This week in Congress: Lawmakers eye mid-summer for big budget decisions May 9 Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn. and chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee, holds up a chart during a coronavirus hearing on Capitol Hill on June 4, 2020. (Al Drago/AP) House appropriators are planning to mark-up their federal budget bills for fiscal 2022 in June, giving lawmakers a few weeks to review their plans and hopes for Defense Department and Veterans Affairs spending next year. On Thursday, during an online event sponsored by the Brookings Institution, House Appropriations Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said she expects her panel to mark up all of the spending bills next month, with the goal of floor passage in July. Senate lawmakers haven’t released a timeline for their budget work yet.
This week in Congress: Military leaders storm the internet 1 hour ago From a Pentagon office, Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville addresses participants in an online event hosted by the Center for New American Security on April 27. McConville is one of several senior Defense Department leaders to testify in virtual congressional hearings this week. (Chad J. McNeeley/DOD) Military commanders will take center stage in a series of House hearings this week, but only in cyberspace. With the Senate on legislative break, House lawmakers have scheduled a robust series of online hearings, including public testimony from leaders of all five services. Leaders of the National Guard and service reserves will also testify on their budget needs for fiscal 2022 and beyond.
Originally published on May 3, 2021 1:32 am
Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday expressed regret over hiring former Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs Director Linda Chapa LaVia as critics lash out after a scathing report examining what led to the massive COVID-19 outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans Home last fall, which left 36 residents dead.
The investigation, which Pritzker ordered a few weeks into the deadly outbreak in November, found systemic organizational problems and failures to communicate in both the LaSalle Home and the state’s Department of Veteran Affairs, which runs the facility and three other veterans homes in Illinois.
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Along with inconsistent and confusing COVID protocols that led to lax enforcement among staff, the report also found former agency Director Linda Chapa LaVia “abdicated” her responsibilities to her chief of staff, who in essence performed three jobs. The failure to fill crucial vacant jobs inevitably left the chief of staff and other
Congressmen Lou Correa (D-CA) and Peter Meijer (R-MI) reintroduced The VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act of 2021. The bipartisan and bicameral legislation directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to perform clinical research on the safety and efficacy of medical cannabis in treating veterans’ post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic pain. An identical version of this legislation was introduced by Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester (D-MT) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK). Additionally, the legislation has the support of the House Veterans Affairs Chairman Mark Takano.
Rep. Lou Correa said, “With the opioid crisis raging across America, it is imperative to the health and safety of our veterans that we find alternative treatments for chronic pain and service-related injuries. Throughout my district, I consistently meet veterans who depend on cannabis to manage their pain. Numerous veterans attest to the treatment benefits of medical cannabis. It’s time the V
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