ICYMI: Murkowski, Schatz Reintroduce Legislation to Help Veterans with Disabilities
Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) reintroduced the Deliver for Veterans Act. This legislation expands an existing Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) grant program to allow the funds awarded to a veteran to acquire an adapted vehicle to also be used to cover the cost of shipping the vehicle to where it’s needed.
“Our veterans in rural Alaska, deserve the same access to the specialized grant programs and services that they would get if they lived elsewhere in the country,” said Senator Murkowski. “There is a significant financial burden associated with transporting a car to many of the rural communities around Alaska. As the state with the highest number of veterans per capita, I want those with disabilities living in Alaska to be able to benefit from the VA’s many excellent programs. Ensuring that they can affordably transport handicapped-modified vehicles to their homes is an important step.”
“Disabled veterans deserve access to every benefit they have earned – regardless of where they live,” said Senator Schatz. “Our bill is about basic fairness and will help disabled veterans in Hawai‘i and other isolated areas receive the specialized vehicles they need to go about their daily lives.”
At present, the program provides eligible veterans with a stipend of $26,417.20 to purchase or modify accessible vehicles. However, those funds cannot be used to ship their vehicles, making it exceedingly difficult for veterans to acquire these vehicles in Alaska and Hawaii. The Deliver for Veterans Act would amend the grant program to allow coverage of these additional costs.
###
