1. Surviving Spouses Continue To Try To End "Widows' Tax." The AP (2/11, Hefling) reports, "For a decade, war widows in matching yellow suit jackets and hats quietly and persistently have knocked on Capitol Hill doors seeking an end to the 'widows' tax,'" a "law that won't allow surviving spouses to receive the retirement pay due them when their spouse died from a cause related to military service, and at the same time collect the full annuity - essentially an insurance policy most of their spouses opted to buy." But even though there have been "pledges of help from scores of federal officials - including President Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi - their long quest remains unfulfilled." Vivianne Wersel, chairwoman of the Government Relations Committee at Gold Star Wives of America, "said her group is pleased that so far this year they have enlisted more than 300 co-sponsors for their legislation in the House and more than 50 in the Senate, but they are still not confident that means Congress will pass it."
2. Artwork Part Of National Salute To Hospitalized Veterans Week In Indiana. In continuing coverage, the Fort Wayne (IN) Daily News (2/11) reports, "It's been said a picture is worth a thousand words. If that's so, then thousands of unspoken words will be contributing to the comfort of patients" this week at the Veterans Affairs hospitals in Fort Wayne and Marion, where artwork by faculty, students, and alumni from Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne will be displayed. After noting that one of the students "has often expressed to her colleagues at IPFW how well her family has been cared" for by the VA since her husband died while serving in Afghanistan, the Daily News says the artwork project "is part of the National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans Week activities."
3. Wilson Remembered For Work In Afghanistan, Efforts To Help Vets. The AP (2/11, Stengle) reports 76-year-old Charlie Wilson, the "former congressman from Texas whose funding of Afghanistan's resistance to the Soviet Union was chronicled in the movie and book 'Charlie Wilson's War,' died Wednesday." After noting that Memorial Medical Center-Lufkin spokeswoman Yana Ogletree said the preliminary cause of death was cardiopulmonary arrest, the AP says US Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) "called Wilson 'a lifetime public servant with a fiery passion for the people of east Texas, our men and women in uniform, our veterans and our freedoms.'"
The Washington Post (2/11, Langer, Shapiro, 684K) points out that Wilson was a Navy veteran, as does the CNN (2/11) website. USA Today (2/11, Kiely, 2.11M), meanwhile, says in Wilson's "view, his biggest achievements as a member of Congress were local," including the "creation of a veterans hospital in Lufkin," a point that was also made in a story aired by Fox News Channel's Special Report (2/10, 6:10 p.m. ET), and by reports in McClatchy (2/11, Batheja), as well as the websites for KLTV-TV Tyler, TX (2/10, Hemness) and KTRE-TV Lufkin, TX (2/10). KTRE, which also noted that the "Lufkin VA clinic was renamed after Wilson in 2005," quoted Dr. Anthony Zollo, the clinic's director, who said in a press release that VA "is a richer organization because of...Wilson." The Houston Chronicle (2/11, 427K) runs the same quote.
4. Murtha To Be Buried Near His Home. In continuing coverage, The Hill (2/11, Tiron, 21K) reports 77-year-old US Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) "will be buried in his district" Tuesday, "not far from his home in Johnstown, Pa." Murtha, the "first Vietnam War veteran to be elected to Congress," had been "eligible for burial" at Arlington National Cemetery but his family decided against that, according to Matthew Mazonkey, the lawmaker's spokesman.
5. Vietnam Veterans Moving Wall Headed To Batavia VA This Summer. The Batavia (NY) Daily News (2/10, Baker, 13K) reports, "Those who served and are serving the nation will be honored in a special way this summer" at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Batavia. Plans are "'under way for bringing the Vietnam Veterans Moving Wall to the Batavia VA grounds June 24-28,' said Royce Calhoun, assistant medical center director, VA Western New York Healthcare System." The wall is a "half-sized replica of the actual Vietnam War Memorial Wall" in Washington, DC.
6. VA Sets "Strict Guidelines" For Veterans Contracting Program. In continuing coverage, Government Executive (2/10, Brodsky) reports, "The Veterans Affairs Department has set strict guidelines for bidding on contracts set-aside for veteran-owned small businesses. Entrepreneurs will be allowed only one company at a time in the contracting program and must work full time in the business, according to a final rule published on Monday in the Federal Register." Government Executive adds that while the "rule is final, VA is accepting comments on the owner-involvement change through March 10." A similar story appeared as the last item in the "Federal Eye" blog for the Washington Post (2/10, O'Keefe, 684K).
7. Committee Recommends Restoring Funding Cuts For Veterans Services In Kansas. The Marysville (KS) Advocate (2/10, Ranney) reported, "Budget cuts have taken a toll" on services provided to veterans in Kansas, as was told to the state's House Social Services Budget Committee on Monday. The committee "later voted to recommend that the full House Budget Committee restore the funding cuts."
8. Proposed Legislation In California Focuses On Court Trials For Mentally Ill Veterans. The Los Altos (CA) Town Crier (2/10, Burr) noted that "Los Altos resident Duncan MacVicar, a veteran," has written "legislation to facilitate military veterans' receiving a proper trial in...cases" involving mentally ill veterans. Current law in California "authorizes judges to sentence mentally ill veterans to a treatment process instead of jail if found guilty of a crime, but only in the case of misdemeanors. MacVicar's proposed amendments, currently under discussion in the state Senate," would, among other things, "permit a veteran to submit a psychiatrist's formal evaluation to prove his or her mental condition(s)."
9. Rieckhoff: VA's Disability System Needs To Be Reformed. In an op-ed for Minnesota Public Radio (2/10) Paul Rieckhoff, the executive director and founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said "nearly 425,000...injured veterans" are "stuck waiting" for their disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. And "just recently," according to Rieckhoff, "we heard from VA Secretary Eric Shinseki that the wait time is likely to rise until 2013." Rieckhoff argues that "we need all Americans" to "support our veterans fighting for disability reform" at the VA, as his organization will do this week during its "annual Storm the Hill campaign."
10. Authors Tout Importance Of Anxiety Disorder Study Co-Funded By VAPAHCS. Science Daily (2/11) reports, "People with generalized anxiety disorder, or GAD, have abnormalities in the way their brain unconsciously controls emotions. That's the conclusion of a new Stanford University School of Medicine study, and the study authors say the findings could open up new avenues for treatments and change our understanding of how emotion is regulated in everyday life." The study, "published online in this month's American Journal of Psychiatry," was funded by the National Institutes of Health "and the residency-research program of the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System."
11. VA Focused On Clinics, Outreach. Minnesota Public Radio (2/10, Robertson) reported, "Since the 1990s," the Department of Veterans Affairs "has moved away from hospital-based care. There are now nearly 800 Community-based Outpatient Clinics" in the United States, "with nine in Minnesota." VA officials, meanwhile, "say their mission now includes far more outreach."
12. Brownback Thanks Vets During VA Hospital Tour. On its website, WIBW-TV Topeka, KS (2/10) said veterans at the Colmery-O'Neil Veterans Affairs Medical Center "were greeted by a special visitor Wednesday." US Sen. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) "toured the facility and greeted several
veterans who were patients there." After noting that the "visit was part of National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans Week," which "seeks to increase awareness and appreciation of the nation's veterans of war," WIBW added, "Brownback said he wanted the veterans to know how much he personally appreciates their service."
13. Grand Opening Held For VA Clinic In California. The Fremont (CA) Argus (2/11, Artz) reports, "After years of trekking to Livermore or Palo Alto to see a doctor, local veterans now can get medical care in Fremont." On Wednesday, the US Department of Veterans Affairs "opened a clinic at 39191 Liberty St. to serve veterans from as far away as Hayward and San Leandro until a larger facility opens in five years in South Fremont." The Argus adds, "About 150 people, many of them veterans, attended the clinic's grand opening ceremony."
14. Open House Celebrates VA Mobile Telehealth Clinic. The Platte County (WY) Record Times (2/11, Ningen, 2K) reports, "Around 40 local" veterans "made their way...Feb. 3" to an open house held by the Cheyenne Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The event celebrated the hospital's Mobile Telehealth Clinic, which "will be coming to Wheatland," where the open house was held, "every Wednesday."
15. Hines VA Officials Unveil New Fisher House. The Chicago Tribune (2/11, 534K) notes that on Wednesday morning, officials with the Hines Veterans Affairs Hospital "offered the first tour of the Hines Fisher House, a two-story brick building with 20 cozy bedroom suites. The nation's newest Fisher House also includes a large, sunny kitchen with three refrigerators and multiple cooking areas; a dining room; a living room; and laundry facilities." After noting that the Fisher House Foundation "manages 43 Fisher Houses throughout" the US, the Tribune adds, "The Hines Fisher House is the first such facility in Illinois."
16. Advocates Tout Planned Utah Complex, While Homeless Vets Express Concern. The Salt Lake Tribune (2/11, LaPlante, 120K) reports, "The building of a transitional housing complex on the Veterans Affairs campus in west Salt Lake City will complete a tripling of the number of beds specifically available for homeless veterans, advocates told the state Homeless Coordinating Committee on Wednesday." However, some residents who have been transitioned "from a housing facility on the VA campus to an old motel on the west side of town" have "criticized the move, which places many veterans who are struggling with addiction in part of town they say is riddled with drug dealers and much farther away from the VA services they rely upon." But Salt Lake City Housing Authority Director Bill Nighswonger "said the purchase of the hotel is part of a plan that will allow for the completion of a new, permanent housing complex on the VA campus and expand the overall capacity for homeless veterans by 2012."
17. Odor At VA Facility Investigated By HazMat Team. The Los Angeles Daily News (2/10, 122K) reported, "An odor prompted evacuation of about four dozen people today from a building adjacent to the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Westwood, but no injuries were reported, authorities said. The problem was reported about 9:25 a.m. on the third floor of the building, on the grounds of the Veterans Administration facility in the 11300 block of West Wilshire Boulevard, said" the Los Angeles Fire Department's Devin Gales. The Daily News added, "A hazardous-materials team was investigating the source of the odor, a process that was continuing more than 90 minutes later, Gales said." The Contra Costa Times (2/10, 186K), a paper in a Walnut Creek, California, ran the same story.
No Hazard Found After Dozens Evacuated From Building Where Odor Was Detected. Meanwhile, on its website, KCAL-TV Los Angeles, CA (2/10) reported, "Authorities said an unidentified odor prompted the evacuation of about four dozen people Wednesday from a building" on the VA hospital "campus in Westwood, but no hazard was found."
18. VA Hospital To Host Variety Show. The Sioux Falls (SD) Argus Leader (2/11, Kirschenmann) says, "It's been a decade since Dave Deg last played guitar for the annual variety show" at the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Sioux Falls. But he will do so again, this Saturday afternoon "during the 20th annual Sioux Falls VA Variety Show." Deg's performance "is one of about 20 different acts...set for the free show."
19. Despite Weather, VA Hospital In Delaware To Remain Open. The Wilmington (DE) News Journal (2/11, Chalmers) reports, "The Veterans Affairs Medical Center on Kirkwood Highway in Elsmere is open and will remain open Thursday, spokesman Charles Quesenberry said" on Wednesday. The News Journal added, "The campus is operating under emergency conditions, but the outpatient clinics in Dover and Georgetown, as well as those in New Jersey, may be closed because of the weather, he said. The VA is contacting patients with non-emergency health care needs to reschedule their appointments."
20. Salute To Veterans At VA Hospital. A letter to the editor of the Omaha (NE) World Herald (2/11).
21. VA Prodded To Give More Aid To Female Veterans. Stars And Stripes (2/10, Perry) published a story that first appeared in the Los Angeles Times (2/8, Perry, 776K).
22. Ground Broken On Rosecrans/Miramar Annex. The La Jolla (CA) Village News (2/11, Ruiz).
23. Stuart VA Worker On A Mission: Find Owner Of Military Medal-Laden Baseball Cap. The West Palm Beach (FL) Post (2/11, Crankshaw).
24. South African Designer: Wheelchair Helps Disabled In Body, Mind. The Oneonta (NY) Daily Star (2/11, Breakey, 14K) reports Anthony Netto, a "paraplegic golf pro, has joined forces with Vets-Help.org to promote the 'Stand Up and Play Challenge,' which is designed to help disabled veterans overcome challenges through sports." Craig Northacker, executive director of Vets-Help.org, "said Friday that the nonprofit organization has signed a contract to purchase the former Buteau Motors location on Delaware Street in Walton where the 'Stand Up and Play Challenge' headquarters will be housed."
25. BYU Study: Black Soldiers Cheated Of Civil War Pension Equity. The Salt Lake Tribune (2/11, LaPlante, 120K).
26. This Coach In Training Is Also A Veteran. The Los Angeles Times (2/11, Holmes, 776K).
27. Today in History:
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From: VA Media Relation, provided by Kevin Secor
Sent: Wednesday, February 10, 2010 02:18 PM Eastern Standard Time
Subj Shineski Mourns Loss of Rep. Murtha
Congressman Gave Veterans a “Strong Voice on Capitol Hill”
WASHINGTON – Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki mourned the loss of Rep. John P. Murtha, Chairman of the House Appropriations’ subcommittee on defense and a champion of the Nation’s Veterans. Murtha died Feb. 8 at age 77.
“As the first Vietnam War combat Veteran elected to Congress and a career Reservist, Congressman Murtha understood the challenges that our Nation’s servicemembers face every day,” said Shinseki. “He dedicated his life to serving his country and helped give Veterans a stronger voice on Capitol Hill. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Murtha family.”
A former Marine, Murtha was elected to the Congress in 1974. Upon his retirement from the Marine Corps Reserve in 1990, he was awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal by the Marine Corps commandant.
Murtha joined the Marines in 1952 when he left Washington and Jefferson College. He earned the American Spirit Honor Medal, awarded to fewer than one in 10,000 recruits. He rose through the ranks to become a drill instructor at Parris Island and was selected for Officer Candidate School at Quantico, Va. He then was assigned to the Second Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, N.C. In 1959, Capt. Murtha took command of the 34th Special Infantry Company, Marine Corps Reserves, in Johnstown, Penn.
Murtha remained in the Reserves after his discharge from active duty until he volunteered for Vietnam in 1966, where he served as the intelligence officer for the 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. Murtha received the Bronze Star with Combat "V", two Purple Hearts and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.
In his 2004 book, From Vietnam to 9/11, Murtha wrote, "Ever since I was a young boy, I had two goals in life – I wanted to be a colonel in the Marine Corps and a member of Congress."
On Feb. 6, 2010, Murtha became Pennsylvania’s longest serving member of Congress.
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LinkedIn Groups: From Jan Scruggs, WIA Vietnam Vet, Founder and President, Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF)
Subj: VVMF Founder and President Jan Scruggs Remembers Rep. John Murtha
(D-Pa.)
Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) died this week at age 77. Jan Scruggs remembers the man who was always a staunch supporter of VVMF, especially its overseas humanitarian program, Project RENEW:
"Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) was a long-time friend and supporter of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF). Although he had already served three years with the U.S. Marine Corps and was in the Marine Corps Reserves by the time the United States became involved in Vietnam, Murtha returned to active duty and volunteered for service there in 1966-67. Later, he became the first combat veteran from that war to be elected to Congress.
"Those experiences stayed with him, and he remained dedicated to honoring and remembering those who served. When VVMF unveiled the first panel of The Wall in the summer of 1982, Murtha was one of the distinguished guest speakers. Later, he spoke movingly at The Wall on Veterans Day 2004. Murtha was an active supporter of VVMF’s international humanitarian program, Project RENEW, which removes explosive remnants of war and provides assistance to ERW victims and their families in Vietnam. Just a few months before he died, Murtha helped VVMF get an earmark in the most recent Defense Department funding bill that will contribute $1 million to assist in the important work of Project RENEW.
"Murtha was a man who loved his country and spent his life in its service. Today, the United States lost a patriot."
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From: Jack Beecher, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Small Business Officer and
Vietnam Veteran. Please note that the POC for this Announcement is listed within the attachment, please do not send responses to Jack.
Sent: Wed 2/10/2010 4:30 PM
Subj: SDV set-aside
Good afternoon folks,
Attached is a Sources Sought out of my Sacramento District. One reason some CORPS Districts do not do more SDV set-asides is because just a few SDVs respond to such notices. Sacramento is looking for more than just 2 or 3 qualified SDV companies.
If you can get this out to as many qualified SDV Construction companies as possible, especially those in CA, WA, NV, AZ, it may help.
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Godspeed..............Wayne
Attachment:
IDIQ Contract Roofing at Sierra Army depot - Hawthorne Army Depot - Reno, Nevada - Federal Business Opportunities Opportunities.mht
Description: IDIQ Contract Roofing at Sierra Army depot - Hawthorne Army Depot - Reno, Nevada - Federal Business Opportunities Opportunities.mht