VFW Washington Weekly - October 9, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008 at 11:25 AM
by VFW News
110th Congress Wrap-Up
In This Issue:
1. President Signs VA Funding Bill
2. Congress Clears Veterans' Health and Benefit Bills
3. Vet Accomplishments for 110th Congress
4. Election Day Coming - Get Out the Vote
1. President Signs VA Funding Bill
President Bush signed the FY 2009 VA funding bill which is $4.5 billion more than last year. Some of the highlights in the VA funding package, which was passed as a part of the $634 billion Continuing Resolution, include $3.8 billion for mental healthcare, $584 million for substance abuse programs, $510 million for medical and prosthetic research, and additional funding for homeless grants. It allows the Veterans Benefits Administration to hire 2,000 additional claims adjudicators to help reduce the disability claims backlog, raises the mileage reimbursement rate to 41.5 cents per mile, and provides an additional $750 million in funding for the construction of VA medical facilities. It was the first time in well over a decade that the VA was able to begin a new fiscal year with an on-time budget. VFW national commander Chief Glen Gardner thanked Congress and the president, and said, "We hope the delivery of an on-time budget is the start of a trend that will continue into the next administration and Congress."
Read the VFW Press Release at: http://www.vfw.org/index.cfm?fa=news.newsDtl&did=4772. For a summary of the bill, visit the House Appropriations Committee website at http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/MCFY09CONFSummary09-22-08.pdf.
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VA News - Week of October 6, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008 at 10:31 AM
by VFW News
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DoD Revises Purple Heart Policy
Friday, October 10, 2008 at 01:11 AM
by VFW News
The Department of Defense announced today
(6 OCT08) it has expanded the Purple Heart eligibility criteria allowing prisoners-of-war who died in captivity to receive the award.
The revised department policy presumes, for service members who die in captivity as a qualifying prisoner-of-war, that their death was the "result of enemy action," or the result of wounds incurred “in action with the enemy” during capture, or as a result of wounds incurred as a “result of enemy action” during capture, unless compelling evidence is presented to the contrary.
The revised policy allows retroactive award of the Purple Heart to qualifying prisoners-of-war since Dec. 7, 1941. Posthumous award will be made to the deceased service member’s representative, as designated by the secretary of the military department concerned, upon application to that military department.
Each military department will publish application procedures and ensure they are accessible by the general public. Family members with questions may contact the services: Army: Military Awards Branch, (703) 325-8700; Navy: Navy Personnel Command, Retired Records Section, (314) 592-1150; Air Force: Air Force Personnel Center, (800) 616-3775; Marine Corps: Military Awards Branch, (703) 784-9340. For further information, media representatives should contact Eileen Lainez, (703) 695-3895
Source: Defense Link
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Buddy Poppies: History
Thursday, October 9, 2008 at 05:44 PM
by VFW News
Among all the flowers that evoke the memories and emotions of war is the red poppy, which became associated with war after the publication of a poem written by Col. John McCrae of Canada. The poem, "In Flander's Field," describes blowing red fields among the battleground of the fallen.
For more than 75 years, the VFW's Buddy Poppy program has raised millions of dollars in support of veterans' welfare and the well being of their dependents.
The VFW conducted its first poppy distribution before Memorial Day in 1922, becoming the first veterans' organization to organize a nationwide distribution. The poppy soon was adopted as the official memorial flower of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States.
It was during the 1923 encampment that the VFW decided that VFW Buddy Poppies be assembled by disabled and needy veterans who would be paid for their work to provide them with some form of financial assistance. The plan was formally adopted during the VFW's 1923 encampment. The next year, disabled veterans at the Buddy Poppy factory in Pittsburgh assembled VFW Buddy Poppies. The designation "Buddy Poppy" was adopted at that time.
In February 1924, the VFW registered the name "Buddy Poppy" with the U.S. Patent Office. A certificate was issued on May 20, 1924, granting the VFW all trademark rights in the name of Buddy under the classification of artificial flowers. The VFW has made that trademark a guarantee that all poppies bearing that name and the VFW label are genuine products of the work of disabled and needy veterans. No other organization, firm or individual can legally use the name "Buddy" Poppy.
Today, VFW Buddy Poppies are still assembled by disabled and needy veterans in VA Hospitals.
The minimal assessment (cost of Buddy Poppies) to VFW units provides compensation to the veterans who assemble the poppies, provides financial assistance in maintaining state and national veterans' rehabilitation and service programs and partially supports the VFW National Home for orphans and widows of our nation's veterans.
In Flander's Field
by John McCrae
In Flanders Fields the poppies blow,
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky,
The larks, still bravely singing, fly,
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead.
Short days ago,
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved and now we lie,
In Flanders Fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe
To you, from failing hands, we throw,
The torch, be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us, who die,
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow,
In Flanders Fields.
Source
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VFW Chief Visits Camp Lejeune: Includes $7,000 for Warriors effort
Thursday, October 9, 2008 at 05:21 PM
by VFW News
Colonel Buddy Ballard, Chief of Staff, XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg with
Commander-in-Chief Gardner . (Photo Credit-Dept VFW NC)
By Jennifer Hlad, jdnews.com
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C., Oct 9, 2008--The commander-in-chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States visited Camp Lejeune this week, as part of an effort to visit more military bases inside the country.
"We think it's important to let the troops know we're here for them and we support them," said Glen Gardner Jr., commander of the national VFW organization.
Gardner also wanted to find out how the VFW can support and assist active-duty service members.
"There are a lot of active-duty and families that need help," he said.
Tuesday, the VFW presented a check for $7,000 to Hope for the Warriors, said Brian Jackson, VFW pre-discharge claims representative at Camp Lejeune.
The VFW also has a program called
"Unmet Needs" to help service members and their families, Gardner said.
In the past, the VFW leadership has mainly visited overseas installations, and focused in issues related to finding and bringing home the nearly 90,000 American service members still listed as missing in action, Gardner said.
But the leadership visited Ft. Bragg and Camp Lejeune this week, and will visit Camp Pendleton and other military bases later this year, he said.
Gardner said he wants service members to know the importance of joining veterans organization, especially as the number of older living veterans dwindles. Veterans organizations can help keep veterans informed of their rights and how to get the services they need, as well as advocate for all veterans, he said.
The VFW and its auxiliaries includes 2.2 million members in about 8,100 posts around the world, according to the organization's Web site, visit www.vfw.org.
Contact interactive content editor and military reporter Jennifer Hlad at jhlad@freedomenc.com Visit
www.jdnews.com to comment on this report.
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VFW Urges Military Veterans' Community to Vote
Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 11:53 PM
by VFW News
(2005) National Director of Veterans Services for the Veterans of Foreign of Wars of the US,
Bill Bradshaw, speaks of the protracted cost of War and the importance of the VFW's
Credibility and Legislative voice.
‘Veterans matter, veterans care, veterans vote,’ says national commander.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 2008--The national commander of the nation’s oldest major veterans’ organization is urging more than 50 million Americans in the military veterans’ community to get out and vote this November.
“We represent one of the largest voting blocs in the nation, but our calls to action on Capitol Hill and in the White House are meaningless if we don’t make our voices heard and our votes count,” said Glen Gardner, the national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. and its Auxiliaries.
Both Republican and Democratic candidates for president, and those running for House and Senate seats, are heavily courting the military vote this year. At stake nationally are more than 50 million votes from a military voting bloc of 23.5 million veterans, 2.2 million uniformed personnel and their families, despite national polls that would suggest the military vote is statistically even politically and ideologically.
Three CNN/Gallup/USA Today polls taken during the 2004 presidential campaign revealed that 47 percent of America’s veterans aligned themselves politically as Republican, 42 percent as Democrat and 11 percent as Independent. Ideologically, they identified themselves as 43 percent conservative, 43 percent moderate and 16 percent liberal. More important, however, is the fact 74 percent of veterans voted in the 2004 presidential election compared to 63 percent of the general population, according the the U.S. Census Bureau.
“The military veterans’ vote matters because we are traditionally strong on national defense, homeland security, and people programs that take care of our nation’s veterans, military personnel and their families,” explained Gardner, a Vietnam veteran from Round Rock, Texas.
The VFW national commander has encouraged his 2.2 million members to wear their VFW or Auxiliary caps to political campaign rallies as a visible reminder that the veterans’ vote counts. What he does not want is for the national organization to be perceived as politically partisan or supportive of one candidate over another.
“The VFW is a nonprofit veterans’ service organization that is prohibited from endorsing political candidates,” he explained, “but our membership has free rein as Americans to campaign and vote for the candidates of their choice. They have a vested interest – a duty – to ensure that everyone knows that veterans matter, veterans care and veterans vote.”
Source
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USA Today Highlights VFW Foundation
Tuesday, October 7, 2008 at 10:20 PM
by VFW News
KANSAS CITY, Mo., Oct. 7, 2008--
VFW Foundation is highlighted in today's
USA Today "Sharing in the USA" special section.
Approximately 70 charities were chosen nationally and selected based on fundraising and administrative efficiency. The VFW Foundation is one of two charities listed in the Missouri section. The foundation's mission is to manage and distribute resources to support veterans, active-duty personnel, the National Guard and Reserves, their families and communities.
Here is what USA Today wrote:
"The Veterans of Foreign Wars Foundation helps military personnel and their families by providing free phone cards, financial assistance and claims assistance for veterans, foundation director Dan Shea says. The foundation has provided 9 million phone cards to troops in Afghanistan and Iraq and $2.2 million to nearly 1,600 families for unmet needs, including groceries, rent and home repair."
Charity watchdog groups like the Independent Charities of America gave the VFW Foundation a "Best of America" rating, an honor given to only 1,500 of some 50,000 groups. Charity Navigator provided the foundation with three stars and a four-star efficiency rating, the highest rating possible. The foundation also achieved full inclusion in the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC #10511), due to low operating costs.
To learn more about the VFW Foundation, visit the website at
www.vfwfoundation.org.
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Forum Hot Topic: Virtual Posts
Tuesday, October 7, 2008 at 07:11 PM
by VFW News
Thanks to your support the VFW WebCOM Network Membership Forum now has
10382 Posts in
3099 Topics by
1604 Members!
The hot topic as of late has been the discussion around the pros/cons of establishing a
"Virtual Post" as a means of connecting with younger Veterans. Stop by and share your
thoughts:
http://www.vfwwebcom.org/forum/index.php/topic,3260.0.html
Also the VFW WebCOM Network has established a Facebook page. Drop in a "Fan" us up.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/VFW-WebCOM-Network/25570084434
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October Survey
Monday, October 6, 2008 at 08:29 AM
by VFW News
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