[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 138 (Monday, September 30, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12004-S12005]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          S. 1711, VETERANS' BENEFITS IMPROVEMENTS ACT OF 1996

 Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I rise in strong support of S. 1711, 
the Veterans' Benefits Improvements Act of 1996. I am especially 
pleased that this measure includes provisions that would improve the 
Centers for Minority and Women Veterans and allow refinancing under the 
Veterans' Home Loan Program Amendments of 1992. These provisions are 
based on measures I introduced earlier in this Congress which were 
reported by the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee.


                 Native American Home Loan Refinancing

  Mr. President, S. 1711 contains a provision that authorizes the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs to refinance direct loans issued to 
Native American veterans under Native American Home Loan Program, 
established by Public Law 102-547. This initiative is derived from S. 
1342, legislation I introduced with Senators Rockefeller, Inouye, 
Wellstone, and Simon. Under this provision, the same credit standards 
that apply to refinancing of VA guaranteed loans also apply to 
refinancing of Native American direct loans.
  As my colleagues are aware, the Native American Direct Loan Pilot 
Program was established by Congress to ensure equal access to home 
loans for those veterans residing on reservations or other trust lands. 
Because trust lands cannot be used as collateral, commercial lending 
institutions are unwilling to issue mortgages for housing on such 
lands. The direct loans authorized under Public Law 102-547 permit 
Native Americans to purchase, construct, or improve dwellings on trust 
land despite the absence of commercial financing.
  As of May 1996, VA had entered into agreements with 38 tribes and 
Native Hawaiians to provide direct home loans to tribal members, and 
negotiations were ongoing to conclude agreements with 21 additional 
tribes. More than 90 loans had been closed, 42 commitments issued, and 
130 applications pending.
  Recently, however, VA determined that Native Americans wishing to 
take advantage of lower interest rates could not refinance under the 
program. This clearly violated the intent of Congress

[[Page S12005]]

in establishing the program, which was to ensure that Native American 
veterans enjoy the same access to VA home loan benefits as other 
veterans, especially when one considers the fact that refinancing is 
authorized under other VA loan programs.
  This bill will correct this inequity and, hopefully, encourage other 
Native Americans to utilize the direct loan program.
  It is important to point out that VA will not incur additional costs 
if this refinancing option is adopted, since the agency will be 
permitted to charge an administrative refinancing fee. In fact, it is 
possible that the refinancing provision will save the department money 
as well, by allowing veterans to lower their mortgage payments and thus 
reduce the likelihood of default.


                Centers for Minority and Women Veterans

  Mr. President, S. 1711 also contains improvements to the Centers for 
Minority and Women Veterans as well as the Advisory Committee on 
Minority Veterans that were enacted as part of Public Law 103-446. 
These provision are derived from S. 749, legislation I introduced with 
Senator Rockefeller last year.
  Among other initiatives, Public Law 103-446 established within VA a 
Center for Minority Veterans, a Center for Women Veterans, and an 
Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans. These provisions were adopted 
in order to ensure that VA appropriately addresses the special needs 
and concerns of veterans who are women or members of minority groups. 
S. 1711 makes the following modifications to these initiatives:
  First, it allows the directors of the Center for Minority Veterans 
and the Center for Women Veterans to have either career or noncareer 
status. Under the legislation adopted 2 years ago, both directors are 
required to be noncareer appointees. I believe the Secretary should 
have the discretion to appoint either career or noncareer individuals 
to these jobs. This bill restores that option so that the Secretary 
will have the flexibility to appoint directors with career status so as 
to be able to consider the widest possible field of qualified 
candidates.
  Second, it adds an additional function to the list of statutory 
functions of the Center for Minority Veterans. Specifically, the 
legislation requires the center to advise the Secretary of the 
effectiveness of VA's efforts to include minority groups in clinical 
research and on the particular health conditions affecting the health 
of minority group members. This provision is consistent with the goals 
set forth in section 492B of the Public Health Service Act. The Center 
for Women Veterans is already mandated by law to carry out a similar 
function with respect to the health of women veterans.
  Third, it explicitly requires that the Center for Minority Veterans 
provides support and administrative services to the Advisory Committee 
on Minority Veterans. This provision is consistent with the traditional 
agency role of providing professional and technical support to advisory 
entities. Again, this provision parallels existing law requiring that 
the Center for Women Veterans provide support to the Advisory Committee 
on Women Veterans.
  Fourth, it defines the minority veterans for whom the Center for 
Minority Veterans has responsibility. The law establishing the Center 
neglected to provide such a definition. This bill defines minority 
veterans as individuals who are Asian American, Black, Hispanic, Native 
American--including American Indian, Alaskan Native, and Native 
Hawaiian--and Pacific-Islander American. This definition is identical 
to the definition included in current law with respect to the Advisory 
Committee on Minority Veterans.
  Fifth, the legislation extends the termination date of the Advisory 
Committee on Minority Veterans an additional 2 years, from December 31, 
1997, to December 31, 1999. This provision is necessary because delays 
in establishing the Advisory Committee have reduced its potential 
working life to significantly less than the three years authorized by 
Congress. Extending the life of the Advisory Committee to December 1999 
is not unreasonable, given that all other statutory VA advisory boards, 
including the Advisory Committee on Women Veterans, the Advisory 
Committee on Former Prisoners of War, and the Advisory Committee on 
Prosthetics and Special-Disabilities Programs, are authorized 
permanently. In fact, I hope that Congress will in the future consider 
an initiative to authorize the Advisory Committee on a permanent basis.
  Finally, S. 1711 contains a provision that gives the Advisory 
Committee on Minority Veterans and the Advisory Committee on Women 
Veterans responsibility for monitoring and evaluating the respective 
activities of the Center for Minority Veterans and the Center for Women 
Veterans. Insofar as the Advisory Committees were established to 
oversee all of the activities of the Department of Veterans Affairs 
with respect to minorities and women, they necessarily should be tasked 
with overseeing the work of the very offices that are chiefly 
responsible for ensuring that the special needs of minority and female 
veterans are accommodated by VA.
  Mr. President, I am deeply grateful to Senator Simpson and Senator 
Rockefeller for including the home loan and minority provisions in the 
pending measure. I also wish to thank their respective Committee 
staffs, including Bill Tuerk and Tom Harvey for the majority and Bill 
Brew and Jim Gottlieb for the minority, for working so hard on a 
bipartisan basis to help me develop and refine these initiatives. 
Together, our efforts will significantly improve access by minority and 
women veterans to VA benefits and services.
  Thank you, Mr. President. I urge swift passage of this important 
measure.

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