Some
Nebraska Veterans Could Lose Benefits
By SCOTT BAUER
.c The
Associated Press
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - After serving in Operation Desert Storm, Michael Chavez
left the Army in 1991 with a general discharge in the hopes of sorting out some
debt problems at home.
Several times since his return to
Shelton in southern
Nebraska, the concrete worker has received state veterans aid to help pay rent
and utilities. But in October, when he went seeking help with rent, he was
denied because he did not have an honorable discharge.
Chavez, 39, is among an unknown number of veterans in Nebraska with general
military discharges who are caught in the middle of a change in state policy
that has locked them out of benefits and programs they had access to in the
past. Nebraska's approach differs from federal law and is unique among the 50
states.
``To deny benefits to a
Nebraska
veteran who has received a general discharge is a disservice to him because his
service was honorable,'' said Leslie Beavers, president of the National
Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs.
To qualify under federal law for benefits such as property tax exemptions,
admittance to veterans homes and emergency financial aid, veterans are required
to have been discharged under conditions other than dishonorable, which includes
both general and honorable discharges.
The honorable discharge is the normal discharge status. Reasons for receiving a
general discharge are varied and can include minor law violations or having to
leave the service because of a medical condition.
Most states use similar language, but not Nebraska, where the law says that to
receive state benefits a veteran must have an honorable discharge or its
equivalent.
For the past 60 years,
Nebraska
law had been interpreted to include a general discharge. But a new policy went
into effect in July at Gov. Mike Johanns' request after Nebraska Attorney
General Jon Bruning issued an opinion saying the two discharges were not
equivalent.
Johanns persuaded the state Department of Veterans' Affairs to keep the
applications of general-discharge veterans in a pending file, instead of
outright rejecting them, until the Legislature can address the matter. As of
this month, 23 cases are pending.
There is no accurate count of how many veterans in Nebraska have a general
discharge. The state veterans office says the majority of Nebraska's 167,000
veterans received an honorable discharge.
Six veterans with general discharges have filed a lawsuit challenging the
policy. And a proposal was introduced in the Legislature on Jan. 6 to make clear
that veterans with either discharge can access the programs and benefits.
Still, not all veterans believe that those with a general discharge should have
access to the same benefits.
``Most of these people that got thrown out on a general discharge, they deserve
to get thrown out,'' said Vietnam veteran Robert Wostoupal, the
Cuming
County veterans service officer. ``If they feel they were wrongly treated, they
should go through the process to get the discharge upgraded.''
Wostoupal, who received an honorable discharge, said he believes many other vets
feel the same way.
The Nebraska
veterans office supports treating the two discharges equally. A hearing on the
proposal to do just that was being held Wednesday. If passed by the Legislature
and signed into law, it would take effect immediately.
Chavez, who enlisted in the National Guard last year, hopes the old policy will
be restored.
``I don't think it's right,'' Chavez said. ``You served your country.''
On the Net:
National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs: http://www.nasdva.com/
Nebraska Department of Veterans' Affairs: http://www.vets.state.ne.us/
U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs: http://www.va.gov/
01/19/05
10:33 EST