EANGUS
MINUTEMAN
UPDATE
____________________________________________________________________________
19 February 2010
National Guard News - Air and Army
West Virginia National Guard Soldiers Rescue Mother and Baby
The pair were stranded in their home in Morgan County, WV
following back-to-back blizzards that buried the region with more
than three feet of snow in some areas. To reach the pair, Staff Sgt.
Harry F. Accor III and Spc. Derek C. Folk, two medics with the
201st Field Artillery Battalion based in Fairmont, W.Va., fashioned
handmade snowshoes from pine tree branches and clothes lines.
What makes the feat perhaps even more amazing is that Folk
performed the rescue with three bones broken in his right hand.
Ohio Guardsman Honored for Courage Under Fire
Sgt. 1st Class Mark Wanner, a medic assigned to Company B,
2nd Battalion of the Ohio Army National Guard’s 19th Special
Forces Group, received the Silver Star Medal—the nation’s third
highest medal for valor in combat.
Wanner received the award for actions he performed during a
firefight last May which saved the life of a fellow Green Beret.
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and Maj. Gen. Gregory L. Wayt, the
adjutant general of Ohio, were on hand to present Wanner with
the medal. It is the first such award for an Ohio National Guard
member since the Korean War.
Utah Guardsman Posts Best U.S. Finish in Biathlon
The best American finish ever in the biathlon at the Winter Olympics
was posted by a Utah National Guard member. Army Sgt. Jeremy
Teela, a three-time Olympian, led four Team USA competitors with a
ninth-place finish in the men's 10-kilometer sprint race at Whistler
Olympic Park.
Despite missing two targets, Teela's strong skiing pushed him five
seconds ahead of one of Russia's top skiers. With this finish, Teela will
start ninth in the upcoming mens' 12.5-kilometer event, as well as
competing in the 20-kilometer event, the 15-kilometer mass start and
the 4x7 five-kilometer relay.
The National Guard at the Winter Olympics
Seven current and former members of the U.S. Army World
Class Athlete Program (WCAP) have earned spots on Team
USA for the XXI Olympic Winter Games.
Army National Guard Outstanding Athlete Program bobsled
pilot Sgt. Mike Kohn (front right) leads his four-man squad at
the start of a U.S. World Cup Team Trials race Oct. 24 at
Park City, Utah. Kohn will drive Team USA III sleds in both
two-man and four-man competitions at the XXI Olympic
Winter Games in Whistler, British Columbia.
On the women's side, former WCAP bobsledder Sgt. Shauna
Rohbock of the Army National Guard Outstanding Athlete
Program will pilot Team USA I. A 2006 Olympic silver
medalist who teamed with Valerie Fleming in Torino, Italy, Rohbock, of Park City, Utah, will be joined
by Michelle Rzepka of Novi, Mich., in America's top-rated women's sled.
Alaska Air Guard tackles infrastructure work in Puerto Rico
Forty-five Alaska National Guard members assigned to the 176th
Civil Engineer Squadron deployed here with a wide range of technical
specialties, including carpentry, civil engineering, plumbing, wiring,
power production, air conditioning/heating, and heavy equipment
operation. They are in Puerto Rico to practice these skills and train
new unit members while at the same time helping the Coast Guard
with much-needed improvements.
The squadron typically undertakes one two-week assignment, called a
deployment for training, each year. On previous such deployments its
members built a schoolhouse in Ecuador, renovated facilities in
Hawaii, installed fiber-optic lines in Israel, and upgraded roads, a
training range and other infrastructure along California's border with Mexico.
Guard Brushes Off From 'Blizzard' of Callouts
More than 3,000 National Guard members in eight states assisted in massive recovery efforts after
back-to-back, history-making winter storms crippled the mid-Atlantic region recently.
Thousands of government workers were off for almost five days during the closure of federal offices in
the national capital region, but National Guard members were on continuous duty since before the first
storm's arrival Feb. 5.
In the nation's capital, about 150 soldiers and airmen from the District of Columbia National Guard
transported essential government personnel and supported D.C. police officers, firefighters and other
emergency responders.
In addition to transportation, the D.C. Guard's mission includes logistics,
communications, administrative, maintenance and operational support. Guard
personnel operated around the clock in 12-hour shifts.
Surrounding the District, Virginia and Maryland had about 1,300 soldiers and
airmen combined helping their states recover from crippling snowfall amounts of
more than three feet in some areas, trapping residents in their homes and
shutting out emergency access.
Maryland
Maryland reported that more than 700 Guard members had assisted civilian
responders in snow removal, rescued stranded motorists, health and wellness
checks and transportation.
At one time, more than 150,000 residents were without power in Maryland, including three Guard
armories. The soldiers and airmen were able to provide generator power to key areas and delivered
fuel and water as long as they it was needed.
Eight Maryland Guardsmen were awarded state medals for storm assistance, which included delivering
a baby, giving cardiopulmonary resuscitation to a heart attack victim and assisting a trauma patient.
Virginia
The Virginia Guard reported that 500 Guardsmen had been on state active duty supporting a variety of
storm-response missions, including transporting emergency responders to medical callouts, shelters
and stuck vehicles.
Soldiers from Company A, 3rd Battalion, 116th Brigade Combat Team, and volunteer firefighters from
the Luray, Va., volunteer fire department were dispatched Feb. 6 to aid a family in Rileyville who were
stranded in their home without power.
Soldiers from Company G, 429th Brigade Support Battalion, 116th Brigade Combat Team, based in
Norfolk, Va., conducted a patient transport mission Feb. 8 in Fairfax County. County resident Olive
Lewis was not able to make a needed medical appointment for kidney dialysis, so the Fairfax County
Emergency Operations Center dispatched the Virginia National Guard to transport her.
Current Guard missions from the state's department of emergency management include transportation
assistance, vehicle recovery and door-to-door health and wellness checks.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell said
that his state's National Guard had teamed
up with the department of transportation
and local authorities to deal with the
aftermath of the recent massive snowfalls.
Pennsylvania had 1,500 soldiers and airmen
on duty today conducting similar missions in
their state. Their Humvees were seen in
major cities, including Philadelphia and
Pittsburgh, and on snow-bound country
roads conducting wellness checks on
stranded residents.
Delaware
More than 300 soldiers and airmen from the Delaware National Guard were activated and conducted
nearly 700 missions since Feb. 5, according to their Web site.
Their missions include: medical transportation; assisting stranded motorists; and helping the state's
transportation agency clear the roads.
West Virginia
In West Virginia, Guard members were credited with saving lives by local law enforcement officials for
their assistance in transporting responders to medical emergencies. They used four-wheel-drive
Humvees with high ground clearances to plow through snow-covered roadways, which were under
more than three feet of snow.
Other states
In other parts of the country affected by winter weather, 15 Oklahoma Guardsmen recently provided
generators, food, water and cots to shelters in the state, and seven soldiers in South Dakota helped
local authorities in the Aberdeen area with re-establishing
roads and utilities as well as conducting search and rescue
missions.
In Arkansas, eight Guardsmen provided four-wheel drive
ambulance support to Pulaski and Faulkner counties due to
severe winter weather recently. The soldiers were responsible
for vehicle operations and transportation of Metropolitan
Emergency Medical Services personnel and civilian patients.
The 87th Troop Command, with headquarters at Camp
Robinson in North Little Rock, Ark., was tasked to support
MEMS in Pulaski County with three of the ambulances, 12 stretchers and six soldiers. The Faulkner
County mission was tasked to the Guard's 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, with a fourth
ambulance with four stretchers and two soldiers.
2011 Budget Proposal Includes Air Force Plane Grab
Air Force officials have found a new source of inventory to replace their aging aircraft: the more
experienced, less expensive and often more heavily tasked Air National Guard. The plan, which is
included in the president’s 2011 budget proposal would shift 12 C-130 Hercules cargo planes from Air
Guard bases nationwide to replace older active-component models at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.
The same scheme would also eliminate the only flying unit in the Puerto Rico Air Guard. In all, 21 Air
Guard C-130s would be affected.
“This continues the slow but steady grounding of the Air
National Guard,” said Maj. Gen. Tod
Bunting, NGAUS chairman of the board. “At a time when we
should be leveraging cost effectiveness,
the Air Force wants to gut its component with, by far, the
lowest operating costs. “We’re cutting muscle when we
should be cutting fat -- excess personnel and infrastructure
not involved in today’s missions,” he said. “This is bad for
America and, ultimately, will be bad for the U.S. Air Force.”
Air Force officials said the plan is based on the findings of
the Mobility Capability Requirements
Study; however, this most recent look at the U.S. military’s airlift needs is yet not complete.
In addition, Air Guard leaders in the states and the nation’s governors were never consulted or
advised of the scheme’s significant provisions.
The plan continues an effort that began when Air Force leaders used the 2005 Base Realignment
and Closure process to cut the Air Guard instead of―as BRAC was intended―to divest excess
infrastructure.
“The Air Guard is the last place to look to save money,” Bunting said. “Most of our bases are on
state or municipal airport property. We have minimal infrastructure and overhead. We have a
mostly part-time force. We also have some of the most experienced air crews and maintainers in
the Air Force. When you cut the Air Guard you’re not cutting costs,” he said, “you’re cutting
capability.”
Guardsman Uses Civilian Skills to Improve Convoy Routes
An Oregon National Guard member, who is a line-haul driver for FedEx in his civilian job, is helping to
improve the convoy routes for military logisticians in Iraq.
Col. Dan Hokanson, the 41st IBCT commander, asked Carlson to be a part of a 13th Sustainment
Command (Expeditionary) committee to restructure the convoy escort mission for the entire theater of
Iraq.
Carlson, who has 17 years of experience driving long routes at his
civilian job, traveled to different bases throughout Iraq and
examined their dispatch systems for convoy missions, as well as the
specific routes each unit was using. Carlson also examined the
current route structure and determined that doing it the FedEx way
would be the most efficient course of action. Units in each area will
only travel in a small hub and use a relay system to get equipment
and supplies to their destinations.
Carlson explained that since the biggest mission in Iraq today is
convoy escort, streamlining the routes will pave the way for the
drawdown of troops, as there will be less people needed to do the
work. Having smaller route hubs also allows soldiers to tailor their
equipment sets, memorize the medevac call signs and frequencies
for their area, and have more consistency in their missions.
Carlson said he was happy to use his civilian skills during his Iraq
deployment. "This is what makes the National Guard special," he
said. "Our civilian job expertise can help make the Army better."
Braley, Kline, Walz Announce Critical Step Forward in Troops’ Payments
Majority of National Guard members should receive PDMRA checks by March
Reps. Bruce Braley (D-IA), John Kline (R-MN) and Tim Walz (D-MN) announced that the National
Guard Bureau has released policy guidance to finally pay Iowa and Minnesota National Guard troops
the “Respite Leave” payments they were promised. The release of this policy guidance was a required
step in providing troops benefits under the Department of Defense’s Post-Deployment/Mobilization
Respite Absence (PDMRA) program. The majority of affected Guard members are expected to
receive checks by March 19, 2010.
Braley, Kline and Walz have been leading efforts to fix this back pay problem and ensure that
thousands of troops nationwide receive proper compensation. The three introduced the Guaranteed
Benefits for Our Troops Act (HR 1222) which was signed into law in October as part of the Fiscal Year
2010 National Defense Authorization Act and enables the Pentagon to release the promised benefits.
Under this fix, thousands of National Guard members across the country will be provided benefits they
were promised under the Department of Defense’s PDMRA program, commonly known as “Respite
Leave.” Due to a delay between the announcement of the PDMRA program by the Department of
Defense and the implementation of the program by the individual services, thousands of soldiers from
the Army National Guard have not received proper Respite Leave compensation. Almost 800 Iowa
National Guard members and over 2,500 Minnesota National Guard members have been affected by
this problem.
Braley, Kline and Walz first introduced the Guaranteed Benefits for Our Troops Act in July 2008. It
allows the Pentagon to retroactively grant up to $200 per day to affected troops.
Army Selects New Camouflage for Afghanistan
The secretary of the Army announced today that the Army will provide combat uniforms in the
MultiCam pattern to all soldiers deploying to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom,
starting this summer. This decision follows a rigorous four-month evaluation and reflects the Army's
commitment to giving soldiers in Afghanistan the most effective concealment possible.
Soldiers deploying to Afghanistan this summer will receive fire resistant Army combat uniforms in
MultiCam, along with associated equipment including body armor, rucksacks, and helmet covers.
The Army's selection of MultiCam for soldiers in Afghanistan culminates phase III of a four-phase plan
to thoroughly and deliberately evaluate camouflage alternatives.
The Army will now implement phase IV of its plan for camouflage, which is to evaluate long-term Army
combat uniform camouflage options for all soldiers. Camouflage alternatives represent one facet of
the Army’s ongoing efforts to improve the Army combat uniform. The Army has made more than 26
improvements to the ACU since it was first fielded in June 2004.
Health News
Contracts for Current Regional TRICARE Contractors Extended Through March 2011
Due to the ongoing TRICARE contract disputes, contract extensions have been issued by TRICARE
Management Activity (TMA). This simply means that TRICARE beneficiaries in the United States won’t
need to learn new phone numbers and Web sites any time soon. Current regional health care
contractors, Health Net Federal Services in the North, Humana Military Healthcare Services in the
South and TriWest Healthcare Alliance Corp. in the West, will continue to provide services to
beneficiaries until March 31, 2011. Contract information and updates can be found on a special
TRICARE Web page at www.tricare.mil/T3contracts.
Stopping Health Care Fraud Saves Everyone Money
Fraud is one of the major factors in the skyrocketing cost of health care in the United States.
Estimated to cost taxpayers billions of dollars each year, health care fraud really does affect everyone.
TRICARE protects its beneficiaries – and their wallets – by preventing, identifying and assisting in the
prosecution of health care fraud. In 2009 the TRICARE Program Integrity Office recovered $40.9
million in judgments from fraud schemes. Program Integrity’s efforts assure beneficiaries they’re
receiving care from trustworthy providers and taxpayer money is used appropriately.
In general, fraud involves intentionally billing TRICARE for medical services or supplies that are never
provided to beneficiaries. Abuse is supplying services or supplies that are not medically necessary or
do not meet professional standards.
TRICARE works with other government agencies and the TRICARE regional health care contractors to
identify and investigate fraud and abuse, but beneficiaries also play a pivotal role. The explanation of
benefits (EOB) received when a claim is processed can help uncover fraud and abuse. If the services or
supplies received at a medical appointment are not correctly reflected in the EOB, it is cause for
concern. Beneficiaries are encouraged to examine their EOBs and question anything that may have
been fraudulently billed.
TRICARE also works with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector
General to maintain a list of sanctioned medical providers who are barred from participating in
TRICARE, Medicare and other federally-funded health care programs. These providers may be
sanctioned because they have been convicted of fraud or patient abuse, or had licensing board actions.
TRICARE will not pay for services or prescriptions provided by a suspended or excluded health
provider. The sanctioned provider list is updated each month with reinstatements and exclusions and
can be searched at http://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/exclusions.asp.
To report medical fraud or abuse, contact the regional contractor’s fraud and abuse office, call the tollfree number provided on the EOB or send an e-mail to TRICARE at fraudline@tma.osd.mil. To report
pharmacy fraud or abuse, contact Express Scripts at 800-332-5455 or fraudtip@express-scripts.com.
Learn more about the TRICARE fraud watch program at www.tricare.osd.mil/fraud.
Regional Contractor Fraud and Abuse Reporting:
North Region
HealthNet Federal Services, LLC
800-977-6761
South Region
Humana Military Healthcare Services, Inc.
800-333-1620
West Region
TriWest Healthcare Alliance
888-584-9378
Army Releases January Suicide Data
During January 2010, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were 15
potential suicides. For December, among that same group, there were seven total suicides. Of those,
five were confirmed as suicides and two are pending determination of the manner of death.
“In the new year, we won’t just maintain our current focus on suicide prevention, we’re going to
sharpen that focus,” said Col. Christopher Philbrick, director, Army Suicide Prevention Task Force.
“We’ve made significant changes in our health promotion, risk reduction, and suicide prevention
programs, policies, and initiatives. But over the last year, you could describe our Army effort as
shining a flood light on the problem of suicide. Now in 2010, we’re going to move from a flood light to
a laser light— identifying our most effective programs, so we can target and reinforce what’s working
and fix what isn’t.”
In January, the Suicide Prevention Resource Council and the American Foundation for Suicide
Prevention selected the Army’s “Ask, Care, Escort” model for inclusion in their national registry of
programs reflecting “best practices” in suicide prevention. The Army’s model is one of only thirteen
suicide prevention programs, nationwide, included in the registry. “The ‘Ask, Care, Escort’ model is
fundamentally about engaged, concerned leadership, and caring for your fellow soldier. That’s
something the Army knows how to do”, said Philbrick.
Suicide Prevention Resources
Army leaders can access current health promotion guidance in newly revised Army Regulation 600-63,
Health Promotion at: http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/r600_63.pdf
Army Pamphlet 600-24 Health Promotion, Risk Reduction and Suicide Prevention at
http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/p600_24.pdf .
Suicide prevention training resources for Army families can be accessed at
http://www.armyg1.army.mil/hr/suicide/training_sub.asp?sub_cat=20. (Army Knowledge Online is
required to download materials)
Soldiers and families in need of crisis assistance can contact Military OneSource or the
Defense Center of Excellence (DCOE) for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury
Outreach Center. Trained consultants are available from both organizations 24 hours a day,
seven days a week, 365 days a year. See below for contact information.
The Military OneSource toll-free number for those residing in the continental U.S. is 1-800-342-9647;
their Web site address is http://www.militaryonesource.com . Overseas personnel should refer to the
Military OneSource Web site for dialing instructions for their specific location.
The DCOE Outreach Center can be contacted at 1-866-966-1020, via electronic mail at
Resources@DCoEOutreach.org .and at http://www.dcoe.health.mil .
The Army's comprehensive list of Suicide Prevention Program information is located at
http://www.armyg1.army.mil/hr/suicide/default.asp .
More information about the Army’s Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program is located at
http://www.army.mil/csf/ .
Family News
Defense Department Pauses Spouse Employment Program
The Defense Department has temporarily halted a popular employment assistance program for military
spouses while it conducts a "top-to-bottom" review of its services, officials said today. The My Spouse
Career Advancement Account program, also known as MyCAA, offers military spouses opportunities to
pursue portable careers in high-demand, high-growth occupations such as education and health care.
Officials said they will use the time to review procedures, financial assistance documents and the
program in general. The review was prompted by a need to ensure the program is meeting its intent,
which is to provide spouses with additional opportunities for portable careers.
Military spouses who already have been approved for financial assistance won't be affected, and
spouses who have an account can continue to use the Web site for career counseling and planning,
officials said. However, during this review time, spouses won't be able to create a new account and
new applications won't be accepted.
The review will be conducted as quickly as possible, officials said, while still ensuring a comprehensive
look at the program.
Nearly 133,000 military spouses have applied for the program since it launched last March, officials
said. To date, about 98,000 spouses are enrolled in courses or have been approved for financial
assistance.
The program offers spouses assistance with training, job readiness and employment and career
services. Through the program, spouses can receive financial assistance to pursue education and
training, free career counseling and access to military-friendly employers.
During the review process, officials encourage spouses to explore other government options such as
the transfer of the Post-9/11 GI Bill and other programs available on installation and program Web
sites. Spouses also can visit Military OneSource, http://www.militaryonesource.com, for free
consultations on education and training, career exploration, assessment, employment readiness and
career-search assistance.
Combined Pay, Personnel System Dumped as A Disaster
After spending $1 billion and 12 years of effort, Defense officials have pulled the plug on a hapless
plan to bring the four military branches under a single, modern payroll and personnel records system.
This program has been a disaster, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, told the Senate
Armed Services Committee earlier this month. Defense Secretary Robert Gates concurred saying,
“many of the programs that I have made decisions to cut have been controversial within the
Department of Defense. I will tell you this one was not.”
The object of so much disaffection is the Defense Integrated Military Human Resources System
(DIMHRS), known as Dime-ers. Its demise leaves the Army, Navy and Air Force still reliant on
archaic, problem-plagued payroll and personnel systems. Required upgrades had been postponed
again and again over the years, always in anticipation that all services would be moving to, and
satisfied with, DIMHRS.
More than time and money had been lost, however. Military personnel, particularly Guard and
Reserve members, increasingly have been frustrated by pay and personnel record errors. The
Commission on the National Guard and Reserves urged two years ago that a single, integrated pay
and personnel system was needed as soon as possible to rectify inadequacies in fragile legacy
systems.
More than 90 percent of Army Reserve and Guard soldiers activated to serve in Afghanistan and
Iraq through 2003 reported significant pay errors. Aggressive actions were taken to lower that rate but
without the benefit of what was needed -- a modern integrated payroll system that no longer treated
active and reserve component members differently.
The current systems use programming language from the late-1960s that are unable to handle
complex changes. When new pays are adopted, it was taking the Army on average 12 to 18 months to
automate. Some pays, like medical bonuses, can’t be programmed and must be calculated manually.
No Army, Navy or Defense official was made available to comment on plans post-DIMHRS to
modernize pay and personnel systems. But Jeff Farrand, functionality manager for Air Force Personnel
and Pay Integration, said his service was moving forward with an integrated personnel and pay system
that will leverage capabilities developed under DIMHRS. Neither Mullen nor Gates spoke of the
services salvaging parts of DIMHRS to use for their own system upgrades, though that seems to be
the intent.
Legislative News
Understanding Government Spending
Discretionary Spending
That portion of the federal budget which is subject to the annual appropriations process; Congress
directly sets the level of spending and can choose to increase or decrease spending on any of those
programs in a given year; discretionary spending is about one-third of total federal budget (about half
is for National Defense)
Mandatory Spending
Programs funded by “eligibility or payment” rules (entitlements); Congress decides to create a
program (Example: Military Retirement); it then determines who is eligible and any other criteria; how
much is appropriated for the program each year is then determined by estimations of how many
people will be eligible; other mandatory spending includes Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid,
TRICARE for Life, etc.; mandatory spending makes up about two-thirds of the total federal budget
(largest mandatory program is Social Security)
PayGo
Is the rule that governs mandatory spending and tax legislation; the purpose of PayGo is to ensure
that neither mandatory spending nor tax legislation increases the deficit; to comply with PAYGO, new
mandatory spending programs or tax cuts need to be offset by an equal amount of mandatory
spending cuts and/or tax increases; the goal is for these bills to be "deficit-neutral;" PayGo does not
prohibit mandatory spending or tax cuts; it only ensures that these costs are paid for; if they are not
paid for, PAYGO requires that they have broad support in Congress to pass.
Update on Delay in the Implementation of TRICARE for Gray Area Retirees
The TRICARE Management Activity recently reported that this coverage would not be available for
another 11-18 months because pricing for the coverage had yet to be determined by the Secretary of
Defense. Congress was able to include TRICARE for Gray Area Retiree coverage in the 2010 NDAA
because it was determined to be cost-neutral to the government. The new law requires the
beneficiaries pay the full cost for TRICARE Standard coverage incurred by DOD, with the monthly
premium being equal to the cost of coverage that the Secretary of Defense determines on “an
appropriate actuarial basis.” The Secretary has yet to determine the cost of this coverage.
When the bill was passed, it was hoped that the price for the TRICARE Standard coverage for this new
group would be in the range of the full cost of TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS) to the Department of
Defense (DOD). However, it appears likely that the pricing formula will produce a cost “higher” than
the base cost of TRS because of the older demographics of the covered group of Gray Area retirees.
21% Medicare/TRICARE Payment Cut Possible
Help Protect Your Health Benefits Now
For those of you who have not already heard -Unless Congress changes current law, Medicare and
TRICARE payments to doctors will be reduced 21% effective March 1, 2010. (The cut was originally
scheduled for Jan. 1, but legislation approved in December deferred the effective date for 60 days.)
Without relief, such dramatic payments cuts will cause many doctors to stop seeing Medicare and
TRICARE patients. There are still a few days left to log onto the EANGUS website and take
actions!
States Seeking to Lower Budgets by Curtailing/Limiting Education Benefits
We have recently become aware of a state which offers Guard members education benefits changing
its law so that Guard members who are eligible for GI Bill (or other education) benefits must exhaust
those benefits before they can access state benefits. Guard members can get around this situation by
transferring their GI Bill benefits to a family member.
This is a state, rather than a national, issue. We recommend that concerned members monitor their
state legislatures so they can fight any proposed legislation.
Washington, D.C. the New Winter Wonderland of the World!