WASHINGTON, DC – Area Congressman Lloyd Smucker has reintroduced two pieces of legislation to support our nation’s veterans. The VA Billing Accountability Act would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to set specific and clear billing requirements, so veterans do not receive outdated co-payments from the VA. The measure authorizes the VA to waive the requirement that a veteran make co-payments for medication, hospital care, nursing home care, and medical services if an error committed by the VA caused delaying co-payments notification to the veteran; and the veteran received such notification more than 180 days after the date on which they received care or services. The second measure, the Home for the Brave Act would exempt veterans’ disability benefits from counting toward total income when determining their eligibility for housing assistance programs through the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Financial benefits for service-connected disabilities are currently counted as income when determining eligibility for housing assistance programs through HUD. As a result, many veterans are ineligible for such housing programs because their disability benefits are placing them at a higher income level. Other agencies, including the IRS, do not consider veterans benefits for service-connected disabilities income.
REP. LLOYD SMUCKER