Archive for February, 2010
VA Official: Civilians Must Help in Identifying Combat Trauma
The public must be enlisted in the fight against combat stress because veterans often don’t know they suffer from problems, a top Veterans Affairs official said Thursday.
Tammy Duckworth is an assistant secrfetary at the VA, who lost both legs while serving in Iraq. She was the keynote speaker at the 2010 Virginia is for Heroes Conference in Richmond.
Half-jokingly, she referred to her fellow soldiers as stubborn and hard-headed, the last ones to seek help.
She also spoke haltingly about the fellow soldier who saved her life by pulling her from a wrecked helicopter.
“Often, it is us who see the signs of trouble in a veteran before they are willing to admit it,” she said. “Maybe it’s the colleague or supervisor at work who notices that short-term memory is affected. It is the children who get snapped at because maybe a brain injury is affecting ability to control emotions.” …more
Are You A Millennial Veteran With A Great Idea?
If you’re a veteran of the Armed Services aged 18-34, and you have an idea of how to improve your community, campus, or installation – click here to tell us your idea and to apply for a complimentary ticket to Los Angeles to share your idea with 100 other veterans, and the whole nation. While there, you’ll stay in the luxurious DoubleTree Hotel and attend the Los Angeles Galaxy soccer team’s opening game. Most importantly, you’ll have the opportunity to earn thousands of dollars to fund your idea, in addition to a year of mentoring and support from other veterans – as well as a chance to appear on MTV.
Mobilize.org, in partnership with MTV, ServiceNation: Mission Serve, and with generous support from USO and the Goldhirsh and McCormick Foundations, is hosting Beyond the Welcome Home, a competition by and for veterans that will find and support the best veteran-led ideas from across America. Click here to learn more – and apply to join us in Los Angeles from April 1 – 3.
The team from Mobilize.org, ServiceNation, and MTV
Sen. Puller and Property Tax Exemption for Disabled Veterans
Sen. Toddy Puller of Prince William has long championed veteran’s issues, and the Senate passed her amendment to exempt certain severely disabled veterans from taxes on their homes. It is a small but meaningful way to support men and women who have made great sacrifices for us. …more
SB31 calls for a Constitutional amendment (voter referendum) on property tax exemptions. Provides for a referendum at the November 2, 2010, election to approve or reject an amendment requiring the General Assembly to provide a real property tax exemption for the principal residence of a veteran, or his or her surviving spouse, if the veteran has a 100 percent service-connected, permanent, and total disability. Full details available here.
Who’s Helping Our Wounded Vets?
The Pentagon estimates that as many as one in five American soldiers are coming home from war zones with traumatic brain injuries, many of which require round-the-clock attention. But lost in the reports of these returning soldiers are the stories of family members who often sacrifice everything to care for them.
One of our VMFC members, Mike Turner, who is also the Chief of Congressional Affairs with the Wounded Warrior Project helped to write Senate Bill 1963 – Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2009, which is featured in the video above. Any help from VMFC members by emailing their Representatives and Senators would be greatly appreciated by Mike. He can be reached at chairman@loudoundemocrats.org.
GI Bill Process Can Be Improved, Nye Says
The Post-9/11 GI Bill was deployed in the fall to help veterans and their relatives retool for new careers.
Yet some waited months for their federal payments and sank deeper in debt. That’s got to change, U.S. Rep. Glenn Nye said Friday.
“The program should be ready to go when the serviceperson is ready to go to college,” Nye said at a forum at Old Dominion University about the GI Bill. “It’s important that we do an even better job in providing this service.”
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which administers the program, must work harder to expedite payments and overcome other hurdles, such as outdated technology, Nye said. …more
Jeff Barnett Announces Candidacy for Congress in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District
On Barnett’s website he writes:
I am running for Congress because I am sick and tired of our government working harder for the big corporations and entrenched interests than they do for people like you and me. Enough is enough. We need to focus on producing economic growth while helping families keep their homes, creating the next generation of transportation, and achieving national security.
Barnett is a a 26 year USAF veteran, retiring as a Colonel in 1999. Both of his children are currently serving as active duty officers.
Barnett says, “Two areas of concern for me are: the support we provide the families of deployed service members; and, the attention our warriors receive when they return home. We are in a “Long War.” The need to help returning warriors will not end when we exit from Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s imperative that we have mechanisms in place for helping veterans adjust to life back home. We also have a moral duty to help families of those deployed.”
“Both of these concerns are particularly troublesome from the perspective of our Reservists and National Guardsmen.” Barnett continues, “I drafted the strategic plan for the US Air Force Reserve and helped write the strategic plan for the Air National Guard. I have been heavily involved in reserve component issues for years. I believe the reserve component will inevitably assume a greater role in national security. When we envision assistance to returning veterans and their families, we need additional focus on the reserve components.”
Other candidates running in the 10th CD include Rich Anthony, Dennis Findley, and Julien Modica.
Learn more about Jeff Barnett on his website at www.jeffbarnettforcongress.com.
Senate Passes Tax Breaks For Disabled Veterans
RICHMOND—The Senate of Virginia today unanimously passed a constitutional amendment to exempt severely disabled veterans from real property taxes on their homes. Under SJ13, any veteran who is determined by the Department of Veterans Affairs to have a one hundred percent service-connected, permanent, and total disability will be exempt from property taxes on their home. The measure was introduced by Senator Linda T. “Toddy” Puller (D-Prince William) and co-sponsored by legislators of both parties in the House of Delegates and Senate.
“This amendment will provide tangible and needed support to severely disabled veterans so they can afford to stay in their homes,” said Senator Puller. “The disabled veterans who will benefit from this tax exemption have made tremendous sacrifices in defense of their country and deserve this modest measure of relief.”
This constitutional amendment has wide support from the veterans’ community and was the top legislative priority for many veterans’ advocates groups. Under the proposed amendment, the tax exemption would also apply to the surviving spouse of a disabled veteran as long as they remain unmarried and live in the house.
The amendment previously passed the General Assembly in the 2009 session as required for constitutional amendments, and will now be placed on the ballot for consideration by Virginia voters on November 2, 2010. If passed, it will become law on January 1, 2011.