Written by Staff Writer Linda N. Weller
Vice President Joe Biden will sign a bill on Tuesday aimed at boosting resources for veterans, as well as updating the process to cope with mental health crises for servicemen and women returning from war.
The measure, H.R. 2083 — “Supporting Stronger Partnerships for Veteran Reconnection Act” — seeks to “enhance collaboration with veteran-serving entities” and will result in $40 million in new federal funds for improving the transition of former military personnel from active duty into civilian life, according to a statement from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“The bill will support the Army and Marine Corps through engagement with community leaders and national and international leaders to guide development of skills, readiness and capability, and to foster a model for bringing veterans home,” according to the statement.
The vice president will sign the bill during a ceremony at the White House on Tuesday afternoon.
The bill is one of 11 veterans bills being signed into law, according to the White House.
Another law, H.R. 2605, will significantly streamline the recovery process for veterans who have been treated for the effects of Agent Orange. Agent Orange is a type of herbicide that was sprayed on Vietnam battlefields during the 1960s and 1970s, according to CNN.
The Defense Department now has a “contract with all three communities to allow service members to return home with disability pensions that match the civilian economy’s recovery path.”
Biden had also signed the “New VistA” in July 2015, an overhaul of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ electronic medical records system.
“This has been an incredible accomplishment for our veterans, as well as one of the most significant reforms to veterans’ health care since the creation of the VA,” Biden said in a statement at the time.