VFW Pacific District 3

VFW Salutes Passage of 2009 VA Budget

Wednesday, October 1, 2008 at 03:28 PM

by dist3

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1, 2008--The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is saluting the 110th Congress for providing $50.2 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs fiscal year 2009 budget.

As part of the $634 billion Continuing Resolution signed by President Bush yesterday, VA discretionary funding is increased $4.5 billion over last year, which meets Independent Budget recommendations for healthcare funding. The Independent Budget is a detailed analysis of VA operations that the VFW has co-authored for the past 22 years with AMVETS, Disabled American Veterans and the Paralyzed Veterans of America.

VA budget highlights include $3.8 billion for mental healthcare, $584 million for substance abuse programs, $510 million for medical and prosthetic research, $250 million to improve access for veterans in rural areas, and additional funding for homeless grants, the hiring of 2,000 additional claims adjudicators, and to raise the mileage reimbursement rate from 28.5 to 41.5 cents per mile.

“We are very grateful to the president and to congressional leadership for keeping to their pledge to take care of our veterans,” said VFW National Commander Glen Gardner, a Vietnam veteran from Round Rock, Texas. “And we hope the delivery of an on-time budget is the start of a trend that will continue into the next administration and Congress.”

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Home Repair Scam Appears to Target Military Families

Wednesday, September 17, 2008 at 12:48 PM

by dist3

WASHINGTON - The letter that appeared in a Soldier's mailbox promised an offer almost too good to be true: a home improvement loan approved by Congress and backed up by a government agency.

Officials at the Federal Citizen Information Center fear it's a scam targeting military members that uses the center's credibility to lure victims in.

An eagle-eyed Soldier notified the Federal Citizen Information Center after receiving the ad from the "Home Information Center" linked to post office boxes in Dallas and in Owasso, Okla. The letter included a reference to FCIC's Web site in an apparent attempt to show a federal endorsement.

"The thing that immediately sends up a red flag is the fact that [the advertisement] says these loans are approved by the U.S. Congress," said Mary Levy, director of consumer education and outreach in the FCIC's Office of Citizen Services. "Congress would absolutely never approve any particular home improvement loan."

Source: DVIDS-Digital Video and Imagery Distribution System

Read Full Story Here: Home Repair Scam Appears to Target Military Families

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Texas VFW Establishes Hurricane Relief Fund

Monday, September 15, 2008 at 11:55 PM

by dist3

From: "Phyllis Cale"
To: "_All State Depts"
:
Subject: Department of Texas
Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:58:37 -0500

MEMORANDUM
FROM
ALLEN F. "GUNNER" KENT
ADJUTANT GENERAL
VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES

To: Department Adjutant-Quartermasters
Date: September 15, 2008

As you are aware, homes, businesses and land from Galveston Island to Port Arthur to Beaumont in Texas have been destroyed by Hurricane Ike. However at this time, we do not know if any VFW Posts were lost.

As a result of the devastation, the Department Texas has established a special fund to assist our members who have been evacuated and or suffered a loss due to the hurricane.
The Department of Texas is asking for our support. Please notify the Posts in your Department and ask them to contribute to this immediate relief effort. Monetary donations may be sent directly to;

Roy Grona
Adjutant-Quartermaster
Department of Texas Headquarters
8503 N IH 35
Austin, Texas 78753-5722.

Thank you for all you do for this great Organization.

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VFW Washington Weekly - September 12, 2008

Friday, September 12, 2008 at 08:35 PM

by dist3

In This Issue:
1. COLA Passes House
2. House VA Committee Hearings
3. FY2009 NDAA
4. Wounded Warrior Resource Center Established

1. COLA Passes House: The House cleared a cost-of-living bill Wednesday that would provide an increase for veterans with service-connected disabilities, as well as dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) for families of deceased veterans.

The Senate passed the veterans' COLA measure in July. The COLA bill, S 2617, provides for a Dec. 1 increase in disability compensation, dependency and indemnity compensation, and pensions that will match whatever increase is provided in Social Security benefits. The increase, which applies to about 2.8 million veterans and survivors, would first appear in January paychecks. The Social Security increase won't be known until mid-October, but is expected to be a minimum of 6 percent. The Social Security COLA automatically applies to military and federal civilian retired pay, but veterans' disability and survivor benefits and pensions increase only through the enactment of new legislation. The COLA bill now awaits the President's signature.

2. House VA Committee Hearings On Tuesday, the Subcommittee on Health held a legislative hearing to review three bills. VFW provided testimony for the record and supported HR 3051, The Heroes at Home Act and HR 6153, The Veterans' Medical Personnel Recruitment and Retention Act.

-HR 3051 would provide much needed relief for those suffering from TBI by creating a family caregiver program to train families or friends of veterans suffering from the effects of severe brain injuries. It also requires VA to conduct outreach to educate veterans and the public about PTSD and TBI, as well as promoting the range of services VA can provide for their treatment.

-HR 6153 would improve VA's ability to recruit and retain nurses and other health care practitioners by improving pays for various health care specialties. VFW has called on VA to improve and adapt its policy in order keep up with the ever competitive and changing marketplace of high-quality health care providers.

To read our testimony, visit the House VA website at: http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/hearing.aspx?newsid=299

Read more

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WWII Ground Combat Infantrymen Eligible for Bronze Star Medal

Monday, August 25, 2008 at 03:26 PM

by dist3

"Infantrymen who served in ground combat during World
War II between December 7, 1941 and September 2, 1945, are eligible to
apply for a Bronze Star Medal (BSM), according to the U.S. Army Human
Resources Command. Approval is virtually guaranteed for those recipients
of the Combat Infantryman's Badge (CIB) or the Combat Medic's Badge
(CMB). Army regulations that govern this award may be found in AR
600-8-22, Military Awards.

Next of kin may apply for the posthumous award(s). If the veteran has
previously received a BSM during combat for a specific act of bravery,
he or his next of kin is still eligible to apply for a BSM."

Find out more here

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VFW Washington Weekly - August 5, 2008

Wednesday, August 6, 2008 at 08:49 AM

by dist3

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 01:50 PM

by dist3

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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