New veterans ID cards won't be
available until 2017
By
Leo Shane III, Military Times– January 26, 2016
Congress
passed legislation for a new veterans ID card last summer, but it will likely
be another year before any are issued.
The
Department of Veterans Affairs has begun drafting regulations for production
and issuing of the ID cards, designed to
give veterans easy proof of their military service for non-federal activities.
Legislation
authorizing the cards, sponsored by Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., passed through
Congress without objection last July. He argued that veterans needed the option
for a veterans ID to help individuals who have to carry around copies of their
discharge paperwork to get discounts or services at a host of private
businesses.
Veterans
requesting the IDs would have to pay a small, yet-to-be-determined fee, to
cover production costs.
 |
| This is just a sample of what the ID Cards might look like. |
But
Veterans Affairs officials said it will likely still be months before anyone
gets the new cards. The rule-making process is expected to take at least
another year, with production and issuing times still to be decided.
“This
is a lengthy process that requires time for a public comment period as well as
approval from the Office of Management
and Budget,” officials said in a statement this week. “VA currently estimates
the program will be implemented in 2017.”
That’s
a disappointment for veterans who had hoped to ditch their DD-214s for the next
trip to the hardware store or for local restaurant deals. Advocates have
complained that practice is both inconvenient and unsafe, given the personal information
included on official military documents.
No
veterans will be required to get the IDs, and the cards will not replace
medical IDs or official defense retiree cards.
Supporters
called it a simple way to honor veterans’ service.
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