This letter was received by members of our campaign. The letter I got, referenced that it is a response to my letter to President Bush. Note that the letter refers to an earlier version of the bill for our issue.
April 02, 2002
Dear :
I am pleased to respond to your letter to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) concerning retirement benefits for part-time VA nurses. I apologize for the delay in responding to you, but I received your letter only this month.
As you maty already know, S. 1188 was enacted by the Congress and signed into law by the President on January 23, 2002. Section 132 of Public Law 107-135 specifically provided that part-time service performed by a registered nurse, physician assistant, or dental auxilliary prior to April 7, 1986, shall be credited as full-time service.
The Department is pleased that this provision has been passed, and eliminates the proration of pension benefits for part-time service prior to 1986. We agree that this change should serve as an excellent recruitment and retention tool for current employees. The Office of Personnel Management will be reponsible for determining the applicability of this provision to nurses who are already retired. We are hopeful that the change will benefit all nurses- those currently work(ing) and those already retired.
I thank you for your years of service to our Nation's veterans, and hope that this information is helpful to you.
Sincerely,
(signed Audrey C. Drake for)
Cathy Rick, RN, CNAA, CHE
Chief Consultant, Nursing Strategic Healthcare Group