Bush signs two vets' benefits bills into law
By Rick Maze - Army Times - Friday Oct 10, 2008
President Bush signed two veterans' bills into law on Friday, an omnibus benefits bill and a package of health-related legislation.
The Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act expands the VA home loan program, attempts to improve the processing of disability claims and strengthens enforcement of employment and reemployment rights for reservists. It also allows service members deployed overseas for 90 days or longer or who make a permanent change-of-station move to cancel or suspend a cell phone contract without penalties or extra fees.
The Veterans' Mental Health and Other Care Improvements Act increases the mileage reimbursement rate for beneficiary travel to 28.5 center per mile, relaxes rules for reimbursing community hospitals providing emergency treatment for veterans so they do not have to be moved out of the hospital as quickly, and increases funding for programs to prevent homelessness for veterans. The health bill also includes an expansion of veterans' mental health programs to provide wider treatment for those with substance abuse programs and more ways of trying to help suicidal veterans.
One change in the benefits law that would be vital to many veterans at a time of turmoil in the home mortgage market is an overhaul of the veterans' home loan program that makes it easier for people with non-VA loans to refinance their mortgages through VA. This is done by raising the amount VA will guarantee and reducing the amount of equity a homeowner must have in order to refinance.
Several changes are aimed at cutting the processing time for veterans' disability checks, but there is another simple change that also would help veterans by directing VA to simplify the notices sent out when benefits claims are incomplete or rejected so they are easier for the veterans to understand.
Mental health provisions of the health bill set new standards for treating substance abuse, and expand efforts to treat veterans who have mental health disorders such as PTSD and also have substance abuse problems.
-----------------------
MilitaryConnection.com thanks you for your patronage. This web site is a portal of all things military. There is something for everyone including a new job board, listing all types of jobs for military including military jobs, government jobs, veteran jobs, diversity jobs and civilian jobs,. We also feature education for military resources such as information on the newly improved GI Bill, listings of military schools in the military school directory, an expansive scholarship directory and additional education benefits that will aid you in continuing your education. If you need a personal loan, MilitaryConnection.com provides information on military loans and reputable companies that handle them.
We are constantly adding resources, content and valuable features to benefit our audience. This has resulted in the web site quickly becoming the “go to” web site for all things military. Our web site and all of the resources are free to users and we value your input. If you belong to a group or organization, we will post your press releases, special events, newsletters, professional conferences and seminars, reunions, job fairs, and videos to help spread the word.
MilitaryConnection.com has a multitude of employment and educational resources including a Directory of over 30,000 Employers, Job Tips, Columns written by top Job Coaches, our new and improved Job Board, Virtual Job Fair, jobs for military and military spouses, military jobs, government jobs, veteran jobs, diversity jobs, civilian jobs and much more. You will find military education resources information on the GI Bill, military schools, a military school directory, a scholarship directory and information on current educational benefits. We also feature military loan information. When the next tour is back home, it’s on MilitaryConnection.com.