by Rebecca Vinduska
Annual Testimony
National President Neil Appleby presented BVA’s legislative
priorities before the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees
on March 4, 2004. Neil stressed the need for outpatient, localized
services for blinded veterans and recommended support for mandatory
funding for veterans health care.
The oral presentation was a summary of the annual written testimony
submitted to the committees. The written document is available
electronically through a link on the BVA website, www.bva.org,
or in hard copy form by contacting BVA National Headquarters by
phone, letter, or email.
The BVA Legislative Committee, led by BVA District 5 Director
and Committee Chair Dr. George Stocking, met with important Department
of Veterans Affairs (VA) officials, members of Congress, and key
Capitol Hill staffers during the days leading up to the testimony.
Committee members Neil Appleby, National Secretary Dr. Norman
Jones, and Dr. Stocking had the privilege of meeting with Representative
Christopher Smith (R-NJ-4), Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs
Committee. They also met with Ranking Member Lane Evans (D-IL-17)
and Representative Rob Simmons (R-CT-2), Chairman of the House
Subcommittee on Health.
The BVA Legislative Committee discussed many issues of importance
for blinded veterans with the members of Congress and their staff.
Specifically, the Committee stressed the need for more local services,
especially computer training. Examples were shared about veterans
who had identified computer training options close to home but
were forced to wait six months or longer to attend a VA Blind
Rehabilitation Center, often far away. This issue was also discussed
with VA officials, including the chief financial officer.
The Committee also discussed with newly appointed Deputy Secretary
Gordon Mansfield and Acting Under Secretary for Health Dr. Jonathan
B. Perlin the refusal of enrollment of several blinded veterans
into the VA healthcare system. In some cases, employees at local
VAMCs were not aware of the directive regarding catastrophic disability.
If an individual is a legally blind veteran, he/she should be
enrolled at the Category 4 level.
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