BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1127|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1127
Author: Oropeza (D)
Amended: 5/18/10
Vote: 21
SENATE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE : 4-0, 4/13/10
AYES: Denham, Correa, Negrete McLeod, Cedillo
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wyland, Vacancy, Vacancy
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Veterans: ailments from various conflicts:
information to
family members
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires the Department of Veterans
Affairs (DVA) to make available to family members of
veterans returning from active duty user friendly Internet
resources that provide information on the signs of
pertinent ailments from various conflicts, and printed
material regarding those ailments at any public function of
the DVA.
ANALYSIS :
This bill:
1. Requires the DVA to make available to family members of
CONTINUED
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veterans returning from active duty user friendly
Internet resources that provide information on the signs
of pertinent ailments from various conflicts, including,
but not limited to, all of the following:
A. Exposure to Agent Orange and post-traumatic stress
disorder from the Vietnam War.
B. Exposure to depleted uranium and Gulf War Syndrome
from Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert
Storm.
C. Traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress
disorder from Operation Enduring Freedom and
Operation Iraqi Freedom.
2. Stipulates that the Internet resources shall provide
links to the appropriate agency or person that may help
the family members of the veteran address any issues
arising from these ailments.
3. Requires printed material regarding these ailments to be
available at any public function of the DVA.
Comments
According to the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee
analysis, returning war veterans can often have problems
reintegrating to society. In the modern era, American
society witnessed the problem of reintegration in the early
1980s when it was discovered that many of the people on
skid row were Vietnam Veterans with Post Traumatic Stress
Syndrome, now known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD). Traditionally it is the Federal Government's
responsibility to take care of veterans, but as more and
more unseen ailments such as PTSD and Traumatic Brain
Injury are affecting veterans who are being discharged
without diagnosis and without notification to the federal
Veterans' Administration (VA).
As a result of unseen and undiagnosed ailments these
veterans then fall through the cracks of the VA health
system and land on county mental health systems, which
according to the funding in that county, may or may not
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cover that particular ailment.
When these conditions go untreated some veterans turn to
drugs and alcohol and can often lose what few benefits they
have. The loss of these benefits only continues the
downward spiral. When veterans return home undiagnosed and
outside of the VA system, their family is often the only
asset left to help get these veterans help.
This bill requires the DVA to make this information
available to family members of veterans returning from
active duty.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/18/10)
American Legion, Department of California
AMVETS, Department of California
Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council
TSM:mw 5/18/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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