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VA Mid-Atlantic Chapter News and
Information
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Legislative Alert
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Military
Retirees Health Care Protection Act
| Armenian
Genocide Resolution |
USDR Annual
Appeal for Financial Help
| Immediate
Action Needed to ensure FMAP extension passes the House
| Panel
Recommends INCREASED Defense Spending But CUTS in
TRICARE | Congress
Approves Supplemental War Funds
| PA's Fire and EMS
Providers NEED help in Harrisburg!
| Tell
Congress to Pass Supplemental Funding Bill
| Senate Cuts
Expansion of Concurrent Receipt
| Time to Support
Department of Defense Program Funding
| How Do I
Really Make An Impact?
| Afghanistan:
Don't Escalate, Remediate
| Provides
Veterans Status for "Gray-Area" Retirees
| Urge Senate
to pass S. 1450: Gold Star Parents Bill
| Tell Congress
to Pass Supplemental Funding Bill
| NEW
ALERT - Tell the House To Pass H.R. 4899, the
Supplemental Funding Bill
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To stay inform with everyday Legislative
Alerts from Congress just click on:
Veteran Issues from
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Military Retirees Health
Care Protection Act on August 28, 2010
STOP TRICARE Fee increases!
As you are aware the Secretary of Defense is pushing for military
retirees to assume a greater share of Tricare and Tricare for Life
costs. Earlier this year, Rep. Chet Edwards (D-TX) and Rep. Walter Jones
(R-NC) introduced H.R. 816, "The Military Retirees Health Care
Protection Act" that would prohibit DoD from increasing TRICARE fees,
specifying that the authority to increase TRICARE fees exists only in
Congress.
The Defense Department needs to do more to investigate other options to
make TRICARE more cost-efficient as an alternative to shifting costs to
retiree beneficiaries.
Our nation is at war and imposing higher healthcare costs on retirees
sends a powerful negative message not only to retirees, but to those
currently serving about the value of their service to the nation. Unlike
private sector employees, military retirees have answered the call to
serve, and most have done so under extremely difficult circumstances
while separated from their families to defend the freedoms we enjoy
today.
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Urge Passage of H. Res.
252 - Armenian Genocide Resolution on August 20, 2010
Affirm the Truth, Defeat Denial
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION H. RES. 252
On March 4, 2010, the House Foreign Affairs Committee, under the
leadership of Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA), passed H. Res. 252, the
Armenian Genocide Resolution, introduced by Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA),
George Radanovich (R-CA), along with Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank
Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Mark Kirk (R-IL). Passage through the Committee
now sets the stage for a vote by the full House of Representatives.
The House resolution has garnered strong bi-partisan support with over
140 cosponsors. The Armenian Assembly of America urges swift passage of
this important human rights legislation and calls upon all people of
good will to stand up to genocide denial.
Please take 30 seconds and send a free email to your Representative
calling for a vote on the House floor this year!!!
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USDR Annual Appeal for
Financial Help on August 20, 2010
Dear Devoted USDR Legislative Alerts Subscribers,
Last year the majority of the membership surveyed agreed to keep the
USDR as independent rather than merging with another organization. On
New Year's Eve our elected President Dan Hill passed away, may he Rest
in Peace!
Our paid membership stands at 1,040 members, down 166 members from 2009.
Our CAPWIZ legislative action program is 15,026 activists strong, and in
the past 12 months we have issued some 41 Legislative Action Alerts. For
any given alert approximately 60% will open and read the alert and 20%
will action the alert to targeted officials. Contract renewal fees have
increased from $6000 to $7200. With our increased subscriber ship and
good participation we incurred $1900 message over run fees from the
number included in the contract.
We continue to mail our Sentinel Newsletter to every USDR member four
times per year, and our USDR.ORG website has had over 3,208,468 page
hits, 432,789 visitors, and 270,526 unique visitors since it was
reopened on April 15, 2007. All this is accomplished on a $25,300.00
annual budget. Recall that all USDR leadership serves without pay; only
the Executive Secretary receives any remuneration for her efforts and
she voluntarily requested only half of what she was offered.
Compare these accomplishments to any other major military/veteran
service organizations and you will see that we are the best deal around.
However, that being said, we still need your financial support to
continue these programs. This is why we are once again ask for
donations.
As you can see, our small national organization is still providing the
best ROI (return on investment) and continues to make great headway with
our legislative advocacy. Headway that leads the way among all the other
veteran and military organizations. Our accomplishments are great only
because of you, our members and donors, and because of the tremendous
volunteers we have.
Please donate what you can and send to:
USDR
PO Box 1121
St. Cloud, MN 56302-1121
Alternatively you can donate online through Pay Pal at:
www.usdr.org
Also, please consider getting a friend to join or send a donation. In
closing, we thank you for your continued support and continued
assistance!
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Immediate Action Needed
to ensure FMAP extension passes the House on August 9, 2010
After last week’s significant victory in the Senate on FMAP (click
here to find more information about the Senate’s
recent action) we are asking you for one last grassroots push. With your
help, we can push FMAP over the top.
As you know, Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling the House back into session
to take up FMAP tomorrow. So now, we need one more big push over the
next twenty-four hours. We need you to reach out one more time on FMAP
by
contacting your Member of
Congress and urging them to support the FMAP bill.
Click here to send a letter
to your Representative asking them to support this critically important
bill.
With your help, we’ve come so far on this issue in a very difficult
budgetary climate. All of you should be proud of your grassroots
efforts, which to date total over 75,000 letters to Capitol Hill,
hundreds of meetings focused on this issue, and nearly thirty stops on
our
Driving for Quality Care RV
Tour. We know from our friends on Capitol Hill that AHCA/NCAL members
are being heard.
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Panel Recommends
INCREASED Defense Spending But CUTS in TRICARE on August 7, 2010
The Quadrennial Defense Review Independent Panel, co-chaired by former
Clinton administration Secretary of Defense William Perry and former
Bush administration National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, reported
this week in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that spending by
the Pentagon should increase in the years ahead and not decline. The
report and testimony of Perry and Hadley says that even though the 2011
NDAA is the largest in history, when figured for inflation, is
insufficient to meet the demands placed on the Pentagon. They recommend
that the Navy grow in size, all services recapitalize their equipment
and personnel levels should increase slightly.
Unfortunately, Perry and Hadley also took a shot at TRICARE, saying that
retirees need to pay more or national defense will be harmed.
But they make no mention of clamping down on spending for special
interest pork projects; there was also no mention of the Senate Armed
Services Committee shifting a billion dollars from the President's
request for Afghanistan training to pay for costly special interest
earmarks. No, they said it was the retirees' fault.
They also made no mention that some 500,000 Chapter 61 medical
disability retirees with less than 20 years service are still being
discriminated against and cheated out of their EARNED military
retirement pay. Inexplicably many are retired with 19+ years, when they
could be retained in administrative duties and be retired with 20 years
of service.
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Congress Approves
Supplemental War Funds on July 29, 2010
H.R. 4899 Now Awaits Presidents Signature
On July 27, the House muscled through Senate-approved legislation that
pays for combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. H.R. 4899 now awaits
the Presidents signature.
The additional funding provided in H.R. 4899 prevents drastic action by
DoD to ensure uninterrupted operations in the combat zone. These steps
would have included diverting funds from day-to-day programs,
furloughing civilian employees and eventually withholding pay and
allowances from the troops.
After months of haggling over the issue, it was good to see lawmakers
set aside their differences for the sake of the troops. There is after
all, no more important task for Congress than to make certain our
defenders of freedom have the resources they need.
NAUS thanks everyone who used our CapWiz Alert System to contact his or
her elected officials on the supplemental war-funding bill. Your effort
combined with that of thousands of others helped punch this issue
through at the time it mattered most.
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PA's Fire and EMS
Providers NEED help in Harrisburg! on July 28, 2010
Contact your legislators and let them know what we need!
As your legislators take their 'summer recess', use the opportunity to
reach out to them and discuss issues important to you and your
department. Here is a quick review of a few
PESLA.org legislative priorities
for this session. If you'd like more information about any of these
individual bills, please visit
PESLA.org...you can also get
members of your departments registered to vote in the upcoming
elections!
•HB250: Is a Bill that would authorize municipalities to enact a tax
credit against an active volunteer fire fighter's volunteer's earned
income and property tax liability as a financial incentive to volunteer.
It's currently in the Senate Finance Committee, link to the bill here:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/billinfo.cfm...
•HB810: Would provide for relief payment of EMS Training. More info
here:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/bill_history...
•HB2321: In support of the Grant Program, more info here:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/bill_history...
Other issues of general importance to ALL fire and EMS providers in
Pennsylvania include; Cancer Presumption (HB1231) and vocal support of
the Sprinkler Requirement in our statewide building code. Repealing any
part of this law will be a big step backward for firefighter life
safety! We'd like to see the PA House pass SB851 to exempt VFD's from
the Open Records law and HB325 which streamlines PA Sales Tax compliance
for VFD's.
As always, we ask for your support in getting as many of your fellow
responders as possible to join us at
PESLA.org!
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Tell Congress to Pass
Supplemental Funding Bill on July 24, 2010
Provides Needed Funding for Troops in Iraq, Afghanistan
On July 22 the Senate passed a version of the supplemental spending bill
which stripped out domestic spending issues leaving only funds for DoD,
VA and Disaster Recovery. They have returned it to the House for
concurrance.
Our deployed men and women, fighting on two fronts, need this funding in
place as soon as possible.
Please ask your elected officials to pass this bill without further
delay and BEFORE they recess for their Summer break. Unlike Members of
Congress, our troops don't get a Summer break, but they should have this
funding in place.
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Senate Cuts Expansion of
Concurrent Receipt on July 22, 2010
Another congressional effort to expand concurrent receipt of military
retired pay and veterans disability compensation has failed. Facing
election-year pressure to dramatically scale back new spending, the
Senate voted Tuesday for a stripped-down economic assistance bill that
now omits a proposal supported by the White House and passed by the
House of Representatives that would have extended concurrent receipt of
both benefits to almost 500,000 medically retired veterans who served
less than 20 years in uniform.
House Democrats have talked about trying to restore some of the dropped
items, but no firm plans were announced. The House bill had included a
temporary change in law that would have increased pay for some people
receiving medical retirement pay by eliminating an offset in the retired
pay for those who also receive VA disability compensation.
The change would have started on Jan. 1 for those with a disability
rated by VA at 90 percent or more, and on Oct. 1, 2011, for those with
disabilities rated at least 70 percent. The offset would have resumed on
Oct. 1, 2012. The temporary nature of the proposed change was the result
of an agreement to try to limit costs, with Democratic leaders hoping
they could find money for a permanent and larger plan over the next two
years.
The Obama administration wanted a permanent change. The 2011 federal
budget proposed a five-year plan in which all medically retired veterans
would have the offset eliminated by 2016. It also called for the
elimination of the offset that still applies to some disabled retirees
with low-rated disabilities that are not combat-related.
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Time to Support
Department of Defense Program Funding on July 21, 2010
E-mail your Members of Congress in support of full funding for the
Department of Defense Parkinson's research program. Washington needs to
hear your support for $55 million in funding for the Neurotoxin Exposure
Treatment Parkinson's Research (NETPR) program as Members of Congress
will soon begin drafting appropriations bills.
NETPR funds innovative research to maintain and improve the health of
our military and to find better treatments and a cure for Parkinson's
disease. Why is NETPR funding so important?
•NETPR is the only Parkinson's-specific grant program in the federal
government.
•NETPR is a national peer-reviewed grant program designed to help
protect our military personnel and improve the treatment of Parkinson's
disease.
•The program tries to better understand how potential causes, like head
trauma or chemical exposures, trigger the incidence of Parkinson's
disease in order to prevent, treat, or cure the disease in future
generations of soldiers and civilians.
Please e-mail your Members of Congress today in support of funding for
Parkinson's research at the Department of Defense!
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How Do I Really Make An
Impact? on July 21, 2010
Dear AADE Members and Supporters,
The best way to make an impact with your legislators is to be active, be
often and be personal!
In your letter take the time to add a personal sentence to describe your
own diabetes education program, the patients you serve or why you feel
S. 3211will help increase access to care for the many people in your
area who desperately need to learn how to control their diabetes.
Be sure and ask your Member to "Co-sponsor" S. 3211. Do not simply ask
for their "support" by itself; you will likely get a form letter in
response.
You are already aware that Diabetes Self-Management Training (DSMT)
plays an essential role in the management of diabetes and is integral to
the medical plan of people with diabetes.
You already understand that DSMT serves as the first line of defense in
preventing costly and debilitating conditions, including cardiovascular
disease, kidney failure, blindness and lower limb amputations. It also
helps prevent emergency room visits related to acute complications such
as low blood sugar reactions and acute consequences of extremely high
blood sugars.
Now take the time to make your Senators aware and understand.
Take action now and lets get all Certified Diabetes Educators recognized
as Medicare providers of diabetes outpatient self-management training
services like they deserve.
Thank you,
AADE Advocacy
If you have any questions or feedback please contact James Specker,
Advocacy Specialist at AADE jspecker@aadenet.org
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Afghanistan: Don't
Escalate, Remediate on July 16, 2010
Rep. Barbara Lee will forever be remembered as the lone member of
Congress to urge restraint in the US response to the terrorist attacks
of Sept. 11, 2001. Lee went on to cast the only vote against the
resolution that has sent thousands of Americans and countless civilians
to their graves in Afghanistan.
See Lee's floor speech.
Lee made that heartfelt plea over eight years ago.
Since then, thousands of our best and brightest have made the ultimate
sacrifice in Iraq and Afghanistan, thousands more have suffered terrible
injuries, millions of innocent civilians have lost their livelihoods,
and many thousands have lost their lives. And while it is true that
there have been no more terrorist attacks on US soil, the incidence of
terrorist attacks on our allies have increased.
The terrible human cost is underscored by the billions of dollars being
spent to win a war that cannot be won, while domestic policies are
threatened due to lack of funding.
The US war in Afghanistan is destined to fail. No invading force has
ever conquered the country. Afghanistan is the graveyard of empires.
Ask your member of Congress to join Barbara Lee as a co-sponsor of HR
3699, which prohibits any increase in the number of members of the
United States Armed Forces serving in Afghanistan.
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HR 3787 Provides
Veterans Status for "Gray-Area" Retirees on July 13, 2010
Give Gray Area Reservists Veterans Status
HR 3787, sponsored by Rep. Tim Walz provides "veterans status" for
members of the Reserve Component that served twenty years or more in the
Guard or Reserve and thereby are considered military retirees but due to
current criteria not eligible for veterans status. These so-called
"gray-area retirees" who are provided military retired pay, and TRICARE
at age 60 are not veterans under the law unless they have been activated
under federal orders. FRA believes that all who served twenty or more
years in the Guard or Reserves should be given veterans status. Please
use the Action Center to contact your US Representative on this
important issue.
Read about this bill
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Contact Both of Your
Senators Today on July 12, 2010
Urge Senate to pass S. 1450: Gold Star Parents Bill
The American Legion National Commander Clarence Hill sent a letter last
week to members of the Senate, expressing support for legislation that
would expand access to State Veterans' Homes to parents who have had at
least one son or daughter die while serving in the Armed Forces. Known
as "Gold Star parents," these men and women currently may receive care
in veterans' homes only if they have lost all of their children in
service to the country.
Now we need your help urging members of the Senate to pass this
legislation. The Senate bill, S. 1450, sponsored by Sen. John Ensign,
(NV), was referred to the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee in July
2009. Its companion bill in the House, H.R. 4505, passed by a unanimous
vote of 420-0 on June 30 of this year. We want to see S. 1450 passed by
the Senate before the August recess.
It is now time for the nation to recognize the unrealistic expectation
of personal sacrifice to gain this benefit. We firmly believe a
commitment is made not only by and to service members, but also to
family members who must say goodbye to their loved ones who head into
combat to protect the freedoms of our nation. Offering care and comfort
to the parents of fallen service members is the least this country can
do to honor the sacrifices made.
State veterans' homes were created following the Civil War and still
play a critical role in providing care for thousands of veterans and
their spouses, dependents, and Gold Star parents. Currently there are
137 state veterans' homes in all 50 States and Puerto Rico that provide
hospital and skilled nursing care to approximately 28,500 veterans and
dependents. State veterans' homes are owned and operated by the state,
but the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) subsidizes their operations
by paying an annually-adjusted rate per day for each veteran in the
home. States must still prioritize veterans above spouses, dependents,
and Gold Star parents.
Please contact both of your senators and request they become cosponsors
of S. 1450 today. Encourage them to push for immediate floor action to
assure passage of this legislation. Encourage fellow veterans, family
and friends to voice their support as well.
To find your senators' phone number, you may use our searchable online
congressional directory (Click Here) or call the U.S. Capitol
Switchboard at 800-828-0498 or 877-762-8762 and ask for your senator's
office. Remember telephone calls are usually taken by a staff member,
not the member of Congress. Ask to speak with the aide who handles the
issue about which you wish to comment.
After identifying yourself, tell the aide you would like to leave a
brief message, such as: "Please tell Senator (Name) that I support S.
1450." You will also want to state reasons for your support of the bill.
You can also request that one office transfer you to the next office.
Most staff members are happy to do so.
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Tell Congress to Pass
Supplemental Funding Bill on July 9, 2010
Provides Needed Funding for Defense in Iraq, Afghanistan
On July 1 the House approved legislation that provides additional
funding for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Unfortunately
they also added $23 billion more in unrelated domestic funding that
imperils similar approval by the Senate.
With Congress in recess, that won't happen until they return in mid
July. Meanwhile our troops need the money now.
DoD leaders warned Congress what would happen if they did not make the
additional funding available by Independence Day. In mid June Defense
Secretary Robert Gates told senators the Pentagon will have to do
"stupid things" if Congress doesn't approve the supplemental spending
request by July 4. This includes diverting funds and curtailing defense
operations.
Exactly when DoD will have to begin redirecting day-to-day funds to
support combat operations is unknown, but if we take the words of
Secretary Gates to heart, it is likely to begin soon.
As Congress uses critical defense funds as leverage for their political
tug-a-war, our troops face real-life combat in a life and death
situation.
Congress needs to act, we cannot allow this situation to linger. Tell
them to pass a clean war funding measure without further delay.
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NEW ALERT - Tell the
House To Pass H.R. 4899, the Supplemental Funding Bill on July 2, 2010
Stop the Delay of Critical Wartime Funding
On June 24 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced she would try to pass
H.R. 4899, the supplemental spending bill for the wars in Iraq the
measure before the July recess. The Senate approved the bill in late
May.
DoD concerns about the timing of this important funding are mounting.
Passage is necessary to provide $33 billion to cover the cost of 30,000
additional troops being phased into action in Afghanistan.
At a recent hearing before the Senate Appropriations Defense
Subcommittee, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told senators the
Pentagon will have to do "stupid things" if Congress doesn't approve the
supplemental spending request by July 4. The Secretary told Committee
members if the measure is not passed by that date "we will have to begin
planning to curtail defense operations and such planning is disruptive,
can be costly - especially in a time of war.
Within the House of Representatives there is a rising volume of
criticisms coming from the concession coalition which disapproves of
American involvement in Afghanistan. The emboldened critics may make the
timing of passage more difficult.
Without serious congressional attention to this supplemental, DoD could
reach a point in August where money in the base budget runs out, and
furloughs for civilian employees and pay for active duty military people
would be in jeopardy.
NAUS will continue to press House leadership to follow the Secretary's
advice and take action on the bill. You can bolster our efforts by
contacting your representative and urge them to pass this important
legislation immediately.
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