Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Veterans Legislation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
O'Fallon veterans group urges contacts with Congress over suicide prevention, survivor and disability proposals
Summary
At its March 16 meeting the O'Fallon Veterans Commission urged residents to contact lawmakers about three federal bills it said would weaken suicide-prevention teams, restrict survivor benefits and penalize veterans on disability who earn income.
The O'Fallon Veterans Commission on March 16 urged community members to contact congressional offices about three federal proposals the commission said threaten veterans' benefits and services.
The presiding officer, speaking as chair of the commission, described participation in Legislative Advocacy Week and said commissioners and residents should press lawmakers to protect suicide-prevention programs under the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Act, which the chair described as threatened by proposed funding or program changes. "We're losing them at 22 a day," the chair said, urging advocacy to preserve teams and programs within the VA.
The chair also described the Sheri (Sherry) Bailey and Eric Edmondson Veterans Benefit Expansion Act, saying it addresses a survivor-benefit rule that currently requires some surviving spouses to delay remarriage until age 55 to retain benefits; the chair called that restriction "pretty bad" and said the commission supports changing it so survivors do not lose earned benefits for remarriage.
Finally, the chair criticized what the meeting transcript identified as the Major Richard Starr Act, which the chair said would reduce disability payments when veterans earn income, penalizing those who are able to work from home or otherwise earn wages. The chair said commissioners had taken direct advocacy steps, including visiting a senator's office in a larger delegation.
The commission made no formal vote on any legislative position during the meeting; the discussion was an officer's report and a call to action for individual advocacy and constituent contacts. No other commission member offered a formal motion regarding the bills at the session.
The commission did not present staff analyses or official legal citations during the meeting; members asked colleagues and attendees to contact their congressional representatives and the commission said it would share information through the city's communication channels.
The meeting adjourned after routine business and event planning.
