In This Issue
NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE SERVICE
1. Emergency VA Funding on Hold
2. Congress on Break
NATIONAL SECURITY & FOREIGN AFFAIRS
1. Bush Vetoes NDAA
2. Reserve Retirement Bill Introduced
3. Eagles' Wings Still Clipped
4. WWII MIA Identified
5. Reserve Component Mobilization
NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE SERVICE
1. Emergency VA Funding on Hold: Before the holiday break, Congress
passed an historic funding bill that gave the VA the largest increase in
its history, one that fully meets the needs laid out by the VFW and the
Independent Budget. The large funding bill included a sizeable $2.9
billion increase for veterans' health care and benefits. There is an
additional $3.7 billion in potential veterans funding that VA could
receive, but only if the President declares it "emergency spending."
Without that declaration, VA will not get that additional increase.
Please contact the President to ask him to release the "emergency"
funding for VA. The current increase, while appreciated, is not enough,
and VA must have the additional $3.7 billion to fully meet the needs of
all veterans. Below is the link to the Legislative Alert the VFW sent
out this week to encourage quick action on the funding. The President
must make the declaration by Jan. 18. Logon here to help:
http://www.vfw.org/index.cfm?fa=news.newsDtl&did=4403.
2. Congress on Break: The House and Senate remain in recess and are
expected back in Washington the week of Jan. 15 to begin the 2nd session
of the 110th Congress. Items on the agenda include the FY 2009 Budget,
Omnibus Veterans Health and Benefits Bills, and continued debate on a
new GI Bill and Iraq War funding. Stay tuned to the Weekly Washington
Updates for more on these items, as well as other developments regarding
veterans, active duty, and Guard and Reserve issues. To sign up for
weekly email updates sent directly to your inbox, go to:
http://capwiz.com/vfw/mlm/signup.htm.
NATIONAL SECURITY & FOREIGN AFFAIRS
1. Bush Vetoes NDAA: President Bush vetoed the FY08 National Defense
Authorization Act because some provisions included in the bill risk
imposing financially devastating hardship on Iraq that will unacceptably
interfere with their political and economic progress. As the Congress
considers a vote to override the veto, the White House is working with
Congressional leaders to strip the objectionable language and get a new
bill to the President. The VFW is confident that nothing else in the
NDAA will be affected, except for the timing on a couple issues. A
military pay raise of 3% was effective on Jan. 1 and the additional half
percentage point will be delayed until the Act is signed, but
retroactive to Jan.1 for a total military pay raise of 3.5%. The early
reserve retirement pay benefit takes effect on the day the NDAA is
signed. The VFW is keeping a close watch on the movement of this
legislation.
2. Reserve Retirement Bill Introduced: On Dec. 19, Rep. Joe Wilson
(R-SC), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, introduced HR
4930, the National Guardsmen and Reservists Parity for Patriots Act,
which will correct inequities left unresolved by the National Defense
Authorization Act. This legislation would require retroactive
eligibility for the newly passed early retirement pay benefit to include
all Guard and Reserve members who have supported contingency operations
since Sept. 11, 2001. Ask your member of Congress to support this
measure and sign on as a cosponsor. The VFW will continue to work for
an early retirement pay benefit for all Reserve Component members.
3. Eagles' Wings Still Clipped: The F-15A through D-model "Eagle" fleet
is in far worse shape than the Air Force originally thought. The
earlier model F-15s have been grounded almost continuously since a
27-year-old F-15C crashed on Nov 2. Years of quick fixes on small
structural cracks have now taken their toll on the older models.
Aircraft inspections are ongoing and eight F-15s have so far been found
to be "hard broke" and possibly beyond repair. The Air Force cleared
F-15E Strike Eagle models to resume flight on Nov. 11, which are not
suffering from the same problems because they were built for the
high-stress, close-air support mission environment. The air superiority
Eagle fleet was originally intended to retire in the mid-1990s; however,
the Air Force extended its service life by delegating it to less
stressful missions. Adding to that decision was the fact that F-22
production was to reach squadron strength in the early 1990s, but that
didn't come to fruition. More than 55% of the 700 aircraft in the total
active and Air National Guard F-15 fleets are 21 years old or older.
The VFW continues to call on Congress and DOD to ramp up production of
the F-22 Raptor and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to provide the Air
Force and other services an aircraft to maintain global air supremacy.
4. WWII MIA Identified: The Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office
announced that the remains of Navy Seaman 1st Class General P. Douglas,
of Newcomb, TN, have been identified and will be returned to his family.
On July 6, 1943, the light cruiser USS Helena was struck by torpedoes
fired by Japanese destroyers off the coast of Kolombangara Island in the
Solomon Islands group, in what would become known as the Battle of the
Kula Gulf. More than 700 servicemen were rescued, but Douglas was one
of more than 150 servicemen who were missing as the ship sunk. In June
2006, a resident of nearby Ranongga Island notified U.S. officials that
he exhumed human remains and Douglas' dog tag that he found eroding out
of the ground near a trail by his village. The officials contacted the
Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, who subsequently traveled to Ranongga
Island to examine the burial location where they verified that no
additional remains were present.
5. Reserve Component Mobilization: The total number currently on active
duty in support of the partial mobilization for the Army National Guard
and Army Reserve is 70,320; Navy Reserve, 5,013; Air National Guard and
Air Force Reserve, 5,925; Marine Corps Reserve, 8,668; and the Coast
Guard Reserve, 326. This brings the total number of mobilized Guard and
Reserve personnel to 90,252, a decrease of 4,235 from two weeks ago.
Topic: VFW WASHINGTON WEEKLY, Jan. 4, 2008 (Read 1263 times)
