| Honoring Pat Toro |
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Support Senate Bill 1602 and
H.R. 4816
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VVA BOD Member Pat Toro Passes
In a July 7 NY Daily News article, reporter Lisa L. Colangelo writes that decorated Vietnam veteran Pat Toro has lost his final battle. The former Marine and fierce veterans' advocate died at St. Francis Hospital on Long Island on Thursday, July 3, less than a year after he was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, a blood disorder that can lead to leukemia.
Read complete article here |
| As Reported in the National Journal |
Are Budget Battles Slowing Health Care Reforms for Veterans?
From a July 8 article for the National Journal by Stacy Kaper—Congress is struggling to push legislation over the finish line in response to reports that veterans seeking health care have been left languishing on secret wait lists. Not wanting to let the momentum from the crisis wane, veterans service organizations are trying to coax lawmakers to prioritize reforms; to help them convince the Congressional Budget Office to lower its cost assumptions; to and guarantee a funding stream is put in place.
Read Kaper's article in the National Journal
To view C-Span's record of July 8 floor remarks by Senate Veterans Affairs Chair |
| VA Press Release |
New Regulations Automate Burial Payments for Veterans' Survivors
New burial regulations, which went into effect July 7, will enable the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to automatically pay the maximum amount allowable under law to most eligible survivors without the need for a written application. Under former regulations, VA paid burial benefits on a reimbursement basis, which required survivors to submit receipts for relatively small, one-time payments that VA generally paid at the maximum amount permitted by law. Surviving spouses will now be paid upon notice of the veteran's death, using information already in VA systems. The burial allowance for a non-service-connected death is $300, and $2,000 for a death connected to military service.
For more information on monetary burial benefits, visit http://www.benefits.va.gov/compensation/claims-special-burial.asp |
| As Reported on the Reno Dispatch Blog |
Phoenix Veterans Affairs Employee Who First Blew the Whistle on VA in 2011 Has No Regrets
On Wednesday, July 9, Janie Reno's exclusive interview with Phoenix VA whistleblower Paula Pedene was posted to the Reno Dispatch Blog. Pedene, despite retaliation by VA management, said, "I would do it all again if I had to, to support our veterans."
Read Reno's interview here
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| As Reported on PBS Newshour |
Is G.I. Bill Benefitting For-profit Schools Instead of Vets?
According to a July 7 PBS Newshour show, the for-profit college sector is under the microscope. The U.S. Department of Education is expected to cut federal aid to schools with high default rates. The federal government and state attorneys general also are investigating marketing and lending practices of some schools. More than $10 billion was spent on the G.I. Bill for veterans' education last year.
Watch the show/read the transcript |
| As Reported by the Washington Post |
Pressure Mounts to Rescind VA Bonuses
In a July 7 article in the Washington Post by Josh Hicks, lawmakers from both parties are increasing pressure to take back performance awards for senior Department of Veterans Affairs executives who oversaw VA medical clinics that falsified their appointment records to hide treatment delays. "The VA secretary has the authority to rescind these bonuses anytime within a year of when they were paid, and I am calling on him to take this action where he deems appropriate," said House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) in a statement released on July 7.
Read complete article here |
| National League of POW/MIA Update |
July 7 Update From the National League of POW/MIA Families
AMERICANS ACCOUNTED FOR: There are still 1,642 personnel listed by the Department of Defense (DoD) as missing and unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War, a number that had not changed since October of last year until early March, and it has since remained the same. Most recently, the name of Captain Douglas Ferguson, USAF, listed as MIA in Laos on December 30, 1969, was released. Captain Ferguson's remains were recovered April 13, 2013, and identified February 14, 2014. The number of Americans announced by DoD as returned and identified since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975 is now 941. Another 63 US personnel, recovered by the US and ID'd before the end of the war, bring the official total of US personnel accounted-for from the Vietnam War to 1,004. Of the 1,642 unaccounted-for personnel, 90% were lost in Vietnam or in areas of Cambodia and Laos under Vietnam's wartime control: Vietnam-1,275 (VN-469, VS-806); Laos-307; Cambodia-53; PRC territorial waters-7. Over-water losses on DoD's list of No Further Pursuit cases number well over 600.
ONGOING REORGANIZATION ACTION: Senior DoD civilian Alisa Stack was appointed to head a transition team, the Personnel Accounting Consolidation Task Force (PACT), that reportedly includes government specialists in each area to be addressed, from structure of the new agency, to the number of personnel, budget requirements, interface with other departments and agencies, and communication with the families.
To read more |
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