WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. John Boozman and other lawmakers unveiled legislation Tuesday that seeks to improve VA medical services for more than 2 million female veterans.
The measure is known as the Deborah Sampson Act and is named after a Massachusetts woman who disguised herself as a man so that she could fight against the British in the Revolutionary War.
Among other things, the bill would:
• Authorize increasing the Supportive Services for Veterans Families fund by $20 million. The program, which currently receives $300 million per year, provides financial assistance, temporarily, to veterans who are homeless or about to become homeless.
• Authorize another $20 million for VA medical centers, money that would be used to give patients greater privacy. Supporters say door locks and privacy curtains are among the items that would be added.
• Require a women's health primary care provider at every VA facility.
• Create a peer counseling program for women who are separating from the armed services.
• Help create a legal services program to assist female veterans with various matters, including child support and foreclosure issues.
• Increase the number of days that a newborn baby can receive care if his mother is a veteran receiving maternity care.
The nonprofit agency Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America has lobbied for the legislation.
Tuesday, a large group of flag-carrying veterans gathered outside the U.S. Capitol and called on Congress to pass the legislation.
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., is the sponsor of the Senate version. Boozman, who serves on the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, is the first Republican to co-sponsor the bill.
At a press conference, Boozman said he and Tester hope the legislation "will be one of our first orders of business in the near future."
The bill's House sponsor, U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-Conn., said supporters can count on VA Secretary David Shulkin.
"He was in my office last week. I know it is a very high priority for him," she said.
Boozman said the measure won't be divisive.
"The good thing about this bill is it will be very bipartisan. This doesn't have anything to do with Democrats or Republicans. This has to do with trying to take care of a need that's arisen. This is something that simply needs to be fixed," the Republican from Rogers said.
The legislation, Boozman said, will help improve services for the 21,000 female veterans living in Arkansas.
At a Fayetteville meeting last week, Boozman said, a woman told him what it's like to seek help at a VA facility.
"She said more often than not, she was asked if she was a wife or where her husband was, nobody acknowledging the fact she was the veteran," he said.
"This is something that simply needs to be fixed," Boozman said. At VA facilities, "they're providing quality care, but ...our female vets, they just need a little bit different services, and many times they're simply not getting them."
Paul Rieckhoff, chief executive officer of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said Boozman is an important part of the effort to pass the legislation.
"He's leading the way. ... He's always been very receptive to our issues," Rieckhoff said.
The Iraq War veteran doesn't foresee anything derailing the legislation.
"The Deborah Sampson bill will become law. We will have a signing ceremony. The president will be there, and you can tell folks back home that your senator was there first," Rieckhoff added.
Metro on 03/22/2017