Issue Position: Veterans - Dr. James Allen Disabled Veterans Equity Act

Issue Position

Dr. James Allen, a Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Wisconsin--School of Medicine, has worked at the VA Hospital for thirty-three years and treated numerous eye patients, including blind veterans.

Dr. Allen brought to my attention the fact that veterans who suffered a service-connected blindness in one eye receive no additional VA compensation when they lose vision in the other eye.

Congress has rightly recognized that some human organs or limbs are designed to work in pairs: legs, hands, kidneys, lungs, ears, and of course 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 non-service-connected loss, injury or degeneration of the remaining paired organ or limb as though it were the result of a service-connected disability. In general, the paired organ statute accomplishes this task, with the exception of its treatment of loss of sight.

Consequently, I introduced the Dr. James Allen Disabled Veterans Equity Act to fix this inequity in the current paired organ statute.

My bill currently enjoys broad bi-partisan support and in April of 2006 I testified in front of the House Veterans Affairs Committee on behalf of this legislation. The bill is a modest but important step in restoring fair treatment to those blinded due to their service to our country. Their sacrifices and service to this nation should be matched by our desire to improve their quality of life.

Source