August 3, 2006
Media contact: Jeff Schrade (202)224-9093

(Washington, DC) A Civil War-era policy that prevents veterans from hiring attorneys moved one step closer to being removed Tuesday when the U.S. Senate unanimously approved S. 2694, the "Veterans' Choice of Representation and Benefits Enhancement Act of 2006." If adopted by the House, the legislation will overturn a policy that denies veterans the right to hire attorneys to help them seek benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Under current law, a veteran has to exhaust the VA process ? which may take years ? before hiring an attorney.

"I am delighted that we are closer to providing veterans and their families with the option of hiring attorneys to help them navigate the VA system. Doing away with this outdated law will allow veterans ? like all other adults in this nation ? to have the assistance of counsel if they so choose," said the bill's sponsor, U.S. Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

The legislation, which was approved by the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs last month, also would require the removal of the ashes of convicted double murderer Russell Wagner from Arlington National Cemetery. Wagner brutally murdered Daniel Davis, 84, and Wilda Davis, 80, in Maryland in 1994.

Wagner was later convicted and died in prison. His remains were then placed in Arlington as the result of a loophole in the law barring the burial of capital offenders in national cemeteries, which has since been closed. The Davis' son, Vernon, is a veteran and testified before the committee last year along with Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD). Both asked for Wagner's remains to be removed.

The legislation also includes changes to the Montgomery G.I. Bill and the Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance benefits program ? changes that were sought by Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) and Mike DeWine (R-OH). If approved by the House, veterans and survivors will be eligible for accelerated educational benefits for high-cost, short-term training leading to jobs in five areas of the economy: transportation, construction, hospitality, energy and high technology.

The bill also includes a provision sought by Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI), the committee's Ranking Member, that would require VA to pay full costs for certain service-connected veterans residing in veterans' homes run by state governments, as well as provide medications for certain service-connected conditions for veterans in those state-run facilities. Under current law, the federal government only pays a portion of those costs.

The bill would also allow VA to designate beds in privately-run care centers as "state homes."

"In large portions of Idaho and in other rural parts of America, we often don't need a full-fledged nursing home for veterans ? but having a few beds available could help keep a veteran closer to home and loved ones," Craig said.

The legislation would also:

• Allow tribes to apply for grants to establish veterans' cemeteries on Native lands
• Improve efforts to prevent homelessness among veterans, especially among those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan
• Establish an Office of Rural Health in the Office of the Under Secretary for Health

Here is Chairman Craig's floor statement about S. 2694:

Statement of Larry E. Craig

to accompany Senate passage of

S. 2694, the "Veterans' Choice of Representation and Benefits Enhancement Act of 2006"

Mr. CRAIG:   Mr. President, I have sought recognition to comment on comprehensive, bi-partisan legislation reported from the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and now awaiting full Senate approval.  S. 2694, the Veterans' Choice of Representation and Benefits Enhancement Act of 2006, contains 28 provisions representing the collective work of 44 Senators who either sponsored or cosponsored bills that were incorporated into this important legislation.

            S. 2694 includes provisions that would improve educational assistance benefits for veterans and their survivors; reauthorize and enhance various programs of assistance for homeless veterans; reduce nursing home and prescription medication costs for service-disabled veterans residing in state veterans' nursing homes; enhance memorial affairs benefits and preserve the character of Arlington National Cemetery as a shrine for our honored dead; and, as the bill's title suggests, provide veterans with the freedom to hire attorneys to represent them during the VA claims process.  I will take a few minutes to describe the sections of the bill that I sponsored, none I am more proud of than the choice of representation provision.  For a full accounting of all of S. 2694's provisions, I ask my colleagues to read Senate Report 109-297.

            Currently, veterans and other claimants seeking veterans' benefits may not hire an attorney until the VA administrative proceedings have been completed ? a process that often takes several years.  That law flows from a Civil War era policy intended to protect veterans from unscrupulous attorneys. That policy arose at a time -- unlike today -- when attending law school was not required to become a lawyer and there was no effective professional oversight of lawyers. 

            In recent months, it has become abundantly clear that many veterans and their survivors want the option of hiring an attorney to help them navigate the increasingly complex VA system.  In fact, the prohibition against veterans hiring attorneys is considered to be unfair and outdated by a broad spectrum of individuals and organizations, including veterans' organizations, veterans' advocates, judges, law professors, and bar associations.

            For these reasons, I joined with Senator Lindsey Graham in introducing legislation to end the outdated, paternalistic restriction on the freedoms of veterans.  Section 101 of S. 2694 would repeal the existing prohibition against veterans hiring attorneys to help them obtain benefits from VA.  I am delighted that we are closer to doing away with this outdated law and allowing veterans ? like all other adults in this nation -- to have the assistance of counsel if they so choose. 

Title V of S. 2694 represents the first effort in five years to enact comprehensive homeless veterans' assistance legislation.  Five years ago, Congress set an ambitious goal to end homelessness among veterans by 2011.  I am not one who sets goals lightly, especially one so important.  Therefore, I joined with Senators Akaka, Burr and Obama to craft the provisions in title V which will both improve services for homeless veterans, and help prevent chronic homelessness among our servicemen and women returning from the War on Terror.  Among other things, this measure would extend the authorization of appropriations for comprehensive services for homeless veterans, reauthorize a grant program for homeless veterans with special needs, and extend the authority of the Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans.  It would also extend the authority of VA to transfer properties it obtains after foreclosures on homes financed with VA-guaranteed loans to organizations which assist homeless veterans and their families in acquiring shelter.  Finally, the bill would authorize appropriations for a program designed to prevent homelessness by providing financial assistance to eligible entities to provide and coordinate the provision of supportive services for very low-income veteran families occupying permanent housing.

I want to be clear, however, that I will be monitoring whether these programs are having the effect we expect them to.  In March, I held a hearing on the needs of homeless veterans, at which VA, its federal partners, and community-based service providers to the homeless testified about what is working, what isn't, what duplication might be eliminated, and where deficiencies exist that must be addressed.  We learned that more than a half dozen federal agencies will devote over $2 billion to homelessness.  VA alone will spend upward of $221 million on grants, housing and treatment of underlying conditions.  In fact, the fiscal year 2007 budget for VA will support a record level of funding for the sixth straight year for targeted programs for homeless veterans.  Plainly stated, we cannot afford to waste any money.  We must ensure that our resources are invested carefully so that homeless veterans can resume their self-sufficiency and independence.

Section 402 of S. 2694 is derived from legislation I introduced that would remove the four year limit on the terms for the positions of Under Secretary for Health and Under Secretary for Benefits at VA.  When the term limits were originally created, I think we all hoped that they would allow the two officials to serve four consecutive years without any political considerations, regardless of whether the service was in different administrations or under different VA leadership.  History, however, has shown us that new administrations or even new VA leadership within the same administration often bring new people at all levels of government, including the two Under Secretary positions.  In fact, the last three Under Secretaries for Health and the previous Under Secretary for Benefits did not complete a full 4-year term.  Therefore, this provision would eliminate what are, in effect, limits on terms that serve no useful purpose.

            The last of the provisions I sponsored touches on a subject that most of my colleagues likely remember.  Last summer, we learned that the remains of a brutal murderer -- Russell Wayne Wagner -- were placed in the Nation's preeminent military cemetery, Arlington National Cemetery.  I was appalled to discover that the law enacted in 1997 to deny capital offenders from burial in national cemeteries did not apply to Wagner.  While we moved swiftly to close the loophole that permitted Wagner's burial in the first place, the question remained:  should his remains continue to be included among the scores of honored dead in Arlington?  For me and Senator Mikulski, the answer was "no".  That is why we sponsored legislation now contained in section 202 of S. 2694 which would direct the Secretary of the Army to remove Wagner's remains from Arlington.  As I stated last summer, we must not dishonor the sacrifices made by those memorialized at our nation's military cemeteries by including among them individuals who, through their own heinous acts, have grievously dishonored themselves.

            Mr. President, I want to thank all of the Members of the Committee and other Senators who worked so diligently on this bill.  In particular, I commend the Committee's Ranking Member, Senator Akaka.  I have said it before and I'll repeat it today, Hawaii's veterans are fortunate to have Senator Akaka as their advocate. It's been a pleasure working with him. 

            In closing, I ask for the support of the Senate in adopting S. 2694.  It is an important, historic piece of legislation that will respect the freedoms won by our veterans on the battlefield, and will improve benefits available to them when they return home from it.

            I yield the floor.

####