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

In the Senate, two provisions that affect long term care for persons with disabilities and senior citizens are included. The Senate Finance Committee’s bill includes the Community First Choice (CFC) option. This provision will grant the states that provide Medicaid home or community based services (as opposed to nursing home or other institutions) an increased federal match for those services.

The Senate Health Education, labor, and Pensions include the Community Living Assistance Supports and Services (CLASS) Act. This provision is a long term insurance program (beneficiaries will receive a cash benefit to help meet their activities of daily living in order to prevent them from becoming impoverished and spending down to Medicaid levels.

On September 30th, PVA staff, other disability and aging organizations stopped at all Senate offices, urging the Senators to maintain the CFC Option and the CLASS Act in the final Health Care Reform bill. PVA Chapters, as well as state independent living councils, participated in a national call-in to Senate offices on this issue.

Two federal agencies have requested comments on proposals in September. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) proposes to revise its ADA regulations and guidance in order to implement the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA). The ADAAA changes the term “disability” by turning away the holdings in several Supreme Court decisions and parts of the EEOC’s ADA regulations.

The effect of these changes is to make it easier for an individual seeking protection under the ADA to establish that he/she truly has a disability within the meaning of the ADA. A primary change in the regulations states that mitigating factors (i.e. assistive devices, medical equipment) are not to be considered in determining whether or not the individual has a disability. Comments are due by November 23rd. The Department of Transportation (DOT) requests comments on whether to develop a proposed rulemaking.

An advocacy group representing the use of psychiatric service dogs petitioned the DOT to revise the Air Carrier Access Act regulation. This provision presently permits air carriers to require documentation and 48 hour advance notice for users of psychiatric service animals. Presently carriers are not permitted to do this for service animals in general. The advocacy group requesting the revision believes the DOT has no basis for this distinction.

Carriers have counteracted by claiming that passengers are seeking to transport pets by claiming they are emotional support animals.

This is not a notice of proposed rulemaking. The DOT is merely requesting comments on whether to grant the petition to change the regulation. You may contact Senior Advocacy Attorney Bob Herman National PVA via telephone (202) 416-7699 or by e-mail at bobhn@pva.org if you have any questions or interest in these issues.

GRO REPORT

On October 22nd, the President signed the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act of 2010 into law. Again, this was another late action that began in Congress. In July, the House passed its version (H.R.1032); however, the Senate took no action on their version (S.1407) until the present federal fiscal year started on October 1st. The House and Senate versions virtually “mirrored” each other with few minor exceptions.

The Senate bill also included a $48.2 billion in advance appropriations for the VA medical care accounts. As of October 1st, Congress approved a continuing resolution setting funding levels at FY 2009 levels until at least October 31st. Fortunately, the House/Senate conference committee settled the minor differences in mid October and the bill was signed into law on October 22nd. Specifically, the law provides $55.9 billion in budget authority for the VA.

This includes $53 billion in discretionary funding and approximately $2.9 billion in medical care collections. This amount exceeds the recommendation of the Independent Budget ($54.6 billion) for the second year in a row. The law also includes approximately $48.2 billion in advance appropriations for VA medical care accounts for FY 2011. This marks a major accomplishment for the VA and all veteran service organizations because the Appropriations Committee supported this new direction. With this advance appropriation for FY 2011, the VA will have the ability to better plan for hiring new staff and addressing the demand on the VA health-care system. It will also allow the VA to work more closely with Congress to ensure that its resource needs are met well in advance for the start of the next fiscal year.

On October 1st, PVA testified before the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Subcommittee on Health on pending legislation. The hearing addressed eight bills, as well as several drafts focusing on homelessness veterans’ issues. PVA gave its support to H.R. 2504, a bill that would increase the annual amount authorized by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out homeless veteran programs from $150 million to $200 million. PVA also supported H.R.2559 (Help our Homeless Veterans Act). This is an outreach program to inform homeless veterans of their rights and benefits. H.R.2735 was also supported, but with some reservations. This bill makes improvements to comprehensive programs to homeless veterans.

This legislation would increase rates of payment to reflect anticipated changes in service costs in certain geographic areas; however, PVA expressed concerns about the long term effects of this legislation on funding. Other legislation PVA supported included H.R. 1017 (Chiropractic Care Available t All Veterans Act), H.R. 1036 (Veterans’ Physical Therapy Act of 2009), and H.R. 3441 (Automatic Enrollment of Veterans Returning from Combat Zones into the VA Medical System).