WASHINGTON, D.C., November 23, 1998 -- Following a White House breakfast on Veterans Day, the Veterans of Foreign Wars' Commander in Chief, Thomas A. Pouliot witnessed President Clinton sign into law the VFW-backed Veterans Programs Enhancement Act, H.R. 4110.

The new law improves the benefits and services available to our nation's veterans, particularly the men and women who served in the Persian Gulf War. The bill extends existing authority for providing priority health care to men and women from the Persian Gulf War through December 31, 2001.

VFW Commander in Chief Thomas A. Pouliot of Helena, Mont. said, "We owe a debt of gratitude to our men and women who sacrificed so much for our country. As a nation, we must take responsibility to ensure that all veterans receive the best quality care that they so dearly deserve."

Since 1991, the Veterans of Foreign Wars has been in the forefront of effort to ensure that Persian Gulf War veterans receive the medical benefits and service they rightfully deserve.

In signing the measure the President reaffirmed the bill will help unify efforts by the Departments of Veterans Affairs (VA), Defense, and Health and Human Services, with the help of independent scientific organizations, to study and treat veterans' illnesses in a scientifically sound and effective manner.

"Our experience with the Gulf War demonstrated that we were not adequately prepared to deal with the health consequences resulting from a large-scale combat deployment in the unique environment our soldiers faced," Clinton wrote in a memo to his secretaries of Defense, Veterans Affairs and Health and Human Services.

The bill also provides increased assistance to certain veterans with terminal illnesses by allowing them to receive a portion of their life insurance benefits as "living benefits," helping them to meet medical and living expenses during their time of special need.

Also included in the bill are a number of provisions to help veterans reach their educational and employment goals by expanding veterans' options for entering on-the-job training programs and meeting requirements for Montgomery GI Bill benefits.

The VFW applauds the strong bipartisan spirit of cooperation that continues to be so evident in the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees. Once again the willingness of these lawmakers to set aside political differences and work together has resulted in the enactment into law of major legislation beneficial to America's veterans.

• basic military pay increase of 3.6% (VFW Res. 434, 437 and 621);
  
• imminent danger pay policy for Reservists now mandated at $150 per month (Res. 410);
  
• Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) three-year test, which would allow, beginning Jan.1, 2000, 66,000 Medicare-eligible military retirees in six to 10 areas across the country to participate in FEHBP under the same cost-sharing arrangements as all other federal employees (Res. 609);
  
• a new dental program will allow dependents of military retirees to enroll independently of the retiree (Res. 608 and 609);
  
• reform of the military pharmacy system requires the defense secretary to submit a plan to Congress by March 1, 1999, to incorporate private sector pharmacy "best practices" to provide all military beneficiaries, including those eligible for Medicare, a universal uniform pharmacy benefit (Res. 410, 608 and 609);
  
• survivor benefit plan will be paid up at age 70 and 30 years of payment starting Oct. 1, 2008 (Res 410);
  
• furnishing flags to families of deceased vets and former Reservists who served a minimum of one enlistment and were discharged under honorable conditions (Res. 410 and 626); and
  
• honor guard details -- consisting of at least three members of the active duty military or vets groups -- at military funerals will be provided for veterans funerals occurring after Dec. 31, 1999, contingent on approval of defense secretary's plan presented to Congress by March 15, 1999 (Res. 626).
  

"Our experience with the Gulf War demonstrated that we were not adequately prepared to deal with the health consequences resulting from a large-scale combat deployment in the unique environment our soldiers faced,"

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