GREAT FALLS – U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) visited Great Falls on Friday, stopping at the VFW to discuss the new VA MISSION Act, one he says will be much more helpful to veterans than the previous “Choice Bill.”
MISSION is an acronym for “Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks.”
A number of veterans participated in the forum to learn more about the legislation that was signed into law on June 6th.
Tester said that the bill will do a number of things, but most importantly, get more veterans into the VA Program and get them the medical help they need.
One incentive will be that it will help recruit more doctors and nurses and expand the caregiver program, and even provide moving expenses.
In the past, a veteran was only eligible for a caregiver program if they served after 9/11. But now this bill will expand to help all veterans of any era, including Vietnam vets and Korean vets.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
White House statement on President Trump’s signing of the bill into law
Full text of the MISSION Act
The national VFW said in a press release:
The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. thanks President Donald Trump for signing the VA MISSION Act. The VFW was on hand as President Trump signed the VA MISSION Act of 2018 into law at the White House on June 6, 2018. The VA MISSION Act was the result of a bipartisan and bicameral effort led by Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Sen. Johnny Isakson, Ranking Member Sen. Jon Tester and House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Rep. Phil Roe. The legislation passed in the House on May 16 with a vote of 347-70. The Senate passed the bill on May 23 with a vote of 92-5.
“President Trump signaled his support for this bill early on in the process which shows that he puts veterans before politics,” said Keith Harman, national commander of the 1.7-million member VFW and its Auxiliary. “This historic legislation will help our veterans get the care they earned when they joined the military.”
Reporting by Elizabeth Transue for MTN News
