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Dems ask Bush to back wounded warrior bills

The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee chairman is asking President Bush to rally Republicans in support of pending wounded warrior legislation, rather than pushing the White House’s own plan.

Concerned that the administration’s plan unveiled last week could end up delaying work on the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act already approved by the House and Senate, Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, and other Democrats on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee sent a letter to Bush on Monday seeking his help in building Republican support for the ongoing negotiations to hammer out a compromise wounded warrior bill instead of allowing debate to take on a partisan tinge.

The letter also asks Bush to nominate someone to be the new secretary of veterans’ affairs, saying that having the position filled will make it easier for the administration to negotiate with Congress on details of the wounded warrior legislation and to push through other improvements in programs for disabled combat veterans that do not require congressional action.

The Bush administration unveiled its America’s Wounded Warriors Act last week, including an overhaul of the disability ratings and retirement system and benefits programs for disabled combat troops and their families. The plan was released by the administration just days after the Veterans’ Disability Benefits Commission issued its recommendations on improving compensation and rehabilitation programs, but appears to be based more on recommendations from yet another commission, the President’s Commission on Care for America’s Returning Wounded Warriors.

Akaka said the letter to Bush is intended to get White House support for making some immediate improvements while deferring other, more complex changes until next year. If the administration insists on having its legislation considered as a complete package, and Republicans go along, it will be difficult for Congress to make any improvements at all this year, Akaka said.

In the letter to Bush, Akaka and other Democrats said it is clear that the administration and Congress “share the common goal of improving the lives of service members and their families,” but the immediate question is how quickly to act.

There is a much common ground between the pending legislation and the White House proposal, such as provisions dealing with mental health care, earlier evaluations to detect post-traumatic stress disorder in combat troops and improving treatment and diagnosis of traumatic brain injuries, the letter says.

However, Democrats said they also have concerns, especially about proposed changes in disability benefits. “We have deep misgivings about the provisions of your bill that would provide a basis for drastic changes to VA’s disability compensation system,” the letter says. Democrats stressed that they do not support any plan that would let the VA rewrite disability compensation rules without first getting congressional approval of the changes.