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VA News - Week of June 30, 2008

Thursday, July 3, 2008 at 10:52 AM

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VFW Washington Weekly - June 27, 2008

Friday, June 27, 2008 at 11:31 PM

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In This Issue:
1. New GI Bill Ready for President's Signature
2. House VA Committee Hearings
3. Senate Moves Vet Bills
4. Congress on 4th of July Recess

1. New GI Bill Ready for President's Signature: One of VFW's top legislative priorities has become a reality. The Senate, in a late night vote (92-6), passed a new GI Bill for the 21st Century. The House had passed their version June 19 by a vote of 416-12. President Bush is expected to sign the bill into law next week. This legislation is a major victory for the VFW, who has been lobbying for a new GI Bill for the 21st Century for the past 10 years, and who led all veterans' service organization to ensure the passage of the legislation that Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) proposed on his first in office in January 2007.

The new GI Bill will pay the highest in-state public tuition rate, and provide for books, fees, and a living stipend. It eliminates the $1,200 enrollment fee, extends the use-or-lose benefit requirement from 10 to 15 years, and greatly enhances the amount paid to Guard and Reserve members. The new GI Bill automatically adjusts itself as tuitions increase, and provides a dollar-for-dollar tuition match for private colleges and universities who choose to participate in the program. A new provision added to the bill allows reenlisting servicemembers to transfer their educational benefit to their spouse and/or children. VFW wants to thank every National Legislative Committee member and the entire Action Corps for helping us bring this long-term goal to fruition.

To read VFW's Press Release, go to: http://www.vfw.org/index.cfm?fa=news.newsDtl&did=4614

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VFW Says 'Thank You!' for New GI Bill

Thursday, June 26, 2008 at 01:49 PM

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WASHINGTON, June 26, 2008 – The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is saluting Congress for the overwhelming passage of a new GI Bill for the 21st Century. The bill, S. 22, the "Post 9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act," was attached to the war funding supplemental that the House passed June 19 and the Senate is predicted to approve this evening. President Bush is expected to quickly sign it into law.

"This is a tremendous victory for America's veterans, military, and their families," exclaimed VFW national commander George Lisicki, a Vietnam combat veteran from Carteret, N.J., "and we have Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia to thank for his rock-steady determination to get this bill passed."

S. 22 captured the VFW's immediate attention when Webb introduced it on his first day in office, Jan. 4, 2007. His bill – which increases college assistance for veterans – was overshadowed last year by increased calls to end the war in Iraq and the administration's sudden announcement to surge 30,000 additional troops into Iraq. But Webb, the former Secretary of the Navy under the Reagan Administration and a Marine Corps infantry officer who received the Navy Cross for heroism during the Vietnam War, pressed on, fortified by the challenge to get his bill heard.

He worked for more than a year to build a coalition of allies, not only within his own Democratic Party, but from across the aisle and within the House. These allies include 57 other Senate cosponsors, to include five fellow GI Bill beneficiaries: Vietnam veteran Chuck Hagel (R-NE), World War II and Korean War veteran John Warner (R-VA), and World War II veterans Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Daniel Akaka (D-HI) and Daniel Inouye (D-HI).

S. 22's companion bill in the House, H.R. 5740, was introduced by Harry Mitchell (D-AZ) and Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL), and it garnered 302 bipartisan cosponsors, to include Korean War veteran Charles Rangel (D-NY) and Sam Johnson (R-TX), a veteran of both the Korean and Vietnam Wars, who was held as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam for nearly seven years.

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VA News - Week of June 23, 2008

Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 04:48 PM

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VA Demands Accountability Over Chantix Issue

Thursday, June 19, 2008 at 04:36 PM

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WASHINGTON (June 19, 2008) - "Enough is enough," said George J. Lisicki, the national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S., in response to today's Washington Times article that provides additional information about the potential lethal effect a prescribed drug is having on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder-diagnosed veterans who volunteered for a Department of Veterans Affairs smoking cessation program.

"Those in the VA who failed to properly serve America's veterans must resign their positions," said Lisicki, a Vietnam veteran from Carteret, N.J. "If not, then the VA secretary must take decisive action to terminate them."

The smoking cessation research program uses the drug Chantix, which Food and Drug Administration officials say helps people to stop smoking, but according to a Washington Times/ABC News investigative report on Tuesday, Chantix has also been linked to almost 40 suicides and more than 400 incidents of suicidal behavior. The drug's manufacturer and the FDA have recently cautioned healthcare providers about adverse side effects that could produce changes in behavior ranging from anxiety and depression to suicide.

All 940 veterans enrolled in the VA's smoking cessation program have PTSD. A test group of 143 of them were prescribed Chantix, which is also known as Varenicline.

Lisicki questions why VA clinicians who knew of Chantix's hazardous side effects would allow veterans suffering from PTSD to continue taking it, because "professional ethics and common sense just dictates that clinicians would stop their patients from taking the drug just to err on the side of safety for the veterans and their families," he said. As of May 21, the Federal Aviation Administration banned the use of Chantix by airline pilots and air traffic controllers.

The VFW national commander also questions the leadership ability of those who oversee these types of medical research programs, asks why it took the VA two more days before revealing additional details of those in the study; and wonders what other information has yet to be uncovered. Aside from Chantix, other drugs that are were reported to currently being used to treat veterans with PTSD are the anticonvulsant Divalproex, and the antidepressants Paroxetine, Mirtazapine and Citalopram, all of which carry warnings of potential suicidal side effects.

"The VA is known for quality healthcare that is delivered by highly trained and educated medical professionals and staff, but in recent weeks, the American public has read stories accusing the department of not properly taking care of veterans with mental health problems, to include veterans attempting suicide under VA care. These stories, to include the well-documented veterans' claims backlog, are having a negative cumulative effect on the overall image of the VA," said Lisicki.

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Happy Birthday, Army - June 14th Marks 233rd Anniversary

Saturday, June 14, 2008 at 11:11 AM

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(via VFW.org)

This year, the U.S. Army celebrates 233 years of warrior's ethos: fearless determination and strength. Organized as the Continental Army June 14, 1775, the U.S. Army has been a formidable force in the defense of our nation and its interests worldwide. From the American Revolution to the war on terrorism, the men and women of the U.S. Army have always put duty above self, always ready for battle and always prepared to defend our nation's way of life.

From the 2.3 million members of the VFW and its Auxiliaries, we want to issue a worldwide 'thank you' to all of America's soldiers, past and present. We appreciate your courage and sacrifice and pray for your safety.

How fitting it is that it is on the day America honors her soldiers, we also honor the symbol of our freedom - the American Flag - on its special day.

George Lisicki, VFW National Commander

Listen to The National Defense VFW radio interview with Brig. Gen. Jeff Phillips, deputy chief of Army public affairs, on today's Army.

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VA News - Week of June 9, 2008

Saturday, June 14, 2008 at 10:45 AM

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