AMVETS Calls on Shinseki for Department-wide Service Dog Policy

Yesterday, AMVETS Executive Director Jim King sent a letter to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, asking the secretary to close a critical health care loophole for veterans utilizing service dogs.

Last year, through extensive work advocating for veterans who use service dogs as prosthetic devices for physical injuries, AMVETS Deputy Legislative Director Christina Roof discovered that VA medical centers around the country are not only exempt from the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, but that each medical center was allowed to dictate its own policies toward service dogs.

In two instances, AMVETS members who needed the assistance of their service dogs to make it to their VA appointments were denied care based on the antiquated VA policy that only provides concessions for seeing-eye or guide dogs in VA facilities.

VA already acknowledges that service dogs certified through a doctor's authority to assist with physical disabilities are to be considered prosthetic devices, allowing veterans to receive compensation for regular maintenance.

Last year, AMVETS successfully worked with VA to start properly processing claims for these prosthetic benefits when Roof discovered the access loophole.

AMVETS has attempted to work through proper VA channels to remedy this oft-overlooked policy to ensure that veterans who need their service dogs would not be turned away for care, but Roof said that proper channels have not yielded results, which is why King decided to bring the issue to the attention of Shinseki.

AMVETS is also rallying support for the issue within veterans' advocacy circles, with many partners on The Military Coalition volunteering to send similar letters in the coming days.

AMVETS leaders encourage concerned veterans around the country to use King's letter as a model and send letters of their own to VA and to representatives in Congress.

"A strong, unified voice from the veterans community is the only way to effect positive change," said Roof. "This is the best way for our nation's leaders to see how serious these issues are."

American Veteran will continue to follow the issue closely, and Roof said she will continue to push for equal access for all veterans utilizing VA-sanctioned prosthetic devices like service dogs.

(Image: Official letter from AMVETS National Executive Director Jim King asking VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to close a loophole for veterans' service dogs.)

Post-9/11 G.I. Bill Update: Military Coalition calls for G.I. Bill equity

On Monday, the Military Coalition, a consortium of the nation's top military and veterans' service organizations, sent a letter to Congress calling for expanded transferability benefits under the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, which took effect Aug. 1.

The letter, which was sent to the chairmen and ranking members of both the House and Senate Committees on Veterans Affairs, outlines the coalition's concern that transferability does not apply to uniformed officers in the U.S. Public Health Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

These officers who fall under the department of Health and Human Services and Commerce, respectively, have access to Chapter 33 benefits, but they cannot transfer these benefits to dependents in the same manner that Department of Defense uniformed service members can.

The coalition points out that transferability was added as a retention incentive for DoD, encouraging service members to stay in the military by offering tremendous educational opportunities to dependents. The coalition believes that HHS and Commerce could use transferability as another incentive to ensure retention among USPHS and NOAA Corps, which are experiencing critical manpower shortages.

On Sept. 9, the coalition also sent a letter to Congress, asking for key changes in the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill to ensure equity in the new benefit. To view the Sept. 9 letter, Click Here.

The coalition recognized that certain individuals and certain types of education were excluded from coverage under Chapter 33. The coalition also recognized a need to address private and graduate school shortfalls, such as the California debacle, which we have discussed on this blog.

The coalition recommended that Congress consider authorizing National Guard members activated under Title 32 orders to take advantage of the benefit, similar to active duty Title 10 counterparts. The coalition also asked for living stipends for full-time distance learners, setting a national reimbursement standard for private schools and graduate programs, and adopt rules similar to the Montgomery G.I. Bill in regard to vocational and other non-degree training programs.

The Military Coalition is comprised of more than 30 of the nation's top military and veterans' service organizations, including AMVETS, representing more than 5.5. million current and former service members, their families, and survivors.

(Image: First page of the Military Coalition letter to Congress on G.I. Bill transferability. A full version of the letter should be available on the coalition's Web site shortly.)