[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 78 (Thursday, May 22, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E820-E821]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




HOWARD P. ``BUCK'' McKEON NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL 
                               YEAR 2015

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. GUS. M. BILIRAKIS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 21, 2014

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4435) to 
     authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2015 for military 
     activities of the Department of Defense and for military 
     construction, to prescribe military personnel strengths for 
     such fiscal year, and for other purposes:

  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Madam Chair, I rise today in support of my amendment, 
which would allow disabled veterans with service connected permanent 
disability rated as total to travel on military aircraft on a space-
available basis.
  The Space-Available program is administered by the Department of 
Defense (DOD), which allows active duty service members, their 
families, retirees and certain other individuals to fill empty seats on 
DOD flights.
  Unfortunately, veterans who are 100 percent disabled do not qualify 
to participate in this program. My amendment will correct this 
unintentional oversight and provide equality to service members who 
were severely injured while serving their country honorably.
  Had they not been medically discharged with a service connected 
disability in the line of duty, these veterans were likely to have 
served until retirement. At no fault of their own, these deserving 
individuals did not have the opportunity to continue their military 
careers. It is an injustice that they would be penalized from this 
benefit due to their bravery and valor.

[[Page E821]]

  I would also like to note that under current DOD guidelines for Air 
Transportation Eligibility, it states, ``Every effort shall be made to 
transport passengers with disabilities who are otherwise eligible to 
travel. Passenger service personnel and crew members shall provide 
assistance in loading, seating, and unloading the disabled passenger.'' 
There is already guidance in place to address passengers with 
disabilities, and my amendment will codify our commitment for their 
sacrifice.
  This initiative has strong bi-partisan support, which has over 230 
current cosponsors to the stand alone bill I introduced, H.R. 164. 
Moreover, this initiative has support in the Senate with the companion 
bill S. 346 offered by Senator Jon Tester from Montana.
  While I was very pleased to see my amendment accepted in last year's 
National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2014, it was 
unfortunate it was not accepted in the Senate process during 
consideration for the bill's passage.
  The National Federation of the Blind has been very active in both the 
House and the Senate in its advocacy for our nations' disabled 
veterans. I submit a support letter for this amendment by the National 
Federation of the Blind (NFB).
  While active duty members and their families will remain the primary 
beneficiaries of this program in order to assist them with the rigors 
of military life, my amendment simply allows these veterans the 
opportunity to fill available seats, a benefit I believe they have 
earned through their personal sacrifice.
  Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to end the inequality for our 
nation's wounded warriors by voting in favor of my amendment. I thank 
the committees and their staff for their assistance through this 
process

                             National Federation of the Blind,

                                      Baltimore, MD, May 19, 2014.
     Subject: Support for H.R. 164

     Hon. Gus M. Bilirakis,
     House of Representatives, 2313 Rayburn House Office Building, 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Congressman Bilirakis: The National Federation of the 
     Blind is the Nation's oldest and largest consumer group of 
     blind Americans. We are composed of blind individuals who 
     come from many different backgrounds, and we work to ensure 
     that the concerns of all blind Americans are met.
       Included in our organization is the National Association of 
     Blinded Veterans. Recently these men and women who served our 
     country brought to our attention a policy that we believe 
     needs to be changed. The Space Available program is a program 
     that allows a number of military personnel to fly on military 
     transport planes if there is space remaining. This may 
     include members of the Active Military, Family members of the 
     Active Military, some components of Reserve Forces, 
     individuals who are responding to emergency situations, such 
     as the Red Cross, and retirees. We believe that individuals 
     who have become disabled in the service of our country should 
     be allowed to participate in this program.
       Shortly after being made aware of this issue by blinded 
     veterans, we learned that you introduced legislation to solve 
     this problem in the last Congress. We are pleased that you 
     reintroduced this legislation, H.R. 164, early in this 
     session of Congress. The National Federation of the Blind 
     stands firmly in support of this legislation, and will 
     dedicate our support and our efforts to ensure its passage in 
     this session of Congress.
       Last June, thanks to your leadership, the United States 
     House of Representatives voted to include this language in 
     the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act. Unfortunately 
     our Senate companion amendment was not allowed to be 
     considered during Senate consideration in December. We 
     appreciate the support shown by the House of Representatives, 
     and urge the House to continue to fight for Service Disabled 
     Veterans, by joining with you to include this language in the 
     2015 National Defense Authorization Act.
       We thank you for your leadership to support these men and 
     women who have given service to defend our rights, and we now 
     join with you to defend their rights to participate in the 
     Space Available program.

                                           John G. Paree, Jr.,

                                            Executive Director for
     Advocacy and Policy.

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