Veterans' Rights

Ortiz arranged for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a new, VA-staffed clinic in Harlingen in partnership with the Regional Academic Health Center (RAHC). The new clinic will offer specialty care and primary care, eventually offering in-patient services by contract to serve approximately 3,000 veterans by 2006.

Ortiz supported a bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, the Veterans Health Care Facilities Capital Improvement Act, which included a requirement that the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) develop a plan for an inpatient facility for veterans in South Texas by April 15, 2004.

Ortiz hosted the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (DVA) Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans at a public meeting at the University of Texas Brownsville, for veterans, and organizations representing veterans, to voice their concerns, challenges and/or success with using VA benefits and services in South Texas.

Ortiz sponsored legislation, the Department of Veterans Affairs Claims Backlog Reduction Act of 2003, requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) to refer backlogged claims to the nearest County Veterans Service Officer (CVSO).

Ortiz and Dave Hobson (R-OH, a senior member of the Defense and VA-HUD Appropriations Subcommittees) introduced legislation to create a veterans hospital in South Texas and in Ohio.

Ortiz supported the Veterans' Memorial Preservation & Recognition Act, S 330: making it a crime, punishable by fines and up to 10 years in prison, for anyone convicted of defacing, or attempting to deface, any monument on federal property commemorating the service of any person in the U.S. armed forces.

Ortiz supported legislation giving VA and DOD executive committee the authority to investigate ways to share resources and information.

Ortiz supported allowing VA to annually (Dec. 1) adjust the disability, dependency and indemnity compensation equal to the cost-of-living provided under the Social Security Act cost-of-living adjustment, giving veterans the same COLA provided to Social Security recipients.

Ortiz supported legislation lowering loan fees for reservists.

Ortiz won important victories for the South Texas area in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) South Texas Veterans Health Care System, including:

• Relocating the Corpus Christi VA clinic to an area adjacent to CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi-Memorial
• DVA will contract ten in-patient beds from CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi-Memorial. The 10 beds will be available sometime in 2005.
• VA will continue and expand the DoD/VA partnership with NASCC
• Ten hospital beds in the Rio Grande Valley area will be contracted in 2005. DVA will lease 10,000 square feet of space for a clinic with Valley Baptist in Harlingen. This arrangement will be operational by fall, 2004.
• DVA has an agreement with RAHC when the second building is complete in 3-4 years to lease 30,000 square feet for a VA clinic. The proximity to the medical school will allow for specialty care clinics.

Ortiz won passage in the House of a bill authorizing the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to lease medical facilities in several locations around the country, including:

• $650,000 for one in Harlingen and
• $1,200,000 for one in Corpus Christi.

Ortiz supported a bill to authorize a Veterans COLA that requires each such increase to be the same percentage as the increase in benefits provided under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act, on the same effective date.

Ortiz held enormously successful summits for Veterans in the Rio Grande Valley and the Coastal Bend.

Ortiz joined with many members of the House in signing a “discharge petition” to force the House to consider a bill to increase funding for veterans hospital services and other services.

Ortiz supported a bill to create grants to expand or modify existing comprehensive service programs for homeless veterans in the following areas: outreach, rehabilitative services, vocational counseling and training, and transitional housing.

Ortiz supported a bill congratulating and commending the Veterans of Foreign Wars to: recognize the historic significance of the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (the VFW); to congratulate the VFW on achieving that milestone; to commend the approximately 2,000,000 veterans who belong to the VFW and thanks them for their service to their fellow veterans and the Nation; and to call on the President to issue a proclamation recognizing the anniversary of the VFW.

Ortiz supported a bill expressing the sense of Congress that a minute of silence should be observed annually at 11 a.m. on Veterans Day, November 11, in honor of the veterans of all U.S. wars and to memorialize those members of the Armed Forces who gave their lives in the defense of the US.