RAO BULLETIN 15 November 2019
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RAO BULLETIN 15 November 2019 PDF Edition THIS RETIREE ACTIVITIES OFFICE BULLETIN CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES Pg Article Subject . * DOD * . 04 == NDAA 2020 [25] ---- (Partisan Fighting over Border Wall Stalls Bill) 05 == AFRH [15] ---- (New Plan Could Help Shore up Finances) 06 == Other Than Honorable Discharge [14] ---- (Recipients Seek Long Overdue Benefits) 08 == Post 911 Wars ---- (Two Decades Cost | $6.4 trillion & 800,000 Deaths) 09 == Commissary/Exchange News [15] ---- (Unanswered | How Will New Users Access Bases) 10 == DoD Fraud, Waste, & Abuse ---- (Reported 01 thru 15 NOV 2019) 11 == POW/MIA [123] ---- (James Crotty | Last Coastie POW in WWII Coming Home) 13 == POW/MIA Recoveries & Burials ---- (Reported 01 thru 15 NOV 2019 | Fourteen) . * VA * . 16 == VA Claims Assistance [09] ---- (How to Use New Tool When Filing Disability Claims Online) 16 == VA Blue Water Claims [76] ---- (Updated Eligibility Requirements for Previously Denied Claims) 17 == VA Blue Water Claims [77] ---- (Courts Have 'Lost Patience' with VA Over Delays) 18 == VA Cancer Care ---- (Agency Struggling with Shortage of Cancer Treatment Experts) 19 == VA Cancer Care [01] ---- (VA to Launch Major Study into Military Toxic Exposure) 20 == VA Hepatitis B Care ---- (Combat Exposure Risk Study) 21 == Opioid Addiction [08] ---- (VA Equips 200,000 Veterans with Lifesaving Naloxone) 22 == Medicare for All [04] ---- (Threatens Veterans Health Care) 23 == VA Benefits in Jail [05] ---- (Incarceration Reporting Policy Not Working) 24 == VA Benefits in Jail [06] ---- (Virginia Won’t Take Inmates to VA for Care) 1 25 == VA Sexual Assault Policy ---- (Senators Demanding Answers on Misconduct at VA) 26 == VA Benefits Assistance [02] ---- (VFW VSOs Recover $9B+ in Benefits for Vets) 27 == VA Medical Records [04] ---- (iPhone Access Now Available) 28 == VA Claims Processing [19] Performance Improvements 4th Quarter FY 2019 28 == VA Fraud, Waste, & Abuse ---- (Reported 01 thru 15 NOV 2019) . * VETS * . 30 == Vet Employment [12] ---- (Unemployment Rate Drop to 3.0%) 30 == Vet Suicide [39] ---- (New Way Suggested to Address the Issue) 32 == Social Media Scammers ---- (Vets Targeted w/Fake News & Foreign Interference) 33 == Veterans & Military Families Month ---- (November per Presidential Proclamation) 35 == Veterans Research Network ---- (Seeking Military Community to Share their Experiences & Opinions) 35 == Vet Jobs [254] ---- (Federal | 7 Tips for Veterans to Land One) 38 == Vet Jobs [255] ---- (The Gap between Recruitment and Hiring) 38 == Vet Best Places to Live [01] ---- (2019 Survey Results) 39 == Vet Fraud & Abuse ---- (Reported 01 thru 15 NOV 2019) 40 == Funeral Honors [03] ---- (Petition for last WWII MOH Awardee State Funeral) 42 == WWI VETS 10 ---- (Elliott Hugh Lee | Army Ambulance Driver) 43 == WWII Vets 207 ---- (William Clark Gable | Aerial Gunner and Photographer) 44 == Iraq War Vets 03 ---- (Rafael Peralta | Operation Al Fajr Casualty) 44 == HUD-VASH [09] ---- (Vet Homeless Decline to 37,085 in 2019) 45 == Vet Hiring Fairs ---- (Scheduled As of 15 NOV 2019) 46 == Military Retirees & Veterans Events Schedule ---- (As of 15 NOV 2019) 46 == State Veteran's Benefits ---- (Rhode Island 2019) . * VET LEGISLATION * . 47 == Military Pharmacies [02] ---- (H.R.4710 | Pharmaceutical Independence Long-Term Readiness Reform) 48 == VA Human Resources ---- (H.R.4949 | Hospitals Establishing Leadership Performance (HELP) Act) 48 == USCIS Military Family Parole Policy ---- (S.2797 | Military Family Parole in Place Act) 49 == Burn Pit Toxic Exposure [70] ---- (H.R.4574 | Veterans Right to Breathe Act) 51 == VA Women Vet Programs [40] ---- (H.R.3224 | Deborah Sampson Act) 51 == HVAC [27] ---- (Female Vet Health Bill Markup Dispute) 52 == Other Vet Legislation [03] ---- (Veteran Bills Advanced for House Vote) . * MILITARY* . 53 == Military Pay Raise 2020 [01] ---- (Safe, Despite Dire Talk from Lawmakers) 54 == USS Carl Vinson ---- (To Be F-35’s First Home at Sea) 56 == PFAS Toxic Exposure [09] ---- (Possible Solution to Base Groundwater Problem) 57 == Air Force Indefinite Enlistment [01] ---- (Bonuses, Service Commitments and More) 58 == USMC Umbrella Policy ---- (Small, Black Umbrella Use under Certain Conditions) 58 == Retail Services Specialists ---- (Navy’s New Moniker for Ship's Serviceman) 59 == USMC Quiz ---- (Muster Your Marine Mettle) 61== Military Housing [01] ---- (Ft. Meade, Maryland Mold) 62 == Navy Terminology, Jargon & Slang ---- (‘Dog’ thru ‘Droplights) 63 == Military Proposed Weaponry [01] ---- (The Blue Peacock) . * MILITARY HISTORY * . 2 64 == USS Grayback ---- (SS-208 Found 75 Years after Sinking) 64 == Sullivan Brothers ---- (Deaths Changed How US Manned Military Units) 65 == Military History Anniversaries ---- (16 thru 30 NOV) 65 == Warships That Will Change the Future ---- (USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) 66 == WWII Bomber Nose Art [42] ---- (Flying Mistress) 66 == War Memorials ---- (Marine Corps Iwo Jima Monument Washington D.C.) 67 == Medal of Honor Citations ---- (Silvestre S. Herrera | WWII) . * HEALTH CARE * . 69 == PTSD Treatment | SGB [02] ---- (Works in Clinical Trials) 70 == GERD [01] ---- (Chronic Heartburn | VA Researchers Develop Solutions) 71 == Warts [02] ---- (Symptoms, Prevention & Treatment for Viral Warts) 73 == Phobias ---- (15 Unusual Ones You Never Knew Existed) 74 == Cancer Q&A ---- (191101 thru 191115) 76 == TRICARE Podcast 525 ---- (Pharmacy Copayments Increase - Explanation of Benefits) 77 == TRICARE Podcast 526 ---- (Federal Benefits Open Season - Natural Disaster Preparedness) 78 == TRICARE Podcast 527 ---- (Plan Costs - TRICARE Webinar - Open Seasons) . * FINANCES * . 79 == Prescription Drug Costs [37] ---- (Where to Find the Lowest Prices) 80 == Tax Ballot Initiatives ---- (2019 Results) 82 == Federal Tax Law Changes [04] ---- (7 Ways Your Taxes Will Change in 2020) 84 == Cable Company Impersonation Scam ---- (Con Tricks Subscribers) 85 == Frequent Flyer Mile Scam ---- (How Not to Find a Zero Miles Balance) 85 == Plane Ticket Taxes ---- (Understanding the Price of Your Plane Ticket) 86 == Tax Burden for Tennessee Retired Vets ---- (As of NOV 2019) . * GENERAL INTEREST * . 88 == Notes of Interest ---- (01 thru 15 November 2019) 88 == Cellphone Taxes ---- (Excessive on Wireless Consumers) 90 == End of the Trail ---- (American Indian’s Plight) 90 == 1940s Trivia ---- Do You Know? 92 == Appliances [02] ---- (Not as Reliable As they Once Were) 93 == Useless Household Items ---- (Things you’re Keeping for No Reason — and Should Toss) 95 == Interesting Photos ---- (Gas Mask Utilization WWI) 95 == Have You Heard? ---- (Military Humor 7 | The Spoon | Sex With Women of the World!) NOTE 1. The page number on which an article can be found is provided to the left of each article’s title 2. Numbers contained within brackets [ ] indicate the number of articles written on the subject. To obtain previous articles send a request to [email protected]. 3. Recipients of the Bulletin are authorized and encouraged to forward the Bulletin to other vets or veteran organizations. * ATTACHMENTS * . Attachment – Rhode Island Vet State Benefits Attachment – Military History Anniversaries 16 thru 30 NOV (Updated) Attachment – Sullivan Brothers 3 * DoD * NDAA 2020 Update 25: Partisan Fighting over Border Wall Stalls Bill The Senate on 31 OCT failed to advance a defense spending bill for 2020 amid partisan fighting over the president’s use of military funding for the border wall. The package of spending for the Department of Defense and for the departments of Labor and Health and Human Services failed on a procedural vote, as most Democrats withheld their support. The vote was 51-41, which fell short of the 60 votes needed. There was progress earlier Thursday when the Senate voted 84-9 to pass a package of fiscal 2020 domestic spending bills passed by the House. The package included measures for the Appropriations Subcommittees on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies; Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies; Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies; and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies. Closed-door budget talks have showed signs of a thaw. On 5 NOV, top aides to House and Senate appropriators, leadership from both parties, and White House officials met to find common ground on various policy issues, including the border wall and spending allocations for individual bills, called 302(b)s ― which are essentially the details beyond the larger bipartisan, two-year, $2.7 trillion budget deal Congress reached in July. “We’re talking seriously about the 302(b)s, and that’s a renewed conversation,” said Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R- AL). “We’re talking now and we made that step today, but that is a step." Shelby said he is also having ad hoc conversations with key Democrats to resolve smaller policy issues. Because Senate Majority Leader Mitch (R-KY) held the vote on the areas of defense, labor, and health and human services ahead of a larger bipartisan agreement, Republicans were able to rhetorically blast Democrats, accusing them of being too consumed with the presidential impeachment inquiry to fund the military. “Washington Democrats have talked up a storm in recent days, criticizing the Trump administration’s approach to Syria and the Middle East. Lots of talk," McConnell said in a Senate floor speech. “But apparently they are not concerned enough about the Middle East and fighting ISIS to actually vote for the funding that keeps