In This Issue:
1. President Signs Defense Bill
2. VFW Hosts DHS Secretary
3. House VA Committee Clears Bills
4. DNA Samples Needed for MIA Identifications
1. President Signs Defense Bill: The President signed the National Defense Authorization Act this week, which authorizes $550.2 billion for FY 2010 Department of Defense programs, and $130 billion to support overseas military operations. Some VFW-supported highlights include:
* No proposed Tricare fee increases.
* A 3.4% pay raise for active duty, Guard and Reserve members.
* Authorizing premium-based Tricare coverage for "gray area" Reserve retirees who are under age 60.
* Authorizing special compensation on behalf of caregivers of severely wounded warriors while on active duty.
* Requiring a medical examination before administrative separations of members affected by traumatic brain injury or PTSD.
* Protecting absentee voting rights for military members and families.
* Expanding active-duty Tricare eligibility for activating Guard/Reserve members and their families.
A detailed summary of the bill can be found at:
http://armedservices.house.gov.
2. VFW Hosts DHS Secretary: Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief Richard DeNoyer and representatives from nine other veterans' organizations met with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano in the VFW Washington Office yesterday to discuss veterans employment and other key issues. Veterans currently comprise a quarter of DHS' 220,000 workforce, and the secretary reiterated the department's goal to hire 50,000 more by 2012. She also discussed increasing contracting opportunities for veteran-owned small businesses. When asked for her Top 3 concerns, she said radicals inside our borders who are intent on causing harm and damage; cybersecurity attacks that would deny essential services that range from air traffic control to traffic lights; and the need for more legal tools, as it applies to illegal immigration. The secretary said safety and security is a shared responsibility, so she is committed to reaching out to veterans groups through Citizen Corps and the Red Cross to ensure the nation has a first response capability for natural disasters. The meeting was a follow-up to a recent DHS initiative to create a Veterans Outreach Steering Committee. .
3. House VA Committee Clears Bills: The House Veterans' Affairs Committee approved two bills that would help veteran-owned small businesses and provide job training for veterans. The committee rolled seven other bills into the Veterans Small Business Assistance and Servicemembers Protection Act of 2009, sponsored by Chairman Bob Filner (D-CA). Some of the provisions include providing outreach to areas with high concentration of veterans, allowing parents of eligible veterans to be buried in national cemeteries, and enabling servicemembers to terminate certain service contracts if they deploy for more than 90 days. The other bill approved, The Veterans Retraining Act of 2009, would authorize the Department of Labor to pay a monthly training allowance to veterans enrolled in an employment program that teaches a skill in demand. It would also provide a monthly housing allowance equal to an E-5 living in the same Zip Code, and up to $5,000 in moving expenses related to training. For more on the bills, go to the House VA Committee website at
http://veterans.house.gov/.
4. DNA Samples Needed for MIA Identifications: There are 88,000 missing and unaccounted-for American servicemen from World War II forward, yet many MIA families have not provided a family reference sample to assist in DNA identifications. Currently, 68% of Korean War families have provided samples, 66% of Vietnam War families and 63% of Cold War families, but only 0.01% of WWII families have provided samples. The government identifies about 75 MIAs annually, but many more could be identified-and quicker-if reference samples were on file. Please forward the following service casualty office contact information to MIA families in your hometown, as well as to local newspapers:
* Army: 800-892-2490
* Navy: 800-443-9298
* Air Force: 800-531-5501
* Marine Corps: 800-847-1597
* State Department: 202-647-5470
To learn more about how DNA technology helps the Full Accounting Mission, go to the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office website at
http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/family_support_info/dna.htm.
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