[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 37 (Wednesday, March 4, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1305-S1306]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Ms. Baldwin):
  S. 657. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to extend to 
all veterans with a serious service-connected injury eligibility to 
participate in the family caregiver services program; to the Committee 
on Veterans' Affairs.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I am proud to introduce a bill today along 
with Senator Baldwin that will help veterans and the men and women who 
care for them. Called the Caregivers

[[Page S1306]]

Expansion and Improvement Act, it would open the VA Family Caregivers 
Program to all eligible veterans who were severely injured while 
serving our country.
  I introduced legislation creating the Family Caregiver Program in 
2009 so caregivers of severely injured veterans could take care of our 
heroes at home. The program provides home health training, peer 
support, and a small financial stipend to caregivers of severely 
injured veterans. The caregivers also have access to mental health 
support and enrollment in the VA's Civilian Health and Mental Program, 
if they are not already eligible.
  When the Caregivers Program was created, we had to limit eligibility 
for the program to post-9/11 veterans. It has been wildly successful. 
Twenty thousand veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan participate 
in the program today. This is more than five times the number the VA 
originally estimated would sign up. The program helps caregivers, who 
shoulder the cost of homecare, know they are not alone.
  Since introducing the Caregivers Program 6 years ago, I have gotten 
to know many caregivers in my State. One family who lives in Chicago, 
Dan and Trish Sylvester, made a lasting impression on me. Trish, a 
veteran of the Iraq war, is 100 percent disabled due to severe PTSD. It 
can be triggered by anything from a backfiring car to simply a bad 
thought running through her head. Dan, who is a veteran himself, 
graduated from DePaul Law School last year and now practices law part 
time.
  Today, as he did all through law school, Dan takes care of Trish, 
making sure she stays on top of all her medications and going with her 
to counseling appointments. Trish's symptoms first took hold in 
February 2011, and she was hospitalized multiple times.
  The Sylvesters' found out about the Family Caregiver Program shortly 
after it was launched and applied with the help of a Jesse Brown VA 
employee named Erica. They use the Caregivers stipend to pay for 
counseling services that are not provided by the VA. The money also 
helped them avoid having to take out more in student loans than they 
had to and kept Dan from having to add a part-time job to his already 
full plate when he was a student. Dan says the resources available to 
him through the program are lifesavers.
  Both Trish and Dan showed courage in serving our country. Their 
sacrifice didn't end after their deployments. They continue to show 
great courage every day that they work together on Trish's recovery.
  The bill Senator Baldwin and I are introducing today would allow 
eligible veterans from all wars to apply for the VA Family Caregivers 
Program. The VA has estimated that as many as 88,000 additional veteran 
caregivers could qualify for the program under this bill.
  Not only does the program allow veterans to stay in their homes with 
their families, it is a money-saver for taxpayers. The VA spends an 
average of $332,000 per veteran per year in VA nursing homes. It spends 
an average of $88,000 per veteran per year in community nursing homes. 
It also spends about $45,000 a year in per diem payments to veterans in 
State Veterans Homes. Through the Caregivers Program, the VA cost per 
veteran per year is about $36,000. This includes the stipend, which 
averages between $600 and $2,250 a month, based on the level of care 
and the geographic location, and services provided to the caregiver. It 
is an enormous savings to the VA, when you consider the cost of the 
alternative, full-time, institutional care. And it's a tremendous 
comfort to the veterans and the caregivers who look after them.
  I commend each of the caregivers who have made the decision to care 
for our heroes. These veterans sacrificed their health and well-being 
for their country, and their caregivers have sacrificed much of their 
own lives, careers, school, retirement, to care for them upon their 
return home. We owe each and every one of them a great debt of 
gratitude. We want to make sure all qualified family caregivers are 
enrolled in this program.
  With this bill, we are on the way to helping many families in need. 
We can finally provide assistance to the caregivers of Veterans of all 
eras on an equal basis.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                 S. 657

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Caregivers Expansion and 
     Improvement Act of 2015''.

     SEC. 2. EXTENSION TO ALL VETERANS WITH A SERIOUS SERVICE-
                   CONNECTED DISABILITY OF ELIGIBILITY FOR 
                   PARTICIPATION IN FAMILY CAREGIVER PROGRAM.

       Section 1720G(a)(2)(B) of title 38, United States Code, is 
     amended by striking ``on or after September 11, 2001''.
                                 ______