Franken hits the ground running for vets
by Brenden NevilleJuly 22nd, 2009
With only a few days in office, Senator Al Franken of Minesotta has announced his first piece of legislation this week.
The bill, which has not yet been proposed to the Senate, is aimed at getting more service dogs to disabled combat veterans in need.
Franken announced his plans to author the bill in an op-ed piece …
Congress orders review of VA domiciliary facilities
by Brenden NevilleJuly 14th, 2009
Concerns about the conditions of VA domiciliary facilities around the country have flared up again, after a report indicating the facilities have not made necessary changes since the death of a Marine veteran in 2007.
The Congressionally mandated report on the current status of the VA’s various residential living centers for disabled soldiers, which was released …
Obama Intends to End F-22 Production
By R. Jeffrey Smith
The Washington Post
President Obama vowed yesterday to veto a pending $680 billion military spending bill for next year if lawmakers set aside funding for more F-22 warplanes than the Defense Department says it needs.
Obama’s intervention in the long-simmering debate over the wisdom of ending the F-22 program increased pressure on Senate lawmakers …
Newsbriefs
Virginia wounded veterans program gets stimulus injection
With job markets around the country feeling the economic heat, a Virginia Department of Transportation program for wounded veterans is receiving stimulus funds to help vets gain employment.
$1.2 million in federal stimulus money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be allocated to the Virginia DOT Wounded Veteran Internship Program, which started in 2006.
Aimed primarily at veterans of the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the program was designed to help vets who find themselves no longer physically or mentally capable of working their former jobs.
The funds are part of the larger “On-the Job Supportive Services” grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The grant amounts to $6,780,384 for various transportation projects around the country.
Veterans who are accepted into the Wounded Veteran internship program are compensated with hourly payment based on their skill set, and are also eligible for regular positions with the Virginia DOT.
To apply for the program, email WVPinternship@VDOT.virginia.gov
Senate VA Committee Plans for Future
The Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs approved legislation on Thursday which would allow for a farther reaching budget plan for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Senate bill 423, the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act of 2009, would allow for certain VA appropriations areas to be laid out two years in advance, as opposed to the current one year regulation.
Currently, funding for the VA is decided one year in advance, but with the passing of S.423, appropriations for medical services and facilities could be made a year in advance. The provision aims to correct the long standing problem of funds not being appropriated for VA health-care before the start of each fiscal year. Having no funds appropriated for veterans health care services ends up being a detriment to the quality of care which veterans receive.
The Government Accountability Office’s Comptroller General would be responsible for submitting reports to the president one fiscal year in advance, summarizing his projections for VA health care needs.
“S. 423 is supported by the nation’s leading veterans organizations and 47 of our colleagues in the Senate” said Chairman Daniel Akaka during yesterday’s Veterans Affairs Committee Hearing, “This bill has the potential to strengthen every aspect of VA’s nationwide health care system.”
If passed, S.423 would take effect in 2011.
California GI Benefits Cause for Concern.
The low cost of school for students pursuing higher education in California may prove to be a detriment for those looking to utilize their GI benefits in-state.
Because California law prohibits public institutions of higher education from charging tuition to in-state students, veterans looking to attend a private institution will recieve little to no GI benefit coverage.
The GI Bill allows for students in any state to receive tuition benefits for a private university or college based on the tuition costs of the most expensive public school in that state. Students also receive a stipend to cover other university costs such as books and fees.
The lack of tuition costs at public schools in California essentially means that a student wishing to use GI benefits for a private school such as Stanford or USC, will recieve zero tuition benefits.
Along with tuition costs, students attending a university generally have to pay fees. In California, public schools generally levy higher fees to make up for a lack of tuition revenue. A student wishing to attend a private school such as California Institute of Technology would have $6,586.56 in fees benefits available through the GI Bill, but would only be able to use it towards CalTech’s fee charge of $1,260.
Congressman Howard P. McKeon (R-CA) recently introduced the Veterans Educational Equity Act, in hopes of changing the way GI benefits are determined for California students.
The bill, H.R. 2474, would allow for veterans in states like California, where only fees are charged at public schools, to use their fees benefits towards tuition costs at private schools.
This would allow the student wishing to attend CalTech to use his $6,586.56 yearly GI benefits towards CalTech’s tuition costs, as opposed to just the fee cost.
“The Veterans Educational Equity Act ensures California’s brave soldiers can benefit from the full amount to which they are entitled under the post-9/11 GI Bill.” McKeon said in a press release.
The bill has been introduced to congress, and refereed to the House Committee on Veterans Affairs for review. The actual text of the bill is yet to be released.
Recent Comments
- Upstander: More money for vets is nearly always a good thing, but hopefully it will come with competent oversight and...
- Sue: Brenden, your link does not work, but it is good to know disabled vets will be getting these checks.
- Bill: Any action on this in the U.S. House of Representatives?
- Linker: http://www.students.missouri.e du/~msva/index.html looks to me like the MSVA website. This is a good story on...
- Stinge: I’m assuming this is all tax dollars they will receive. If so I wonder if anything was cut in order to...
Ginnie Mae Posts Record June Guaranteeing VA and FHA Loans
By E. Scott Reckard
The LA Times
Want to buy some nice mortgage-backed securities? Probably not, these days, unless you’re a speculator bottom-fishing for discount deals.But what if the mortgage bonds were backed by the government, as U.S. Treasury bonds are? What if Uncle Sam stepped in to pay the principal and interest to investors if one …
Tags: Ginnie Mae, Loan, VA
VA and FHA Loan Application Percentage Highest in 19 Years
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 9, 2009) - The government-insured (FHA and VA loans) share of mortgage applications was 35.9 percent in June 2009, the highest level since November 1990, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Based on data from MBA’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, the government-insured share jumped from 25.7 percent a month earlier and 27.0 …
New GI Bill Benefits Differ From State to State
By Justin Pope
The Associated Press
When the new GI Bill kicks in Aug. 1, the government’s best-known education program for veterans will get the biggest boost since its World War II-era creation. But the benefit is hardly the “Government Issue,” one-size-fits-all standard the name implies.In fact, depending on where service members and veterans decide to attend …
Tags: G.I. Bill
