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THURSDAY HEARING TO EXAMINE NEW BENEFIT FOR
TRAUMATICALLY INJURED TROOPS
September 5, 2006
Media contact: Jeff Schrade (202)224-9093
(Washington, DC) Members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’
Affairs will meet on Thursday to review the Traumatic Injury Protection
benefit approved by Congress last year. Thursday’s hearing is the first
to examine the new benefit since it went into effect.
Committee Chairman Larry Craig sponsored the legislation which created
the benefit after meeting with three young veterans wounded in Iraq. To
date, nearly 2,700 servicemembers have since received over $164 million
from the fund.
Under the program, wounded or seriously injured military personnel
receive anywhere from $25,000 to $100,000 to help them cope with the
costs they incur after their injuries. The top five conditions for which
payments have been made are: 1) The inability to carry out two of six
activities of daily living for 30 days or more; 2) The loss of one foot;
3) Brain injury; 4) The loss of sight in one eye; and 5) Severe burns.
* The hearing titled "Wounded Warrior' Insurance: A first look at a new
benefit for traumatically injured servicemembers," will be held
Thursday, September 7, in room 418 of the Russell Senate Office Building
in Washington, DC, starting at 10 a.m. Eastern.
* It will be webcast live, and archived for viewing later, at
http://veterans.senate.gov .
The hearing may also be audiocast – during the hearing only – on C-SPAN’s
hearings website, located at
http://www.capitolhearings.org .
Panel I
The Honorable Michael L. Dominguez, Principal Deputy Under Secretary of
Defense for Personnel and Readiness, Department of Defense
Thomas Lastowka, Director, Insurance Service, Veterans Benefits
Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Accompanied by Steve Wurtz, Deputy Assistant Director, Insurance Service
Panel II
Sergeant John Keith, United States Army, combat-wounded Veteran of
Operation Iraqi Freedom. He will share his firsthand experience of being
wounded and how the program worked – or did not work – for him.
Jeremy Chwat, Associate Executive Director, Policy and Service, Wounded
Warrior Project
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Larry Scott
