[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 6912-6913]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     VETERANS' OUTREACH ACT OF 2013

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, as the chairman of the Senate Veterans' 
Affairs Committee, I have pledged to improve outreach activities to 
better inform our Nation's over 22 million veterans of the benefits to 
which they are entitled.

[[Page 6913]]

  Legislation I introduced last week, the Veterans' Outreach Act of 
2013, would authorize the Department of Veterans Affairs to carry out a 
2-year demonstration project to award grants to State and local 
government programs and nonprofit organizations to improve the 
coordination and collaboration of veterans' health care and benefit 
services across Federal, State, and local assets. By providing State 
and local government programs and nonprofit organizations the 
opportunity to submit a grant proposal with stated goals and 
objectives, VA would be able to better leverage the countless services 
across the Nation that support veterans and their family members. 
Finally and most importantly, my legislation would require recipients 
to submit outcomes data back to VA in order to document a recipient's 
ability to increase awareness, efficiency, and effectiveness of 
Federal, State, and local outreach activities; enhance the availability 
of Federal, State, and local resources for veterans; and strengthen the 
overall culture of community-based support within a given community 
across our great Nation. With this 2-year demonstration project, VA 
will be able to examine what outreach activities work and reassess its 
outreach strategy accordingly.
  Last month I was in Brooklyn, NY, where I met two combat veterans 
from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. One was a U.S. Marine Corps 
captain and the other was a sergeant in the U.S. Army. Both were 
receiving health care at VA and struggling to pay for their copays. 
Similarly, both were unaware of their eligibility to receive 5 years of 
free health care at VA following their most recent discharged from 
Active-Duty. Most displeasing was the lack of understanding of this 
very same health care benefit by senior VA officials who accompanied me 
that day. If senior VA officials are unaware of such a principal health 
care benefit available to combat veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan 
wars, much more remains to be done inside and outside of VA to ensure 
veterans of all eras are informed and understand the benefits and 
services they are entitled.
  I urge my colleagues to ask veterans across their State and see how 
many understand all of the benefits and services available to them. For 
instance, countless veterans across this Nation remain unaware that 
some of them may be entitled to one-time dental care if they apply at 
VA within 180 days of separation from Active Duty. Little known 
benefits like this, can go a long way in placing our newest generation 
of veterans on sound footing following their exit from military 
service. Other veterans may be eligible for no-cost or low-cost health 
care and medications if they meet eligibility requirements for VA 
health care. To claim this coverage they must enroll at their local 
Department of Veterans Affairs medical center. These uncertainties 
surrounding VA health care eligibility will most certainly be 
compounded by the additional health care options that become available 
as we approach implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Veterans need 
to know and understand their options.
  The men and women who have sacrificed so much in defense of this 
country deserve to know about the benefits and care to which they are 
entitled, and it is VA's job to make sure they know. Simply knowing 
about benefits in certain instances is not enough. If VA is trying to 
reach rural veterans, knowing where and when a mobile vet center will 
visit your community is critical. If VA is trying to reach more and 
more veterans in the community, knowing when and where the local 
medical center or community-based outpatient clinic will hold events 
and activities can drive up the number of veterans in attendance. 
Furthermore, VA needs to do more to proactively identify outreach 
efforts that work locally while leveraging the countless services 
supporting veterans that are made available by organizations all across 
the country.
  Highly able and willing organizations and agencies are already 
providing quality social services and outreach into communities across 
the Nation. Some of these organizations report a lack of coordination 
and collaboration with local VA facilities. Additionally, many small 
nonprofits and local organizations sometimes lack the additional 
resources needed to strategically develop guidance and partnerships 
with and across Federal, State, and local assets. More effective and 
localized outreach will better address the community-based needs of 
today's veterans and do so in a cost-efficient way.
  This legislation goes beyond authorizing VA to issue grants. This 
legislation would also allow VA to enter into cooperative agreements 
and arrangements with various State agencies to carry out, improve, or 
enhance outreach activities for veterans. Simply put, if a State is 
already supporting our Nation's veterans, then this legislation would 
allow VA to reinforce the bond between Federal and State resources to 
ensure local veterans outreach activities are streamlined and cost-
avoidances identified.
  One thing is undeniable, and that is that VA should be making every 
effort to ensure veterans are aware of the benefits and services 
afforded to them. I recently held a committee hearing where we heard 
about some of the progress the Department has made in addressing the 
important issue of outreach. We also heard from community-based 
organizations that are coordinating and collaborating across Federal, 
State, and local levels to leverage resources in order to provide cost-
effective programs. But what struck me the most was the steadfastness 
with which each of these community-based organizations identifies 
veterans and links them to the Federal, State, and local benefits and 
services they are entitled.
  Widely available information and a clear understanding of the 
information are two basic components of effective outreach. If our 
Nation's veterans are to take full advantage of the benefits and 
service they have earned, effective outreach is indispensable. When our 
Nation's over 22 million veterans are able to take advantage of these 
benefits and services, they more often than not are placed on a 
positive path toward an encouraging future.
  Mr. President, we have made a solemn commitment to aid veterans after 
they leave military service. We can only honor this commitment if 
veterans and their families are aware of the benefits and services 
available to them. This legislation would strengthen VA's outreach and 
support the organizations and agencies that seek to stand shoulder to 
shoulder with VA in support of our nation's heroes.

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