Honoring All Veterans Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-1060
Sponsor: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT]
Introduced: 2011-05-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Congressional oversight
Department of Veterans Affairs
Disability and paralysis
Drug, alcohol, tobacco use
Education programs funding
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Employment and training programs
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Health personnel
Higher education
Judicial review and appeals
Mental health
Military education and training
Military personnel and dependents
Specialized courts
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Veterans' loans, housing, homeless programs
Veterans' medical care
Veterans' pensions and compensation

Summary:
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: 
Honoring All Veterans Act of 2011 - Increases, from 2,700 to 3,000 each fiscal year, the maximum number of participants in independent living and assistance programs for veterans with serious employment handicaps from certain service-connected disabilities and with respect to whom a vocational goal currently is not reasonably feasible.
 
 Authorizes veterans, during the one-year period after discharge or separation from service in the Armed Forces, to participate in the Transition Assistance Program of the Department of Defense (DOD).
 
Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), under specified conditions, to fund offices of veterans affairs at eligible institutions of higher learning for veterans' certification, outreach, recruitment, and special education programs.
 
Requires the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy to: (1) provide technical assistance to employers and entities in the workforce development system to help veterans with traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder obtain and retain employment; (2) receive referrals from specified reserve components, business organizations, and federal agencies; (3) conduct outreach through regional offices of the Department of Labor; and (4) establish an interagency working group with representatives of federal agencies with such programs.
 
Amends the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) to make permanent (currently, set to expire on December 31, 2012) specified extended protections for servicemembers relating to mortgages and foreclosures under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. (The HERA extended from 90 days to 9 months the period for staying proceedings, adjusting obligations, and prohibiting sales, foreclosures, and seizures of property.)
 
Revises provisions concerning payments for providing services for homeless veterans to direct the VA Secretary to annually adjust the rate of such payment to reflect anticipated changes in the cost of furnishing services and to take into account the cost of providing services in a particular geographic area. Directs the VA Secretary to make such payments quarterly, while requiring quarterly statements from recipients on amounts expended.
 
Directs the DOD and VA Secretaries to jointly: (1) establish a mental health care referral monitoring and reviewing mechanism for individuals identified as having a potential mental health condition during a DOD post deployment health assessment, and (2) develop a systemwide monitoring mechanism to address issues arising out of facilities and offices involved in the Integrated Disability Evaluation System.
 
Requires the rehabilitation plans for veterans or Armed Forces members receiving VA rehabilitative hospital care or medical services for a traumatic brain injury to include independent living programs for certain veterans and specified employment support services. 
 
Sets forth provisions authorizing: (1) professional and family counseling, training, and mental health services to immediate family of deployed Armed Forces members; (2) graduates of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Care Sciences to perform civilian service with VA community-based outpatient clinics and centers for readjustment counseling and related veterans' mental health services; and (3) disclosing information, subject to exceptions, about a veteran or a veteran's dependant to state controlled substance monitoring programs to prevent misuse and diversion of prescription medicines.
 
Specifies the circumstances under which a document shall be treated as a motion for reconsideration when a person adversely affected by a final decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals, who has not filed a notice of appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims within a specified period, files a document with the Board or the agency of original jurisdiction expressing disagreement with such decision.
 
Authorizes the Comptroller General and the DOD and VA Inspectors General to form an independent board to review the process by which Armed Forces members transition from the DOD to the VA for the receipt of benefits and services.
 
Increases to $31,305 the combined annual rate of pension for two married veterans meeting specified disability and service or age and service requirements when both such veterans need regular aid and attendance.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-06-08
text: Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 112-116.
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3341-3343)
action_date: 2011-05-25
text: Introduced in Senate