[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 77 (Thursday, May 10, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5923-S5925]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ASSISTING THE ARMED FORCES
Mr. FEINGOLD. Madam President, this week I introduced two bills to
assist members of the armed services and veterans. S. 1314, the
Veterans Outreach Improvement Act, will help to ensure that all of our
veterans know about Federal benefits to which they may be entitled by
improving outreach programs conducted by the Department of Veterans
Affairs. S. 1313, the Servicemembers' Cellular Phone Contract Fairness
Act, will ensure that deployed servicemembers are not subjected to
unfair penalties for cancelling their cell phone contracts.
I would also like to thank my good friend, the junior Senator from
Hawaii, for holding a hearing yesterday that considered both of these
bills along with many other important pieces of legislation to improve
the treatment of veterans, servicemembers and their families. Senator
Akaka is a strong leader on these vitally important issues as chairman
of the Veterans Affairs Committee and I commend him on his efforts and
look forward to working with him to enact veterans' benefits
legislation that includes my two proposals.
I am pleased to be joined in the effort to improve outreach by the
Department of Veterans Affairs by the Senator from North Carolina, Mr.
Burr. I introduced identical legislation in the 108th and 109th
Congresses. I am also pleased to note that there is a companion bill in
the House, H.R. 67, sponsored by Representative McIntyre. On Tuesday,
the House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance
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and Memorial Affairs approved the bill by a voice vote.
I was extremely troubled by revelations of gaps in care as
servicemembers transition to the VA that emerged as a result of
investigations of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. I appreciate the
Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs' attempts to
remedy these gaps, but more work remains to be done. It can be
extremely difficult for veterans to navigate the VA's health care and
benefits systems. This bill will increase congressional oversight of
the VA's outreach activities and authorize the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs to work with States to perform outreach.
Several years ago, the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs,
WDVA, launched a statewide program called ``I Owe You.'' Under the
direction of Secretary Ray Boland, the program encourages veterans to
apply, or to re-apply, for benefits that they earned from their service
in the U.S. military.
As part of this program, WDVA has sponsored several events around
Wisconsin called ``Supermarkets of Veterans Benefits'' at which
veterans can begin the process of learning whether they qualify for
Federal benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs, VA. These
events, which are based on a similar program in Georgia, supplement the
work of Wisconsin's County Veterans Service Officers and veterans
service organizations by helping our veterans to reconnect with the VA
and to learn more about services and benefits for which they may be
eligible. More than 11,000 veterans and their families have attended
the supermarkets, which include information booths with representatives
from WDVA, VA, and veterans service organizations, as well as a variety
of Federal, State, and local agencies. I was proud to have members of
my staff speak with veterans and their families at a number of these
events. These events have helped veterans and their families to learn
about numerous topics, including health care, how to file a disability
claim, and preregistration for internment in veterans cemeteries.
The Institute for Government Innovation at Harvard University's
Kennedy School of Government recognized the ``I Owe You'' program by
naming it a semi-finalist for the 2002 Innovations in American
Government Award. The program was also featured in the March/April 2003
issue of Disabled American Veterans Magazine.
The State of Wisconsin is performing a service that is clearly the
obligation of the VA. These are Federal benefits that we owe to our
veterans and it is the Federal Government's responsibility to make sure
that they receive them. The VA has a statutory obligation to perform
outreach, and current budget pressures should not be used as an excuse
to halt or reduce these efforts.
The legislation that I introduced was spurred by the overwhelming
response to the WDVA's ``I Owe You'' program and the supermarkets of
veterans benefits. If more than 11,000 Wisconsin veterans are unaware
of benefits that may be owed to them, it is troubling to think how many
veterans around our country are also unaware of them. We can and should
do better for our veterans, who selflessly served our country and
protected the freedoms that we all cherish. And it is important to
address gaps in the VA's outreach program as we welcome home and
prepare to enroll into the VA system the tens of thousands of dedicated
military personnel who are serving in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other
places around the globe.
In order to help to facilitate consistent implementation of VA's
outreach responsibilities around the country, my bill would create a
statutory definition of the term ``outreach.''
My bill also would help to improve outreach activities performed by
the VA in three ways. First, it would create separate funding line
items for outreach activities within the budgets of the VA and its
agencies, the Veterans Health Administration, the Veterans Benefits
Administration, and the National Cemetery Administration. Currently
funding for outreach is taken from the general operating expenses for
these agencies. These important programs should have a dedicated
funding source instead of being forced to compete for scarce funding
with other crucial VA programs.
I have long supported efforts to adequately fund VA programs. We can
and should do more to provide the funding necessary to ensure that our
brave veterans are getting the health care and other benefits that they
have earned in a timely manner and without having to travel long
distances or wait more than a year to see a doctor or to have a claim
processed.
Secondly, the bill would create an intra-agency structure to require
the Office of the Secretary, the Office of Public Affairs, the VBA, the
VHA, and the NCA to coordinate outreach activities. By working more
closely together, the VA components would be able to consolidate their
efforts, share proven outreach mechanisms, and avoid duplication of
effort that could waste scarce funding.
Finally, the bill would ensure that the VA can enter into cooperative
agreements with State Departments of Veterans Affairs regarding
outreach activities and would give the VA grantmaking authority to
award funds to State Departments of Veterans Affairs for outreach
activities such as the WDVA's ``I Owe You Program.'' Grants that are
awarded to State departments under this program could be used to
enhance outreach activities and to improve activities relating to
veterans claims processing, which is a key component of the VA benefits
process. State departments that receive grants under this program may
choose to award portions of their grants to local governments, other
public entities, or private or nonprofit organizations that engage in
veterans outreach activities.
I am pleased that this bill has the support of a number of
organizations that are committed to improving the lives of our Nation's
veterans, including the American Legion; Veterans of Foreign Wars;
Paralyzed Veterans of America; Vietnam Veterans of America; Wounded
Warrior Project; and National Association of State Directors of
Veterans Affairs.
The second bill that I introduced seeks to make life a little easier
for our servicemembers and their families when they are called up to
duty or transferred. We all recognize the heroic service the men and
women in our armed services provide the Nation each day. So when I
heard stories about servicemembers and their families in Wisconsin
having trouble canceling their cell phone contracts after being called
up, I looked for a way to help. With the prospect of a combat
assignment, the last thing our men and women in uniform should have to
worry about are early termination fees or being forced to pay for a
service they cannot use. I tried to have this provision adopted as an
amendment to the Defense authorization bill last June and, while I was
unsuccessful, I will continue to push for the adoption of this
commonsense measure.
These problems with canceling cellular phone service have not been
just isolated incidents. In fact, the issue has been raised by the
Wisconsin National Guard. I will ask that the full testimony of 1LT
Melissa Inlow of the Wisconsin Army National Guard at a hearing on a
Wisconsin State Assembly bill in April be made part of the Record.
I just want to highlight one part of that testimony that makes the
point that this is a real issue facing our servicemembers. She
testified: ``It's becoming increasingly difficult to get cell phone
service providers to suspend the contract. Even with suspension the
soldiers are still paying up to $25 a month for a service they cannot
reap the benefits of. These fees can accumulate to more than the
termination fee which on average is $200.'' First Lieutenant Inlow went
on to specifically recommend that the Servicemembers' Civil Relief Act
be amended to include a section on cellular phones.
First Lieutenant Inlow and the Wisconsin National Guard are not alone
in this opinion either. The National Guard Association of the United
States, the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United
States, and the Military Officers Association of America have supported
my proposal since the original amendment was offered last June. I was
glad to add the support of the Paralyzed Veterans of America, the
Disabled Veterans of America, the American Legion, and the Veterans of
Foreign Wars to this list when they expressed support at a recent
Veterans Affairs hearing. This
[[Page S5925]]
practically universal support among the current armed services and the
veterans communities clearly show that this commonsense provision
should be enacted.
It is common now for cellular phone contracts to require a contract
term of up to 2 years. Along with these long contracts, there are often
early termination fees of several hundred dollars. When National Guard
members are called up to active duty or soldiers are transferred
overseas or to a base that isn't covered by their current provider,
they often face the prospect of either paying these significant fees or
paying monthly fees for the remainder of the contract for a service
they cannot use. While many servicemembers and their families have been
able to work with telecommunications companies to eventually get the
early termination fee canceled, the account suspended, or the fees
reduced, they have enough to deal with after being called up that they
should not have this added burden as well.
My legislation proposes that we bring these cellular phone contracts
in line with what we have already done for residential and automotive
leases in the Servicemembers' Civil Relief Act--let the servicemembers
cancel the contract. Under my proposal, if servicemembers are called up
for more than 90 days, transferred overseas, or transferred to a U.S.
duty station where they could not continue their service at the same
rate, they could cancel their contract without a termination fee.
While my legislation helps to prevent servicemembers from being
financially punished for volunteering to protect this country, I have
also tried to make sure that the telecommunications providers are
treated fairly as well. That is why I have included a provision that
would allow the providers to request the return of cell phones provided
as part of the contract. If the company requests the return under this
provision, it would also have to give the servicemember the option of
paying a prorated amount for the cell phone should he or she wish to
keep it. Moreover, if the provider and servicemember mutually agree to
suspend instead of terminate the contract, the bill makes sure that the
reactivation fee is waived.
Several States, including Wisconsin, have already given
servicemembers this protection. While these State laws are positive
steps, a national law will make sure all servicemembers are afforded
this protection and give the industry a baseline standard.
While this is a modest addition to the rights of servicemembers, it
is important that we remove as many unfair burdens facing this
country's men and women in uniform as we can. I hope my colleagues will
share this view and quickly adopt this nonpartisan proposal.
Both of these two bills I introduced earlier in the week and that
were considered in yesterday's Veteran's Affairs Committee hearing have
widespread support. I hope this support will translate into the
Veterans Affairs Committee including them as part of its package of
veterans' benefits legislation later this year. I again, want to thank
Chairman Akaka and the Veterans Affairs Committee for considering my
bills to improve outreach activities and allow servicemembers to cancel
cellular phone contracts in yesterday's hearing.
Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the aforementioned
testimony of 1LT Melissa Inlow be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Testimony for the Record of First Lieutenant Melissa Inlow at a Hearing
on Wisconsin Assembly Bill 1174 on April 17, 2006
Thank you, chairman and members of the committee, for the
opportunity to speak. The Department of Military Affairs and
the Wisconsin National Guard is in support of Senate bill
1174. I am First Lieutenant Melissa Inlow, a Judge Advocate
General Officer with the Wisconsin Army National Guard. By
granting servicemembers the right to terminate their cell
phone contracts upon mobilization, you are ensuring further
protections and peace of mind for our servicemembers. In
August of 2005, I was brought on to provide legal assistance
to our deployed servicemembers and their families. Since that
time, about 3-5 percent of my time has been dedicated to
assisting servicemembers in resolving issues with their cell
phone service contracts. It's becoming increasingly difficult
to get cell phone service providers to suspend the contract.
Even with suspension the soldiers are still paying up to $25
a month for a service they cannot reap the benefits of. These
fees can accumulate to more than the termination fee which on
average is $200. I've found it very difficult and sometimes
impossible to reach a live person and very difficult to reach
a person with decision making authority. Each time I have had
to call a cellular phone service provider, I have talked to a
different customer service representative, and each has given
me a different resolution to the cell phone issue. The
companies are lacking significantly in internal consistency
when it comes to resolving cell phone contract issues. It has
been my experience that the customer service representatives
of cell phone companies experience high turnover rate and are
not aware of the wireless provider's policy on military
suspension. It is extremely frustrating for me; I can only
imagine the undue stress and strain it causes our deploying
servicemembers and their families that are left behind to
deal with these issues. This change will likely help ease the
stress deployment places on our servicemembers allowing them
to focus on their mission. I hope that the Federal Government
will follow suit and amend the Servicemember's Civil Relief
Act to incorporate a section on cell phone contracts.
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