HR2638

Capitol Hill Watch | House Passes More Than $630B Continuing Resolution 09/25/08. The House on Wednesday voted 370-58 to approve a more than $630 billion continuing resolution (HR 2638) that would fund at current levels the budgets of most Cabinet departments and federal agencies until March 6, 2009, the New York Times reports (Hulse/Pear, New York Times, 9/25). The CR also includes the fiscal year 2009 Military Construction-Veterans Affairs appropriations bill and two other FY 2009 spending bills (Taylor, AP/Houston Chronicle, 9/24). Kaisernetwork.org

Electronic Health Records

Defense to re-engineer electronic health record system 09/24/08. The Defense Department has laid the groundwork for a radical shift in the way it processes and stores soldiers’ and veterans’ electronic health records, planning to re-engineer a system a network it spent $6 billion and eight years developing in-house for one based on industry standards, commercial software and re-use of existing code that will serve Defense and the Veterans Affairs Department, top officials told Nextgov

Veterans with ALS

VA To Provide Full Benefits for All Veterans With ALS 09/24/08. The Department of Veterans Affairs on Tuesday announced that all veterans with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, will receive full disability, lifetime health and death benefits, a move that effectively acknowledges a general link between the condition and military service, the New York Times reports. According to VA, all veterans with ALS will qualify for disability benefits, regardless of when or where they served. Kaisernetwork

Mild TBI Rate Increase

VA To Increase Benefits for Veterans With Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries 09/23/08. The Department of Veterans Affairs on Monday announced it will substantially increase disability benefits for veterans with mild traumatic brain injuries, USA Today reports. Compensation payments now will be as much as $600 per month, compared with the $117 veterans with symptoms including headaches, dizziness, sensitivity to light, ringing in the ears, irritability and insomnia currently receive. The new payments, which will begin in 30 days, will affect between 3,500 and 5,000 veterans annually. VA estimates the added benefits will cost an additional $120 million through 2017. Kaisernetwork.org

Veterans Journal

GSA steering contract work to disabled vets’ businesses 09/22/08. The Veterans Entrepreneurship Task Force (VET-Force) recently became the first veterans group to sign an agreement with the General Services Administration to bolster the federal agency’s efforts to spend 3 percent of its procurement dollars on companies owned by service-disabled veterans. Veterans Journal via Projo.com

Journal of Rehabilitation Research & Development

Volume 45, Number 5, 2008 09/22/08. Cochlear Implants Single-Topic Issue. JRRD