Tuesday, 03 February 2015

Did you know:

- Four 'Immortal Chaplains' honored at annual ceremony. - Japan's leader defends handling of hostage crisis. - New Sergeant Major of the Army sworn in. - New combined POW/MIA agency becomes operational. - Battaglia: Critical Time for Senior Enlisted Leader Council. - Military life is stressful on all concerned; efforts to help often fall short. - Barrack Obama’s ‘have-it-all’ budget. - DoD Releases Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Proposal. - Budget Request Balances Today's Needs Against Tomorrow's Threats. - Ignoring caps, Obama proposes big boost in defense spending. - Budget: Obama wants 1.3 percent pay raise for military, DOD civilians. - Budget: Obama proposes big increase in VA funding. - Obama budget ups VA spending by $9B. - Obama Asks for More Spending on Veterans. - White House Budget: Over-strapped VA gets a proposed 7.8 percent budget boost. - How Obama Would Spend Your Money in 2016, Agency by Agency. - Areas for Possible Compromise Between White house, Congress. - VA Seeks to Reallocate Choice Act Funds in $169B Budget Proposal. - Obama budget calls for largest federal civilian workforce since Cold War. - Leading Veterans Group Release Funding Blueprint to Address VA Health Care Access Issues. - Advocates worry planned VA budget hikes aren’t enough. - Obama’s Budget Targets High Cost of Cutting-Edge Drugs. - Obama wants to strip funding for Veterans’ medical choice program. - Lawmaker blasts budget plan to trim VA Choice Program. - Senate to pass first vets bill of 2015 honoring Texas sniper Clay Hunt. - Feds Delay by 1 Year Goal for Ending Chronic Homelessness. - Google to Fix Department of Veterans Affairs? - Lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. - Veterans Flock To Business School Ranks For Careers After Military. - New wheelchair gives paralyzed Veterans chance to stand on own. - For Okinawa Marine, LQA benefit turns into debtor’s nightmare. - Birmingham VA hosts town hall to better serve Veterans. - Program at VA Hospital ensures ‘no Veteran dies alone’. - B-29 co-pilot talks to Marines about Hiroshima and Nagasaki. - '6 Certified' group aims to shift how veterans are pictured on film, TV. - Boeing Tapped for Air Force One Replacement.

Did you know:

The number of children receiving food stamps remains higher than it was before the start of the Great Recession in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual Families and Living Arrangements table package released today.

The rate of children living with married parents who receive food stamps has doubled since 2007. In 2014, an estimated 16 million children, or about one in five, received food stamp assistance compared with the roughly 9 million children, or one in eight, that received this form of assistance prior to the recession.

These statistics come from the 2014 Current Population Survey’s Annual Social and Economic Supplement, which has collected statistics on families and living arrangements for more than 60 years. Today’s table package delves into the characteristics of households, including the marital status of the householders and their relationship to the children residing in the household. The historical data on America’s families and living arrangements can be found on census.gov. For more information: http://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2015/cb15-16.html

Four 'Immortal Chaplains' honored at annual ceremony . The selflessness of four Army chaplains who saved others aboard a sinking ship during World War II continues to serve as an example to pursue "greater service," speakers said at a ceremony Sunday.

Japan's leader defends handling of hostage crisis . Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe defended his policy toward terrorism, as the flag at his official residence flew at half-staff Monday in a mark of mourning for two hostages killed by the Islamic State group.

New Sergeant Major of the Army sworn in . Sgt. Maj. Daniel Dailey takes over the post as the force is emerging from more than 13 years of warfare, and is facing major troop level cuts and budget restrictions that are already impacting service members and their families.

New combined POW/MIA agency becomes operational . The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency became operational Friday following deactivation ceremonies at the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command and the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office, Defense officials said.

Battaglia: Critical Time for Senior Enlisted Leader Council . Senior enlisted advisors to the joint chiefs, to the commandant of the Coast Guard and to combatant commanders met at the Pentagon last week for the bi-annual Defense Senior Enlisted Leader Council, hosted by Marine Corps Sgt. Major Bryan B. Battaglia, the senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The council is a forum for the most senior … The Washington Post: Military life is stressful on all concerned; efforts to help often fall short . The military has never been a particularly family-friendly career… The departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs have invested billions of dollars to expand their capacity to support veterans and their families, but it’s not clear that those dollars are translating into better results, says Terri Tanielian, a senior research analyst at the Rand Corp. in Arlington.

Politico: Barrack Obama’s ‘have-it-all’ budget . President Barack Obama released a $4 trillion budget Monday designed to convince Americans that they can have it all: more tax breaks for the middle class, more spending on government programs, and just enough cuts and tax hikes to keep the nation’s deficits under control.

DoD Releases Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Proposal . President Barack Obama today sent Congress a proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Department of Defense budget request of $585.3 billion in discretionary budget authority to fund both base budget programs and Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO). The FY 2016 base budget of $534.3 billion includes an increase of $38.2 billion over the FY 2015 enacted budget of $496.1 billion. DoD's FY 2016 OCO budget of $50.9 billion is $13.3 billion or about 21 percent lower than the FY 2015 enacted level of $64.2 billion, reflecting the end of …

Budget Request Balances Today's Needs Against Tomorrow's Threats . The president's fiscal year 2016 budget request of $534 billion protects America today, while positioning the U.S. military to face the threats of tomorrow, Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and Chief Financial Officer Mike McCord said. He emphasized that although planners were aware of …

Ignoring caps, Obama proposes big boost in defense spending . President Barack Obama is asking Congress for $585.3 billion in defense spending for fiscal 2016, but doubts remain about whether actual Pentagon funding will come close to that level.

Budget: Obama wants 1.3 percent pay raise for military, DOD civilians . President Barack Obama wants to give the uniformed military and federal workers a 1.3 percent pay raise for fiscal 2016.

Budget: Obama proposes big increase in VA funding . Facing a growing national crisis in veterans’ health care and a flood of new veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the president wants to give the beleaguered Department of Veterans Affairs a nearly 8 percent boost to hire more VA doctors, give veterans more healthcare options, and increase money for construction.

The Hill: Obama budget ups VA spending by $9B . President Obama’s budget plan would give the Veterans Affairs Department an approximately $9 billion boost over this year's spending levels… The 2016 budget blueprint calls for $168.8 billion for the agency, an increase from $163.9 billion in 2015. The president wants $70.2 billion in discretionary funding for the department to pay for items like construction, medical care and research.

The Wall Street Journal: Obama Asks for More Spending on Veterans . Leveraging a tidal wave of reform and renewed public support for the Department of Veterans Affairs, President Barack Obama is asking Congress for more money for a variety of programs from disability benefits to prosthetic research… The budget provides for $95.3 billion in VA mandatory spending in 2016.

The Washington Post: White House Budget: Over-strapped VA gets a proposed 7.8 percent budget boost . The proposed 2016 budget includes $70.2 billion in discretionary resources for 2016 for the overtaxed Department of Veterans Affairs, a 7.8 percent increase over 2015 for everything from offering “timely health care,” to ending veterans homelessness, getting veterans jobs and helping veterans quickly earn benefits.

The New York Times (AP): How Obama Would Spend Your Money in 2016, Agency by Agency . The budget includes $60 billion to improve veterans' medical care, a 7.4 percent increase over current spending. The additional money was authorized by the 2014 Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act, adopted by Congress and signed by the president in response to a scandal over long wait times at VA medical centers and false appointment records to cover up the delays.

The Wall Street Journal: Areas for Possible Compromise Between White house, Congress . The Obama administration has proposed increasing the budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs to $168.8 billion from $163.9 billion. While Republicans generally oppose efforts to breach the spending caps laid out in the 2011 debt deal, they have been supportive in recent years of higher spending on veterans.

Military.com: VA Seeks to Reallocate Choice Act Funds in $169B Budget Proposal . "We aspire to make VA a model agency that is held up as an example for other government agencies to follow with respect to customer experience, efficient and effective operations, and taxpayer stewardship," McDonald said… The provision was aimed at helping veterans who face long wait times for appointments, or who live far away from a VA medical facility.

Washington Times (Video): Obama budget calls for largest federal civilian workforce since Cold War . All told, Mr. Obama will have added more than 160,000 civilian workers to the executive branch since he took office… The VA’s workforce would grow by even more — 11,600, according to figures submitted along with the budget — as Mr. Obama works to rebuild the department in the wake of last year’s waitlist scandal.

The Herald: Leading Veterans Group Release Funding Blueprint to Address VA Health Care Access Issues . Four of the nation’s leading veterans service organizations—AMVETS (American Veterans), DAV (Disabled American Veterans), Paralyzed Veterans of America (Paralyzed Veterans) and the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars)—released The Independent Budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs: Budget Recommendations for FY 2016 and FY 2017. The report outlines projected funding requirements for the programs administered by the VA.

Military Times: Advocates worry planned VA budget hikes aren’t enough. The Veterans Affairs Department budget keeps going up, but it's still not enough, outside advocates say… A coalition of veterans groups praised President Obama's fiscal 2016 budget request for VA programs after it was released Monday, but said the plan still falls more than $1 billion short of what the department truly needs to keep up with the demands on the system.

The New York Times (AP): Obama’s Budget Targets High Cost of Cutting-Edge Drugs . With patients facing greater exposure to the high cost of new medications, President Barack Obama on Monday called for government to use its buying power to squeeze drug companies for lower prices… While the Veterans Affairs Department and state Medicaid programs have legal authority to obtain steep discounts from drug makers, that doesn't include the largest payer, Medicare.

Washington Examiner: Obama wants to strip funding for Veterans’ medical choice program . President Obama’s 2016 budget blueprint proposes rolling back a program that gives veterans the right to receive faster care outside of the long waitlists at the troubled Veterans Affairs medical system… Obama signed the Veterans Choice Program into law in August following months of partisan wrangling on Capitol Hill that finally led to a compromise measure to overhaul the agency. Military Times: Lawmaker blasts budget plan to trim VA Choice Program . Veterans Affairs officials don't know how many veterans are using the new "choice card" program, but it's a small enough total that they want to start taking money out of the program… The move is likely to ignite a lengthy fight on Capitol Hill with lawmakers who created the program last summer following the department's patient-wait-time scandal…

The Hill (blog) Senate to pass first vets bill of 2015 honoring Texas sniper Clay Hunt . With the recent box office success of the film "American Sniper," featuring the late Navy Seal Chris Kyle, the national conversation about veterans' ...

The New York Times (AP): Feds Delay by 1 Year Goal for Ending Chronic Homelessness . The Obama administration said Monday it has pushed back by one year its goal for ending chronic homelessness among the general public. It's maintaining a goal for ending veteran homelessness by the end of this year… "We're going to push as hard as we can until the end of 2015 to make this a reality," said Assistant Veterans Affairs Secretary Helen Tierney.

DisabledVeterans.org: Google to Fix Department of Veterans Affairs ? Google is squaring off against three competitors for a contract to fix Department of Veterans Affairs electronic medical record platform for VA hospitals. Google plans to team up with PricewaterhouseCoopers to bid on the $11 billion Pentagon contract to help digitize VA and upgrade its “VistA” program.

Upper Rogue Independent: Lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs . Oregon’s Commission for the Blind has filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for allegedly failing to comply with the Randolph-Sheppard Act. The 1936 law gives preference to blind people to run vending machines on government properties.

BusinessBecause Veterans Flock To Business School Ranks For Careers After Military . According to data compiled by the US Department of Veterans Affairs, the G.I Bill has provided financial support to 773,000 veterans and their families, ...

Star Tribune: New wheelchair gives paralyzed Veterans chance to stand on own . The Minneapolis VA hospital has revamped the traditional standing wheelchair to help make paralyzed veterans more functional in everyday life. Having had this vision of a more mobile chair nearly a decade ago, its creator has finally seen a workable prototype come to life… The chair has grabbed the attention of local news stations and many VA supporters.

For Okinawa Marine, LQA benefit turns into debtor’s nightmare . It had been two years since Christopher Garcia retired as a Marine gunnery sergeant and took a job in the III Marine Expeditionary Force’s disbursing office. The transition had gone so well, his office had been recognized for excellence. But, it turns out, things were too good to be true.

WBRC-TV (Fox – Video): Birmingham VA hosts town hall to better serve Veterans . The Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center in Birmingham wants to know how to better serve veterans… About 50 veterans attended a town hall meeting at the downtown VA Medical Center. The veterans could ask any questions from VA officials and many were concerned about benefits and services.

WDRB-TV (Fox – Video): Program at VA Hospital ensures ‘no Veteran dies alone’ . The basis of a national mission is that 'no veteran should die alone.' Volunteers are needed to come and sit with veterans during the final hours of their life at Louisville's VA Hospital… On Saturday, Air Force Veteran and avid U of L fan, Tim Webb got the visit of his lifetime from U of L football players Will Gardner, Jimmie Terry and Colin Holba… B-29 co-pilot talks to Marines about Hiroshima and Nagasaki . Second Lt. Raymond “Speedy” Biel knew he was participating in a top-secret mission on Aug. 6, 1945, when, as a co-pilot of a B-29 Superfortress, he flew over Nagasaki, Japan, to report the weather. But it wasn’t until he returned to the island of Tinian that he learned the mission was to drop an atomic bomb.

'6 Certified' group aims to shift how veterans are pictured on film, TV . A group dedicated to the entertainment industry's realistic representation of veterans is announcing on Friday a new seal of approval for portrayals of military men and women in films and television shows.

Boeing Tapped for Air Force One Replacement. The president of the United States will continue to be flown in an American-made plane, as the US Air Force has announced the next presidential aircraft will be produced by Boeing. The service, in consultation with acquisition chief Frank Kendall, has selected the …