James Taylor's dashboard

The House approved "The American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act" (H.R. 3221) this week and the Senate is scheduled to debate the measure tomorrow (Saturday, 26 July). The President dropped objections to the bill and is expected to sign it in order to reassure the housing markets. Included in the comprehensive bill are provisions directly related to military retirees, veterans, and active duty personnel that include:

# Amending the Service Members Civil Relief Act (SCRA) to increase from 90 days to nine months protection against mortgage foreclosure proceedings until December 31, 2010;
# Increasing VA loan guarantees until 1 January 2009;
# Prohibiting a public housing authority from using Base Allowance Housing (BAH) compensation when determining eligibility for public housing for active duty families;
# Requiring DoD to implement a program to advise service members who are returning from active duty abroad on actions to prevent or forestall mortgage foreclosures;
# Extending the SCRA six-percent interest rate limitation for one year (currently 90 days) beyond the period of military service if the debt is a mortgage, trust deed, or other security in the nature of a mortgage;
# Authorizing the VA to furnish improvements and structural alterations to the home of service members who are hospitalized or receiving outpatient medical care for a permanent service-connected disability if the service member is determined likely to be discharged or released from the Armed Forces for the disability; and
# Stipulating pay and allowances for transportation of baggage and household effects for service members who relocate from leased or rental housing due to foreclosure.

Rep. Bob Filner (Calif.), Chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, hosted a press conference this week to announce introduction of the "Agent Orange Equity Act" (H.R. 6562). The FRA-supported measure seeks to reverse the VA's policy that prevents "blue water" military retirees and veterans from claiming disability benefits for diseases associated with exposure to Agent Orange.

Many Navy veterans who served off the coast of Vietnam, so-called "blue water" veterans, have health problems commonly associated with herbicide exposure, but have endured lengthy legal struggles to prove these problems are service-related. The bill is in response to a recent court ruling that the VA's definition of "service in the Republic of Vietnam" (which includes only those who set foot in, served on inland waterways or put into port in Vietnam) should remain the standard for proving exposure. This definition, used by VA for more than a decade, excludes veterans who served off the coast of Vietnam. The new legislation would allow service members who served in the surrounding waters off the coast of Vietnam and in the skies above to file a claim for exposure to Agent Orange.

FRA expressed its opposition to blue-water restrictions when it testified before the House and Senate VA Committees in April, and encourages shipmates to use the FRA Action Center (www.fra.org) to ask their representative to support the bill.

Stalled legislation may make some progress next week, with the scheduled markup of the FY 2009 Defense appropriations bill and the Military Construction/VA appropriations bills. The senior appropriators in both parties have agreed to put both measures on the President's desk for signature before the start of the 2009 fiscal year (1 October 2008). It is widely expected that many of the other ten FY 2009 annual spending bills will not be passed by Congress this calendar year due to significant disagreements between House and Senate leadership and the White House. As a result, passage of FY 2009 appropriations bills will probably be delayed until after the November elections and possibly until after the next administration is sworn in on 20 January 2009. A Continuing Resolution (CR) is required to keep the government funded at FY 2008 levels until new spending bills are enacted into law.

FRA closely monitors the appropriations process, particularly these two funding bills that impact compensation and benefits for active, Reserve and retired personnel, and veterans. Of particular importance are proposed drastic military retiree TRICARE fee increases and Wounded Warrior provisions enacted in the FY 2008 Defense Authorization, along with adequate funding for the Defense and VA Health Programs.