Veteran's Service Office

Taylor County

400 Oak, Suite 170

Abilene, TX 79602

325-674-1328

Contact Person:

Hours: 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Mon - Fri (closed at noon for lunch)

Mission Statement

To serve all veterans and their families with dignity and compassion by providing prompt and courteous assistance in preparing, submitting, and presenting all claims for benefits to which they may be entitled and serve as their principal advocate on veterans’ issues.

Benefits Update

The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed S. 1402, the Veterans Benefits and Health Care Improvement Act of 2000, a comprehensive package of education, health, and compensation benefits headed by an update of the Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB).

The benefits package includes a 23% increase in the GI Bill benefits, allows post-Vietnam-era veterans to sign up for the Montgomery GI Bill and requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to assist veterans in preparing their claims. The benefits package cleared Congress October 17 and will be sent to the White House where President Clinton is expected to sign it into law.

The bill also reverses a controversial court decision that the VA is not obligated to provide assistance to all veterans trying to get their paperwork to file a disability claim. The so-called Veterans Claims Assistance Act eliminates the requirement that a veteran first submit a "well-grounded" claim before receiving assistance from the VA. It also stipulates that the department will have to help locate, at no charge, relevant service records for veterans who file benefits claims. The VA would be required to provide a medical examination if warranted.

On October 11, 2000 the National Academies’ Institute of Medicine notified the Depart of Veterans Affairs (VA) that a link between Vietnam veterans’ exposure to Agent Orange and Type 2 Diabetes has been established. By Title 38 law, the Secretary of VA has 60 days from that date to determine whether a presumption of service connection for each disease covered by the report is warranted. The law states "an association between the occurrence of a disease in humans and exposure to an herbicide agent shall be considered to be positive if credible evidence for the association is equal to or outweighs the credible evidence against an association

Congressman Lane Evans, the ranking Democratic Member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee said, "The scientific experts have recognized that Vietnam veterans are at an increased risk for diabetes and called on the VA to issue new regulations as quickly as possible to assist adult-onset diabetes to the list of conditions the VA must compensate." The presumption of service connection allows both health care and compensation for disabled veterans.

 Area Served: Taylor County

Eligibility Requirements:  Must be a qualified veteran or surviving spouse, child, or parent of an eligible veteran.