In an Oval Office ceremony held today, President Bush signed H.R. 2297, the Veterans Benefits Act of 2003, a bill composed of 7 titles with 39 substantive provisions, authored by Congressmen Chris Smith (NJ-4), Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.  All totaled, the new law authorizes $1 billion over the next ten years for new and expanded benefits for disabled veterans, surviving spouses, and children.

    With this bill signing, and three bills to be signed in the next several weeks, a total of 14 new laws will have been authored by Congressman Chris Smith and signed by President Bush since he took office at the beginning of 2001.

    Within the next several weeks, President Bush will also sign another important veterans bill authored by Chairman Smith – H.R. 100, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act – legislation that will help lessen personal financial and legal burdens servicemembers and their loved ones may face at home while they are on active duty in Iraq, Afghanistan, or other locations around the world. 

    “The Veterans Benefits Act provides significant new support to veterans, particularly to disabled veterans, their surviving spouses, and children,” Chairman Smith said.  “For example, my legislation increases federal grants used to adapt homes and automobiles for the use of severely disabled veterans,” he said.

    “For disabled veterans who own or want to start a small business, this new law requires federal agencies and departments to give special consideration during federal contracting and procurement.  In 2002, disabled veteran-owned firms received only 0.13% in federal contracts, even though there is a 3% statutory goal,” Smith said.  “In addition, veterans, disabled veterans, and their dependents are now be able to use their veterans educational benefits to cover self-employment training and entrepreneurship courses.”

    “Educational benefits provided to widows and children of veterans who are totally disabled or who died from service-related causes have been increased. Furthermore, for those widows of veterans who died of service-related causes, my legislation allows them to remarry later in life without suffering the loss of survivor benefits,” he added.

    As enacted, H.R. 2297, the Veterans Benefits Act of 2003: 

• Allows VA to provide specially adapted housing grant to severely disabled servicemembers prior to their separation from active duty service.
  
• Increases the specially adapted automobile grant from $9,000 to $11,000, and increase the specially adapted housing grants from $48,000 to $50,000 for the most severely disabled veterans and from $9,250 to $10,000 for less severely disabled veterans.
  
• Restores dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC), home loan, education, and burial benefit eligibility for spouses remarried after age 57. 
  
• Increases monthly educational benefits for spouses and dependent children of disabled veterans from $695 to $788 for full-time study, from $522 to $592 for three-quarter time study, and from $347 to $394 for half-time study.
  
• Expands benefits eligibility to children with spina bifida who were born to certain Vietnam-era veterans who served in Korea near the demilitarized zone.
  
• Allows the surviving spouse or dependent children to receive the full amount of accrued benefits if the veteran dies while their claim is still pending.
  
• Eliminates the 30-day requirement for POWs to qualify for presumptions of service-connection for certain disabilities:  psychosis, any of the anxiety states, dysthymic disorder, organic residuals of frostbite, and post-traumatic osteoarthritis.
  
• Provides full compensation and DIC to members of the new Philippine Scouts if the individual resides in the United States as a citizen or permanent resident.  Also extends eligibility for burial in a national cemetery.
  
• Expands the Montgomery GI Bill program to cover self-employment training programs of less than six months and entrepreneurship courses at approved institutions.
  
• Allows federal agencies to create “sole-source” contracts for disabled veteran-owned small businesses – up to $5 million for manufacturing contract awards and up to $3 million for non-manufacturing contract awards.
  
• Allows federal agencies to restrict certain contracts to disabled veteran-owned small businesses if at least two such concerns are qualified to bid on the contract.
  
• Mandates that the Department of Labor place staff in veterans’ assistance offices at overseas military installations 90 days after date of enactment.     

    “H.R. 2297 is another important step towards ensuring that our Nation continues to honor and care for veterans who have suffered as a result of their service, as well as their surviving family members.  For the brave men and women who have defended and continue to defend our freedom, nothing less will do,” Smith said