Benefits for burn pit illnesses, hypertension from Agent Orange would be granted under new plan 2 hours ago Wind fans the flames of a burn pit at Combat Outpost Tangi in the Tangi Valley of Afghanistan on Aug. 31, 2009. (Staff Sgt. Teddy Wade/Army) Nearly all veterans who served in overseas conflicts in the last 31 years would be granted presumptive benefits status for a host of respiratory illness and cancers under a sweeping proposal to be introduced by Senate leaders next week. In addition, Vietnam veterans who suffer from high blood pressure would be granted the same presumptive status for their disability claims, potentially handing out billions more in payouts to the aging group.
The Department of Veterans Affairs began the process May 3 of sending all the claims to five offices across the U.S. where processors are undergoing more training. Government watchdogs have recently criticized the agency’s handling of claims for military sexual trauma.
One soldier’s missing pay could be sticking point for Army secretary nomination 3 hours ago Then-Defense Undersecretary for Policy Christine Wormuth testifies before the House Armed Services Committee, March 3, 2015, in Washington, D.C. (Gabriella Demczuk/Getty Images) A Republican senator threatened to block President Joe Biden’s nominee to be the next secretary of the Army over a single officer’s pay issues. The threat over an unnamed Army major’s missing $50,000 came during an otherwise non-controversial nomination hearing for Christine Wormuth, who would be the first woman to hold the top civilian post overseeing the Army. “When a problem has to be solved by a congressional inquiry that has to go all the way to the senator…threatening to hold a nominee’s confirmation up, that’s bad,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., during the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. “I’m trying to help a major whose pay has been incorrect for over ten months now.
Normal, IL, USA / www.cities929.com
May 11, 2021 | 1:37 PM
(The Center Square) – State Sen. Sue Rezin is calling for additional oversight after a deadly COVID-19 outbreak killed 36 residents at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home over the fall.
Rezin, standing in front of veterans alongside state Sen. Craig Wilcox, who is the minority spokesperson for the Senate Veteran Affairs Committee, introduced Senate Bill 1445 in direct response to the handling of the outbreak by state officials.
“The veterans in the LaSalle Veterans’ Home protected us when we needed them, but when they needed us, we failed,” Rezin said during a news conference Tuesday.
Rezin’s bills currently sit with the Senate Committee but so far, have not moved.
U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) is calling on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee to pass legislation that would strengthen benefits to military survivors and families.
Boozman and Chairman Jon Tester (D-MT) introduced the
Caring for Survivors Act of 2021 last month. The legislation aims to bring payments to Dependence and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) recipients in line with payments to surviving spouses of other federal employees. The rate of compensation paid to survivors of servicemembers who die in the line of duty or veterans who die from service-related injuries or diseases has been minimally adjusted since its establishment in 1993. DIC payments currently lag behind other programs’ payments by nearly 12 percent