1. Posthumous Medal of Honor Presented: President Obama awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor to a 101st Airborne Division soldier who was killed 42 years ago in eastern Cambodia during the Vietnam War. Army Spc. Leslie H. Sabo Jr., is credited with saving the lives of several of his comrades in Company B, 3rd Battalion, 506th Infantry, when his platoon was ambushed on May 10, 1970. Sabo shielded a comrade from an enemy grenade and silenced a machine-gun bunker before he was killed. Accepting the medal Wednesday was his widow, Rose Mary Sabo-Brown. Read more at http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=116365.

2. VFW Testifies on Student Veteran Policy: On Wednesday, the VFW presented testimony before the House VA Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity regarding a recent Executive Order (#13607) that would better protect students using educational benefits. The executive order, entitled “Establishing Principles of Excellence for Educational Institutions Serving Service Members, Veterans, Spouses and Other Family Members,” comes after the VFW asked Congress and White House to improve consumer protections for veterans using their earned GI Bill benefits. The committee asked panelists their thoughts on the impact to the higher education community and ways to encourage reforms and responsible decision-making to protect veterans.
For our complete testimony or to view the recorded webcast, visit our blog at:
http://www.vfwonthehill.org/2012/05/watch-live-vfw-to-testify-on-protecting.html

3. VFW Discusses Vets’ Issues with House Dems: VFW Legislative Director Ray Kelley joined leaders from many of the nation’s top veterans’ organizations at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday for a roundtable discussion on military and veterans’ issues with House Democratic leadership. In his remarks, Kelley called attention to a recent report on VA’s failure to deliver timely mental health care to veterans suffering from invisible wounds like PTSD. To learn more about the roundtable and to see photos, visit our blog at: http://www.vfwonthehill.org/2012/05/vfw-discusses-veterans-issues-with.html

4. House VA Committee Discusses Prosthetics: This week, the House VA Subcommittee on Health held a hearing to examine VA’s current prosthetic program and its procurement process. Witnesses included VA, several VSO’s, the VA Inspector General Office and veterans discussing their personal experiences with VA’s ability to provide state-of-the-art care to veterans with amputations. The Committee heard testimony concerning VA’s proposal to change procurement processes for prostheses which could result in prosthetics funding being at the disposal of hospital directors to be used for other purposes. The VFW opposes any such change and will continue to monitor the procurement process for prosthetics.
For all of the testimony or to view the recorded webcast click here: http://veterans.house.gov/hearing/optimizing-care-for-veterans-with-prosthetics

5. NDAA Update: Today, the House cleared its version of the FY 2013 Defense bill (NDAA). As expected, the bill does not include any of the Administration’s proposed TRICARE health care fees but does make modest increases to the pharmacy program. Overall the bill authorizes $554 billion (a $3.6 billion dollar increase over the Administration’s request) in funding for DOD programs and $88.5 billion for the war in Afghanistan. VFW-supported provisions include:

**A 1.7% pay increase for military personnel and extensions of certain special pay and bonuses for active-duty and reserve personnel
**Increased oversight and new regulations and procedures for combating Military Sexual Trauma in the military
**$10.8 billion dollars for military construction and family housing
**No funding for any Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) activities

7. Google Student Veterans Summit: Internet powerhouse Google will select up to 20 student-veterans to attend an all-expense-paid Student Veterans Summit at their Mountain View, Calif., headquarters on July 16-17. The Summit will include a professional development curriculum geared towards your transition into the workplace, and possibly into the Google workforce. The application deadline is 11:59 p.m. PST, May 31. For more information or to apply, go to http://www.google.com/intl/en/jobs/students/proscho/programs/uscanada/veteran-summit/.

8. NY Times Wants to Share Your Memorial Day Traditions: The New York Times “At War” blog is asking for veterans and veterans’ advocates to share their Memorial Day traditions, honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our nation, leading up to the holiday. Share your stories in 200 words or less via email with atwar@nytimes.com or visit: http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/17/whats-your-memorial-day-tradition/.

9. Free National Park Passes for Military: The America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreation Lands annual pass ordinarily costs $80, but beginning tomorrow, Armed Forces Day, military personnel and their dependents can now get the pass for free, thanks to a new Department of Interior troop support program. Military personnel can get the passes at any national park or wildlife refuge that charges an entrance fee by showing their military Common Access card, and family members can get their own passes by showing their dependent IDs (or DD Form 1173). Read more at http://www.store.usgs.gov/pass/military.html.

10. Five MIAs Identified: The Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced the identification of four soldiers and one Marine who had been missing-in-action since World War II and the Korean War. Returned home are:
* Army Pfc. Gerald W. Kight, 23, of White Salmon, Wash. In September 1944, Kight and the 82nd Division’s 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment were dropped in the vicinity of Nijmegen, Netherlands, as part of the allied invasion codenamed “Market Garden.” Kight was manning a machine gun near the town of Groesbeek, when his position was overrun by German forces.
* Marine Corps Cpl. Wayne R. Erickson, 19, of Minneapolis. Erickson was a crewmember aboard a PBJ-1 aircraft that failed to return from a night training mission over the island of Espiritu Santo, in what is known today as Vanuatu. None of the crew was recovered and in 1945 they were officially presumed deceased.
* Army Cpl. Clyde E. Anderson, 24, of Hamilton, Ohio. On Nov. 28, 1950, Anderson and elements of the 31st Regimental Combat Team, known as “Task Force Faith,” were advancing along the eastern banks of the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea when they came under attack. Anderson was reportedly last seen driving a jeep in a convoy that was ambushed by Communist forces.
* Army Master Sgt. Elwood Green, 33, of Norman, Ark. In late November 1950, Green was a member of E Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, fighting Chinese forces near Samso-ri in North Korea. On Nov. 28, he was listed as missing-in-action. After the war, it was learned Green had been captured, but died of malnutrition in a Chinese POW Camp in North Korea in early 1951.
* Army Cpl. David L. Catlin, 19, of Lockney, Texas. In late November 1950, Catlin and elements of the 31st Regimental Combat Team, known as “Task Force Faith,” were advancing along the eastern banks of the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea when they came under attack. On Dec. 2, Catlin was listed as missing-in-action. After the war, it was learned he had been captured, but died several months later as a result of malnutrition while being held as a POW near the northern end of the Chosin Reservoir in an area known as “Death Valley.”
Read more about their individual stories at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/news/news_releases/.

1. House Committee Clears NDAA: The House Armed Services Committee cleared their version of the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Because of your advocacy, the bill does not include controversial TRICARE healthcare premium fees proposed by the administration, but does make some minor changes to retail pharmacy. The cost of generic drugs will stay the same, both in retail ($5 / 30-day supply) and mail-order ($0) — however, formulary drugs purchased in retail will rise from $12 to $17 in retail, and will rise from $9 to $13 through mail order. Non-formulary drugs that are purchased without a medical necessity will rise from $25 to $44 in retail, and from $25 to $43 in mail order. Beginning in FY 2014, all pharmacy benefits will be indexed to annual retire COLA. For example, if these provisions become law and retail, non-generic formulary drugs rise to $17, a 3% COLA increase for FY 2014 would raise the cost in that year to $17.51.
Other VFW-supported provisions include:
* A 1.7% pay increase in pay and extension of bonuses and special pay for service members
* Increased oversight and new regulations and procedures for combating and prosecuting sexual assault in the military
* Cap on number of troops that can be separated from the force in a single year

For details on the entire bill, go to http://armedservices.house.gov/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=c1a26a15-9dd3-4658-abf2-e50d0852ba12.

The House is likely to take up the bill next week. The Senate Armed Services Committee is expected to take up their version before Memorial Day after which it will be sent to the Senate floor. From there, a House/Senate conference committee will need to meet to work out their differences and send an agreement back to both houses for final passage before it can go to the President. Rest assured that we will continue to keep you informed and call up our grassroots advocates through Action Alerts to make our voice heard as the congressional process continues.

To join with us to Protect Military Benefits, click here for our Call to Action: http://capwiz.com/vfw/callalert/index.tt?alertid=61313946

2. House VA Committee Discusses Mental Health Staffing: This week, the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee held a hearing to discuss the findings of a recent VA Office of Inspector General report outlining serious concerns with access to mental health care within VA. At the request of Committee Chairman, Jeff Miller (R-FL) VA Secretary, Eric Shinseki, and Dr. Robert Petzel, Under Secretary for Health, testified for VA. Much of the hearing revolved around the recent announcement that VA would hire 1,900 new mental health staff — 1,600 clinicians and 300 support staff in hopes of meeting the shortfalls across the country. The committee members had many questions about the VA staffing model and whether 1,900 FTE’s is enough to address the current need. VFW intends to keep a close watch on what improvements are made in the delivery of mental health care for our veterans.
To read more about the hearing, visit our blog at http://www.vfwonthehill.org/2012/05/house-veterans-affairs-committee.html

3. VA Funding Clears House: This week, The House Appropriations’ Military Construction and VA Subcommittee approved funding for VA and military constructions programs. The bill funds VA medical services at $41.4 billion which includes $6.2 billion for mental health care and $5.8 billion for homeless veterans programs and job training services. The bill also provides $73 million for suicide prevention, $220 million for TBI treatment and $250 million for rural health initiatives, The full committee is set to consider the bill before the Memorial Day recess. For more on the bill’s highlights, click here: http://appropriations.house.gov/news/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=294142

4. VFW Discusses Veterans Transition: VFW joined the Volunteers of America (VOA) at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. for a panel discussion on transitional issues faced by today’s veterans. The discussion centered on efforts to advance policy to better serve the nation’s newest generation of combat veterans. Moderator, David Gregory (Meet the Press) pointed out that national media would need to play a critical role in ensuring that veterans’ issues remain at the forefront of the public conscience once the wars end. The VFW has long echoed these concerns, pointing to historical examples of how Americans can quickly forget that the cost of caring for veterans is a true cost of war.
To learn more about the event visit our blog at http://www.vfwonthehill.org/2012/05/vfw-joins-volunteers-of-america-to.html

5. VA Telehealth Co-pays Eliminated: This week, VA announced that veterans receiving VA in-home care via telehealth will no longer have a co-payment for that service. According to VA this will affect approximately 1,300 telehealth users in FY 2013 where a co-payment would have been required. VA data has shown using technology at home enables patients with chronic health conditions to live more independently while actively engaging in managing their own health care. The revised regulation is effective May 7, 2012. For more information about telehealth within VA click here: www.telehealth.va.gov/