This page contains bills sponsored by incumbent Senators who are running for re-election in 2008, plus House incumbents running for Senate in 2008. Bill sponsorships indicate the topics that legislators are most interested in, and spend the most time on. These bills are selected as the "signature issue" that each legislator focused on.

08-H6268 on Jun 12, 2008

1. To improve and enhance the mental health care benefits available to members of the Armed Forces and veterans, to enhance counseling and other benefits available to survivors of members of the Armed Forces and veterans, and for other purposes.
2. Scholarship program for education and training of behavioral health care specialists for vet centers.
3. Eligibility of members of the armed forces who serve in operation Iraqi freedom or operation enduring freedom for counseling and services through vets centers.
4. Restoration of authority of vets centers to provide referral and other assistance upon request to former members of the armed forces not authorized counseling.
5. Treatment of suicides of certain former members of the armed forces as deaths in line of duty for purposes of eligibility of survivors for certain benefits.
6. Grants for non-profit organizations for the provision of emotional support services to survivors of members of the armed forces and veterans.
7. Pilot programs on awareness enhancement for members of the army regarding post traumatic stress disorder.

Participating counts on VoteMatch question 15. Question 15: Expand the military Scores: -2=Strongly oppose; -1=Oppose; 0=neutral; 1=Support; 2=Strongly support.
• Topic: Homeland Security
• Headline: Improve mental health care benefits for returning veterans (Score: 1)
• Headline 2: Improve mental health care benefits for returning veterans (Score: 1)
  
  
• Key for participation codes:
• Sponsorships: p=sponsored; o=co-sponsored; s=signed
• Memberships: c=chair; m=member; e=endorsed; f=profiled; s=scored
• Resolutions: i=introduced; w=wrote; a=adopted
• Cases: w=wrote; j=joined; d=dissented; c=concurred
• Surveys: '+' supports; '-' opposes.