[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 7092-7096]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   IMPROVING COMPENSATION BENEFITS FOR VETERANS IN CERTAIN CASES OF 
                IMPAIRMENT OF VISION INVOLVING BOTH EYES

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 797) to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve 
compensation benefits for veterans in certain cases of impairment of 
vision involving both eyes, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 797

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

     SECTION 1. ENHANCED COMPENSATION BENEFITS FOR VETERANS IN 
                   CERTAIN CASES OF IMPAIRMENT OF VISION INVOLVING 
                   BOTH EYES.

       (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Dr. 
     James Allen Veteran Vision Equity Act''.
       (b) Enhanced Compensation.--Section 1160(a)(1) of title 38, 
     United States Code, is amended--
       (1) by striking ``blindness'' both places it appears and 
     inserting ``impairment of vision''; and
       (2) by inserting before the semicolon at the end the 
     following: ``, where the impairment in each eye is to a 
     visual acuity of 20/200 or less or of a peripheral field of 
     20 degrees or less''.

     SEC. 2. USE OF NATIONAL DIRECTORY OF NEW HIRES FOR INCOME 
                   VERIFICATION PURPOSES FOR CERTAIN VETERANS 
                   BENEFITS.

       (a) Use of Information in National Directory of New 
     Hires.--Chapter 53 of title 38, United States Code, is 
     amended by adding at the end the following new section:

     ``Sec. 5320. Use of National Directory of New Hires for 
       income verification purposes

       ``(a) Information From National Directory of New Hires.--
     (1) The Secretary shall furnish to the Secretary of Health 
     and Human Services, on a quarterly basis or at such intervals 
     as may be determined by the Secretary, information in the 
     custody of the Secretary for comparison with information in 
     the National Directory of New Hires maintained by the 
     Secretary of Health and Human Services pursuant to section 
     453 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 653), in order to 
     obtain the information in such directory with respect to 
     individuals under the age of 65 who are applicants for or 
     recipients of benefits or services specified in subsection 
     (d).
       ``(2) The Secretary shall seek information pursuant to this 
     subsection only to the extent essential to determining 
     eligibility for benefits and services specified in subsection 
     (d) and the amount of benefits specified in paragraphs (1) 
     and (2) of that subsection for individuals under the age of 
     65.
       ``(3)(A) The Secretary of Health and Human Services, in 
     cooperation with the Secretary, shall compare information in 
     the National Directory of New Hires with information in the 
     custody of the Secretary furnished pursuant to paragraph (1), 
     and disclose information in that Directory to the Secretary, 
     in accordance with this subsection, for the purposes 
     specified in this subsection.
       ``(B) The Secretary of Health and Human Services may make a 
     disclosure in accordance with subparagraph (A) only to the 
     extent that the Secretary determines that such

[[Page 7093]]

     disclosure does not interfere with the effective operation of 
     the program under part D of title IV of the Social Security 
     Act.
       ``(4) The Secretary may use information resulting from a 
     data match pursuant to this subsection only for the purpose 
     of determining eligibility for benefits and services 
     specified in subsection (d) and the amount of benefits 
     specified in paragraphs (1) and (2) of that subsection.
       ``(5) The Secretary shall reimburse the Secretary of Health 
     and Human Services for the additional costs incurred by that 
     Secretary in furnishing information under this subsection. 
     Such reimbursement shall be at rates that the Secretary of 
     Health and Human Services determines to be reasonable (which 
     rates shall include payment for the costs of obtaining, 
     verifying, maintaining, and comparing the information).
       ``(b) Notification to Beneficiaries.--The Secretary shall 
     notify each applicant for, or recipient of, a benefit or 
     service specified in subsection (d) that income information 
     furnished by the applicant to the Secretary may be compared 
     with information obtained by the Secretary from the Secretary 
     of Health and Human Services under subsection (a). The 
     Secretary shall periodically transmit to recipients of such 
     benefits additional notifications of such matters.
       ``(c) Independent Verification Required.--The Secretary may 
     not, by reason of information obtained from the Secretary of 
     Health and Human Services under subsection (a) , terminate, 
     deny, suspend, or reduce any benefit or service described in 
     subsection (d) until the Secretary takes appropriate steps to 
     verify independently information relating to employment and 
     employment income.
       ``(d) Covered Benefits and Services.--The benefits and 
     services specified in this subsection are the following:
       ``(1) Needs-based pension benefits provided under chapter 
     15 of this title or under any other law administered by the 
     Secretary.
       ``(2) Parents' dependency and indemnity compensation 
     provided under section 1315 of this title.
       ``(3) Health-care services furnished under subsections 
     (a)(2)(G), (a)(3), and (b) of section 1710 of this title.
       ``(4) Compensation paid under chapter 11 of this title at 
     the 100 percent rate based solely on unemployability and 
     without regard to the fact that the disability or 
     disabilities are not rated as 100 percent disabling under the 
     rating schedule.
       ``(e) Limitation With Respect to Individual Unemployability 
     Cases.--In the case of compensation described in subsection 
     (d)(4), the Secretary may independently verify or otherwise 
     act upon wage or self-employment information referred to in 
     subsection (c) of this section only if the Secretary finds 
     that the amount and duration of the earnings reported in that 
     information clearly indicate that the individual is not 
     qualified for a rating of total disability.
       ``(f) Opportunity to Contest Findings.--The Secretary shall 
     inform the individual of the findings made by the Secretary 
     on the basis of verified information under subsection (c), 
     and shall give the individual an opportunity to contest such 
     findings, in the same manner as applies to other information 
     and findings relating to eligibility for the benefit or 
     service involved.
       ``(g) Source of Funds for Administration of Section.--The 
     Secretary shall pay the expenses of carrying out this section 
     from amounts available to the Department for the payment of 
     compensation and pension.
       ``(h) Termination of Authority.--The authority of the 
     Secretary to obtain information from the Secretary of Health 
     and Human Services under subsection (a) expires on September 
     30, 2012.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new item:

``5320. Use of National Directory of New Hires for income verification 
              purposes.''.

       (c) Effective Date.--Section 5320 of title 38, United 
     States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall take effect 
     270 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF VETERANS 
                   AFFAIRS TO PROVIDE AN EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE 
                   ALLOWANCE TO PERSONS PERFORMING QUALIFYING 
                   WORK-STUDY ACTIVITIES.

       Section 3485(a)(4) of title 38, United States Code, is 
     amended by striking ``June 30, 2007'' each place it appears 
     and inserting ``June 30, 2012''.

     SEC. 4. PROVISION OF BRONZE REPRESENTATIONS OF THE LETTER 
                   ``V'' FOR GRAVE OF ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL BURIED 
                   IN PRIVATE CEMETERY IN LIEU OF GOVERNMENT-
                   PROVIDED HEADSTONE OR MARKER.

       Section 2306(d) of title 38, United States Code, is amended 
     by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(5) In lieu of furnishing a headstone or marker under 
     this subsection, the Secretary may furnish, if requested, a 
     bronze representation of the letter `V' to be attached to a 
     headstone or marker furnished at private expense. The 
     Secretary shall make available two sizes of such 
     representations for such purpose.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Filner) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
to include extraneous material on H.R. 797, as amended.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Salazar). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I would yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  As noted, this bill is ``as amended.'' And I want to thank the 
members on my committee on both sides of the aisle, particularly Mr. 
Boozman of Arkansas and Mr. Lamborn of Colorado, for their very 
constructive amendments. Mr. Boozman will talk later on what he did, 
but we have extended the authorization for the work/study program at 
his request for 5 years, so thank you for your amendments to that. And 
we thank Ms. Baldwin, who has brought this to our attention and is very 
committed to the health care of our veterans of this Nation.
  So we are glad all to work together to get this to the House floor 
today. This has been introduced in previous Congresses, but we are glad 
it is on the floor now. It would allow veterans who receive veterans 
disability compensation for impairment of vision in one eye to be 
eligible to receive additional disability compensation for impairment 
of vision in the eye that is not service connected, where that 
impairment in each eye is to a visual acuity of 20/200 or less, or of a 
peripheral field of 20 degrees or less.
  Suffice it to say that there was a great blind spot in the law that 
did not cover our veterans who would need the help.
  It would direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services to match and compare VA needs-based 
pension benefits data, parents' dependency and indemnity compensation 
data, health care services data, and unemployability compensation data 
with the National Directory of New Hires, maintained by the Department 
of Health and Human Services, for the purpose of determining 
eligibility for such benefits and services.

                              {time}  1600

  It would extend authorization of the veterans work/study program 
until 2012 at the suggestion of Mr. Boozman, and allows for a bronze 
``V'' marker in lieu of a government-provided headstone or marker for 
burials in a private cemetery, at the suggestion of Mr. Lamborn.
  It would affect an estimated 5 percent of the 13,000 veterans who 
have service-connected blindness or loss of vision in one eye. As of 
April 2006, the Walter Reed Medical Center alone has treated 140 
returning OEF/OIF servicemembers for visual injuries.
  I urge Members to support the bill. It is the least we can do for our 
veterans.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise in strong support of H.R. 797, as amended, the Dr. James Allen 
Veteran Vision Equity Act. I thank my colleagues, Mr. Hall of New York, 
the chairman of the Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs 
Subcommittee, and Mr. Lamborn of Colorado, the ranking member of that 
subcommittee. I also thank the chairman, Mr. Filner, and the ranking 
member, Mr. Buyer, for bringing this important legislation to the 
floor; and the prime sponsor, Ms. Baldwin.
  This bill would, in fact, allow veterans who receive a disability 
compensation for impairment in the vision of one eye to be eligible to 
receive additional disability compensation for impairment of vision in 
the eye that is not service connected.

[[Page 7094]]

  This eligibility includes situations where the impairment in each eye 
is to a visual acuity of 20/200 or less, or a peripheral field loss of 
20 degrees or less. This is the same definition of ``legal blindness'' 
adopted by all 50 States and the Social Security Administration.
  The New Hires Act would save the government money by allowing the 
Secretary of the VA to consult with the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services regarding unemployment compensation data in order to determine 
the eligibility for VA needs-based pension benefits.
  Also, CBO estimates that this section of H.R. 797, as amended, would 
save the taxpayers $15 million over 10 years. Also included in H.R. 
797, as amended, is a provision that extends the types of work study 
jobs found in section 3485(a)(4) for 5 years through June 30 of 2012.
  Current law allows work study recipients to perform a variety of 
duties throughout VA, as well as veteran-related paperwork at their 
schools.
  We also extend the provision for 6 months in Public Law 109-461 to 
prevent canceling benefits in the middle of a school year. I am pleased 
we are able to extend this provision even further in this bill.
  The last provision of this bill provides families with the option of 
choosing a bronze ``V'' denoting veteran status, in lieu of a VA 
headstone by graves already marked by a private marker. Many private 
cemeteries do not allow a second marker on a grave because it 
complicates routine maintenance. Therefore, that bronze ``V'' would 
identify a veteran's grave in a manner that is universally acceptable, 
and meet the family's desire to honor the deceased veteran.
  The bronze ``V'' would also be readily identifiable to anybody 
visiting the cemetery, and a standard way to identify veterans who 
choose not to use a VA-provided headstone.
  Once again, I express my strong support for H.R. 797, as amended.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Nevada (Ms. Berkley) who is an aggressive advocate for the veterans not 
only in Las Vegas but across the Nation.
  Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Filner and Mr. Miller 
for their steadfast support for this legislation, and Ms. Baldwin for 
bringing this to our attention for quite awhile now, waiting for us to 
act, and act we should.
  As Mr. Filner is well aware, having been to my congressional 
district, southern Nevada has one of the fastest growing veterans 
populations in the country, with nearly 218,000 veterans living in 
Clark County. And when I first started serving in Congress, I only had 
160,000 veterans, so our veterans population has increased quite 
dramatically. It is even more important that former service men and 
women have the health care and benefits that they have earned.
  I am a cosponsor of this legislation which would allow veterans who 
have complete loss of sight in one eye due to a service-connected 
injury to receive increased disability compensation if they lose sight 
in the other eye, regardless of whether that loss of sight is service 
connected.
  For some reason, and I don't understand why, the VA has a higher 
threshold for determining blindness than any of the States and for the 
Social Security Administration. Because of this, veterans like my 
constituent, retired Army Major General Roy Kekahuna, are not covered 
for deteriorating vision in both eyes, even though they are considered 
legally blind.
  Let us through this legislation demonstrate our true appreciation to 
our veterans for their sacrifice on behalf of this Nation by meeting 
our promise to provide them with proper health care and by passing this 
important piece of legislation.
  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Boozman), the ranking member of the 
Economic Opportunity Subcommittee.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. First of all, I would like to associate myself with the 
remarks that were said in the previous bill regarding the Suicide 
Prevention Act. Again, I just appreciate, being a member of the 
Veterans' Affairs Committee, I appreciate the hard work on that. It 
really does make us all proud.
  Mr. Speaker, for years the VA has awarded service-connected 
disability ratings, including increased ratings for the loss of use for 
paired organs, such as hearing, when only one organ was affected by 
military service. The exception is the body's visual sensory organs and 
it is time to remove that inequity. This brings the VA in line with eye 
disability as done by everyone else in figuring eye disability.
  As an optometrist and as an eye doctor I am very, very familiar with 
this and used to help figure these things all of the time, the loss of 
visual acuity in one eye on the other eye and the long-term effects of 
that stress. To me, ignoring any loss of visual acuity due to 
nonservice-connected causes just isn't rational.
  I would like to thank Congresswoman Baldwin for her excellent work in 
bringing this forward to the full House, and for her advocacy. She has 
been a real bulldog, and I mean that in a very nice way, in just really 
staying after this. And due to her efforts, she has been instrumental 
in highlighting this problem. I have very much enjoyed working with her 
to improve the law to better serve veterans with visual impairments.
  I am also pleased that the bill contains an amendment which was 
offered during the full committee markup to extend the VA work/study 
allowance benefits for 5 years. This is a follow-on to a short-term, 6-
month extension we passed late last year, and will enable student 
veterans the ability to continue in a wide variety of work/study 
positions that directly benefit veterans while easing the workload on 
the Federal staff at VA and DOD.
  Current law allows work/study participants to work up to 20 hours per 
week. Participants perform a variety of duties such as veteran-related 
paperwork at schools or VA offices. Some participants perform outreach 
services under the supervision of a VA employee. Others perform 
services at VA medical facilities or the offices of the National 
Cemetery Administration.
  The VA work/study allowance is available to Americans training under 
many programs, such as the Montgomery GI bill, as well as the program 
for Vocational Training and Rehabilitation for Veterans with Service 
Connected Disabilities, and several other programs.
  The work/study portion of H.R. 797 allows us to extend the work/study 
program without violating the PAYGO rules by using the offsets found 
elsewhere in the bill.
  I really want to thank Chairman Filner and Chairman Buyer for working 
together. This was a difficult thing to get all of the needs crafted 
together so we could kill two birds with one stone and rectify the 
visual impairment part.
  Mr. Speaker, this is an excellent bill. I urge my colleagues to 
support H.R. 797.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Boozman, thank you again for having the initiative to 
extend the work/study program. You took the creativity of Ms. Baldwin 
who was able to save money in this bill, not only meeting the needs of 
veterans, but by introducing a section to compare data which I hope you 
will explain, saved us money which can now be used to extend the work/
study program for 5 years. Thank you for your amendment
  Mr. Speaker, I am honored to yield such time as she may consume to 
the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Baldwin), the author of this bill, 
who not only solved a problem but found some money.
  Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 797, the Dr. 
James Allen Veteran Vision Equity Act.
  This bill fixes an inequity that has resulted in the denial of 
appropriate disability compensation to blinded veterans.
  I wanted to share, first of all, the story of Dr. James Allen after 
whom this legislation is named. Dr. Allen is a distinguished, caring 
professor of ophthalmology at the University of Wisconsin School of 
Medicine. He has

[[Page 7095]]

worked at our veterans hospital for nearly 33 years and treated 
countless eye patients, including many veterans who are blind.
  One such patient is a Mr. Donald May. Don is a World War II veteran 
who lost his right eye in a hand grenade explosion. A few years ago, 
Mr. May began losing vision and ultimately became legally blind in his 
other nonservice-connected eye. He applied to the Department of 
Veterans Affairs for help, but was denied further benefits. He was told 
that the current law in regard to paired organs did not apply to him 
even though he was legally blind in both his service-connected right 
eye and his nonservice-connected left eye.
  After Dr. Allen brought the plight of Don May and many other patients 
to my attention, I began to research why these veterans were being 
denied the benefits that I felt they deserved, benefits that I believed 
Congress intended to grant them. Through my work with the Blinded 
Veterans Association, we discovered that while the current paired organ 
statute covers blindness in theory, in practice few if any veterans 
have been able to qualify for the additional disability compensation 
under its terms.
  Congress has rightly recognized that some human organs and limbs are 
designed to work in pairs: our legs, our kidneys, our lungs, our ears, 
and of course our eyes. In the instance of eyes, blindness in one eye 
profoundly affects depth perception, even if sight is fully retained in 
the other eye.
  The paired organ statute was written to assist those veterans who 
experience a service-connected loss of a paired organ or limb. This 
statute recognizes the interdependency of paired organs, and endeavors 
to treat the combined disability created by a nonservice-connected loss 
and injury or degeneration of the remaining paired organ or limb as 
though it, too, were the result of a service-connected disability. In 
general, the paired organ statute accomplishes this task except its 
treatment of loss of sight.
  With regard to eyesight, the statute does not adequately define the 
term blindness, nor is any provision made for the impairment of vision 
in the nonservice-connected eye short of blindness.
  Rather than using a visual acuity of 20/200 or a loss of field of 
vision 20 degrees, as is the definition of legal blindness that has 
been adopted by all 50 States and the Social Security Administration, 
the Department of Veterans Affairs uses a much more restrictive 5/200 
rating for legal blindness. I was asked to describe exactly what that 
5/200 means. Really, in layman's terms, it is the equivalent to having 
light perception only, but the specific definition is somebody with the 
ability to see at 5 feet what most of the rest of us could see at 200 
feet.
  As a result, few if any blinded veterans are able to qualify for 
additional compensation under the paired organ statute.

                              {time}  1615

  H.R. 797, the Dr. James Allen Veteran Vision Equity Act, fixes this 
problem. It defines blindness as impairment of vision where the 
impairment is to a visual acuity of 20/200 or less or a peripheral 
field loss of 20 degrees or less. This change in the law would only 
affect a small percentage, estimated to be roughly 5 percent, of the 
13,000-plus veterans who are service-connected for loss of vision in 
one eye.
  Yet, such a change would send a powerful signal to our Nation's 
blinded veterans that their hardships are not forgotten. Indeed, our 
Nation's blinded veterans face significant challenges in the labor 
market.
  The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research 
found that for individuals with visual impairments, to the extent they 
are unable to read letters, that the employment rate is only 30.8 
percent compared to 82.1 percent for people without disabilities. Given 
this employment trend, and the unique socioeconomic experiences of our 
veterans, it is even more urgent that Congress correct this one last 
inequity in the current paired organ statute and address the life-
altering impact of blindness on our veterans.
  I want to mention also that in compliance with our pay-as-you-go 
rules, section 2 of H.R. 797 fully offsets the cost of additional 
vision benefits. It directs the Veterans Secretary and the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services to match and compare VA needs-based pension 
benefits data, parents' dependency and indemnity compensation data, 
health care services data and unemployment data with the National 
Directory of New Hires maintained by HHS for the purpose of determining 
eligibility for such benefits and services. According to the GAO, the 
General Accountability Office, such data-matching project would help 
reduce fraud and waste within the VA system as it determines 
eligibility and benefits to those veterans thought to be unemployable, 
but who are indeed working.
  I would like to thank Chairman Filner, Subcommittee Chairman John 
Hall, as well as Congressman Boozman, Congressman Snyder and 
Congressman Miller for their unwavering support of this bill. I also 
want to thank the staff of the Veterans' Affairs Committee for helping 
advance this legislation.
  H.R. 797 is a modest but very important step in restoring fair 
treatment to those blinded due to their service to our country and to 
further our commitment to them. Their sacrifices and service to this 
Nation should be matched by our desire to improve the quality of life 
for them and for their families.
  I want to note that the Blinded Veterans Association has identified 
over 200 soldiers returning from Operation Enduring Freedom in 
Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom who are blinded in one eye due 
to service-related injuries and could perhaps in the future benefit 
from this legislation.
  I strongly urge my colleagues to support H.R. 797.
  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the prime 
sponsor again of the piece of legislation she has. As my colleague Mr. 
Boozman said earlier, she worked many long hours to bring this piece of 
legislation to the floor. I wish we could have done it sooner. I am 
glad to see it is moving forward at this time.
  With that, I would like to recognize a new member to our committee. I 
yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn).
  Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  I rise today in support of H.R. 797, the Dr. James Allen Veteran 
Vision Equity Act. I would like to thank Chairman Filner, Ranking 
Member Buyer and my colleague Mr. Hall for their help in bringing this 
important legislation to the floor.
  Mr. Speaker, I offered an amendment to this bill which would provide 
families the option of choosing a bronze V in lieu of a VA headstone 
for graves already marked by a private marker. I am happy to say that 
this amendment was accepted with bipartisan support during committee 
markup.
  Many private cemeteries do not allow a second marker on a grave, but 
a bronze V would be accepted by all cemeteries and would identify a 
veteran's grave in the same manner as a VA headstone.
  While not the intent of the amendment, it may also lead to a decrease 
in costs for the Veterans Affairs Department. The average cost of a VA 
headstone is about $100. Last year, the VA provided 6,534 second 
markers for a total cost of about $650,000 plus shipping. The cost for 
the same number of bronze V markers would have only been between 
$148,000 and $184,000.
  Mounting of these second markers is at the family's expense, usually 
several times the cost of the stone. The bronze V, however, will avoid 
the need for professional mounting, thus reducing significant expenses 
for the veterans' families.
  This amendment not only distinguishes our Nation's veterans on their 
headstones, but it also allows families to demonstrate their loved 
one's selfless service to our Nation in an efficient and cost-effective 
manner.
  It provides a great solution to an unfortunate problem with the added 
bonus of saving money for veterans' families and the VA.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill will help our veterans, and I urge my 
colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 797.

[[Page 7096]]


  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, again, I would like to thank Mr. Lamborn for 
this very important addition. It will give families added consolation, 
of course, on the burial of a loved one. So we thank you.
  I have no further requests for time.
  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, we have no further requests for 
time, and we yield back the balance of our time.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of 
H.R. 797, to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve 
compensation benefits for veterans in certain cases of impairment of 
vision involving both eyes. I strongly support veterans and more 
specifically blind veterans. I am a co-sponsor of this legislation. A 
few weeks ago I introduced H.R. 1240, the ``Vision Impairment 
Specialist Training Act'' to help our Nation's blind veterans.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 797 modifies the standard of awarding disability 
compensation to veterans for loss of vision to require payment of 
compensation for impairment of vision involving both eyes due to a 
service-connected and non-service connected disability.
  There are 160,000 legally blind veterans in the United States, but 
only 44,000 are currently enrolled in Veterans Health Administration 
services. In addition, it is estimated that there are over 1 million 
low-vision veterans in the United States, and incidences of blindness 
among the total veteran population of 26 million are expected to 
increase by about 40% over the next few years. This is because the most 
prevalent causes of legal blindness and low vision are age-related, and 
the average age of the veteran population is increasing; the current 
average age is about 80 years old.
  Members of the armed forces are important to our Nation and we show 
them our appreciation by taking care of them after they no longer 
serve. It is important to amend title 38 to ensure that our veterans 
are taken care of and that they receive the compensation that they 
deserve. Their service to this nation could never be repaid my monetary 
means, but we can ensure that the veterans that faithfully served our 
country are taken care of and amending this legislation sends a message 
to our veterans that we care about their health and well being long 
after their duty has expired.
  In addition to enhancing compensation benefits for veterans, H.R. 797 
requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services with information for comparison with the 
National Directory of New Hires to determine eligibility for certain 
benefits and services. This process ensures that the proper protocol is 
followed in issuance of these benefits and that the benefits are 
distributed to the proper recipients.
  Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 797 and I urge all members to do 
likewise.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, we urge support for H.R. 797, as amended, 
and I yield back our time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Salazar). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Filner) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 797, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this question will 
be postponed.

                          ____________________