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Advocacy
Educating the public regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and mandated guidelines for accessibility is of paramount importance to us. If reason and common sense fails, we will file formal complaints with the appropriate authorities regarding accessibility, handicapped parking, and other similar types of discrimination. We have information available to any interested party that details accessibility guidelines, requirements, and laws. We also distribute pamphlets, brochures, and other forms of information covering a myriad of related topics. If we cannot answer your question, we will direct you to somebody who can.
Legislation
We review local, state, and federal legislation pertaining to veterans and disability issues. As circumstances dictate, we respond with letters, telephone calls, and face to face meetings. We will deliver oral and written testimony as requested by various entities. On occasion, WVPA will approach and petition selected officials to introduce specific measures. The following links will aide your search for legislation;
Wisconsin State Legislature
United States Senate
Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs
United States House of Representatives
Milwaukee Office for Persons with Disabilities
Architectural Barriers
If we can’t get in, we can’t use it! Although The Americans with Disabilities Act [ADA] mandates accessibility, people with physical disabilities still face problems. We dispense information detailing acceptable guidelines for accessibility, and we will file complaints with the Department of Justice [DOJ] when appropriate. We have given presentations to students at the Milwaukee School of Engineering [MSOE], University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and the Southeast Wisconsin AIA.
THE 2009 INDEPENDENT BUDGET
A Budget for Veterans by Veterans
www.independentbudget.org
As the Independent Budget (IB) begins its 22nd year, its four participating authors, AMVETS, Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, are faced with the responsibility and challenge of predicting the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) resource requirements for fiscal year (FY) 2009.
In addition to making financial recommendations, the IB offers program and service recommendations to assist veterans based on the real-life experiences of veterans. Today, fewer and fewer members of Congress are veterans, and the IB authors believe that their core mission, service to veterans, must be articulated clearly, accurately, and often.
Currently, VA continues to deny approximately 1.6 million veterans access to health care. However, despite this restriction, its medical care workload is increasing.
Guiding Principles of the Independent Budget
• Veterans must not have to wait for benefits to which they are entitled.
• Veterans must be ensured access to high-quality medical care.
• Veterans must be guaranteed timely access to the full continuum of health –care
services, including long-term medical care.
• Veterans must be assured burial in state or national cemeteries in every state.
• Specialized care must remain the focus of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
• VA’s mission to support the military medical system in time of war or national
emergency is essential to the nation’s security.
• VA’s mission is to conduct medical and prosthetic research in areas of veterans’ special
needs is critical to the integrity of the veterans’ health-care system and the
advancement of American medicine.
• VA’s mission to support health professional education is vital to the health of all
Americans.
Download the complete document by Clicking Here.
October 2007 Committee on Conference Budget Bill Summary
Today, the eight-member Legislative Committee on Conference voted 7-1 to recommend passage of the budget bill agreed upon by the Governor and legislative leaders late last Friday. The bill now goes to the Assembly for a vote. Should the bill pass by a majority vote in each house, the bill will then go to the Governor.
A summary of the bill's provisions of particular interest to WDVA and Wisconsin's veterans is below. Major items include:
Preservation of the Wisconsin G.I. Bill tuition remission program under current law new in the last biennium including GPR funding at the Governor's requested level of $11.6 million;
Expansion of the Wisconsin Veterans and Surviving Spouses Property Tax Credit, also new in the last biennium, that removes the current age limit, reduces the residency requirement to five continuous years of state residency, and includes totally disabled veterans determined to be Individually Unemployable (IU);
The requested expansion of the bonding authorization for the state veterans home loan program by $85 million;
Expansion of direct care staffing at the King home by 15.0 FTE. Reduction in administrative staffing (SEG-VTF) by 7.5 FTE.
Additional summary information is included in the downloadable PDF file by clicking here. Full text is available by clicking on the hyperlinks to the individual Legislative Fiscal Bureau summary documents. Due to the multi-agency nature of the Wisconsin G.I. Bill tuition remission program, it is listed after all other agency summaries.
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