DAV Chapter 2 Great Falls
“The Patriots Voice”
May 2012
DAV WASHINGTON UPDATE
Veteran Joblessness Down
Younger Vets Unemployment Up
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in March that the average
unemployment rate for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan had risen to
12.1 percent from 11.5 percent a year earlier. The national
unemployment rate and jobless claims for all veterans, however,
dipped during that same span. Male veterans aged 18 to 24 posted a
nearly 30 percent unemployment rate compared to 17.6 percent of
their civilian peers. Faring even poorer, 36 percent of 18 to 24 year
old women veterans were jobless in 2011, compared to 14.5 percent
of their non-veteran peers.
House Budget Proposal Released
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rep. Harold Rogers (RKy), expressed concern at a hearing of the Appropriations
Subcommittee which oversees VA spending that the fate of funding
for veterans’ programs depends on whether or not government
spending, can be brought under control. The House Budget
Committee released their budget proposal, which calls for $19 billion
in cuts to federal spending, exempting the departments of Defense
and Veterans Affairs. It also proposes an additional three-year pay
freeze for the federal workforce, a drop in their numbers by 200,000,
and more equitable individual contributions to their retirement plans.
At the hearing, Rogers also called for more funding for VA to fix the
disability claims backlog, and to extend programs that will help
prevent prescription drug abuse among veterans.
Fiscal Year 2013 Budget and Appropriations
As reported in the February Bulletin, the President introduced the
Administration’s budget proposal on February 13, 2012, for the fiscal
year beginning on October 1, 2012. While comparatively generous to
VA benefits and services programs, the Administration’s request falls
short by our estimate of $4 billion, mostly for construction funding.
For VA medical care, and as validated by the Government
Accountability Office [http://www.gao.gov/assets/590/589760.pdf],
the budget was reduced significantly below the Veterans Health
Administration’s own actuarial forecast of funding needed.
Budget hearings have been held in both the House and Senate at
which DAV offered testimony. The budget testimony is available at
http://www.dav.org/voters/Testimony.aspx . On March 19, 2012, the
House passed its Budget Resolution, H. Con. Res. 112, which closely
mirrors the Administration’s VA discretionary funding levels, about
$4 billion below the recommendations of The Independent Budget,
most in construction funding levels. The House budget does not
include $1 billion in mandatory funding to stimulate veterans
employment, as proposed by the Administration. The resolution does
include the advance appropriation for VA medical care required by
Public Law 111-81.
The Senate has yet to act on the budget resolution.
Pending Legislation
H.R. 3895, the Protect VA Healthcare Act of 2012, introduced by
House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller, would
amend the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985 to clarify that all veterans programs are exempt from
sequestration. This bill is in line with DAV Resolution No. 144.
H.R. 4023, the Veterans’ Telehealth and Telemedicine Improvement
Act, introduced by Representative Kathleen Hochul, would amend
title 38, United States Code, to improve the use of teleconsultation,
teleretinal imaging, telemedicine, and telehealth coordination services
for the provision of health care to veterans. This bill is in line with
DAV Resolution Nos. 193, 194 and 203.
H.R. 4114, the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment
Act of 2012, introduced by Representative Jon Runyan, would
increase, effective as of December 1, 2012, the rates of compensation
for veterans with service-connected disabilities and the rates of
dependency and indemnity compensation for the survivors of certain
disabled veterans. The bill is in line with DAV Resolution No. 058,
with the exception of the provision providing for permanent rounding
down of COLAs, which we oppose.
H.R. 4142, the American Heroes COLA Act, introduced by
Representative Runyan, would amend title 38, United States Code, to
provide for annual cost-of-living adjustments to be made
automatically by law each year in the rates of disability compensation
for veterans with service-connected disabilities and the rates of
dependency and indemnity compensation for survivors of certain
service-connected disabled veterans. The bill is in line with DAV
Resolution No. 058, with the exception of the provision providing for
rounding down of COLAs, which we oppose.
S. 2128, the Protecting the Health Care of Veterans Act of 2012,
introduced by Senator Jon Tester, would amend the Balanced Budget
and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to clarify that all
veterans’ programs are exempt from sequestration. This bill would
meet the goals established in DAV Resolution No. 144.
S. 2259, the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Act of 2012,
introduced by Senator Jon Tester, would provide for an increase,
effective December 1, 2012, in the rates of compensation for veterans
with service-connected disabilities and the rates of dependency and
indemnity compensation for the survivors of certain disabled
veterans. The bill is in line with DAV Resolution No. 058, with the
exception of the provision providing for rounding down of COLAs,
which we oppose.
Conclusion
To ensure the successful enactment of the legislation that we support,
our DAV and Auxiliary members must become active members of
DAV’s grassroots—DAV CAN—and all of us must do our part to let
our elected officials know about our support for legislation that builds
better lives for our nation’s service-disabled veterans, their families
and their survivors. Please make a pledge to redouble your efforts to
communicate our concerns to your elected officials. Your efforts and
actions are a key to our success. Thank you for again for your
continuing support for DAV’s programs of service.
local public agencies and nonprofit organizations, including faithbased and community organizations. Grantees must be familiar with
the areas and populations to be served, and have demonstrated they
can administer effective programs.
Grantees will provide homeless veterans with occupational,
classroom and on-the-job training, as well as job search and
placement assistance, including follow-up services. HVRP is the only
federal program that focuses exclusively on employment of veterans
who are homeless. Grantees will coordinate their efforts with other
local, state and federal social service providers. The grant
applications
are
available
at
http://www.dol.gov/vets/programs/hvrp/main2012.htm.
DAV Great Falls Chapter 2 Fund Raiser
On Saturday, April 14th, members of Chapter 2 sold raffle tickets for
the framed print entitled “Wings of Freedom” at the Malmstrom AFB
Base Exchange. Those members were: Dennis Miller, Bob Ronish,
Burl Brawley, Lyle Onsager and Joe Parsetich; $411.00 was raised!
VA Deploys New Operating Model for Disability
Claims
VA has announced the national deployment of claims transformation
initiatives to 12 regional offices in the remaining months of fiscal
year 2012 to improve benefits delivery to veterans, families and their
survivors. The 12 regional offices to begin the deployment of the
transformation initiatives include: Huntington, WV; Hartford, CT;
Portland, OR; Houston, TX; Cleveland, OH; Des Moines, IA; Boise,
ID; Phoenix, AZ; New Orleans, LA; San Juan, PR; Atlanta, GA.;
and, Newark, NJ. This deployment follows four pilot programs at
Indianapolis, IN, Wichita, KS, Milwaukee, WI, and Fort Harrison,
MT.
During the national deployment, VA will track and gauge the
integrated effects of the transformation plan to reduce the backlog of
disability claims and provide more timely and accurate claims
decisions. VA expects to deploy the transformation plan to the
remaining 40 regional offices throughout calendar year 2013. The
major components of the transformation plan include:
d process for
triaging claims documents and other mail, and drives faster and more
accurate association of mail with veterans’ claims files;
easily rated to move quickly through the system and the more
complex claims to be processed by VA’s more experienced and
skilled employees;
-Functional Teams, which support a case-management
approach to claims processing that minimizes rework and reduces
processing time; and
electronic claims processing system that employs rules-based
technologies to improve decision speed and quality.
Grants to Assist Approximately 9,000 Homeless
Veterans
The U.S. Department of Labor has announced the availability of $15
million in grants through the Homeless Veterans Reintegration
Program (HVRP) to provide job training services to help homeless
veterans succeed in civilian careers.
The department anticipates awarding at least 50 grants to serve
approximately 9,000 veterans. Funds will be awarded on a
competitive basis to state and local workforce investment boards,
Pictured are Joe Parsetich
and Dennis Miller
Up and Coming Events & Guest Speakers for
Chapter 2
May 7th At our monthly meeting we will have: drawing for the
framed print “Wings of Freedom”, and our guest speaker will be Lori
Symonsbergen who is with TriWest Healthcare Alliance. She is the
representative of Beneficiary Services and Education for all of
Montana and Idaho. Future monthly meetings will have
representatives from the following organizations: Wounded Warriors
Program, Veterans Stand Down, “My Neighbor In Need”, and many
other programs targeted that support our veterans and their families.
Encourage your fellow DAV comrades to attend their chapter’s
meetings to have their voices heard.
“For the Good of the Order”
Your Chapter needs your help; in an attempt to
reduce the cost of mailing, your monthly newsletter
will be available online, or it can be e-mailed to you.
We can only afford to mail hard copies of the
newsletter quarterly, but by retrieving it online, you
can be kept informed of changes that occur monthly!
However, we need your e-mail address (or you can
access it on our web site by going to: www.dav.org,
then go to “Montana”, and then to Chapter 2). Your
cooperation to help support your chapter is greatly
appreciated!
Great Falls DAV Chapter 2 Officers:
Commander
Burl Brawley
Sr. Vice Commander
Walt Tuss
Jr. Vice Commander
Denis Miller
Adjutant
Joe Parsetich
Treasurer
Lyle Onsager
Chaplain
Frank Ghee
Chapter Service Officers:
Joe Parsetich
Lyle Onsager
788-2335
781-2282
** Great Falls DAV Chapter 2 monthly meetings are held on
the 1st Monday of each month at the VFW Post 1087 hall at
4123 10th Ave. South – all members are encouraged to
attend.