August Krieser

joined the Paralyzed Veterans of America in 1980 and was elected to the WPVA board in 1990. Augie is the Government Relations Officer [GRO] and he is the Chair of the Advocacy/Legislation Committee. He received the Chapter President’s Award in 1992.

Employed by the City of Manitowoc, Wisconsin as a Firefighter for many years, Augie was also certified as an Emergency Medical Technician [EMT] and as an EMT Instructor. Due to a motorcycle accident in 1980 that resulted in quadriplegia, Augie received a medical retirement. He is a member of the Retired Professional Firefighter’s Association [RPFA] Veterans of Foreign Wars [VFW], Disabled American Veterans [DAV], American Veterans of WWII, Korea, and Vietnam [AMVETS], and the Vietnam Veterans of America [VVA].

From 1964-67, Augie was a member of the United States Army and trained in the field of aviation. While stationed in Vietnam Augie was a Crew Chief on an OV1-Mohawk and later a CV-2 Caribou. While in Vietnam, his duties included gathering military intelligence for the Marines on the DMZ and Ho Chi Minh Trail in I Corps by night aerial surveillance. He was assigned to the 20th ASTA Detachment at a small landing field at Hue-Phu Bai. He finished his stint in the military at Fort Benning, Georgia as a Maintenance Chief.

Augie Krieser graduated from Lincoln High School in Manitowoc with the Class of ’64. As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Manitowoc Campus and at Silver Lake College, Augie earned a BA Degree in Psychology and Family Studies, an MA Degree in Political Science, and a BSW Degree in Social work. He is currently working on his MSW Degree in Social Work.

Augie enjoys wheelchair racing, fishing, and target practice. He is a tireless advocate for accessibility, and he derives great pleasure in educating his hometown on ADA requirements. Augie resides in Manitowoc, Wisconsin and is employed full time by a disability rights and advocacy organization known as Holiday House.
ADVOCACY REPORT

The passage of the health reform legislation was signed into law on March 23rd of this year (P.L. 111-148). A great amount of misinformation appeared in all forms of the media with the focus on the possible harm it would do to veterans, military personnel, and their families. PVA’s Government Relations staff kept in contact with congressional leaders and the Administration throughout the debate of this legislation and received assurances that all veterans enrolled in the VA healthcare system, their dependents and survivors under CHAMPVA, military families, military retirees and their dependents enrolled in TRICARE and TRICARE for Life are considered to have the essential coverage which satisfies the individual requirements as set by the new health reform law. One problematic area did arise. This involves the several hundred children with spina bifida of Vietnam and Korean Conflict veterans. At this writing, Congress is addressing this issue. The Senate has already passed S 3162, a bill that amends the healthcare reform bill affirming that the VA’s healthcare for these children will be considered minimum essential coverage. The House has yet to act on this issue.

S.1963, a bill that is proactive for all PVA members who use the VA healthcare system has been passed by the Senate and sent to the House on April 21st. On a roll call vote requested by Congressman Filner to suspend the rules and accepted by the House Speaker pro tempore, the amended S. 1963 was passed by a vote of 419-0 with 11 members not voting. This bill eliminates a large number of co-payments that were a financial hardship for many members of PVA and SCI/D veterans who use the VA healthcare system. All of this information is available on the Thomas Legislative website. It is strongly urged that you, as PVA members, access this website often to check out any legislation that pertains to veterans’ or advocacy issues. The website is easy to navigate once one learns how to navigate it. Much of this report is “old” news and the Thomas website will keep you current with any legislation that is of interest to you. The website is www.http://thomas.loc.gov Please make use of it.

Other information that pertains to federal legislation will be posted on the (WPVA) website as it becomes available. There are a number of bills that pertain to veterans in Congress at this time; however, it is difficult to write about them on a daily basis until they have come out of conference committee and ready to be signed into law or vetoed by the President. This is another good reason to use the Thomas site on a regular basis.

The Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU) has a number of informative webinars on independent living, resources, federal and state law applicability and other aspects to assist individuals with disabilities to live independently as possible. Their website link is http://www.ilru.org All aspects of independent living, resources to assist you to return to work, and other amenities to make independent living more palatable are available at this site. The webinars and webcasts are interactive (you can ask a question via e-mail and you will get an answer.) and the presenters are very knowledgeable on the specific subject of each webinar/webcast. The best aspect of any of these presentations is that no fee is charged. All it takes is a few hours of your time…time that may well enrich your life.

The 2nd quarterly meeting of the Independent Living Council-Wisconsin was held in Brookfield April 16-17. The primary issues were public hearings at Independence First and the final draft of the State Plan for Independent Living (SPIL). Other hearings were conducted at the other 7 IL Centers in the state.

The state legislature adjourned for this session on April 22nd. A number of WDVA issues were on the table during the twilight session of this session. Please take the time to read Mr. Jack Stone’s article or contact him on state veteran’s issues. He is on a state veteran’s board and will keep you up on any legislative outcomes on veterans’ legislation in Wisconsin. Another excellent resource is your county veteran’s service officer. It is advised to check with them on a regular basis if you have any concern in regard to your benefits that are available to Wisconsin veterans. They are knowledgeable in federal benefits as well as state benefits.

Paralyzed Veterans of America Awareness Week was held April 11-17 this year. National PVA encouraged all 34 chapters to become actively involved in this venture to demonstrate that our members are a viable and untapped resource in our society. This year’s theme is “Empowering Lives”. A number of presentations were made in various areas of the state and proclamations affirming the aforementioned week as Paralyzed Veterans of America Awareness Week were presented by local, regional, and state governments.

Locally, accessibility to a city owned historic structure had a setback. The building inspector has taken a stand to redouble his efforts to get this project moving. It is apparent that several individuals who serve on the BOD of this Title II entity feel they are exempt from the ADA and other laws that pertain to accessibility.