemetery in El Paso County, Colorado. HR 1016, S423--Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act of 2009--Requires, beginning with FY2011, a two-fiscal-year discretionary new budget authority for the following accounts of the VA: (1) Medical Services; (2) Medical Support and Compliance; (3) Medical Facilities; (4) Information Technology; and (5) Medical and Prosthetic Research. Requires the Comptroller General to conduct a study on the adequacy and accuracy of VA baseline model projections for health care expenditures. HR 1163, S 746--A bill to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a national cemetery in the Sarpy County region to serve veterans in eastern Nebraska, western Iowa, and northwest Missouri--Directs the VA Secretary to establish a national cemetery in the Sarpy County, Nebraska, region to serve the needs of veterans and their families in Nebraska, Iowa, and Missouri. HR 1182, S 745--Military Spouses Residency Relief Act--Amends the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to prohibit, for purposes of voting for a federal, state, or local office, deeming a person to have lost a residence or domicile in a state, acquired a residence or domicile in any other state, or become a resident in or of any other state solely because the person is absent from a state because the person is accompanying the person's spouse who is absent from the state in compliance with military or naval orders. Prohibits a service member's spouse from either losing or acquiring a residence or domicile for purposes of taxation because of being absent or present in any U.S. tax jurisdiction solely to be with the service member in compliance with the service member's military orders if the residence or domicile is the same for the service member and the spouse. Prohibits a spouse's income from being considered income earned in a tax jurisdiction if the spouse is not a resident or domiciliary of such jurisdiction when the spouse is in that jurisdiction solely to be with a service member serving under military orders. HR 3082, S 1407--Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2010--Making appropriations for the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010. House Resolution 679, Senate Resolution 260--A resolution designating September 16, 2009, as "The American Legion Day"--A resolution designating September 16, 2009, as "The American Legion Day". Testimony--FY 2011 Department of Veterans Affairs Budget and Legislative priorities of The American Legion. General Support Letters--Timely passage of the FY 200 Militry Construction, Veterans' Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriation Act. General Support Letter--Increased funding for Gulf War Veteran' Illness research. General Support Letter--Legislation to automatically enroll service members returning from combat zones into The Department of Veterans Affairs health care system. General Support Letter--Better access to VA health Care for veterans residing in rural areas.\ General Support Letter--Support for advance appropriation for VA health Care.

Client expense: $6,600 · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: Defense, Dept of (DOD), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Homeland Security, Dept of (DHS), Labor, Dept of (DOL), SENATE, Small Business Administration (SBA), State, Dept of (DOS), Veterans Affairs, Dept of (VA)