NOMINATIONS AND LEGISLATION TO BE MARKED UP THURSDAY

NOMINATIONS AND LEGISLATION TO BE MARKED UP THURSDAY

On Thursday the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs will take up the nominations of James Terry and Charles S. Chick Ciccolella, and markup several bills important to veterans, Chairman Larry Craig (R-Idaho) announced today. 

The markup session will be held Thursday, July 29, starting at 9:30 Eastern in room 418 of the Russell Senate Office Building.  It will be webcast live on the committee’s website, veterans.senate.gov and may be audiocast on the C-SPAN committee hearing website, located at www.capitolhearings.org.

Just over two weeks ago the committee held its first hearing concerning the President’s nominations of James Phillip Terry to be Chairman of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, and Chick Ciccolella to be the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training.  If agreed to by the committee on Thursday, their nominations will be sent to the floor for final approval by the full Senate.

The legislation to be marked up includes several bills which the committee considered in June, which have now been revised: 

S. 1182 (Chairman Craig), the Veterans Health Care Improvements Act of 2005,” as amended which includes language to: mandate that VA expand PTSD, substance abuse, tele-health, and other efforts; facilitate data-sharing between VA and DOD; expand National Guard outreach and assessment; increase the number of Vet Centers with telemedicine linkages; provide care for veterans’ newborns delivered at a VA facility (or at VA expense); provide authorization of grant and per diem payments to homeless service providers; provide authorization of VA-provided family therapy; repeal the ban on using appropriated funds for contracting cost comparisons; and authorize Senior Executive Service compensation to the Director of the VA Nursing Service.

– S. 716 (Ranking Member Akaka), the Vet Center Enhancement Act of 2005.

– S. 1234 (Chairman Craig), the Veterans Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2005.

– S. 1235 (Chairman Craig), the Veterans’ Benefits Improvements Act of 2005,

as amended which includes language to: increase the Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance to $400,000; provide spousal notice when changes are made to SGLI; extend the time frame for conversion of SGLI into Veterans’ Group Life Insurance; modify the effective dates of VA-guaranteed hybrid-ARM home mortgage loans; require that VA to prepare annual benefits outreach plan; add heart disease and stroke to the presumptive diseases list for ex-Prisoners of War; and revise the provisions specifying that stillborns are insurable dependents for purposes of SGLI.
 

Jeff Schrade, Communications Director, U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Senator Larry Craig (R-Idaho), Chairman,
412 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC  20510
Direct: 202-224-9093  Cell: 202-680-9552  Fax: 202-228-5655
http://veterans.senate.gov