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Old 03-02-2018, 01:33 PM
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Arrow VFW Action Corps Weekly 3-3-18 - VA Concern(s)

VFW Action Corps Weekly - 3-3-18 - VA Concern(s)
RE: https://www.vfw.org/actioncorpsweekly

1. VFW to Deliver Veterans’ Voice to Congress:

More than 500 members of the VFW and its Auxiliary are arriving in the nation’s capital this weekend to urge their respective members of Congress to end sequestration and to continue improving the programs and services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs. VFW National Commander Keith Harman is set to present the VFW’s legislative priorities on Wednesday at 10 a.m. before a special joint hearing of the Senate and House Committees on Veterans’ Affairs in room G-50 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Regarding the sequester, he said the two-year budget agreement will bring temporary funding stability, but it won’t end the continued threat of sequestration on a military that is still at war with an all-volunteer force that is fighting with less training and overused equipment. “We need our troops to keep their heads in the fight instead of wondering about the well-being of their families back at home,” he said. Harman will also call for the quick passage of the Caring for Veterans Act of 2017, and urge enhancements to other programs, such as expanding caregiver benefits to pre-9/11 families, increase gender-specific services and peer-to-peer support groups, end the so called “Widow’s Tax,” and extend toxic exposure presumptions for wherever Agent Orange was used, stored or transported, among many others.

(Note: On site you can read more on a link there.)

2. VFW Meets with White House Chief of Staff:

VFW Executive Director Bob Wallace met with White House Chief of Staff John Kelly on Monday to discuss issues regarding the Department of Veterans Affairs. Wallace called the meeting "very productive," in that he and almost 10 other veterans service and advocacy organizations were able to discuss current legislation that would better care for veterans, as well as current operations inside the Department of Veterans Affairs. The meeting was held in response to recent news reporting about political infighting inside the VA in which a few lower-level appointees were attempting to undermine the support and confidence of America’s veterans in the VA and the secretary and deputy secretary who lead it. “This political infighting must stop,” said Wallace. “The mission of VA is too important to have this type of behavior impacting employee morale and the trust of veterans in their VA.”

3. State of VA Health Care Survey:

Your feedback is critical to improving the care veterans have earned. Make sure your voice is heard, take the VFW’s State of VA Health Care Survey.

4. Frelinghuysen to Receive VFW Congressional Award:

Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) has been selected to receive the 2018 VFW Congressional Award for his unwavering support of veterans, service members and their families, as well as for strengthening the Department of Defense, boosting national intelligence capabilities, and for providing an enhanced and more accountable Department of Veterans Affairs. The congressman is chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. He is also a Vietnam veteran who served with the Army’s 93rd Engineer Battalion (Construction) in the Mekong Delta, and is a Life member of VFW Post 3401 in Morris Plains, N.J.

5. Legislative Conference to be Livestreamed:

The VFW will once again livestream this year’s conference. Visit www.vfw.org/VFWDC2018 on Monday at 6 p.m. EST to watch the Voice of Democracy Parade of Winners, plus a delayed viewing of the VFW national commander’s congressional testimony Wednesday afternoon. Look for #VFWDC2018 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and be sure to visit www.vfw.org for all the latest legislative conference updates beginning Sunday.

7. Veterans Legislation Roundup:

This week Senate passed three pieces of legislation supported by the VFW –– S.2372, the Veterans Cemetery Benefit Correction Act, S. 2248, and H.R. 3656. S.2372, which was introduced by Senate Committee of Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), requires the Department of the Interior to provide outer burial receptacles for veterans remains buried in cemeteries administered by the National Park Service (NPS). S.2248, which was introduced by Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Jon Tester (D-Mont.), authorizes the VA to provide burial benefits for spouses and children of veterans who are buried in tribal cemeteries. H.R.3656, which was introduced by Representative Jim Banks (R-Ind.-3), expands VA headstones and markers eligibility for children of veterans. The bill will eliminate an inconsistency in the dates of eligibility, which results in certain spouses being eligible but not dependent children. H.R. 3656 will now head to the president’s desk to be signed into law. The VFW thanks Senators Isakson and Tester and Representatives Banks for their steadfast dedication to veterans.
__________________
Boats

O Almighty Lord God, who neither slumberest nor sleepest; Protect and assist, we beseech thee, all those who at home or abroad, by land, by sea, or in the air, are serving this country, that they, being armed with thy defence, may be preserved evermore in all perils; and being filled with wisdom and girded with strength, may do their duty to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"IN GOD WE TRUST"
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