Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA) announced the reintroduction of three bills aimed at strengthening the workforce that serves our nation’s veterans, improving the delivery of health care, and addressing service-related needs. The bills include the VA Marriage and Family Therapists Equity Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs Continuing Professional Education Modernization Act, and the Veterans Law Judge Experience Act. These legislative efforts come at a critical time when our nation’s veterans face growing demand for accessible, high-quality care and support services.
VA Marriage and Family Therapists Equity Act
“The current regulations for licensed marriage and family therapists at VA are out of step with industry standards and exclude nearly half of all therapists at VA from advancement opportunities,” said Congresswoman Brownley. “The varied needs of our nation’s veterans and their families must be addressed through the recruitment and retention of highly-qualified professionals. This bill will expand veterans’ access to care by removing the barriers that prevent skilled therapists from being promoted to supervisory positions.”
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFTs) assist individuals and couples through interpersonal conflicts, major life changes, and work to develop appropriate coping mechanisms for a variety of challenges. The unique challenges that our nation’s military and veteran families face need to be addressed through robust, wrap-around services, quality caretakers, and holistic treatment, regardless of location.
Currently, VA hires LMFTs who are licensed through various organizations, including the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE) program and the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT). Nationwide, on average, 30% of LMFTs do not graduate from COAMFTE programs across the nation, with that figure rising to 95% in California.
Despite these rates, VA’s current regulations state that only those licensed through COAMFTE may be promoted to supervisory positions. Given the limited pay and career development, this regulation discourages qualified LMFTs from joining the VA workforce, especially since the COAMFTE license cannot be retroactively obtained.
The VA Marriage and Family Therapists Equity Act would ensure that more veterans have access to skilled therapists by eliminating this restriction.
Read the full text of the bill here.
VA Continuing Professional Education Modernization Act
“Ensuring that VA healthcare providers are up-to-date on medical advances is crucial to delivering the best care to veterans,” said Congresswoman Brownley. “The VA CPE Modernization Act will ensure that the VA stays competitive by increasing reimbursement for required professional education for clinical staff.”
The VA Continuing Professional Education Modernization Act would increase the amount that VA is permitted to reimburse clinical employees for continuing professional education (CPE) expenses. This would be the first such increase in over 30 years.
Currently, the CPE allowance for VA physicians and dentists is capped at $1,000 per year, a limit that has remained unchanged since the benefit was first enacted in 1991. In the private sector, some studies have found that CPE allowances for physicians average $3,000-$4,000/year, and CPE allowances for nurses and other types of clinicians average about $2,000/year.
Providing allowances to reimburse tuition, course fees, and travel expenses associated with CPE for clinical staff can be an incentive for VA employee recruitment and retention, and will help make VA a more competitive employer. Increasing VA CPE reimbursement will also help VA provide the best possible healthcare to our nation’s veterans by ensuring clinicians are up-to-date on medical advances and best practices in their fields.
Read the full text of the bill, here.
Veterans Law Judge Experience Act
“Veterans often wait years before their claims for veteran benefits are decided,” said Congresswoman Julia Brownley. “Some veterans die waiting for their claims to be decided, while others spend their time unable to work and struggling to make ends meet. To make matters worse, the hiring of judges without veterans’ law experience has further delayed veterans from receiving benefits.
“By prioritizing the hiring of experienced Veterans Law Judges who have acquired the appropriate expertise to quickly and accurately decide claims for veterans’ benefits, this bill will help reduce the backlog of cases and restore faith in our justice system by ensuring that we provide veterans with timely access to the benefits they have earned.”
The Veterans Law Judge Experience Act would give hiring preference to Veterans Law Judges that have three or more years of experience. Hiring judges that have experience in veterans’ law would increase the number of cases decided, improve the accuracy of cases, and incentivize those with experience to stay in the field.
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, there are roughly 234,000 pending appeals before the Board of Veteran Appeals (Board). Repeat cases add to the backlog and lengthen the time before a veteran’s case is processed by the Board.
Over the last three years, the Board has hired over 50 Veterans Law Judges, many of whom have no experience in veterans’ law. These judges undergo lengthy training periods and have a reduced caseload while they become acclimated to veterans’ law, worsening the troubling backlog of pending cases. This bill would expedite the appeals process by ensuring that qualified judges are in place to make timely and accurate decisions.
Read the full text of the bill here.
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Issues: 119th Congress, Healthcare, Jobs, Economy, and Small Business, Veterans' Affairs