Washington Report, June 1987

United States Senator Chic Hecht's Washington Report VOLUME 1 NUMBER 8 WASHINGTON, D.C. JUNE, 1987 . Dear Fellow Veteran: I am pleased to send to you this special Newsletter devoted to Nevada's Veterans. One of my privileges as a United States Senator is to be able to communicate, inform, and help individual Veterans like you. What happens in Washington affects us all, and I would like to tell you about some key issues which could affect you and your family. As an example of how I might be able to help you, I will show you how I was able to assist a Veteran from Reno to receive his full VA health benefits. This newsletter will also discuss Outpatient Care in Military Medical Facilities, the establishment of a State Veterans' Cemetery, information concerning a Resolution affecting the POW-MIA issue, and a description of the New G.I. Bill which recently passed. And finally, for your special use, I am including helpful telephone numbers and other information which I think you will find beneficial. Sincerely, VETERANS' CEMETERY UPDATE The construction of a State Veterans' cemetery in Nevada is important to all of us. Progress continues to be made on this project, and its overall fate now depends on the Nevada Legislature. The State Assembly has over-whelmingly approved an amended version of Assem-bly Bill 42, which would cre-ate cemeteries in Boulder City and Fernley where sites have already been selected for Veterans' Cemeteries. Funding is available through the Veterans Ad-ministration under the VA's State Cemetery Grant Pro-gram, which aids states in constructing cemeteries by paying half of the state's building costs. The VA will not commit to participate un-til the State Legislature ap-proves funding for the project, and the land must be state-owned when applica-tion is made for a VA match-ing grant. I recently wrote a letter to General Thomas K. Tur-nage, Director of the VA, re-questing his assistance in obtaining the funding provid-ed under the VA Matching Grants Program. In my letter I stated, "Since the State Legislature will soon be ap-proving its share of the cost, I would respectfully request your assistance in obtaining the VA matching grant funds which would be available to Nevada to construct Vete-rans' Cemeteries." I wholeheartedly sup-port the construction of a Veterans' cemetery in Neva-da, and I will continue to do everything I can to ensure that federal funding is provided to supplement the State's share of the cost. HELPING VETERANS On June 24, 1985, Mr. Tony Minetto contacted my District Office in Reno. Mr. Minetto had recently under-gone surgery for a service-connected disability. He was disabled and requested a re-evaluation of his disability rating. After several phone calls and letters to the Vete-rans Administration (VA), we were able to assist Mr. Minet-to in having his final disabil-ity rating upgraded for the loss of the use of his foot. In addition, his wife and chil-dren have also received benefits. If you have a similar problem and I can assist you in any way, please do not hesitate to contact me at one of my three District Offices: Carson City 308 N. Curry Street Suite 201 Carson City, Nevada 89701-4185 388-6605 Veterans are frequent visitors of Senator Hecht's office. Shown here are Robert Frankenberg, Bernie Juran, Jack Williams and Donald Wiggin. Reno 300 Booth St. Suite 2014 Reno, Nevada 89509-1380 784-5007 Las Vegas 300 Las Vegas Blvd., South Suite 420 Las Vegas, Nevada 89101-5880 388-6605 Or, you can write to me at my Washington address: Senator Chic Hecht 302 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510-2802 (202) 224-6244 VETERANS EDUCATION and the NEW G.I. BILL If you are thinking of return-ing to school, I know you will be interested to hear about the New G.I. Bill which passed the Senate on May 8, 1987. The New G.I. Bill gives education assistance to Veterans who have returned to school to enhance their job qualifications or receive a degree. The purpose of this legislation is to provide an educational program to as-sist servicemen in readjust-ing to civilian life. This legislation makes the three-year pilot program, which be-gan on July 1,1985, a perma-nent educational assistance program. Under the new bill, ac-tive duty soldiers are auto-matically enrolled in the education program unless they choose not to partici-pate. Those enrolled have their basic pay reduced by $100 a month for their first 12 months of service. Upon completion of honorable service, Veterans are eligible for a maximum of $10,800 ($9,000 for a two-year enlist-ment) for full-time education. The serviceman's contribu-tion of $1,200 is added to a maximum government con-tribution of $9,600. The New G.I. Bill will al-low many to pursue educa-- tional opportunities hereto-fore considered unattain-able. Educational assistance varies greatly, so if you are interested in furthering your education or increasing your skills, check with the Neva-da VA Benefit Office or write to me at any one my offices. The address and tele-phone number for the VA Regional Office is the fol-lowing: Veterans Administration Regional Office 1201 Terminal Way Reno, Nevada 89520 Ph. 329-9244 OUTPATIENT CARE IN MILITARY MEDICAL FACILITIES You may have heard that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is proposing to establish a test program to charge a fee for outpatient care at military health facili-ties. I remain firmly opposed to any such fee. As you know, outpatient care in these facilities is now free, not only to active duty per-sonnel, but also to their de-pendents as well as military retirees. Survivors of de-ceased military personnel are also eligible for free out-patient care. I have received a full briefing from the Department of Defense (DOD) concerning this proposal. The fee would Too many questions re-main unanswered about the fate of the U.S. servicemen still unaccounted for in Southeast Asia. The families of these brave men must be reassured that they have not been, and will never be, for-gotten. I believe that Congress and the United States must take bold, new steps in resolving the POW-MIA problem between the United States and Vietnam. I am an original co-sponsor of a reso-lution, S. Con. Res. 54, in-troduced by Senator Mark Hatfield on April 30, 1987, which asks the President to designate and send to Viet-nam at the earliest possible date a special Representa-tive to negotiate an agree-ment for the speedy resolu-tion of the POW-MIA issue. The Representative would also be involved in negotiations to resolve be imposed on military retirees and their depen-dents when they use military health care facilities. The current proposal would not affect inpatient hospital care and would be applicable only at military facilities. I strongly object to the imposition of this fee, and I am a cosponsor of S. Con. Res. 35, a Resolution in-troduced by Senator DeCon-cini on March 18,1987, which expresses the objection of the Congress to the imposi-tion of a user fee on military retirees and their depen-dents for using military health care facilities. In addi-tion, I have expressed my POW-MIA RESOLUTION several other long-standing problems: the re-education camp prisoner issue, the emigration of Vietnamese under the Orderly Departure Program, the resettlement of Amerasians, and the protec-tion of persons living in refu-gee camps in Southeast Asia. Further, the Resolution calls for the Presidential Representative to negotiate an agreement for the im-mediate establishment of strong objection to the Department of Defense that any military medical facility in Nevada be used to test the imposition of this user fee. Health care for the members of our Armed Forces is one of the primary ways we can support our servicemen and service women. The traditional care services guaranteed to our military service person-nel should not be reduced in any manner, and as a United States Senator and a Vete-ran, I am committed to re-taining quality health care for our military personnel and their families. technical offices in both the United States and Vietnam. In the past, offices coordinat-ing the POW-MIA issue were located in Hawaii and Bangkok. I am deeply committed to the resolution of the many pending humanitarian issues resulting from the Vietnam War. I believe we must open new channels of communi-cation between the United States and Vietnam. Above all, however, we must stand firm on our demand for the fullest possible accounting of American MIAs and POWs. The families of these dedicated servicemen have suffered for too long. They deserve our commitment to resolve the POW-MIA issue once and for all. FLAGS If you would like to own an American flag which has been flown over the United States Capitol, I would be pleased to provide you with one. An official certificate will accompany your flag. HELPFUL TELEPHONE NUMBERS Veterans Administration Medical Center 1000 Locust Street Reno, Nevada 89520 786-7200 Veterans Administration Regional Office (Veterans Benefits Infor-mation and Assistance) 1201 Terminal Way Reno, Nevada 89520 329-9244 Veterans Administration Outpatient Clinic 1703 West Charleston Blvd. Las Vegas, Nevada 89102 385-3700 Just make your check payable to "Keeper of the Stationery" and send it to me at my Washington address: Senator Chic Hecht The United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510-2802 Attention: Flags Here is a list of the prices and there is no sales tax: 3 X 5 nylon = $ 7.50 5 X 8 nylon = $17.50 3 X 5 cotton = $ 8.00 5 X 8 cotton = $18.25 It generally takes 5 to 6 weeks to process your flag order. Please let me know if the flag is for a special occasion, and I will ensure that the official certificate is appropriately worded. If the flag is for someone else, I will send it directly to that party if you so desire. UNITED STATES SENATE WASHINGTON, D.C. 20510-2802 P U B L I C DOCUMENT OFFICIAL BUSINESS DO NOT FORWARD-ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED RETURN POSTAGE GUARANTEED U.55.S. BLK RT. CAR-RTS0RT ATTENTION POSTMASTER - OCR - PLEASE DO NOT MARK ON OR ABOVE THE LABEL L