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Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States

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MEDAL OF HONOR COMMEMORATIVE COIN LEGISLATION NEEDS YOUR HELP!

Posted at 12:49 PM on Friday, October 9, 2009 by Wisconsin VFW News in Legislative Alerts

Your action is urgently needed to help pass this important legislation authorizing a commemorative coin to honor our nation's Medal of Honor Recipients.
Click the flashing alert message to get the details!
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VETERANS MEMORIALS UNDER ASSAULT... MOJAVE MEMORIAL CASE GOES BEFORE SUPREME COURT NEXT MONTH

Posted at 07:38 AM on Wednesday, September 2, 2009 by Wisconsin VFW News in Legislative Alerts

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will hear the case regarding the Mojave Desert Veterans Memorial (Salazar, et al. v. Buono) on October 7, 2009. Liberty Legal Institute represents five veterans groups which represent over four million veterans (Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States [VFW], The American Legion, Military Order of the Purple Heart, VFW of California, and American Ex-Prisoners of War), and filed a brief in the U.S. Supreme Court urging the Court to save the Memorial from being torn down by the ACLU.

Additionally, Liberty Legal Institute launched a public campaign to save the memorial shortly before Memorial Day: Don’t Tear Me Down (http://www.donttearmedown.com), which has reached one million views on YouTube, and over 80,000 signatures on a petition of support to be distributed to the veterans groups. The "Don’t Tear Me Down" campaign has received support from a number of individuals currently serving in Iraq and from Frank Buckles, the last remaining World War I veteran who fought for the U.S.

"Our nation is only as secure as we remember those who have given their lives for the freedom that we now have," said Kelly Shackelford, chief counsel of Liberty Legal Institute and attorney for the veterans groups. "The issue of saving this veterans memorial is something nearly every American will be interested in."

The seven-foot-tall memorial, consisting of two metal pipes welded in the shape of a cross, was erected in 1934 by World War I veterans to honor all fallen soldiers and stands in the midst of the 1.6 million-acre Mojave National Preserve. While the memorial once stood on unprotected land, it has since been annexed as part of the Mojave National Preserve. The legal case arose when a former National Park Service (NPS) employee living in Oregon joined with the ACLU and sued for the memorial’s removal. The district court declared the memorial unconstitutional in 2002 and enforced an injunction requiring its removal in 2005. The memorial has been covered, first with a tarp, and currently with a plywood box, awaiting a Supreme Court ruling. The case is part of a larger trend of assaults on war memorials with religious imagery and all displays with religious symbolism on public property.

Liberty Legal Institute is a legal organization committed to the defense of religious freedoms and First Amendment rights and practices before the U.S. Supreme Court
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WISCONSIN VET BENEFITS & WDVA FACING TOUGH TIME IN STATE BUDGET

Posted at 12:03 PM on Saturday, April 4, 2009 by Wisconsin VFW News in Legislative Alerts

NOT JUST VETERANS ARE AFFECTED!
The veterans in our state touch us ALL one way or another.  We either are one, know someone who is one, or have a family member, friend or co-worker who is a veteran.  Even if you can still say “not me” you have a connection because you live in the United States and enjoy the freedoms that our veterans have acquired and preserved for us. 
 
Today, in the state of Wisconsin, our veterans need your support.  The Veterans Trust Fund is facing insolvency (no cash flow) in either the year 2012 or 2014 depending on how the budget process goes this year.  Initially, the legislature needs to allocate from the General Purpose Revenue to the Department of Veterans Affairs $8,000,000.00 for this biennium budget.  Now I KNOW this sounds like a huge sum of money; and it is, if you’re like me and normally deal in tens maybe hundreds in our checking accounts, but for the state budget this is just a meager amount.  To put it in perspective – if you had $1000.00 all I would be asking is for you to give me 12 ½ cents out of that $1000.00.
 
Unfortunately this is just a band-aid to the real problem.  The real issue is to protect the solvency of the Veterans Trust Fund by providing a perpetual, steady, reliable income stream to ensure the revenue will be there for all the future needs of our veterans.
 
W Clement Stone said, “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe; the mind of man can achieve.”  We see the truth of this in our everyday lives, with the conveniences we now have, because someone thought about it and then made it happen.  The same is true with saving the Veterans Trust Fund.  If it becomes the priority and the citizens of Wisconsin rally around our veterans we can achieve our goal and make the trust fund a permanent fixture, perpetually solvent, to support future veterans as well as assist our current ones.
 
 Please pass this information along with the two attachments to every voter in the state.  If you would like more information go to the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs website at http://dva.state.wi.us.  You will need to scroll down and on the right side for the budget link.  We need the commitment of every individual to ensure that we take care of the ones who have given us so much. 
REMEMBER!
  .....It's the veteran, not the preacher, who gave us freedom of religion.
 It's the veteran, not the poet, who gave us freedom of speech.
 It's the veteran, not the reporter, who gave us freedom of the press.
 It's the veteran, not the campus organizer who gave us freedom to assemble.
It's the veteran, not the lawyer, who gave us the right to a fair trial.
It's the veteran, not the politician, who gave us the right to vote.
It's the veteran, who salutes the flag, who served under the flag, whose coffin is draped with the flag, who made all of this possible, day after day after day!
                                   REMEMBER!
 
PLEASE CONTACT YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVES
  • FIRST - Get them to COMMIT to NOT passing the budget until the short-term funding needed by the Department of Veterans Affairs for this biennium is fully provided!
  • SECOND - Get them to MAKE IT THEIR TOP PRIORITY to fix the Veterans Trust Fund Solvency problem PERMANENTLY!
Our veterans deserve (frankly have earned) our full support to see that it is fixed and fixed now instead of later!  Please follow up with your legislator show them you care, hold them accountable and see that they do just what they promised. 
The veteran(s) and/or their family that you know are depending on you to
STAND UP AND BE COUNTED! 
This message prepared by VFW State Chaplain & Sheboygan County Veterans Service Officer Charlene Cobb.
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Legislative Alert: Help Resist TRICARE Fee Hikes Take Action!

Posted at 09:27 AM on Wednesday, April 1, 2009 by Wisconsin VFW News in Legislative Alerts

President Obama will be unveiling his FY 2010 budget this month and we need to take this opportunity to urge the President to resist the Department of Defense's efforts to impose TRICARE fee increases on retired military families.  The past three years DoD has proposed to defray the increase in health care costs by raising TRICARE enrollment fees, copayments, and deductibles.  Fortunately, thanks to the efforts of the VFW and other Veterans and Military Service Organizations, Congress has resisted these proposals.
 
Please take the time to send a message to the President encouraging him to pursue other means to make TRICARE cost efficient without seeking to "tax" beneficiaries whose service has more than paid for this benefit.  Click on the following link to submit your e-mail to the President.

CLICK HERE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS VFW LEGISLATIVE ALERT CAMPAIGN.
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WISCONSIN BUDGET SESSIONS DEMAND A CALL TO ACTION!

Posted at 12:37 PM on Friday, March 27, 2009 by Wisconsin VFW News in Legislative Alerts

All VFW Members need to be aware that the last three in a series of six public hearings are scheduled as outlined below.

These meetings are your opportunity to step forward and make the case for leaving the Wisconsin Veterans Trust Fund alone. There are plans afoot to raid this Veterans Asset and move monies into the general fund, diverting it from where it belongs: Working for Veterans!

And this is just one of many issues affecting your rights and benefits! Attend one of these meetings with as many fellow Veterans as you can gather. Make the case for Veterans NOW, before it's too late!

And remember... Tuesday, March 31st... is our day on Capitol Hill in Madison. Gather at WDVA Headquarters on the Square by 10:00am for the Stakeholders Conference. Immediately following that session, we will cross the street to the Capitol and speak with our elected Representatives.   

Monday, March 30th - 10am - 4pm

J.I. Case High School Theater

7345 Washington Ave, Racine, WI 53406

Wednesday, April 1st - 10am - 4pm

Lawrence University Stanbury Theater (Music/Drama Center)

420 E College Ave, Appleton, WI 54911

Friday, April 3rd - 10am - 4pm

Amundson Community Center - Cambridge Municipal Bldg

200 Spring St, Cambridge, WI 53523
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VFW LEGISLATIVE ALERT

Posted at 12:46 PM on Thursday, March 19, 2009 by Wisconsin VFW News in Legislative Alerts

WISCONSIN VETERANS MARCH ON THE CAPITOL IN MADISON.  Tuesday March 31st 2009. 

  • Are you going to be there?? 
  • Have you scheduled an appointment to meet with your Legislator?? 
  •  Click Here  for more information!

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OBAMA DROPS 3RD PARTY VA BILLING PLAN AFTER VETERANS GROUPS APPLY PRESSURE

Posted at 10:18 AM on Thursday, March 19, 2009 by Wisconsin VFW News in Legislative Alerts

According to a story in the Washington Post, President Obama has dropped plans to make 3rd-Party Insurers pick up the costs of VA Medical Care. The decision came on the heels of a concerted, coordinated lobbying effort by a coalition of Veterans Organizations.

Nonetheless, a bad idea in Washington often sticks around and resurfaces in another form. Concerned Veterans are well-advised to keep a close eye on this issue and make certain their elected Congressmen and Senators are fully aware that efforts to erode Veterans Benefits will not be ignored.

As part of a coordinated effort to combat this proposal, The Veterans of Foreign Wars testified in recent days of the importance of seeing to it that the VA lives up to its committment to its troops and veterans.

VFW TESTIFIES BEFORE CONGRESS
 
Controversial third-party billing proposal and fixing the VBA lead agenda
 
WASHINGTON (March 18, 2009) – The National Commander-in-Chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. has made it absolutely clear to Congress that his organization is adamantly opposed to an administration proposal to bill disabled veterans with private health insurance for the service-connected care they receive at Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities.
 
"It is wrong to pass along the costs of war to wounded and disabled veterans," said Glen M. Gardner Jr., in testimony today before a joint hearing of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees. The VFW national commander had also made his opposition known to the president during a White House meeting Monday, as well as to congressional leaders of both parties yesterday.
 
"The proposal would lead to disabled veterans subsidizing their own injuries through increased premiums and fees as insurance companies try to find ways to pass along the added expense," testified Gardner, a Vietnam veteran from Round Rock, Texas. "It could also make it harder for veterans to obtain and maintain private health care insurance, and it is entirely possible that this proposal could impair a veteran’s ability to obtain a job."
 
A second issue Gardner stressed was the recent rash of negative reports about the Veterans Benefits Administration claims processing system. 
 
"Consider the recent revelations of hundreds of documents in shredder bins, intentionally misdated claims files, and 16,000 pieces of unprocessed mail at just one regional office. Are these signs of a system veterans can trust?" he asked the committee members. "Veterans are losing faith in this unmanageable system."
 
The VFW national commander did laud the efforts of new VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to transform the VA electronically and culturally. 
 
"The secretary recently said that 'People induce change, not technology or processes, so transformation is ultimately a leadership issue.' The VFW wholeheartedly agrees with him," said Gardner, "and is a willing partner in ensuring that the VA keeps to its sacred mission of caring for him – and now her – who has borne the battle."
 
Other issues addressed were the need for advanced funding of the VA, further traumatic brain injury research and treatment, suicide awareness and prevention, women veterans' healthcare needs, seamless transition, new GI Bill implementation, vocational rehabilitation program enhancements, military Tricare, homeless veterans and survivor benefits, among others.
 
CLICK HERE to read the full testimony of Commander-in-Chief Gardner.
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