September 5, 2006
Media contact: Jeff Schrade (202)224-9093

(Washington, DC) Members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs will meet on Thursday to review the Traumatic Injury Protection benefit approved by Congress last year. Thursday's hearing is the first to examine the new benefit since it went into effect.

Committee Chairman Larry Craig sponsored the legislation which created the benefit after meeting with three young veterans wounded in Iraq. To date, nearly 2,700 servicemembers have since received over $164 million from the fund.

Under the program, wounded or seriously injured military personnel receive anywhere from $25,000 to $100,000 to help them cope with the costs they incur after their injuries. The top five conditions for which payments have been made are: 1) The inability to carry out two of six activities of daily living for 30 days or more; 2) The loss of one foot; 3) Brain injury; 4) The loss of sight in one eye; and 5) Severe burns.

• The hearing titled "Wounded Warrior' Insurance: A first look at a new benefit for traumatically injured servicemembers," will be held Thursday, September 7, in room 418 of the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, starting at 10 a.m. Eastern.
• It will be webcast live, and archived for viewing later, at http://veterans.senate.gov. The hearing may also be audiocast ? during the hearing only ? on C-SPAN's hearings website, located at http://www.capitolhearings.org.

 Panel I

Thomas Lastowka, Director, Insurance Service, Veterans Benefits Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Accompanied by Steve Wurtz, Deputy Assistant Director, Insurance Service

Panel II

Jeremy Chwat, Associate Executive Director, Policy and Service, Wounded Warrior Project

#####