Congressional Research Service Reports - 396 Matching Results
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- Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues
- No Description Available.
- Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues
- The military retirement system includes benefits for retirement after an active or reserve military career, disability retirement, and survivor benefits for eligible survivors of deceased retirees.
- Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues
- The military retirement system includes benefits for retirement after an active or reserve military career, disability retirement, and survivor benefits for eligible survivors of deceased retirees.
- Veterans Issues in the 107th Congress
- No Description Available.
- Veterans' Medical Care Funding: FY1995-FY2004
- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides services and benefits such as hospital and medical care, rehabilitation services, and pensions, among other things, to veterans who meet certain eligibility criteria. VA provides these benefits and services through four administrative units: the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), the National Cemetery Administration (NCA), and the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. VHA is primarily a direct service provider of primary care, specialized care, and related medical and social support services to veterans through an integrated health care system.
- VA-Home Loan Guaranty Program: An Overview
- No Description Available.
- Concurrent Receipt of Military Retirement and VA Disability Benefits: Budgetary Issues
- House and Senate conferees on the FY2003 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 4546) are currently considering provisions that would lift the longstanding prohibition on concurrent receipt (simultaneous payment) of Department of Defense (DoD) retired pay and Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) disability benefits. The House-passed bill would phase in partial concurrent receipt by providing both retirement and VA benefits for those with disabilities of 60 percent or above by FY2007. The Senate-passed bill provides full concurrent receipt for military retirees with any disability rating in FY2003.
- Concurrent Receipt of Military Retirement and VA Disability Benefits: Budgetary Issues
- House and Senate conferees on the FY2003 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 4546) are currently considering provisions that would lift the longstanding prohibition on concurrent receipt (simultaneous payment) of Department of Defense (DoD) retired pay and Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) disability benefits. The House-passed bill would phase in partial concurrent receipt by providing both retirement and VA benefits for those with disabilities of 60 percent or above by FY2007. The Senate-passed bill provides full concurrent receipt for military retirees with any disability rating in FY2003.
- Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues
- No Description Available.
- Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues
- No Description Available.
- Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues
- No Description Available.
- Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues
- No Description Available.
- Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses
- In 1990 and 1991, approximately 697,000 U.S. troops were deployed in the Persian Gulf during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. The United States suffered relatively few casualties during the brief air and ground war against Iraq. Since returning home, however, many veterans have developed illnesses that appear to be related to their military service in the Gulf. Researchers caution that it may be impossible to identify the causes of these illnesses because of the absence of baseline data on the health of military personnel and the lack of reliable exposure data. This report provides concise answers to a series of questions concerning Gulf War veterans' illnesses, based on currently available scientific information.
- Veterans' Medical Care Appropriations and Funding Process
- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides benefits to veterans who meet certain eligibility rules. Benefits to veterans range from disability compensation and pensions to hospital and medical care. VA provides these benefits to veterans through three major operating units: the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) and the National Cemetery Administration (NCA). VHA is primarily a direct service provider of primary care, specialized care, and related medical and social support services to veterans through an integrated health care system. Veterans are enrolled in priority groups that determine payments for service and nonservice-connected medical conditions. In FY2004, Congress appropriated $28.4 billion for VHA to be spent through an account structure composed of four new accounts: medical services, medical administration, medical facilities, and medical and prosthetic research.
- Veterans' Health Care Issues in the 109th Congress
- No Description Available.
- Veterans' Medical Care: FY2006 Appropriations
- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides benefits to veterans who meet certain eligibility rules. Benefits to veterans range from disability compensation and pensions to hospital and medical care. VA provides these benefits to veterans through three major operating units: the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) and the National Cemetery Administration (NCA). VHA is primarily a direct service provider of primary care, specialized care,and related medical and social support services to veterans through an integrated health care system. Veterans are enrolled in priority groups that determine paymentsfor service and non-service connected medical conditions.
- Veterans Affairs: Basic Eligibility for Disability Benefit Programs
- This report examines the eligibility criteria and the fundamentals of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) administered disability benefit programs and related issues.
- Hurricane Katrina and Veterans
- This report provides a brief overview of steps currently taken by Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Congress to address the needs of veterans in the affected areas.
- Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues
- No Description Available.
- Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues
- Report on the military retirement system, including benefits, disability, budget, costs, cash bonuses, and more.
- Veterans' Medical Care: FY2006 Appropriations
- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides benefits to veterans who meet certain eligibility rules. Benefits to veterans range from disability compensation and pensions to hospital and medical care. VA provides these benefits to veterans through three major operating units: the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) and the National Cemetery Administration (NCA). VHA is primarily a direct service provider of primary care, specialized care, and related medical and social support services to veterans through an integrated health care system.
- Military Quality of Life/VA (House) and Military Construction/VA (Senate): FY2006 Appropriations
- The annual consideration of appropriations bills (regular, continuing, and supplemental) by Congress is part of a complex set of budget processes that also encompasses the consideration of budget resolutions, revenue and debt-limit legislation, other spending measures, and reconciliation bills. In addition, the operation of programs and the spending of appropriated funds are subject to constraints established in authorizing statutes. Congressional action on the budget for a fiscal year usually begins following the submission of the President’s budget at the beginning of each annual session of Congress. Congressional practices governing the consideration of appropriations and other budgetary measures are rooted in the Constitution, the standing rules of the House and Senate, and statutes, such as the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974.
- Military Quality of Life/VA (House) and Military Construction/VA (Senate): FY2006 Appropriations
- The structure of the Committees on Appropriations underwent significant change with the beginning of the 109th Congress. As a result, jurisdictions over the appropriations covered in this report, including military construction, military housing allowances, military installation maintenance and operation, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and other veteran-related agencies, rest in the House Committee on Appropriations with the new Subcommittee on Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs
- Military Health Care: The Issue of "Promised" Benefits
- No Description Available.
- Military Benefits for Former Spouses: Legislation and Policy Issues
- This report discusses the Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act (USFSPA), which treats military personnel former spouses eligibility to receive certain military benefits or privileges.
- Veterans Benefits Issues in the 109th Congress
- This report presents a brief overview of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) programs for veterans as well as some of the issues that have been or likely will be subjects of congressional attention during the 109th Congress. In particular, it outlines the veterans benefits provisions that have seen legislative action. Issues concerning the Veterans Health Administration and health care issues are discussed in a companion report, CRS Report RL32961, Veterans’ Health Care Issues in the 109th Congress, by Sidath Viranga Panangala.
- Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues
- Report on the military retirement system, including benefits, recent developments, key elements and issues, political climate, and more.
- Military Medical Care Services: Questions and Answers
- Report on the military health services system, including recent developments, background context, purpose and structure of the MHSS, beneficiaries, and more.
- Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues
- No Description Available.
- Agent Orange: Veterans' Complaints Concerning Exposure to Herbicides in South Vietnam
- From 1962 to 1971, the United States Air Force (USAF) sprayed various herbicide mixtures (chemicals that kill plants) in South Vietnam. The purpose of the spraying was to defoliate jungle growth to deprive the Communist forces of ground cover, and to destroy enemy crops to restrict food supplies. The most extensively used of these herbicide mixtures was known as Agent Orange, a 50:50 mix of two common herbicides called 1,4,5-T and 2,4-D (2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid). The third chemical present in the mixture in small amounts was TCDD, an inevitable by-product of the manufacture of 2,4,5-T. This chemical, called tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin or simply "dioxin," is highly toxic to laboratory animals when administered in its pure form. CRS has been unable to locate any report of a human death from exposure to pure TCDD. This report discusses the human health effects that have occurred from exposure to TCDD, as well as related Congressional concerns.
- Veterans' Medical Care: FY2007 Appropriations
- No Description Available.
- Military Construction, Military Quality of Life and Veterans' Affairs, FY2007 Appropriations
- This report is a guide to one of the regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs and Senate Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittees. It summarizes the status of the bill, its scope, major issues, funding levels, and related congressional activity, and is updated as events warrant.
- Periods of War
- No Description Available.
- Veterans' Benefits Issues in the 109th Congress
- This report presents a brief overview of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) programs for veterans as well as some of the issues that have been or likely will be subjects of congressional attention during the 109th Congress. In particular, it outlines the veterans benefits provisions that have seen legislative action. Issues concerning the Veterans Health Administration and health care issues are discussed in a companion report, CRS Report RL32961, Veterans’ Health Care Issues in the 109th Congress, by Sidath Viranga Panangala.
- Military Construction, Military Quality of Life and Veterans' Affairs, FY2007 Appropriations
- This report is a guide to one of the regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs and Senate Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittees. It summarizes the status of the bill, its scope, major issues, funding levels, and related congressional activity, and is updated as events warrant.
- Military Construction, Military Quality of Life and Veterans' Affairs, FY2007 Appropriations
- This report is a guide to one of the regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs and Senate Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittees. It summarizes the status of the bill, its scope, major issues, funding levels, and related congressional activity, and is updated as events warrant.
- Department of Veteran Affairs: Information Security and Information Technology Management Reorganization
- On May 3, 2006, the home of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) data analyst was burglarized, resulting in the theft of a laptop computer and an external data storage device that was reported to contain personal information on more than 26 million veterans and United States military personnel. The VA Secretary testified that he was not informed of the incident until May 16, 2006, almost two weeks after the data had been stolen. VA publicly announced the theft on May 22. On June 29, VA announced that the stolen laptop computer and external hard drive had been recovered intact and that, based on a forensic examination conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the files on the external hard drive had not been compromised.
- Veterans' Benefits Issues in the 109th Congress
- This report presents a brief overview of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) programs for veterans as well as some of the issues that have been or likely will be subjects of congressional attention during the 109th Congress. In particular, it outlines the veteran's benefits provisions that have seen legislative action. Issues concerning the Veterans Health Administration and health care issues are discussed in a companion report, CRS Report RL32961, Veterans’ Health Care Issues in the 109th Congress, by Sidath Viranga Panangala.
- The Workforce Investment Act (WIA): Program-by-Program Overview and FY2007 Funding of Title I Training Programs
- Title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) (P.L. 105-220) authorizes several job training programs, including Youth, Adult, and Dislocated Worker Activities, Job Corps, the Native American Program, the Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Program, and the Veterans’ Workforce Investment Program. This report briefly summarizes each WIA program, the FY2007 budget request, and for comparison, the FY2006 appropriation (P.L. 109-149).
- The Workforce Investment Act (WIA): Program-by-Program Overview and FY2007 Funding of Title I Training Programs
- Title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) (P.L. 105-220) authorizes several job training programs, including Youth, Adult, and Dislocated Worker Activities, Job Corps, the Native American Program, the Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Program, and the Veterans’ Workforce Investment Program. This report briefly summarizes each WIA program, the FY2007 budget request, and for comparison, the FY2006 appropriation (P.L. 109-149).
- Veterans' Benefits Issues in the 109th Congress
- This report presents a brief overview of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) programs for veterans as well as some of the issues that have been or likely will be subjects of congressional attention during the 109th Congress. In particular, it outlines the veterans benefits provisions that have seen legislative action.
- Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues
- The military retirement system includes benefits for retirement after an active or reserve military career, disability retirement, and survivor benefits for eligible survivors of deceased retirees. The change to the system that has generated the most recent legislative activity involves whether some or all military retirees should be allowed to receive both military retired pay and any VA disability compensation to which they are otherwise entitled; this is referred to as "concurrent receipt." Starting in 1999 (FY2000), provisions in each year's annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) authorized payments to comparatively small groups (in the tens of thousands) of military retirees in lieu of concurrent receipt. The most significant military retirement issue Congress dealt with in 2005 was whether military retirees with a 100% VA unemployability rating, but less than a 100% disability rating, should be entitled to full concurrent receipt as was provided to 100% disability retirees in 2004.
- Memorials: Creating National, State, and Local Memorials
- This report provides information on the mandatory steps to building a memorial on federal property in the District of Columbia. It also provides information on creating memorials in Arlington National Cemetery, within the Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery System, and in state veterans' cemeteries. In addition, it discusses public and private initiatives at the state and local levels to create memorials including successful local fund-raising efforts.
- U.S. Periods of War
- Many wars or conflicts in U.S. history have federally designated "periods of war," dates marking their beginning and ending. These dates are important for qualification for certain veterans' pension or disability benefits. This report lists the beginning and ending dates for "periods of war" found in Title 38 of the Code of Federal Regulations, dealing with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). It also lists and differentiates other beginning dates given in declarations of war, as well as termination of hostilities' dates and armistice and ending dates given in proclamations, laws, or treaties.
- Unemployment Compensation (Insurance) and Military Service
- The Unemployment Compensation (UC) program contains several provisions relevant to current and former military service personnel and their families. The UC program does not provide benefits for military servicemembers on active duty. However, former active duty military personnel (and certain reservists) separated from active duty may be eligible for Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers (UCX). Spouses of military service personnel who voluntarily quit a job to accompany their spouses on account of a military transfer may be eligible for UC benefits, based on the laws of the state where the civilian spouse was employed. States may choose to create provisions that remove or limit these tax increases in certain situations.
- Veterans Affairs: Historical Budget Authority, Fiscal Years 1940 through 2007
- Budget authority -- the amount of money a federal department or agency can spend or obligate to spend by law -- for veterans' benefits and services has increased significantly since FY1940. The increases over time have reflected the impact of increases in the number of veterans as the result of wars and other conflicts, the aging of the veteran population, and changes in benefits and services provided for veterans. This report provides information on the historical budget authority of the Department of Veterans Affairs (formerly the Veterans Administration) for FY1940 through FY2007.
- Veterans Benefits: An Overview
- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offers a wide range of benefits and services to eligible veterans, members of their families, and survivors of deceased veterans. VA programs include disability compensation and pensions, readjustment benefits, and health care programs. The VA also provides life insurance, burial benefits, housing and other loan guaranty programs, and special counseling and outreach programs. While eligibility for specific benefits varies, veterans generally must meet requirements related to discharge type and length of active duty military service. This report provides an overview of major VA benefits and the VA budget.
- Veterans and Homelessness
- The current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have brought renewed attention to the needs of veterans, including the needs of homeless veterans. As the number of veterans increases due to the current wars, there is concern that the number of homeless veterans could rise commensurately. The current economic downturn also has raised concerns that homelessness could increase among all groups, including veterans. Several issues regarding veterans and homelessness have become prominent, in part because of the current conflicts, which this report discusses in detail.
- Military Retirement and Veterans' Compensation: Concurrent Receipt Issues
- This report describes the history and background of the offset and the legislative history of recent attempts to eliminate or reduce the offset. It delineates and analyzes the arguments for and against eliminating or reducing the offset and allowing concurrent receipt, and addresses the issues of costs, precedents in other Federal programs, purposes of the two programs, and equity issues. Finally, options other than full concurrent receipt are mentioned.
- Veterans' Benefits: Pension Benefit Programs
- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) administers several pension benefit programs for veterans as well as their surviving spouses and dependent children. The most current pension programs available (for those meeting the eligibility criteria on or after January 1, 1979) are the Improved Disability Pension for certain low-income veterans and the Improved Death Pension for certain low-income surviving spouses or children of veterans. There is also a special pension for Medal of Honor recipients. This report describes these programs, including the eligibility criteria and current benefit levels. This report will be updated as needed to reflect legislative activity and changes to benefits or eligibility requirements.