Department of Veterans Affairs
U.S. House spending bill for the VA renews fight over abortion access, transgender care
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans approved their first government spending bill Thursday, following tense debate about whether the Department of Veterans Affairs should provide abortions in limited circumstances and the GOP’s decision to cut military construction funding. The 219-211 mostly party-line vote on the Military Construction-VA appropriations bill sends the measure to the Senate, where […]
Arkansas’ Boozman urges Senate committee action on new veteran suicide prevention bill
Arkansas U.S. Sen. John Boozman pushed for a more holistic approach to addressing veteran suicide during a Veterans Affairs Committee hearing Wednesday. “I believe that the issue is more complex than just viewing it from a clinical perspective,” the Republican senator told Dr. Matthew Miller, director of the Suicide Prevention Program in the VA Office […]
The Honoring Our PACT Act: a game-changer for Arkansas veterans affected by toxic exposure
Arkansas is home to over 222,000 veterans, which equals nearly 10% of the state’s entire population. During the last century, many were stationed on military bases with known environmental contamination, making these brave people susceptible to developing life-threatening diseases such as liver cancer, prostate cancer, leukemia, and bladder cancer. While Arkansas offers special benefits for […]
Arkansas House passes law to expand eligibility for disabled veteran license plates
The Arkansas House voted Monday to expand the pool of disable veterans eligible for special license plates. Without dissent, the House of Representatives passed House Bill 1101 by Rep. Andrew Collins (D-Little Rock). It allows any veteran who has been determined to be at least 10% disabled due to their military service to register for […]
Thousands of veterans deluge VA with claims for toxic exposure benefits, health care
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is processing claims at the fastest rate in its history, hoping to avoid a significant backlog as hundreds of thousands of veterans apply for health care and benefits under the landmark toxic exposure law Congress passed earlier this year. The day after President Joe Biden signed the […]
New fight opens in Congress over VA policy that sidesteps state abortion bans
WASHINGTON — Democrats in the U.S. Senate are confident the Department of Veterans Affairs can implement a new policy that allows its doctors to provide abortions when the pregnancy threatens the patient’s life or health, or when it’s the result of rape or incest. The VA announced the new policy last week to cheers from […]
Biden signs landmark bill aiding veterans exposed to burn pits overseas
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed legislation into law Wednesday that will provide health care and benefits to veterans exposed to burn pits in Afghanistan and Iraq, achieving a long-term, personal goal. “I was in and out of Iraq over 20 times,” Biden said of prior trips to the war zone he took as both […]