Military Order of the Purple Heart Supports Legislation Introduced by Sen. Robert Casey, Jr., Rep. Bob Filner, Rep. Michael Michaud, and Sen. Walter Jones

The Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH) is pleased to single out several distinguished pieces of legislation now under consideration in the Congress because of their timely attention to a number of overlooked issues that affect all veterans.  The MOPH urges the House of Representatives and the Senate to move quickly to enact this much needed legislation.

The Military Order of the Purple Heart is pleased to support legislation recently introduced by Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr., “Service Members Access to Justice Act”, S.263.  Because of the on-going conflicts, this is good, responsible and timely legislation.

The MOPH thanks Rep. Bob Filner, Chairman, House Committee on Veteran’ Affairs, for introducing H.R. 1428.  This legislation, if enacted, would establish a presumption of service connection for Parkinson’s disease due to exposure to Agent Orange for Vietnam veterans with this degenerative and incurable condition.  We, as Americans, owe this to those members of the military who suffer from this horrible affliction caused by their service. 

The MOPH applauds the initiative of Rep. Michael Michaud, Chairman, Health Subcommittee, House Committee on Veteran’s Affairs, to examine ways in which to provide health care to those veterans living in rural areas. The statistics are proof that those veterans living in rural areas do not have the health care options as do their counterparts living in urban areas. There are numerous reasons for this least not being that there are fewer health care professionals living in rural areas.  The rural health care issue is one that MOPH has recently testified about before the Joint Committees on Veteran’s Affairs and has espoused in numerous other venues. 

The MOPH also wants to thank Senator Walter Jones for introducing the “PTSD/TBI Guaranteed Review for Heroes Act.” This legislation, if enacted into law, would create a special review board at the Department of Defense for service members who received less than honorable discharges and whose PTSD/TBI was not taken into consideration during the discharge process.  This legislation is very timely in light of the on-going conflicts and with many members of the armed services incurring and suffering from PTSD and TBI.

The Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH) is unique among Veteran Service Organizations in that all its members were wounded in combat. For this sacrifice, they were awarded the Purple Heart Medal. With grants from the MOPH Service Foundation, the MOPH and its Ladies Auxiliary promote Patriotism, Fraternalism, and the Preservation of America's Military History. Most importantly, they provide comfort and assistance to all Veterans and their families, especially those requiring claims assistance with the VA, those who are homeless, and those requiring employment assistance.  MOPH volunteers provide assistance to Hospitalized veterans at VA sites and State Veterans Homes.

For information contact either:

National Public Relations Director, John Bircher, 352-753-5535

or

National Legislative Director, Hershel Gober, 703-354-2140

Email: PublicRelations@Purpleheart.org

Web: www.purpleheart.org