APPENDIX ADDITIONAL Material SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD STATEMENT OF SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN Mr. Chairman, I thank you and commend you for convening today's oversight hearing on the subject of Native American Veterans. Each of us meets with Indian veterans in our home states, and each of us tries to provide assistance to them on specific issues at their request. What today's hearing will provide, however, is a systematic review of issues facing Indian veterans and a report from the agencies on how they are addressing those issues. By the testimony we will hear today, we will know better whether a problem faced by an Indian veteran is his alone, or represents a problem that is widely shared. Just last week I received a letter from a 69-year old Army veteran who is a White Mountain Apache living in Cibicue, Arizona, whose problems may be illustrative. In his letter, this veteran said that the Veterans' Administration told him his health problem needed to be "service related" in order to provide his assistance, so he wrote for his medical records. The VA replied that his records were apparently destroyed in a fire and could not be reconstructed. (35) He went on: "This situation "My question," he said, "is how does a veteran prove he has a service related disability when the records, which would tend to show such, were in the control of the government and since have either been lost or destroyed?" He continues: would be hard enough for a healthy vet, but in situations such as mine, where the vet lives in an isolated community (VA rep comes once a month), is elderly, has difficulty communicating, dealing with the Veterans' Administration becomes almost impossible." This Indian veteran also informed me that he understands that some money may be due him from his GI insurance, but that he has been unable to learn any more than that. He says, "The problem is that every time I try to explain to a VA representative, either they don't understand me or they tell me that I have to talk with someone else." I recognize, Mr. Chairman, that every large organization may have among its employees some who are not as helpful as they should be. But I have quoted from this veteran's letter because I think it identifies some problems failures in communications of other Indian veterans. - such as remoteness of location and This we will learn as we hear from tribal representatives on We will also learn of the steps that the VA is taking to meet the special needs of Native American veterans. I have great respect for Secretary Derwinski and the leadership he is giving to many issues, and I am looking forward to the department's testimony as well. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. STATEMENT OF SENATOR FRANK H. MURKOWSKI Mr. Chairman, I think it is good that you determined to convene this hearing of the Select Committee on issues affecting Native American veterans and the efforts of the Department of Veterans Affairs and other agencies to address those issues. As the ranking member of the Veterans Affairs Committee, I have become increasingly aware of the special needs that exist among Native American veterans, and by holding this hearing you provide members of the Select Committee an opportunity for its members to obtain additional information on the issues. A bill which the Veterans Affairs Committee reported and the Senate passed this session includes several provisions which are specifically related to Native American veterans, and you will hear more about them today. They include a reauthorization of the VA Advisory Committee on Native American Veterans, a requirement that an Assistant Secretary take responsibility minority issues, including Native veteran issues, and provisions for outreach to veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorders, and to meet Native Veteran housing needs. Since the bill is now subject of a Senate-House conference, I am unable to say what the final form of these provisions will f be, but, by inserting these provisions, the Veterans' Affairs Committee was undertaking to be responsive to the concerns it has heard expressed. Among Alaska Natives, as with other Native Americans, it is clear that there is a continuing need for information about VA benefits and programs. Accordingly, I am looking forward to the the Department's testimony with regard to outreach efforts that are taking place under the leadership of Secretary Derwinski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. |