Brown Honored By Disabled American Veterans Organization

Brown Recognized for Continued Efforts to Improve Veterans’ Lives

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday afternoon, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) received the Veterans’ Champion Award from the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) organization for his ongoing efforts to improve the lives of veterans. DAV’s highest honor recognizes those who provide critical contributions in the areas of veterans’ health care, benefits, policy, and legislation. Brown is the longest-serving U.S. Senator from Ohio on the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

“Our veterans answered the call to serve, and we have a responsibility to make sure they have everything they need to support their families, care for their health, and land good-paying jobs as they transition to civilian life,” said Brown. “I am honored to receive this award, and will continue to work alongside organizations like the DAV to ensure all veterans receive the care, benefits they have earned.”

As a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Brown has long fought to improve the lives of veterans. Some of his recent actions include:

  • Passing legislation to help Ohio veterans exposed to Agent Orange:
    • As part of a spending package, President Trump signed legislation into law that requires VA and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to issue a report within 30 days outlining any delays in making a determination on adding conditions to the list of service-connected presumptive illnesses.
    • Last year, Brown introduced the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act, which would ensure these veterans are able to receive the healthcare benefits they need and have earned after their exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam.
    • Brown’s office held more than a dozen roundtables with veterans across Ohio last year.
  • Passing legislation to prevent VA from punishing veterans for its own accounting mistakes:
    • As part of a spending package, President Trump signed legislation into law that builds on Brown’s earlier work to help reduce overpayment errors by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), thereby reducing veteran debt to the Department.
      • This legislation would require VA to submit a plan and timeline to Congress to track the cause of veteran debt.
    • Last year, Brown reintroduced the Veterans Debt Fairness Act alongside Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and John Boozman (R-Ark.) to prevent VA from charging veterans for its own accounting mistakes.
      • Annually, VA sends as many as 200,000 overpayment notices totaling thousands of dollars to veterans and their families, sending them into crippling debt and withholding future benefits payments until the debt is paid. These overpayments are often a result of VA’s own accounting errors, but VA puts veterans and their families on the hook for repaying the debt.
  • Holding a committee hearing on Toxic Exposure: Examining VA’s Presumptive Disability Decision-Making Process at Brown’s request:
    • In September, at Brown’s request, the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs held a hearing on toxic exposure. Brown pressed government officials to act on the National Academies report regarding Agent Orange-related diseases, share air quality test results with outside experts, and establish a presumptive procedure to address exposure to toxic burn pits and any diseases associated with that exposure that harms veterans.
    • The military relied on open-air burn pits to dispose of toxic waste in Afghanistan and Iraq, which exposed servicemembers to toxic chemicals and fumes that have been linked to certain deadly diseases.
    • Brown has advocated for Ohioans who have been harmed by environmental and other toxic exposures, including toxic burn pits and has introduced legislation, the Burn Pit Accountability Act to help study the effects of burn pits on servicemembers’ health