July 18, 2012. Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Subcommittee on National Security, Homeland Defense, and Foreign Operations, will hold a hearing on the backlog of pending disability claims. 10:00 A.M., 2247 Rayburn House Office Building
July 18, 2012. HVAC, Disability and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee, will hold a hearing entitled: “Invisible Wounds: Examining the Disability Compensation Benefits Process for Victims of Military Sexual Trauma.” 2:00 P.M; 334 Cannon House Office Building
July 25, 2012. The House Committee on Veterans Affairs and the House Armed Services Committee will hold a joint hearing titled “Back from the Battlefield: DOD and VA Collaboration to Assist Service Members Returning to Civilian Life.” 10:00 AM; 2118 Rayburn HOB
August 2, 2012 (Tentative). HVAC, Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations may hold a joint hearing to discuss the SDVOSB/VOSB certification process.
38.Today in History:
- 1796 – The United States takes possession of Detroit from Great Britain under terms of the Jay Treaty.
- 1798 – The United States Marine Corps is re-established; they had been disbanded after the American Revolutionary War.
- 1804 – A duel occurs in which the Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr mortally wounds former Secretary of the TreasuryAlexander Hamilton.
- 1859 – Westminster's Big Ben rang for the first time in London.
- 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Fort Stevens; Confederate forces attempt to invade Washington, D.C..
- 1882 – The British Mediterranean fleet begins the Bombardment of Alexandria in Egypt as part of the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War.
- 1889 – Tijuana, Mexico, is founded.
- 1893 – A revolution led by the liberal general and politician, José Santos Zelaya, takes over state power in Nicaragua.
- 1906 – The Gillette-Brown murder inspires Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy.
- 1914 – Babe Ruth makes his debut in Major League Baseball.
- 1919 – The eight-hour working day and free Sunday become law in the Netherlands.
- 1921 – A truce is called in the Irish War of Independence; see Irish calendar.
- 1921 – Former U.S. President William Howard Taft is sworn in as 10th Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, becoming the only person to ever be both President and Chief Justice.
- 1921 – The Red Army captures Mongolia from the White Army and establishes the Mongolian People's Republic.
- 1922 – The Hollywood Bowl opens.
- 1936 – The Triborough Bridge in New York, New York is opened to traffic.
- 1940 – World War II: Vichy France regime is formally established. Henri Philippe Pétain becomes Prime Minister of France.
- 1943 – Massacres of Poles in Volhynia.
- 1943 – World War II: Allied invasion of Sicily – German and Italian troops launch a counter-attack on Allied forces in Sicily.
- 1947 – The Exodus 1947 heads to Palestine from France.
- 1957 – Prince Karim Husseini Aga Khan IV inherits the office of Imamat as the 49th Imam of Shia Imami Ismaili worldwide, after the death of Sir Sultan Mahommed Shah Aga Khan III.
- 1960 – Independence of Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger.
- 1960 – To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is first published.
- 1960 – Congo Crisis: The State of Katanga breaks away from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- 1962 – First transatlantic satellite television transmission.
- 1972 – The first game of the World Chess Championship 1972 between challenger Bobby Fischer and defending championBoris Spassky starts.
- 1977 – Martin Luther King, Jr. is posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
- 1979 – America's first space station, Skylab, is destroyed as it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere over the Indian Ocean.
- 1990 – Oka Crisis: First Nations land dispute in Quebec, Canada begins.
- 2006 – 209 people are killed in a series of bomb attacks in Mumbai, India.
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From: Mitchell, Amy [Amy.Mitchell@mail.house.gov]
Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2012 2:49 PM
Subj: Veterans Legislation Advances to Full House
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 11, 2012 CONTACT: Amy Mitchell (202) 225-3527
Veterans Legislation Advances to Full House
WASHINGTON, D.C.undefinedToday, the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs advanced three bills to the full House for consideration. The improving Transparency of Education Opportunities for Veterans Act of 2012, as amended (H.R. 4057), the Military Family Home Protection Act, as amended (H.R. 5747), and the Veterans Fiduciary Reform Act of 2012, as amended (H.R. 5948) all unanimously passed the Full Committee at this morning’s markup.
“These bills contain provisions from seventeen different legislative proposals, and represent a considerable amount of the work done by the Committee this session,” said Rep. Jeff Miller, Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. “I thank all of our Members for their bipartisan work to not only move legislation forward, but also for what we have done through oversight to shine a light on both the good things America does for our veterans, as well as to address issues and improve VA care and operations.”
The Safe Housing for Homeless Veterans Act (H.R. 4079), introduced by Rep. David McKinley was included in H.R. 4057. “I was so happy that I could use my engineering background to help our veterans. After touring homeless shelters in the 1st District of West Virginia, and seeing the conditions with my own eyes, we began to investigate whether this was an isolated case or if part of a bigger problem,” said McKinley. “It was unsettling to learn in our research about shelter fires where lives were lost because of numerous code violations. This bill will ensure our homeless veterans have access to safe shelters nationwide.”
The Open Burn Pit Registry Act (H.R. 3337), introduced by Rep. Todd Akin, was also advanced as a provision of H.R. 4057. “We have sent our best and brightest young men and women into harm’s way, and it is our responsibility as a nation to take care of them when they return,” said Akin. “There is a growing body of evidence that burn pits have had tragic effects on the health of some of our returning veterans. We need to deal with this problem proactively to ensure that our veterans get the best possible care and support.”
The Veterans Fiduciary Reform Act of 2012 (H.R. 5948), introduced by Rep. Bill Johnson, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, was also favorably reported to the full House. Rep. Johnson has been investigating fraud within VA’s Fiduciary Program for more than a year.
“This critical legislation is an important step forward to protecting America’s veterans from abuses in the VA fiduciary system. Our investigations showed that VA’s current fiduciary system leaves many veterans vulnerable to financial risk. We performed our chief function as the oversight body for VA, found the flaws, and put forth common sense legislation to tackle this very serious problem,” said Johnson. “Sending this bill to the House floor furthers our commitment to giving veterans the best care and benefits possible. America’s heroes, our veterans, have earned these benefits and we must make sure they receive them. They deserve nothing less.”
The House has passed 16 Committee-reported veterans bills this Congress, four of which are now law.
For more news from the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, please visit:
Veterans.House.Gov
Find us on Facebook at: Facebook.com/HouseVetsAffairs or follow us on Twitter at:
@HouseVetAffairs
A welcoming home for our Troops.
