Support Legislation for Women Veterans

by Danine Spencer · 2009-08-02 06:00:00 UTC
Topics:

On Monday, Jen wrote a great post on what you can do to support women veterans, including:

Support pending or new legislation for female veterans:

* Write letters
* Place phone calls to Congress
* Raise consciousness by blogging, tweeting, sharing the news with friends and family

To get you started, I've compiled a list of legislation already introduced in the current Congress.

1. S. 252 Veterans Health Care Authorization Act of 2009 which revises or adds provisions concerning Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) personnel matters  including provisions concerning women veterans health care. (You can read much more about the bill by clicking the bill name above.)

Current status: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders (7/24/09); Sponsor is Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman, Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI);

***Since this bill has been put on the legislative calendar and has Sen. Akaka's weight behind it, call/email/tweet your senator!

2. H.R. 1211/S. 597 Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act will expand and improve health care services available to women veterans, especially those serving in Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraqi), from the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.

Current status: House (H.R. 1211): Passed in House on June 23, 009; Sponsored by Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD). Senate (S. 597): Introduced in Senate on March 16, 2009, and sent to Veterans Affairs committee; Sponsored by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA)

3. H.R. 2583: Women Veterans Access to Care Act will direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to improve health care for women veterans, and for other purposes

Current status: Referred to House Committee on Veterans Affairs (5/21/09); Sponsored by Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-IA)

3. H.R. 293: Homeless Women Veterans and Homeless Veterans with Children Reintegration Grant Act of 2009 will expand the grant program for homeless veterans with special needs to include male homeless veterans with minor dependents and to establish a grant program for reintegration of homeless women veterans and homeless veterans with children, and for other purposes.

Current status: Introduced and referred to Veterans Affairs subcommittee on Health (1/9/09); Sponsored by Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN)

4. H.R. 1171: Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 Directs the Secretary of Labor to make grants to programs and facilities that provide dedicated services for homeless women veterans and homeless veterans with children.

Current Status: Passed House; Received in Senate and referred to Veterans Affairs Committee (3/31/09: Sponsored by Rep. John Boozman (R-AR)

5. S. 1237: Homeless Women Veterans and Homeless Veterans with Children Act of 2009 will expand the grant program for homeless veterans with special needs to include male homeless veterans with minor dependents and to establish a grant program for reintegration of homeless women veterans and homeless veterans with children, and for other purposes.

Current Status: Introduced in Senate and referred to Veterans Affairs Committee (6/11/09); Sponsored by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA)

6. H.R. 2559 Help Our Homeless Veterans Act: Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out a national media campaign targeted at veterans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, with special emphasis on such veterans who are women.

Current Status: Introduced in House and referred to the House Committee on Veterans Affairs (5/21/09); Sponsored by Rep. Phil Hare (D-IL)

7. H.R. 840: Military Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Act will reduce sexual assault and domestic violence involving members of the Armed Forces and their family members and partners through enhanced programs of prevention and deterrence, enhanced programs of victims services, and strengthened provisions for prosecution of assailants, and for other purposes.

Current status: Introduced and referred to House Judiciary subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security (3/16/09); Sponsored by Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY)

8. House Congressional Resolution 28 calls for the Secretary of Defense to develop a comprehensive strategy to increase and encourage investigation and prosecution of sexual assault and rape cases in the military.

Current status: Introduced and referred to House Armed Services subcommittee on Military Personnel (2/6/09); Sponsored by Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA)

OK, people. You've got your marching orders. You know what to do.

For more information on any of these bills or to do your own research, check out these sites:

Danine Spencer
PREVIOUS STORY:
Friday Femme Fatale: Iran, Valerie Jarrett & Video Game History
NEXT STORY:
LEGO Agrees to Meeting After 50,000 Denounce Selling Out Girls

COMMENTS (12)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.