To make matters worse, the squabbling has delayed critical legislation to help returning veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

July 1941, President Roosevelt ordered the Commonwealth Army of the Philippines into military service under the U.S. Armed Forces in the Pacific theater. At the time, the Philippines were transitioning from a U.S. possession to independence. Hundreds of Filipino soldiers, scouts, and guerillas were killed and wounded in battle.

Originally, Filipino troops serving under U.S. command were afforded pay and veterans’ benefits. In 1946, however, Congress passed the Rescission Act which stripped Filipino veterans of any “rights, privileges, or benefits” under U.S. law. For more than 60 years, Filipino World War II service members have sought recognition as veterans who fought for the U.S. Many are living with physical and psychological disabilities as a direct result of their service. There are approximately 60,000 World War II-era Filipino veterans living in the U.S. and the Philippines. Their numbers are dwindling so rapidly due to age and illness that only 20,000 are expected to be living by 2010.

In his letter to congressional leaders, United Spinal Association President and CEO Paul J. Tobin urged the swift passage of H.R. 760 and S. 57, the Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2007, and S. 1315, the Veterans Benefits and Emoluments Act of 2007. The new laws would grant full recognition of the sacrifices that Filipino veterans made in the service of the U.S. during World War II by entitling them to VA health care, disability compensation, pensions, survivors’ benefits, and full burial benefits.

Expressing disappointment over the seemingly partisan opposition to the equity legislation, Tobin wrote that there is a “legal and moral compact between this nation and our defenders.” He called on Congress to do what is right. “We hope that all members of Congress are capable of rallying behind this just cause, and that they will refrain from holding our latest generation of veterans hostage by delaying important veterans benefits legislation in an attempt to block passage of legislation to assist Filipino veterans and their families,” Tobin concluded.

Ms. DeVere has more than 25 years of achievement as a successful entrepreneur focused on sales and marketing leadership, including 10 years developing web-based business solutions across diverse industries.

Ms. DeVere is president of AskPatty.com, Inc., a website that provides advice to women from an expert panel of women in the automotive industry about car buying, selling, repair, care, and safety.

Ms. DeVere also serves as President of the Women’s Automotive Association International, an organization that supports upcoming women race car drivers, diversity, and charitable giving, and provides scholarships for young women seeking careers in the automotive industry.

Ms. DeVere currently chairs the United Spinal Association Motorsports Committee, which encourages people with disabilities, including persons who use adaptive automotive equipment, to participate in competitive motorsports. This committee also cultivates partnerships within the motorsports industry to raise awareness about spinal cord injuries and disorders.

“Supporting the United Spinal Association has become a personal passion for me due to my son’s spinal cord injury in 2005 and diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis in 2000,” stated Jody DeVere. “The many United Spinal Association services, educational programs and opportunities to improve the quality of life for those with spinal cord injuries or disorders have truly made a huge difference in our own lives personally. It is an honor and a privilege to serve in my new role as a member of the board of directors.”

Today, Congress held the first hearing on a bill to restore the employment protections of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Paul Tobin, President of United Spinal Association, said that “We are proud that United Spinal Association worked hard to help obtain 221 co-sponsors of both parties – enough to pass the bill in the House. Enactment of the ADA Restoration Act will give people with disabilities a chance to be judged fairly and to succeed in the workplace.”

The ADA was enacted in 1990, with overwhelming support from both parties and signed by President George H.W. Bush. Over the years the courts have created an absurd Catch-22 that enables employers to say that a person is “too disabled” to do the job but “not disabled enough” to be protected by the ADA. This is wrong and directly contrary to the intent of Congress.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) – the primary sponsor of this bill in the House along with Congressman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) – made it clear that this bill does not expand the ADA but just restores the original intent of Congress that has been undermined by the courts.

At the October 4th hearing of the Constitution Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, Hoyer stated that: “Let me be clear. When we wrote the ADA, we intentionally used a definition of disability that was broad.” He added that Congress could not have fathomed that many people with disabilities would be kicked out of court because, with medication or mitigation measures or devices, they would not meet the definition of a person with a disability.

For more information about the bill to restore the Americans with Disabilities Act – including a way to find out if your own Representative is one of the co-sponsors — Mr. Tobin encourages people to go to the United Spinal Association’s website at http://www.unitedspinal.org/advocacy/employment-discrimination/.

In April 2007, VA Undersecretary for Health, Michael Kussman, testified before Congress that 95 percent of veterans are provided with a medical appointment within 30 days of their request to see a VA doctor. VA Secretary James Nicholson’s 2006 annual report boasts a similar claim. However, in a report released earlier this week, the VA Inspector General’s (IG) Office determined that, on average, only 75 percent of veterans who require primary or specialty outpatient care receive their medical appointments within 30 days. The report concluded that the delayed waiting periods are in direct violation of the VA’s stated policy of providing medical appointments to all veteran patients within 30 days of their request for one.

“Even more deplorable is that the IG’s report found that of the veterans waiting for more than 30 days for an appointment, 27 percent of them had serious underlying service-connected medical and psychiatric conditions,” stated Tobin. “With approximately five million veterans seeking VA health care each year, the amount of delayed treatment becomes staggering. The solution to this crisis is not dependent on funding alone. The VA must critically examine the management and operation of its health care delivery system and immediately correct the deficiencies. There is little difference between the VA’s problems in this regard and the Defense Department’s problems at facilities like Walter Reed Army Medical Center,” Tobin remarked.
Despite the IG’s findings, the VA continues to say that things are not so bad. Undersecretary Kussman has challenged the validity of the report by criticizing the IG’s methodology and citing patient satisfaction surveys. United Spinal Association believes that Congress and the American people must not accept this injustice to veterans and we demand that the VA meet the needs of those who have sacrificed so much for our freedom.

United Spinal Association is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization formed in 1946 to provide expertise, create access to resources and strengthen hope, thereby enabling people with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D) to fulfill their potential as active members of their communities. United Spinal advocated for and drafted significant portions of landmark federal legislation including the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fair Housing Amendments Act, and we continue to provide critical health care and benefits counseling to military veterans from all wars with spinal cord injuries through our Vets First program. Membership is free and open to individuals with disabilities of the spinal cord of all ages. For more information, please visit www.unitedspinal.org or call 800-404-2898.

The ADA Restoration Act was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) as its main sponsors and more than 110 co-sponsors. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) are the main sponsors of the ADA Restoration Act in the U.S. Senate.

This bill would restore the original intent of the ADA employment provisions, which was to give individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to compete for, and to retain jobs based solely on their performance. Unfortunately, over the past 17 years, a number of court decisions have narrowed the definition of disability so much that many individuals with disabilities find themselves no longer protected by the Act. Courts have created an absurd “Catch-22” that allows employers to say a person is “too disabled” to do the job but “not disabled enough” to be protected by the law. This is wrong!

It is also not what Congress and President George H.W. Bush intended when the ADA was enacted in 1990. The ADA was intended to level the playing field so everyone who wants a job has an equal opportunity to work.

United Spinal Association President and Chief Executive Officer Paul J. Tobin stated “there is no doubt that the ADA’s 1990 adoption has greatly improved accessibility for persons with all types of disabilities to facilities and services in both the public and private sectors. But finding and keeping a job remains the key to individual economic solvency and full community participation. We urge the Congress to pass this bill quickly so that our members and other persons with disabling conditions can get back to working, and living.”

Further need to strengthen the ADA employment requirements emerged from the 2000 Census data, which found that only 60 percent of people between the ages of 16 and 64 with disabilities are employed.

United Spinal Association was founded in 1946 at military and veterans hospitals in the New York City metropolitan area by returning World War II veterans with spinal cord injuries. In 2004, we changed our name and opened our membership to individuals of all ages with spinal cord injuries and disorders. Our staff played a lead role in successful public transportation litigation in New York and Philadelphia in the 1980s, and as a result, we helped to craft both the transportation provisions and implementing regulations of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

The House is scheduled to vote on H.R. 3 – the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007 – on Thursday, January 11th. The bill was introduced by Representative Diana DeGette (D-Co), and currently has 216 bi-partisan cosponsors. (more…)