RAO BULLETIN 1 August 2020 PDF Edition THIS RETIREE ACTIVITIES OFFICE BULLETIN CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES Pg Article Subject . * DOD * . 04 == NDAA 2021 [04] ---- (House Burn Pits & Agent Orange Amendments) 05 == NDAA 2021 [05] ---- (House Passes $740.5B Plan) 06 == NDAA 2021 [06] ---- (Senate Passes Amendment to Add 3 AO Linked Conditions 07 == NDAA 2021 [07] ---- (Senate Passes $740.5B Plan) 08 == Military Racial Disparities [04] ---- (Air Force Survey Results Overwhelming) 10 == Hypersonic Weapon Program ---- (Trump’s "Super Duper" New Missile) 11 == DoD Fraud, Waste, & Abuse ---- (Reported 16 thru 31 JUL 2020) 12 == TRICARE Changes 2020 ---- (Jan thru Jul Summary) 14 == POW/MIA Recoveries & Burials ---- (Reported 16 thru 31 JUL 2020 | Four) . * VA * . 15 == HUD-VASH [10] ---- (VA Adds $400M to Homeless Vet Program) 16 == VA Malpractice Claims ---- (Bills to Protect Veterans Who Experience VA Medical Malpractice) 17 == VA Claim Denials [18] ---- (20,000 Improperly Denied During COVID-19 pandemic) 19 == VA Sexual Harassment [01] ---- (Lawmakers Blast VA’s Policies as Inadequate) 20 == VA Surgery [02] ---- (Care Outperforms/Matches Neighboring Non-VA Hospitals) 20 == Covid-19 Vet Craft Kit ---- (Free to Quarantined Vets) 21 == VA Dental Care [07] ---- (Some Congressmen Want to Expand Eligibility) 23== VA Nursing Homes [18] ---- (Currently Only 2 Residents are Covid-19 Positive) 23 == VA Deaths [03] ---- (COVID-19 Related Surpasses 2,000) 1 24 == VA C&P Exams ---- (Resuming In some Locations) 25 == VA Fraud, Waste & Abuse ---- (Reported 16 thru 31 JUL 2020) . * VETS * . 28 == GI Bill Rudisill v. Wilkie [02] ---- (Ruling Won’t Come in Time for Fall Classes) 29 == Atomic Service Medal [01] ---- (HASC Approves 2021 NDAA Amendment) 31 == Vet Toxic Exposure | Karshi-Khanabad [02] ---- (Sick K2 Vets Left Out of Senate NDAA Bill) 32 == Boxer Rebellion Vets ---- (John Mapes Adams) 33 == Civil War Vets ---- (Richard Enderlin | Union Musician) 34 == Afghan Vets 15 ---- (Ryan Pitts) 35 == WWII Vets 218 ---- (Adolfo Celaya | USS Indianapolis Survivor) 36 == Cold War Vets ---- (Tu Lam | Vietnam Refugee) 37 == Vet Home Covid-19 Impact ---- (Lawmakers Call for Accountability in State Home Deaths) 38 == Military Retirees & Veterans Events Schedule ---- (As of 31 JUL 2020) 39 == Vet Hiring Fairs ---- (Scheduled as of 31 July 2020) 40 == Veteran State Benefits ---- (Florida 2020) 40 == Vet State Benefits ---- (Most Popular by State in 2020) . * VET LEGISLATION * . 45 == Transition Assistance Program [09] ---- (H.R.7542 | TAP Counseling Bill) 45 == VA Home Loan [72] ---- (H.R.3504/S.2022 | Specially Adaptive Housing Improvement Act) 46 == Vet Treatment Courts [02] ---- (H.R.886 | Veteran Treatment Court Coordination Act of 2019) 47 == Reserve Component Burial ---- (HR.7752 | State Veterans Cemetery Internment) 48 == Vet Bills Sent to President ---- (July 15 thru 31, 2020 | Three) 48 == House Vet Bill Progress ---- (16 thru 31 JUL 2020) . * MILITARY* . 50 == PFAS Toxic Exposure [19] ---- (House NDAA Amendment Targets Military Bases) 51 == USS Bonhomme Richard ---- (She is Salvageable.) 53 == USS Bonhomme Richard [01] ---- (Toxic Chemicals Found in Fire Air Sampling) 54 == Military Sexual Harassment/Assault [08] ---- (Lawmakers, Advocates Urge Change after Killing) 55 == Korean War Anniversary [05] ---- (Trump Signs Proclamation Commemorating End) 56 == Confederate Flag Controversy [03] ---- New Military Policy Announced 57 == Stolen Valor [120] ---- (Military Cases on the Rise) 57 == Self-Healing Synthetic ---- (Newly Developed by Army Researchers) 58 == Navy Terminology, Jargon & Slang ---- (‘Make Fast’ thru ‘Midrats”) . * MILITARY HISTORY * . 60 == Operation IUG ---- (Soviet’s Moldova Purges) 61 == Auschwitz Liberation ---- (Soviet’s Free 7,000 Inmates on January 18, 1945) 62 == The Ghost Matt Urban ---- (The Most Decorated Infantry Officer You've Never Heard Of) 64 == WWII Photos ---- (Villafranca, Italy Battle Casualty) 64 == WWII Operation Union II ---- (Marines Kill so Many Germans, Nazis Think them a Battalion) 65 == WWII Bomber Nose Art [56] ---- (Pacific Princess) 2 65 == Military History Anniversaries ---- (01 thru 15 AUG) 66 == Medal of Honor Citations ---- (Clair Goodblood | Korea) . * HEALTH CARE * . 67 == Blood Donations [01] ---- (600K TRICARE Users Identified as COVID-19 Survivors) 69 == Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy ---- (Military and Veterans Exposure Underreported) 70 == Carbon Monoxide Poisoning ---- (What it is & How to Prevent It) 71 == Coronavirus Vaccine [05] ---- (Likely Not to Be as Effective for Older People) 72 == Coronavirus Vaccine [06] ---- (White House 'Very Confident' By Year's End) 73 == Covid-19 Fake Cures ---- (MMS & Thrive) 74 == Covid-19 Misinformation ---- (COVID INFO FROM JOHNS HOPKINS HOSPITAL Email) 75 == Covid-19 Vulnerability [04] ---- (Giving up Smoking May Lower Your Risk) 75 == Covid-19 Vulnerability [05] ---- (The Older You Are, the Greater the Risk) 76 == Covid-19 Testing [01] ---- (How to Understand Your Test Results) 78 == Covid-19 Headgear [06] ---- (Mask Washing) 79 == Covid-19 Virus Survivability [01] ---- (CDC Changes Isolation Recommendations) . * FINANCES * . 80 == SSA Fund Depletion [16] ---- (Woes Accelerating — Blame the Pandemic & Birth Rate) 82 == Sales Tax [04] ---- (August State Holidays) 82 == Coronavirus Financial Planning [20] ---- (Who Could Receive another Stimulus Check) 84 == Household Pulse ---- (Census Survey Estimates of Pandemic Impact | JUL 9-14) 84 == Rentals [03] ---- (Cities Where Renting Is Cheaper than Owning) 87 == Inheritance & Estate Taxes ---- (17 States with One or the Other — or Both) 87 == Driveway Scams ---- (Summer is the Time for Them) 88 == Work at Home Scam [02] ---- (Videos to View Before your Taken) 89 == Locksmith Scams [01] ---- (Know the Signs) 90 == Tax Burden for Florida Retired Vets ---- (As of July 2020) . * GENERAL INTEREST * . 92 == Notes of Interest ---- (16 thru 31 July 2020) 93 == Taiwan-China Dispute [07] ---- (Island Nation Says China Stepping Up Threats) 94 == China’s Territorial Claims [07] ---- (US Says Beijing’s Claims in South China Sea Unlawful) 96 == My WWII Story ---- (Memories of a Merchant Marine) 98 == Iran Tensions [12] ---- (Iran's Refurbished Mockup Aircraft Carrier in Use Again) 99 == Mail Service ---- (Cost-Cutting Plan Could Delay Deliveries) 100 == IRS Summons ---- (What It Is) 101 == Coronavirus Vaccine [07] ---- (Kremlin Attempting to Steal Vaccine Research) 103 == Covid-19 Victims ---- (Nurse’s 117-Days to Recovery) 104 == Have You Heard? ---- (Freedom Isn’t Free | Rogue Report | Haircut) 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. 3 . * ATTACHMENTS * . Attachment – Florida Veteran State Benefits Attachment - Military History Anniversaries 01 thru 15 AUG (Updated) * DoD * NDAA 2021 Update 04: House Burn Pits & Agent Orange Amendments House lawmakers voted on packages of hundreds of amendments proposed for the National Defense Authorization Act, a must-pass omnibus annual bill that sets the budget, and some policy, for the Defense Department. Since the bill is one of those all but guaranteed to pass in recent years, it's prime real estate for major military and veterans legislation, including on toxic exposure. Veterans exposed to toxic burn pits during service got several nods in the bill, while veterans exposed to Agent Orange who have bladder cancer, hypothyroidism and Parkinson's were nixed. The House Committee on Rules sent six amendments to the House floor 20 JUL for debate that specifically mentioned burn pits: An amendment to require the Pentagon/Department of Veterans Affairs to ask troops and veterans who tested positive for a pandemic virus such as if they were exposed to burn pits, so VA and DoD can address their medical needs. The measure also requires the federal agencies to enroll those veterans who say they were exposed to burn pits in the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry unless they opt out. (Rep. Jared Golden, D-Me) An amendment that requires the Pentagon to provide a report to Congress about all the studies the department is conducting or funding on the health effects of burn pits and when they will be complete. (Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Ca) An amendment requiring the Defense Department to establish mandatory training for all its medical providers on the health effects of burn pits. (Ruiz) An amendment requiring the Defense Department to include a separate, standalone question about burn pit exposure in the Post-Deployment Health Assessment (DD Form 2796) to increase reporting of burn-pit exposure. (Ruiz) An amendment requiring the Pentagon and VA to expand the burn pit registry to include Egypt and Syria. (Ruiz) An amendment requiring the history of respiratory illnesses and information from the burn pit registry on beneficiaries be included in the Tricare COVID-19 registry. (Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt) Agent Orange A bipartisan measure introduced by Rep. Josh Harder (D-CA), that would have forced VA to expand benefits to veterans exposed to Agent Orange who have bladder cancer, hypothyroidism or Parkinson's was cut from a massive list of amendments sent to the House floor Monday. A spokesman for Harder told Connecting Vets that the