From: Wayne Gatewood, Jr 
Subject: Veterans News for Sunday , July 1, 2012

33.  Today in History:

1.     Troops need to make arrangements now to vote in November.  The presidential election is still more than four months away, but defense officials are reminding troops to get their absentee ballot paperwork taken care of now.

2.     Honored Montford Point Marines recall breaking racial barriers.  The racism and segregation only made them work harder. It was 1942, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt had given an order allowing African-American men to join the Marine Corps. However, instead of sending these first black Marines to traditional boot camps, they were sent to a newly-established segregated camp undefined known as Montford Point undefined at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

3.     Naval Academy greets record number of female plebes for Class of 2016.  Randy Kurtz was part of the third U.S. Naval Academy class to include women, and the spirit of equality had not sunk in with everyone. But those days seemed very long ago this week, as she returned to Annapolis to drop off her daughter, Helena Cheslack, for the start of plebe summer.

4.     WWII veteran gets his wish, tours modern submarine.  World War II Navy veteran Dan Edwards, struggling with early onset of Parkinson's disease, applied to the Wish of a Lifetime organization with a request to tour a modern submarine. They denied the request, citing his mobility issues and age. But it didn't deter Edwards; on Thursday, his wish was granted, and he made the rigorous climb down two vertical flights of ladders with a little help from the crew of the USS Maryland.

5.     VA, Indiana University to study telehealth impact on brain injuries.  FierceHealthIT
Studying the effectiveness of telehealth for treating veterans with mild traumatic brain injuries is the impetus behind a five year, $920000 grant given to an Indiana University School of Medicine professor by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ...

6.     Hiring military veterans July 12.  Lincolnshire Review  ... JP Morgan Chase, Joining Forces, University of Illinois at Chicago, American Legion, Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, Student Veterans of America, U.S. Department of Labor – VETS, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Veterans of ...

7.     VA wants to change vet-owned business re-verification from 1 to 2 years.  FederalNewsRadio.com  The Veterans Affairs Department proposes to change the frequency of reverifying veteran-owned firms that want to do business with VA undefined from once a year to every two years. The VA is the only federal agency that verifies businesses are owned and ...

8.     Veteran Gravestones Discovered In Springfield Sidewalks.  abc40  If you look closely, these stones found in the side walk at the corners of State Street and Concord Terrace appear to be pieces of Veteran's grave stones. Springfield Veterans Affairs Director Tom Belton says that an “S-P-4″ marking that can be seen ...

9.     I'm proud of service as federal employee.  Reno Gazette-Journal  As a retired federal worker with 37 years of service at the Department of Veterans Affairs in hospitals in Minnesota, Iowa, Virginia and the Washington, D.C., office, the 4th of July is an important day for me.

 10.                        When Fireworks Stir Memories Of War.  Vancouver (WA) Columbian "For veterans...who have post-traumatic stress disorder, the Fourth of July can be a difficult holiday." The Columbian added, "While not all veterans with PTSD are disturbed by the noise and lights of fireworks, there are a large number who approach Independence Day with a sense of dread, said Amy Wagner, a clinical psychologist on the PTSD Clinical Team at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Portland. 'It's super common,' Wagner said."

  11.                        Quitting Smoking Priorities For Veterans.  daily RX  A "recent study crunched the numbers of veterans who smoked. Those with mental health disorders were not being told to quit smoking as often as other veterans." The study was conducted led by Dr. Sonia A. Duffy, with the Serious Mental Illness Treatment Resource and Evaluation Center at the US Department of Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Center for Clinical Management Research. Study authors "hope that this information will encourage Veterans Affairs health care professionals to increase their efforts to help veterans of every diagnosis quit smoking."

12.                        Stability Keeps Vets From Violence. MedPage Today  "Combat veterans whose living situation is stable and who feel that they have control over their lives are significantly less likely to commit violent acts once they're out of the service, a national survey showed." Results of the survey were "reported online in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry." MedPage Today adds, "The study was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, the Department of Veterans Affairs, Durham VA Medical Center, and the Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center."

13.                        VA To Test Brain-Injury Telemedicine Program. Modern Healthcare The US Veterans Affairs Department "will be launching a five-hospital pilot program to study how using telemedicine can improve care for military veterans with concussions or mild traumatic brain injury. Jacob Kean, a visiting assistant research professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, received a 5-year, $920,000 career development grant to build a system for improving long-distance care and assessing a veteran's ability to self-manage his or her condition." Modern Healthcare adds, "Earlier this month, the VA announced it had set a goal to conduct more than 200,000 'telemental health' consultations in fiscal 2012."

 14.                        VA Threatens To Terminate Builder In Orlando. Engineering News Record  "On ongoing dispute between the US Dept. of Veterans Affairs and general contractor Brasfield & Gorrie over design changes and delays at a $616-million Orlando hospital project escalated on June 15 when the agency notified the firm it had 10 days to deliver a new work plan or face termination." The chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, US Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL), "issued a statement critical of the VA and its decision to issue the cure notice. 'The Committee was (recently) assured by officials ... that VA was working collaboratively with the contractor,' he wrote," adding, "That was clearly not the case." Miller, who called the project a "multimillion- dollar debacle," stated, "Pointing fingers and laying blame will not build the medical center. I expect answers immediately from VA on the status and cost of this project."

15.                        Brownsboro Road Site Officially Chosen For New Louisville VA Hospital. Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal "The US Department of Veterans Affairs has chosen a property near Brownsboro Road and the Watterson Expressway as the site for a new, $883 million hospital that will open in 2018, according to documents provided by the office of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell." The "next step is to purchase the property, which should 'take place shortly,' according to a VA fact sheet provided by McConnell's office." In a statement, US Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) praised the decision and said he has "received personal assurances from (VA) Secretary (Eric) Shinseki that the VA will continue to work with the state to mitigate traffic congestion in the area and any other concerns." AP McConnell "had not endorsed a particular site for the facility but pushed for a final decision on the location." Now, McConnell "says construction can get under way."

 16.                        House Veterans' Panel Advances Mortgage Measures. CQ The House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity "advanced a bill Thursday that would provide mortgage protection for members of the armed services, surviving spouses and certain veterans." The measure, HR 5747, "would prohibit the sale, foreclosure, or seizure of property for the 12-month period after a servicemember is discharged or redeployed to a war or military conflict overseas." The subcommittee also approved several other veterans-related bills on Thursday, including HR 4740, which "would prevent servicemembers from being denied refinancing should they no longer reside in the premises because of a relocation caused by permanent change of station or a deployment of 18 months or longer," and HR 4057, which "would direct the secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop a comprehensive policy to improve outreach and transparency to veterans and members of the armed forces regarding the information they receive about institutions of higher learning."

 17.                        "GI Bill" Site Called Misleading Closed In Settlement. Bloomberg News  "State officials have reached an agreement to shut down a website called GIBill.com that drives business to for-profit colleges, Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway announced" earlier this week. Conway "said the site gave the misleading impression that it was run" by the US government. Bloomberg News added, "The site, operated by QuinStreet Inc. (QNST), will be turned over to the US Department of Veterans Affairs as part of the deal, Conway said."

18.                        Two Bloggers Pleased By Settlement.  Huffington Post On Wednesday, "20 state attorneys general announced a court settlement with QuinStreet Inc., a marketing company working for for-profit colleges, that will shut down the deceptive website GIBill.com and turn that web address over" to VA. Halperin, who points out Gould attended a press conference at which the deal was announced, concludes, "Fixing the QuinStreet websites is a start, but there are many more bad marketing, recruiting, reporting, and other practices in this industry, so I hope the AGs keep pushing. I also hope that citizens will get more engaged on this issue, and start asking their members of Congress whether they stand with our troops and vets seeking advancement through education, or whether they stand with wealthy predatory colleges that take advantage of -- and crush – people's hopes and dreams."  NextGov  The deal with QuinStreet "comes as VA is seeking legal authority to trademark the term GI Bill. An executive order signed by President Obama on April 26 directed VA and the Department of Defense to undertake a number of measures to 'stop deceptive and misleading' promotional efforts that target the GI Bill educational benefits of Service members, veterans, and eligible family members and survivors." Brewin went on to say the QuinStreet deal a "real victory for vets who want to use their GI Bill benefits in the best way they can, which in most cases means going to colleges that put education first and have no profit motive."

  19.                        Lawmakers Cut Time Off Work For Disabled Vets.  Military Times  The House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity has "drastically scaled back legislation to protect the jobs of disabled veterans who need time off from work for service-connected medical treatment." On Thursday, the subcommittee approved a bill that would, among other things, allow an employer to "let a worker go if keeping the disabled veteran becomes 'impossible or unreasonable.'" Ryan Gallucci with Veterans of Foreign Wars told the Times that the real problem in this area "has to do with the VA's limited appointments." The department, he said, is "basically telling people you have to take time off during a workday for an appointment, which is not good for the veteran or the employer. If they expanded their hours to evenings and weekends, it would be better for veterans trying to hold down a job and take care of their medical needs."

20.                        Sick Families Of N.C. Military Base Water Contamination May Finally Get Help, 30 Years Later. ABC News  "Nearly three decades after poisons were discovered" in drinking water at Camp Lejeune, a military base in North Carolina, Congress will vote on whether veterans and their families who developed illnesses after drinking the water will get healthcare treatment from the government. A deal for Veterans Affairs to "cover those costs is now in the works, negotiated by the House and Senate Committees for Veterans Affairs." The "Senate is expected to pass the bill as early as this week, and it will head to the president's desk after the 4th of July, according to Congressional staffers."

21.                        Governor Kasich Signs Legislation To Reform Veterans Services. New Philadelphia (OH) Times-Reporter  "Ohio Gov. John Kasich has signed House Bill 490 into law, with an aim to improve services for the state's military veterans, State Rep. Al Landis announced." The Times-Reporter adds, "The new law allows county veteran service officers to be certified and trained to have immediate access to military discharge forms." If "service officers do not have access to the documents, then if can take up to 280 days for them to be replaced by the federal Department of Veterans Affairs."

22.                        Huntington VA Medical Center To Host Event For Homeless Veterans. WOWK-TV The Veterans Affairs hospital in Huntington, West Virginia, will soon "host an event to recognize the first anniversary of its' Homeless Veterans Resource Center in Huntington. On July 2 from 10 a.m.- 2 p.m., the center will have a Stand Down event to provide food, clothing, and other assistance to homeless veterans." The event is "designed to try and help homeless vets feel safe and secure at the center that is located on 624 9th Street in Huntington."

  23.                        Donor, Players Come Together To Give Softball A Family Feel. Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch There was a "battle for softball supremacy at the National Veterans Wheelchair Games" on Thursday. The "softball competition, one of the more popular events at the Games, is sponsored by the Degasperis Family Foundation, which was established in 2000 through the efforts of three family generations." One of the players in Thursday's game was disabled veteran Glenn Isaac Fretz, a member of the Long Road Home Project. Next month, Fretz will "embark on a 4,200-mile" bicycle ride that aims to raise awareness about veteran suicides, welcome vets home from war, and remember those who have been killed in combat.

24.                        WWII Marines Receive Top Honor. USA Today

25.                        Black Marines From 1940s Take Hill.  Washington Times

26.                        Military Sexual Assault Accusers Head To Capitol Hill.  ABC News

27.                        British Memorial Honors World War II Bomber Crews. New York Times

28.                        Sing-Along To Salute Veteran.  Houston Chronicle

29.                        A Native American-VA Benefits Event, A Regional Reintegration Summit, "Voices Of Veterans."  Oregonian

30.                        Veterans Group Aims To Launch Database With Health Care Wait Times.  iHealthBeat

31.                        Bank Of America To Hire Vets. Fierce Finance

32.                        VA / VSO-MSO Hearings as June 30, 2012:

            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