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VFW WASHINGTON WEEKLY
January 17, 2014 In This Issue: 1. VA's eBenefits Portal Shut Down for Software Defect 2. Omnibus Bill Signed 3. VA Appropriations Not Enough 4. VA Subcommittee Discusses Surgical Implants 5. Armed Services Subcommittee Discusses LQA 6. Army Reserve is Hiring 7. Korean War MIA Identified 1. VA's eBenefits Portal Shut Down for Software Defect: VFW learned this week that on Wednesday, during a process to improve software supporting the joint VA and DOD benefits web portal eBenefits, VA discovered a software defect. During a limited timeframe, some veterans and service members who had registered and logged into eBenefits were able to see a combination of their information as well as personal information from other e-Benefits users. VA immediately shut down the eBenefits system in order to limit any further issues with personal information captured on the site. VA is in the process of identifying those that were affected, and plans to contact those veterans directly to offer proper credit monitoring. VA is also conducting a full review to be certain the underlying technological issues have been resolved before the system will be returned to normal operations. Check regularly with www.va.gov for updates on the situation. 2. Omnibus Bill Signed: The president is expected to sign into a law a $1.1 trillion Omnibus Bill that Congress approved this week to fund the federal through fiscal year 2014. Of interest to the VFW and veterans' advocates: * Afghanistan: The legislation includes $85.2 billion for military operations in Afghanistan, which is $2 billion less than last year due to ongoing troop reductions. It also withholds money from the Afghan government "until certain conditions are met," to include the signing of a new bilateral security agreement. * Guantanamo Bay: The legislation prohibits the Administration from transferring detainees from the U.S. detention facility on Cuba to facilities in the U.S. It also prohibits money from being spent to modify U.S. facilities to house such detainees. * Military Pay: It authorizes the 1 percent pay increase for U.S. military personnel, plus sets troop levels for the year at 1,361,400 active-duty and 833,700 Reserve Component troops. * Military Retirees: It eliminates the 1 percent COLA penalty on Chapter 61 medical retirees and survivor benefits recipients, but not for approximately 800,000 working-age military retirees younger than age 62. More than a dozen individual pieces of legislation have been introduced in the House and Senate to remove the penalty on all retirees. According to VFW National Commander Bill Thien, the Omnibus Bill doesn't go far enough to protect the earned retirement benefit of all military retirees, and the VFW will continue to work hard to fix this injustice. You can help by contacting your representatives and senators today at http://capwiz.com/vfw/issues/alert/?alertid=63054586. * Military Sexual Assault: It provides $157 million for the Pentagon's sexual assault prevention programs and $25 million to expand a victims' counsel program for troops involved in rape or sexual assault cases. * Veterans Affairs: The modest increases to medical services and the Veterans Benefits Administration were overshadowed by large reductions in VA construction and medical facility accounts. See entry #2 below. 3. VA Appropriations Not Enough: The VFW and its three other co-authors on the Independent Budget expressed concern with the funding provided to the VA by the Omnibus Bill. The spending package provides only $342 million for Major Construction, which is about $800 million less than what the IB recommends for FY 2014, and billions less than what's truly needed for construction funding. Additionally, the bill would slash funding for Medical Facilities, reducing that account by nearly $500 million. Along with AMVETS, DAV and PVA, the VFW appreciates the modest increases to Medical Services and the Veterans Benefits Administration, as well as to Information Technology, but emphasizes that more must be done. The four organizations again call for the passage of the companion bills H.R. 813 and S. 932 to provide advance appropriations for all VA accounts. Currently, only the medical care accounts are funded through advance appropriations. The 28th edition of the Independent Budget is expected to be released next month. For the IB press release, go to http://www.vfw.org/News-and-Events/Articles/2014-Articles/Veterans-Service-Organizations-Concerned-About-Omnibus-Appropriations-Bill/. For the IB FY 2015 Critical Issues report, go to http://www.independentbudget.org/. 4. VA Subcommittee Discusses Surgical Implants: The House VA Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing this week on issues surrounding VA surgical implants. The hearing was prompted by a recent GAO report entitled, "VA Surgical Implants: Shortcoming in Implant Purchasing and Tracking." VA is one of the largest purchasers of surgical implants, which include devices such as pacemakers and artificial joints, as well as biological products such as skin and bone grafts. The witness panels included representatives from GAO, VA, and subject matter experts. The main focus of the hearing was to address GAO's findings on VA purchasing deficiencies. Other issues addressed included VA's tracking of veterans who receive implants in case a device is recalled due to deficiency, and reported cases of skin graft vendors inappropriately participating in the application of their products. For more information, visit the VFW blog at: http://thevfw.blogspot.com/2014/01/house-discusses-va-purchasing-for.html 5. Armed Services Subcommittee Discusses LQA: The House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee held a hearing Thursday to address the Living Quarters Allowance issue that impacts almost 700 DOD civilians working overseas, many of whom are veterans and VFW members. The issue is that a reinterpretation of civilian personnel regulations found them ineligible to receive LQA, but in order to request a waiver, they must first admit to the debt, even though they received LQA through no fault of their own. According to government witnesses, out of 602 Department of Army civilians, 534 of them have submitted waivers and/or requested hearings, and that 366 waivers have been approved. No evidence of fraud has yet been found. To the VFW, DOD should extend LQA payment eligibility until the current employee departs, and extend grandfather protections to those civilians no longer assigned overseas or who have since separated or retired from federal service. The witnesses said the highest amount owed was $798,000, but they could not answer whether the department would seek reimbursement or waivers from previously assigned civilians. 6. Army Reserve is Hiring: The VFW attended a meeting Thursday with the Chief of the Army Reserve, Lt. Gen. Jeff Talley, and learned that they are short about 7,000 soldiers, especially in the mid-NCO and officer ranks. The Army Reserve, which is the largest single command in the military, is authorized 205,000 soldiers, but its current strength is only 198,000. He addressed a current study about potentially combining the Guard and Reserve, and said even though some efficiencies could be made, there was no appetite for it in Congress or the Pentagon. Army Reserve leadership is also supportive of VFW initiatives to lower the Reserve Component retirement age to 55 and to grandfather activation credit back to 9/11, but doesn't believe money exists to expand retirement benefits when the active-duty retirement system is under intense scrutiny and subject to change. 7. Korean War MIA Identified: The Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced the identification of remains belonging to Army Cpl. Billy M. McIntyre, 19, of Carter, Okla. On Dec. 7, McIntyre was reportedly killed in action while deployed along the eastern banks of the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. He was a member of the 31st Regimental Combat Team, also known as Task Force Faith. Read more about his recover and identification at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/news/news_releases/. As always, we want to share your advocacy stories on the VFW Capitol Hill blog. To share your stories either fill out our online form by clicking here, http://www.vfw.org/Forms/Capitol-Hill-Blog-Submissions/, or simply email photos and stories directly to vfwac@vfw.org To sign up new veterans' advocates to receive the Washington Weekly every Friday, click here: http://capwiz.com/vfw/mlm/signup.htm |
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Veterans of Foreign Wars | 406 West 34th Street | Kansas City, MO 64111
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VFW WASHINGTON WEEKLY
January 17, 2014 In This Issue: 1. VA's eBenefits Portal Shut Down for Software Defect 2. Omnibus Bill Signed 3. VA Appropriations Not Enough 4. VA Subcommittee Discusses Surgical Implants 5. Armed Services Subcommittee Discusses LQA 6. Army Reserve is Hiring 7. Korean War MIA Identified 1. VA's eBenefits Portal Shut Down for Software Defect: VFW learned this week that on Wednesday, during a process to improve software supporting the joint VA and DOD benefits web portal eBenefits, VA discovered a software defect. During a limited timeframe, some veterans and service members who had registered and logged into eBenefits were able to see a combination of their information as well as personal information from other e-Benefits users. VA immediately shut down the eBenefits system in order to limit any further issues with personal information captured on the site. VA is in the process of identifying those that were affected, and plans to contact those veterans directly to offer proper credit monitoring. VA is also conducting a full review to be certain the underlying technological issues have been resolved before the system will be returned to normal operations. Check regularly with www.va.gov for updates on the situation. 2. Omnibus Bill Signed: The president is expected to sign into a law a $1.1 trillion Omnibus Bill that Congress approved this week to fund the federal through fiscal year 2014. Of interest to the VFW and veterans' advocates: * Afghanistan: The legislation includes $85.2 billion for military operations in Afghanistan, which is $2 billion less than last year due to ongoing troop reductions. It also withholds money from the Afghan government "until certain conditions are met," to include the signing of a new bilateral security agreement. * Guantanamo Bay: The legislation prohibits the Administration from transferring detainees from the U.S. detention facility on Cuba to facilities in the U.S. It also prohibits money from being spent to modify U.S. facilities to house such detainees. * Military Pay: It authorizes the 1 percent pay increase for U.S. military personnel, plus sets troop levels for the year at 1,361,400 active-duty and 833,700 Reserve Component troops. * Military Retirees: It eliminates the 1 percent COLA penalty on Chapter 61 medical retirees and survivor benefits recipients, but not for approximately 800,000 working-age military retirees younger than age 62. More than a dozen individual pieces of legislation have been introduced in the House and Senate to remove the penalty on all retirees. According to VFW National Commander Bill Thien, the Omnibus Bill doesn't go far enough to protect the earned retirement benefit of all military retirees, and the VFW will continue to work hard to fix this injustice. You can help by contacting your representatives and senators today at http://capwiz.com/vfw/issues/alert/?alertid=63054586. * Military Sexual Assault: It provides $157 million for the Pentagon's sexual assault prevention programs and $25 million to expand a victims' counsel program for troops involved in rape or sexual assault cases. * Veterans Affairs: The modest increases to medical services and the Veterans Benefits Administration were overshadowed by large reductions in VA construction and medical facility accounts. See entry #2 below. 3. VA Appropriations Not Enough: The VFW and its three other co-authors on the Independent Budget expressed concern with the funding provided to the VA by the Omnibus Bill. The spending package provides only $342 million for Major Construction, which is about $800 million less than what the IB recommends for FY 2014, and billions less than what's truly needed for construction funding. Additionally, the bill would slash funding for Medical Facilities, reducing that account by nearly $500 million. Along with AMVETS, DAV and PVA, the VFW appreciates the modest increases to Medical Services and the Veterans Benefits Administration, as well as to Information Technology, but emphasizes that more must be done. The four organizations again call for the passage of the companion bills H.R. 813 and S. 932 to provide advance appropriations for all VA accounts. Currently, only the medical care accounts are funded through advance appropriations. The 28th edition of the Independent Budget is expected to be released next month. For the IB press release, go to http://www.vfw.org/News-and-Events/Articles/2014-Articles/Veterans-Service-Organizations-Concerned-About-Omnibus-Appropriations-Bill/. For the IB FY 2015 Critical Issues report, go to http://www.independentbudget.org/. 4. VA Subcommittee Discusses Surgical Implants: The House VA Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing this week on issues surrounding VA surgical implants. The hearing was prompted by a recent GAO report entitled, "VA Surgical Implants: Shortcoming in Implant Purchasing and Tracking." VA is one of the largest purchasers of surgical implants, which include devices such as pacemakers and artificial joints, as well as biological products such as skin and bone grafts. The witness panels included representatives from GAO, VA, and subject matter experts. The main focus of the hearing was to address GAO's findings on VA purchasing deficiencies. Other issues addressed included VA's tracking of veterans who receive implants in case a device is recalled due to deficiency, and reported cases of skin graft vendors inappropriately participating in the application of their products. For more information, visit the VFW blog at: http://thevfw.blogspot.com/2014/01/house-discusses-va-purchasing-for.html 5. Armed Services Subcommittee Discusses LQA: The House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee held a hearing Thursday to address the Living Quarters Allowance issue that impacts almost 700 DOD civilians working overseas, many of whom are veterans and VFW members. The issue is that a reinterpretation of civilian personnel regulations found them ineligible to receive LQA, but in order to request a waiver, they must first admit to the debt, even though they received LQA through no fault of their own. According to government witnesses, out of 602 Department of Army civilians, 534 of them have submitted waivers and/or requested hearings, and that 366 waivers have been approved. No evidence of fraud has yet been found. To the VFW, DOD should extend LQA payment eligibility until the current employee departs, and extend grandfather protections to those civilians no longer assigned overseas or who have since separated or retired from federal service. The witnesses said the highest amount owed was $798,000, but they could not answer whether the department would seek reimbursement or waivers from previously assigned civilians. 6. Army Reserve is Hiring: The VFW attended a meeting Thursday with the Chief of the Army Reserve, Lt. Gen. Jeff Talley, and learned that they are short about 7,000 soldiers, especially in the mid-NCO and officer ranks. The Army Reserve, which is the largest single command in the military, is authorized 205,000 soldiers, but its current strength is only 198,000. He addressed a current study about potentially combining the Guard and Reserve, and said even though some efficiencies could be made, there was no appetite for it in Congress or the Pentagon. Army Reserve leadership is also supportive of VFW initiatives to lower the Reserve Component retirement age to 55 and to grandfather activation credit back to 9/11, but doesn't believe money exists to expand retirement benefits when the active-duty retirement system is under intense scrutiny and subject to change. 7. Korean War MIA Identified: The Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced the identification of remains belonging to Army Cpl. Billy M. McIntyre, 19, of Carter, Okla. On Dec. 7, McIntyre was reportedly killed in action while deployed along the eastern banks of the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. He was a member of the 31st Regimental Combat Team, also known as Task Force Faith. Read more about his recover and identification at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/news/news_releases/. As always, we want to share your advocacy stories on the VFW Capitol Hill blog. To share your stories either fill out our online form by clicking here, http://www.vfw.org/Forms/Capitol-Hill-Blog-Submissions/, or simply email photos and stories directly to vfwac@vfw.org To sign up new veterans' advocates to receive the Washington Weekly every Friday, click here: http://capwiz.com/vfw/mlm/signup.htm |
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VFW WASHINGTON WEEKLY
January 10, 2014
In This Issue:
1. COLA Penalty Fight Update 2. VFW Hears Army and NGB Chiefs 3. Memorial Day Concert Seeks D-Day, Afghan Vets 1. COLA Penalty Fight Update: More than a dozen individual pieces of legislation have now been introduced in the House and Senate to remove the COLA penalty from the two-year bipartisan budget agreement that was signed into law Dec. 26. The penalty, which impacts working age military retirees and medically-retired troops, is an automatic one-percent reduction from annual COLA increases until age 62. If left unchanged, the penalty would be phased in over three years, beginning with a quarter-percent reduction in 2015, then a half-percent reduction in 2016 and the full one percent in 2017. Budget reduction advocates say the penalty would only reduce an E-7's lifetime compensation from $1.8 million to $1.7 million, but left unsaid is an E-7 retiring today only earns a taxable retirement of $25,200, which for a family of four is borderline poverty level, and that the E-7 would have to live another five decades or more to accumulate anywhere near those totals. The VFW is working with congressional allies to find a bipartisan solution to eliminate the penalty, but we still need your voice to tell Congress that this is important to keep the faith with our military of today, yesterday and tomorrow. Join the VFW Call to Action today by going to http://capwiz.com/vfw/issues/alert/?alertid=63034211. 2. VFW Hears Army and NGB Chiefs: The VFW was at the National Press Club twice this week to hear Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno on Tuesday, and Chief of the National Guard Bureau Gen. Frank Grass on Thursday, discuss a range of topics, mostly concerning the budget and the way forward. General Odierno said the budget is very challenging for the 1.1 million Total Army, and even though the recent budget agreement stopped the sequester for two years, it is still a threat and hurts rebalancing efforts. Regarding recent events, he said Fallujah was very disappointing, but doesn't advocate sending boots on the ground, that standards will not be lowered just to open up the combat arms to women, that sexual assaults will not be tolerated, the Army is not in competition with the Marines in the Pacific, and that Army Guard and Reserve forces exist to complement, not replace, the active force. General Grass said the 460,000 members of the Air and Army National Guard are at their highest state of readiness ever, but also worries how to balance the force and keep it relevant during the fiscal drawdown, especially knowing that a major event, such as a New Madrid earthquake or another Category 5 hurricane, could be just around the corner. For video of both events, go to http://press.org/. 3. Memorial Day Concert Seeks D-Day, Afghan Vets: On May 25, 2014, Gary Sinese and Joe Mantegna will return to host the Memorial Day Concert on the Mall, along with Gen. Colin Powell. This year Capital Concerts, the producer of the event, is seeking veteran support of their two main themes: The 70th anniversary of the Normandy Invasion, which coincides with the 10th anniversary of the National WWII Memorial, and the ending of the war in Afghanistan. Being sought are: * World War II veterans who participated in the Normandy Invasion. Selected veterans will be interviewed on videotape and then honored on stage with music by the National Symphony Orchestra. A short documentary about the invasion will be broadcast as part of the concert. * Active-duty, Guard, Reserve, or veterans who were wounded (physically or mentally) in Afghanistan, and who are willing to share their stories of combat and their transition home. Selected stories will be reenacted by well-known actors. The selected veterans and their families will also be honored at the concert. The Memorial Day Concert on the Mall is a 90-minute live event broadcast on PBS to 10 million viewers, and performed in front of an audience of 300,000 on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol. Interested service members and veterans should contact Celia Straus, writer of the concert, at Celia.straus@gmail.com. More information about the Memorial Day Concert is at www.pbs.org/memorialdayconcert/features/. As always, we want to share your advocacy stories on the VFW Capitol Hill blog. To share your stories either fill out our online form by clicking here, http://www.vfw.org/Forms/Capitol-Hill-Blog-Submissions/, or simply email photos and stories directly to vfwac@vfw.org. To sign up new veterans' advocates to receive the Washington Weekly every Friday, click here: http://capwiz.com/vfw/mlm/signup.htm. |
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Veterans of Foreign Wars | 406 West 34th Street | Kansas City, MO 64111
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