Current Newsletter

August 2008

The Springfield Area Military Retiree Council is for retirees, their spouses and widows/widowers of retirees from all branches of the military.  It acts as an interface between the retirees in the Springfield area and is offered support by Fort Leonard Wood Military Retiree Council.  The Council began in 1995 as a way to bring attention to the “changed truth” on promises made by the Administration, Congress and Senate.  This Council offers retiree representatives of the Ft. Wood commissary, hospital and post exchange to present suggestions and grievances to the Commanders of each of these facilities.  The more members a sub-council has the more influence these members will have when presenting ideas. 

Veterans Disability Claims Modernization Act of 2008

Please contact your Senators today and urge them to vote in favor of the Veterans Disability Claims Modernization Act of 2008 (H.R. 5892).  This important legislation will essentially direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to modernize the disability benefits claims processing system of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to ensure the accurate and timely delivery of compensation to veterans and their families and survivors.  H.R. 5892 passed the House unanimously on July 31, 2008 and was referred to the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.  The bill contains a number of favorable provisions, such as:

Ø      Requires improvements in VA’s work credit, quality assurance and management systems in order to improve accuracy and accountability in decisions affecting disability compensation;

Ø      Implements enhanced training, including certification, for VA employees responsible for processing claims;

Ø      Requires VA to immediately assign temporary, partial ratings for severe disabilities that are indisputably related to military service; allows for substitution by surviving spouses as claimants when a veteran spouse dies while a claim is pending; and

Ø      Mandates that the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims must address issues raised by an appellant in court decisions rather than remanding or deny an appeal without addressing such issues.

Contact your Senators immediately to urge them to vote in passage of the Veterans Disability Claims Modernization Act of 2008.