Two bills focus on veterans matters

U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., introduced two bills last week dealing with veterans-related matters.

One addresses Veterans Affairs Home Loan Guaranty Program fees that were improperly collected from disabled veterans. The fees aren’t supposed to be collected from veterans who qualify for VA disability compensation. Nonetheless, the fees were collected from 72,900 such veterans — $286.4 million in all, Boozman has said, citing the VA Office of Inspector General.

Thus far, 53,000 people have not received refunds. The total amount outstanding is $189 million.

The legislation, if approved, would require Veterans Affairs to provide Congress with a plan for identifying those who are owed money and a timeline for repaying it.

The lawmaker from Rogers is working with U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., to secure passage of the legislation.

The two senators have also teamed up on another bill, aimed at expanding access to training for those overseeing federally funded state VA cemeteries.

Currently, the National Cemetery Administration provides free training at its national training center in St. Louis. However, the VA doesn’t cover travel costs to the site, a barrier for financially strapped state and tribal entities.

If approved, travel costs would be classified as an allowable expense, enabling existing grant programs to cover them, Boozman’s office said in a news release.

“Making it easier for cemetery personnel to learn the procedures and nationwide standards is commonsense so we can honor the men and women who served our country in uniform with the tribute they deserve,” Boozman said.

Planning to visit the nation’s capital? Know something happening in Washington, D.C.? Please contact Frank Lockwood at (202) 662-7690 or flockwood@arkansasonline.com. Want the latest from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Washington bureau? It’s available on Twitter, @LockwoodFrank.