Top 10 Veterans Stories in Today’s News

From the VA:

Top 10 Veterans Stories in Today’s News

• 1.      Two Americans Missing, Five Killed By IEDs In Afghanistan. NBC Nightly News (7/24, story 4, 1:30, Holt, 8.37M) reported, “Today was a deadly day in a deadly month for Americans in Afghanistan. More killed and missing today.” NBC (Viqueira) continued, “There is a massive air and ground search underway this evening outside Kabul by Allied Forces looking for two missing US Navy personnel feared captured or killed by Taliban forces. The two apparently wandered off base. They drove off base Friday and have not been heard from since.”
       ABC World News (7/24, story 4, 2:20, Alfonsi, 8.2M) reported that the “tough day for US forces” also included the deaths of five US troops “killed in separate bombings in the south bringing the US death toll for July to 56.” Of the missing Americans, ABC (Schifrin) added, “It’s not clear what two Navy personnel were doing driving alone at night, but they found themselves in the middle of a district that is virtually controlled by the Taliban. … They stopped at the bazaar and continued on when insurgents launched an ambush and tried to take the troops alive but the Americans fought back. Residents say in the end the two Americans were overwhelmed and taken by local insurgents.”
       According to the New York Times (7/25, A6, Oppel, Rahimi, 1.09M), the US offered a $20,000 reward through local media for information about the missing Americans, but “local officials in Logar began receiving unconfirmed reports late Saturday afternoon that one of the two Americans may have been killed, and that the other one was still alive.” NATO could not confirm that.
       The Washington Post (7/25, Partlow, Harndard, 684K) adds that “a Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, called Afghan reporters in Logar on Saturday and told them that the militant movement had captured the two Americans and killed one of them, according to an Afghan reporter and the governor’s spokesman.”
       The CBS Evening News (7/24, story 5, 1:50, McCarthy, 6.1M) added that “this is a very bizarre story” because “these two men appeared to be traveling on their own. This is not normal practice for US forces in Afghanistan. Normally, they would be in a convoy of at least two if not more vehicles.” CBS (Glor) pointed out that Newsweek has “a provocative cover article this week saying we’re not winning the war in Afghanistan, it’s not worth it, arguing for a drawdown.”
       In its report, the Los Angeles Times (7/25, King, 776K) calls Saturday “a very bad day in Afghanistan for US forces.” It reports the disappearances and five deaths and points out that IEDs “now pose a greater threat to life and limb for Western troops than at any point in the nine-year war.” NATO did not say where the deaths occurred, “other than to say that all took place in the south.”
       The AP (7/25, Riechmann) also reports on the missing service members and the five deaths, “four in a single blast” and “a fifth…in a separate attack.” The AP adds that the fatalities put “July on course to become the deadliest month of the nearly 9-year war for Americans. Rising casualties are eroding support for the war even as President Barack Obama has sent thousands of reinforcements to try to turn back the Taliban, who would have a leg up in the propaganda war with the capture of two US troops.”
• 2.      House Focusing On Vets-Related Legislation. In continuing coverage, CQ Weekly (7/26, Young) reports, “Appropriators moved at a brisk clip on the fiscal 2011 spending bills last week, with the full House Appropriations Committee preparing to bring the first of the annual measures to the floor this week.” After noting that the House Appropriations Committee “approved bills for military construction and the Department of Veterans Affairs and for the departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development,” CQ adds, “Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., said he intends to bring up both bills before the House leaves for its August recess.” And, with the fiscal 2010 supplemental spending bill, the House is “expected to back down this week and clear the $58.8 billion Senate” version of the legislation, “which is limited to funding for the wars, disaster relief and veterans.”
       The “On The Money” blog for The Hill (7/26, Needham) says the “$77.3 billion” MilCon-VA “measure is scheduled for the House Rules Committee on Tuesday, setting it up for a likely vote on Wednesday.” After noting that the bill “has Republican support and is expected to pass,” The Hill adds, “If the House passes the…bill, it could serve as a vehicle for the expected continuing resolution that would need to be passed before the start of the new fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.”
       War Spending Legislation, MilCon-VA Bill Both Contain Funding For Agent Orange-Exposed Vets. The Washington Times (7/26, Lengell) reports, “A long-stalled bill to help pay for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars is back at the feet of House Democrats, who must decide whether to accept the Senate’s leaner proposal or keep pushing for billions of dollars in extra domestic spending – a politically risky move that could further delay resources” to US soldiers. According to the Times, the Senate “measure contains funding for medical care for Vietnam War veterans exposed to Agent Orange.”
       CQ Weekly (7/26, Mulero) reports, “Funding for the Veterans Health Administration would increase significantly in fiscal 2011 under” a MilCon-VA Bill “that the House Appropriations Committee approved by voice vote July 20. The increase over the fiscal 2010 level is dedicated, in part, to paying for new medical claims” from Vietnam veterans “exposed to the defoliant Agent Orange.” Last fall, VA “extended coverage to veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange and then developed B-cell leukemia, Parkinson’s disease or ischemic heart disease.”
       In the middle of the “Week At A Glance,” CQ (7/26), notes that on Tuesday, at 2 p.m. in H-313 Capitol, “House Rules considers rules for floor debate for a fiscal 2011 Military Construction-VA spending bill.” Also on Tuesday, according to CQ, the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs will mark “up pending legislation” at 2 p.m. in 334 Cannon.
• 3.      NPR Covers Return Of Marines From Combat In Afghanistan. NPR‘s “Weekend Edition” (7/25, Welch) covers the homecoming from Afghanistan of a North Carolina Marine corporal, whose battalion lost 10 members in fighting in Helmand Province. As his family waits for him to appear for a reunion at Camp Lejeune, “From time to time they’d talk about whether the war will have changed their son.”
• 4.      Illinois DVA Remembers “The Forgotten War” In Korea. The Galesburg (IL) Register-Mail (7/24) reports that, following the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs and three other historic and veterans groups “are sponsoring ‘Illinois Remembers the Forgotten War.'”
• 5.      Group Informing South Dakota Vets About Benefits. On its website, KOTA-TV Rapid City, SD (7/23, Neyenhouse) reported, “The group Veterans Stand Down travels around South Dakota informing veterans of the benefits they’ve earned.” After noting that about “100 veterans were at a recent event in Mission, and plans are in the works to host another in Rapid City this fall,” KOTA added, “Organizers say they’re just doing their part to make life a little easier for the vets.”
• 6.      VA Cancels FLITE Program. The Washington Post (7/26, Censer) reports, “The Department of Veterans Affairs has canceled” its Financial and Logistics Integrated Technology Enterprise (FLITE), “just weeks after” the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) “froze the program as part of a larger review of federal information technology programs.” The Post adds, “‘I was looking at the number of large projects we were doing and getting concerned about our ability to do all of them successfully’…said” Roger Baker, VA’s chief information officer, “of the decision to cancel FLITE. Now, the VA is ‘not going to start an [information technology] project unless we have a high degree of confidence that we will succeed.'”
       VA Official Named To OMB Advisory Board. The Washington Post (7/26) reports the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) “has named a new advisory board to help it assess the state of federal financial management systems.” After noting that OMB “has opted to halt new spending on systems costing $20 million or more pending a review,” the Post says the new “board, which will have no chairman, will include” W. Todd Grams, “acting chief financial officer at the Department of Veterans Affairs.”
• 7.      VA-Supported Study Finds Alternative Pain Relief Method For Sickle Cell Disease. Medical News Today (7/24) reports that, in research supported by VA and NHI, a University of Minnesota Medical School research team “has discovered that cannibinoids offer a novel approach to ease the chronic and acute pain caused by sickle cell disease.”
• 8.      Akaka Holds Hearing On GI Bill Revamp. The “syndicated “Military Update” column (7/24, Philpott), appearing in the Everett (WA) Herald and elsewhere, reports that senior VA and Defense officials “have joined veterans groups and representatives of academia to endorse a comprehensive bill from Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, to reform the Post-9/11 GI Bill.” But with no funding source yet settled on for the bill (S. 3447) from Veterans Affairs chairman Akaka, and its still-to-be-estimated costs seen as high, in a time of growing concern over soaring budget deficits, even Akaka at a Wednesday hearing described the bill as a “starting point for discussion about needed changes.” The article also notes statements from Keith M. Wilson, director of VA’s education service, that the agency would either support or “not oppose” major sections of the proposal. The bill would: expand coverage beyond college courses to include vocational training; bring more National Guard members under the GI Bill , based on their active-duty time; simplify and raise levels of tuition and fee payments; set payments for books and provide online learners with a living allowance half that for resident students.
• 9.      VA Policy Change On Medical Marijuana Receives Wide Attention. A widely distributed AP story (7/24, Yen) continues to garner major attention for the VA’s forthcoming announcement on medical marijuana. It reports, “Patients treated at Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics will be able to use medical marijuana in the 14 states where it’s legal, according to new federal guidelines. The directive from the Veterans Affairs Department in the coming week is intended to clarify current policy that says veterans can be denied pain medication if they use illegal drugs. Veterans groups have complained for years that this could bar veterans from VA benefits if they were caught using medical marijuana.” It also notes that VA health undersecretary Dr. Robert A. Petzel “makes clear that a VA doctor could reserve the right to modify a veteran’s treatment plan if there were risks of a bad interaction with other drugs.”
       The New York Daily News (7/24, Shahid, 588K) adds that the government relations director for the legalization group the Marijuana Policy Project “called the latest step historic,” in that “”We know have a branch of the federal government accepting marijuana as a legal medicine.”
       Reuters (7/24) adds that the VA says the new rule will expire in July 2015.
• 10.    More Problems Found At Arlington National Cemetery. In a front page story, the Washington Post (7/26, A1, Davis, Ruane) reports, “Six weeks after the Army ousted Arlington’s top two officials in a sweeping probe of the nation’s most hallowed cemetery, The Washington Post found problems with more than 130 graves between one of its most high-profile” sections — Justice Hill, where “eight Supreme Court justices are buried” — and Section 27, “one of its least known,” which “holds the graves of thousands,” including some “black Civil War soldiers.” Meanwhile, an “examination…of internal records and interviews with dozens of current and former Army employees reveal that the Army has launched multiple investigations into Arlington over the years.” The Post adds, “The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs’ subcommittee on contracting oversight has been investigating contracting at the cemetery and has scheduled a hearing for Thursday.”
•