Top 10 Veterans Stories in Today’s News

From The VA
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) was signed into law by President Obama on February 17th, 2009. It is an unprecedented effort to jumpstart our economy, create or save millions of jobs, and put a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges so our country can thrive in the 21st century. Learn how VA is playing a role.

Top Veterans Stories in Today’s News

1. Des Moines Set to Host National Veterans Golden Age Games Washington – Hundreds of Veterans from around the nation will make their way to Des Moines, Iowa, May 26-31 to compete in the 24th National Veterans Golden Age Games, the largest annual sports competition of its kind in the world. “This extraordinary event is a true testament to the competitive spirit and will of our nation’s Veterans,” said John R. Gingrich, chief of staff for the Department of Veterans Affairs, who will attend the game’s opening ceremonies. “I am thrilled that this premier sporting event for senior Veterans is being held in Des Moines this year, the heartland of America. I know our competitors will again demonstrate that age is not a deterrent to an active, rewarding life.”
2. Policymakers Look to VA for Guidance on U.S. Telemedicine Strategy The Department of Veterans Affairs has pioneered telemedicine programs that have proven to reduce hospital admissions, shorten hospital stays and lower health care costs, Federal Computer Week reports. As the federal government looks to promote telemedicine adoption on a national scale, it is increasingly looking to VA for guidance.
3. Gov. Rell Asks Residents to Donate to Veterans Memorial Governor M. Jodi Rell today unveiled the winning design for the statewide memorial that will be built in Rocky Hill to provide a place of honor and reflection for the service of all Connecticut veterans – past, present and future. In order to get the memorial built, though, Rell is asking residents and businesses to contribute to a fundraising effort to help pay for its construction.
4. Women finally getting health needs met by Veterans Affairs Earlier this month, the American-Statesman’s Jeremy Schwartz introduced you to Teri Jackson and by so doing put a human face on what would otherwise be just another statistic. Jackson, 40, is one of a growing number of female veterans maneuvering through the Department of Veterans Affairs health care system that was set up to meet the needs of male vets.
5. $100M or more in contract fraud found in program for vets Norfolk, Virginia – Six months after government investigators found systemic fraud in a contract set-aside program for small businesses owned by disabled veterans, ineligible companies are still getting millions of dollars in federal contracts under the program. That testimony came from government and private-sector witnesses Monday at a hearing held at Old Dominion University by U.S. Rep. Glenn Nye, D-Virginia Beach. Nye, who chairs a House subcommittee that has been looking into the abuses, has introduced legislation aimed at cleaning up the program.
6. VA publishes draft solicitation for upcoming ‘T4’ IT acquisition The Veterans Affairs Department’s $12 billion solicitation for information technology services under its Transformation Twenty-One Total Technology acquisition vehicle has moved a step closer to fruition. VA’s Technology Acquisition Center said the goal of the solicitation is to acquire IT and telecommunications services for program management and strategy planning, systems/software engineering, enterprise network, cybersecurity, operation and maintenance, and IT facility support.
7. Finance leaders offer tax break for hiring veterans Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Monday introduced legislation granting employers a streamlined $6,000 tax credit for hiring recently discharged veterans. The bill eliminates the administrative burdens that make the current Work Opportunity Tax Credit directed toward unemployed vets difficult for some small businesses to use.
8. Ore. A.G. zeros in on veterans’ ‘charities’ Eugene, Ore. – Oregon Attorney General John Kroger says some nonprofits that claim to be raising money for veterans are instead keeping the money for themselves. Kroger says the state has sued three of these nonprofits, alleging they keep up to 80 percent of the money raised.
9. NASA, VA open-source plans spark debate There are few technology topics that spark an argument like open-source software, especially when you throw government into the conversation. The debates got some fresh grist this month on FCW.com and elsewhere when NASA’s new chief technology officer said his agency is boosting its commitment to open-source software and an industry advisory group told the Veterans Affairs Department that it should use an open-source platform to modernize its popular but 30-year-old VistA electronic health record system.
10. Giving freedom back to veterans Mike Payeur earned a Purple Heart for his service in the war in Iraq, as a member of a U.S. Army unit that lost 110 fellow soldiers during its deployment in 2006-07. It’s his mother, though, who he thinks deserves an award. Pam Payeur is the founder of The Warrior Legacy Foundation’s Wounded Heroes Program of Maine, a group that helps injured veterans through the period when they are waiting for government aid.