Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 2007
VETERANS' BENEFITS IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2007 -- (House of Representatives - July 30, 2007)
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Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1315, as amended, contains several important provisions to improve the lives of service members and veterans.
First, severely injured service members would be able to benefit from VA's specially adapted housing program prior to discharge. I appreciate Chairwoman Herseth Sandlin's vigilance and leadership in this area in bringing this forward.
Second, DOD, the Department of Labor, the Attorney General, the Office of Special Counsel and VA would be required to adapt common reporting criteria regarding servicemembers' employment rights under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, USERRA. Again, I appreciate Mr. Reichert for his hard work in bringing this forward. I think this is an excellent provision.
Third, VA would be authorized to establish scholarship programs for pursuing degrees in rehabilitation for the visually impaired. Ms. Sheila Jackson-Lee also did a good job in bringing this forward. This is something that I am very, very familiar with in the sense that I am an optometrist and have had the opportunity to visit, not to visit, to deal with these types of patients many times in the past. This is something we definitely need to do.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairwoman Herseth Sandlin for her bipartisan leadership on this excellent bill, and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1315, as amended.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman has no further speakers, in closing, I can't tell you how privileged I am in serving on the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee. We are charged with putting veterans to work and providing educational benefits. As the son of an old master sergeant in the Air Force who did 20 years and retired, I understand the importance of this.
This bill is an excellent bill. I want to thank the chairman for his hard work and also thank the ranking member, Mr. Buyer, for his hard work. I thank Chairwoman Herseth Sandlin, and again our staffs who do so much work.
This bill is an excellent product of bipartisan work on behalf of veterans, and I urge all of my colleagues to support the legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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