VFW KS District 1

Cell Phones for Soldiers

Tuesday, August 19, 2008 at 12:17 PM

by District # 1 Jr. Vice

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Brand New 1st District Department of Kansas Blog

Tuesday, August 19, 2008 at 10:59 AM

by District # 1 Jr. Vice

Welcome to the new 1st District of Kansas Weblog. Here we will share ideas good and bad and invite other comrades to events that all the posts have scheduled.

Lynn W. Rolf III

1st District Jr Vice Commander

Sr. Vice Commander Post #56 Leavenworth, KS

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VFW Washington Weekly - August 5, 2008

Wednesday, August 6, 2008 at 07:49 AM

by District # 1 Jr. Vice

In This Issue:
1. VA Funding Passes House
2. New Housing Bill has Vet Provisions
3. House Passes Vet Bills
4. Congress on August Recess

1. VA funding Passes House: By a 409-4 vote, the House passed the 2009 VA and Military Construction funding bill. The bill builds on last year's historic funding increase, providing $8.8 billion more than last year's funding level. For VA, it's a $4.6 billion increase in funding to a total of $47.7 billion. It includes funding to treat the 40,000 new Iraq and Afghanistan veterans that VA expects to treat this year.
It also includes funding for:
* Priority 8 veterans - would allow a small number of new Priority 8 veterans back into the health care system
* Mental health care - nearly $1 billion more than last year's funding level for PTSD, suicide prevention and other mental illnesses
* Mileage Reimbursement - would increase the rate by $.13 per mile and freeze the deductible
* Rural care - increases funding for rural care options, especially targeted at returning Guard and Reserve members who live far away from VA facilities
* Research and prosthetics - over $170 million more than last year's amount
* Claims processors - allows the hiring of 2,100 additional processors to help reduce the disability claims backlog
* Construction - begins funding six additional VA facilities and allows smaller projects to be conducted at 145 additional locations

The Military Construction portion of the bill includes $336 million in new funding for quality of life programs for troops and their families, much of which is targeted towards barracks and medical facilities. It also sends $3.2 billion specifically towards military housing.

The bill awaits Senate action. With the Senate on recess until September, we will not see any movement for a while. Once the Senate passes its version of the funding bill, the differences would need to be resolved before being sent to the President.

For a detailed summary of the bill: http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/MilConSummaryHP09.pdf
For information about the bill:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h.06599:
To see how your Representative voted:
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2008/roll563.xml

Read more Washington Weekly

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VFW Washington Weekly - July 21, 2008

Wednesday, July 23, 2008 at 12:50 PM

by District # 1 Jr. Vice

In This Issue:
1. FY2009 VA Funding Bill
2. House VA Committee Action
3. VA Outreach Hearing
4. SECDEF Recommends New Guard Chief

1. FY2009 VA Funding Bill: The Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously cleared its version of the 2009 VA Funding Bill. The bill provides $72.7 billion in discretionary funding for military construction and Veterans Affairs. This is about $5 billion more than the current fiscal year, and is in line with the House Appropriations Committee's recommendations. It includes:
$47.7 billion in total VA discretionary funding.
$41.1 billion for VA health care.
$1.2 billion for VA construction projects, nearly double the president's request, and $1.1 billion for hospital maintenance and repairs.
$84 million more than the president's request for medical and prosthetic research.
$350 million to help certain higher income Category 8 veterans to begin enrolling in VA.
$250 million targeted to the care of rural veterans.
The bill now moves to the floor of the Senate for a vote.

Read more...

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Commander-In-Chief Independence Day Message

Friday, July 4, 2008 at 07:04 AM

by District # 1 Jr. Vice

As we celebrate the 232nd anniversary of our nation's independence, let us pause to remember the victories in battle and the blood that was shed to preserve our freedoms. Let us give thanks to our forefathers for their vision of liberty, life and the pursuit of happiness. Most importantly, let us pay tribute to our nation's greatest assets: our servicemen and servicewomen in uniform who so proudly serve our nation in peace and defend our freedoms in war. We salute you for your dedication to duty and service to country. Thank you from the 2.4 million members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and its Auxiliaries.

God bless America.

George Lisicki
VFW Commander-in-Chief

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VFW Demands Accountability Over Chantix Issue

Thursday, June 19, 2008 at 03:33 PM

by District # 1 Jr. Vice

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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VFW Washington Weekly - May 9, 2008

Saturday, May 10, 2008 at 08:13 AM

by District # 1 Jr. Vice

In This Issue
1. GI Bill Call to Action
2. House Holds Veteran Suicide Hearing
3. Senate Holds Hearing on Benefit Bills
4. Senate Committee Boosts Pay, Rejects Fees

 

1. GI Bill Call to Action: The VFW still needs you to urge your senators to support S. 22, and your representatives to support H.R. 5740, so that the VFW goal of creating a new GI Bill for the 21st century becomes a reality. As of this morning, 57 senators are supporting S. 22, a number that is unchanged from last week. Introduced by Jim Webb (D-VA), S. 22 has strong bipartisan support from fellow senators such as Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and John Warner (R-VA). Its companion bill in the House, H.R. 5740, increased by 27 to 293 co-sponsors, or 67% of the House. Introduced by Harry Mitchell (D-AZ), it, also has strong bipartisan support from fellow congressmen such as Bill Young (R-FL) and Chris Smith (R-NJ). America's newest Greatest Generation needs your help to bring educational benefits back in line with current day tuitions. Use this link to contact your members: http://capwiz.com/vfw/dbq/officials/.

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