^{July 26, 2005
Contact: Jeff Schrade (202)224-9093}

(Washington, DC) 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 28, starting at 9:30 Eastern in room 418 of the Russell Senate Office Building.  It will be webcast live on the committee's websiteand may be audiocast on the C-SPAN committee hearing website, located at http://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.

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