Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 1-29-09

1. Veterans Groups Dismiss Burr’s Automatic Budget Proposal. 
2. Congressional Spat Delays Eye-Trauma Center For Wounded Troops.  
3. US Army To Report Record Number Of Suicides.  
4. Survey: Dissatisfaction More Likely For Surgeons Outside University Or VA Settings.  
5. Discussion Focuses On Priorities For Veterans.   life."
6. New Marching Orders For Wounded Vets.  
7. Freezing Death Of Mich. Man In House Sparks Anger, Soul-Searching, Resolve To Prevent Repeat.
8. Obama Expected To Name DuBois To Faith-Based Office.  
9. US Army To Recall Body Armor.
10. Fed Keeps Interest Rate Steady.

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HAVE YOU HEARD?
More than 21,000 homeless veterans received rehabilitative care services in VA residential programs last year. More than $334 million was spent on these specialized programs and nearly $2 billion on overall health care costs for homeless veterans. The number of homeless veterans declined to a 10-year low in 2008 as a result of the combined efforts of VA, nonprofit and faith-based groups in communities, state programs, other federal agencies and Indian tribal governments.

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1.      Veterans Groups Dismiss Burr’s Automatic Budget Proposal.   CQ (1/29, Johnson) US Sen. Richard M. Burr (R-NC), the "top Republican" on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, "received a cool reception Wednesday to a proposal that would automatically implement the president’s" Veterans Affairs "budget request if Congress fails to pass its annual spending bill in timely fashion. Representatives from a half-dozen veterans service organizations unanimously dismissed the proposal" by Burr, "saying they have yet to see a White House budget request that matched their priorities." CQ adds, "Veterans organizations are pushing Congress to provide" two-year funding for the VA, a proposal that both President Barack Obama and VA Secretary Eric Shinseki "have…said they support."

2.      Congressional Spat Delays Eye-Trauma Center For Wounded Troops.   USA Today (1/29, Zoroya) reports, "A military center devoted to finding new treatments for combat eye injuries has been delayed for a year by an ongoing squabble between the Congress and the Pentagon over who will pay the $5 million needed to get it started, according to interviews and Pentagon records." Meanwhile, "roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to take a toll on the eyes of servicemembers: 13% of all casualties suffered eye damage ranging from distorted vision to blindness, according to military research. And a new category of impaired vision has emerged for soldiers suffering traumatic brain injury…from blast, according to research" conducted "by the Department of Veterans Affairs. These victims have eyes that no longer work together properly, says VA researcher Gregory Goodrich."

3.      US Army To Report Record Number Of Suicides.   On its website, CNN (1/29) says the US Army "will report Thursday the highest level of suicides among its soldiers since it began tracking the rate 28 years ago." Statistics "obtained by CNN show that the Army will report 128 confirmed suicides last year and an additional 15 suspected suicides in cases under investigation among active-duty soldiers and activated National Guard and reserves." The Army is also "expected to announce a new effort to study the problem and determine why its suicide-prevention programs appear not to be working, and the extent to which post-combat stress may be a contributing factor."

4.      Survey: Dissatisfaction More Likely For Surgeons Outside University Or VA Settings.   On its website, the Urology Times (1/29, Gebhart) magazine, which posts an article that will appear in its upcoming print edition, says the "national Lifestyles in Surgery Today (LIST) survey" found that "surgeons who work in a non-university setting are three times more likely to be unhappy with their career than surgeons who work in a university or Veterans Health Administration setting are." The survey, which was "conducted by researchers at the University of California Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, and the American College of Surgeons," also "showed that dissatisfaction with reimbursement and working outside a university" or Veterans Affairs "setting were the only significant risk factors for career dissatisfaction."

5.      Discussion Focuses On Priorities For Veterans.   The Air Force Times (1/28, Maze) said a recent "roundtable discussion, aimed at creating a consensus among military and veterans groups about top priorities for the year ahead, focused on how solving some longstanding problems might be especially important today to veterans and their families who are being hurt by the national economic crisis." The discussion, sponsored by the House Veterans Affairs Committee, involved "36 organizations representing current and former service members." In "comparing the views of the groups, committee staff came up with five shared priorities: advance appropriations for veterans’ programs, fixing disability compensation, improving mental health treatment, implementing the new Post-9/11 GI Bill," and "smoothing the transition from military to civilian life."

6.       New Marching Orders For Wounded Vets.   Government Computer News (1/28, Hickey) reported, "The Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington is planning to train wounded soldiers in the science of digital forensics so they can become cybersecurity investigators." Training, which "begins Jan. 29th," will be "offered at no cost to Defense Department and Veterans Administration participants." The "three-year, $1 million project," is "primarily funded by the National Science Foundation."

7.      Freezing Death Of Mich. Man In House Sparks Anger, Soul-Searching, Resolve To Prevent Repeat.   The AP (1/29, Eggert) notes the response to the passing of Marvin Schur, a "93-year-old World War II veteran" who froze to death inside his own house "after the electric company installed a power-limiting device" there. The device was installed because of Schur’s failure to pay "more than $1,000" to the company, but officials in Bay City, Michigan have now "removed all limiters from homes."

8.       Obama Expected To Name DuBois To Faith-Based Office.   The New York Times (1/29, A16, Goodstein, 1.12M) reports President Obama "plans to name Joshua DuBois, a 26-year-old Pentecostal pastor and political strategist who handled religious outreach for the Obama campaign, to direct a revamped office of faith-based initiatives, according to religious leaders who have been informed about the choice." The office, "created by President George W. Bush by executive order at the start of his first term, is likely to have an even broader mandate in the Obama White House, said the religious leaders, who requested anonymity because the appointment has yet to be announced." Renamed the "Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, the office will not merely oversee the distribution of grants to religious and community groups, but will also look for other ways to involve those groups in working on pressing social problems."

9.      US Army To Recall Body Armor.   The Washington Times (1/29, Carter, 83K) reports the US Army "will withdraw from service more than 16,000 sets of ceramic body armor plates that the Pentagon’s inspector general believes were not properly tested and could jeopardize the lives" of US service personnel. A "Defense official, speaking on the condition that he not be named, said the Army is acting proactively while challenging the contention of Inspector General Gordon S. Heddell that the armor could be unsafe." The "recall was announced a day before the inspector general’s office is to brief the chairman of the House Rules Committee," Rep. Louise M. Slaughter (D) who "has focused on the issue of body armor failures and procurement."

10.    Fed Keeps Interest Rate Steady.   The Fed’s decision to keep its benchmark lending rate between zero and a quarter percent was widely covered by major national papers. USA Today (1/29, Kirchhoff, Waggoner, 2.28M) reports, "The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that it will hold a key interest rate near zero as long as needed to bolster the staggering economy." Still, "Fed officials offered a stark assessment of the economy," with business conditions rapidly deteriorating and inflation falling. The Fed must now try untested policies, like buying up mortgage-backed securities and lending to banks against sometimes shaky collateral."
      The AP (1/29, Aversa) reports, "With its key lending rate to banks already near zero, the Fed pledged anew to use ‘all available tools’ to revive the economy." Still, it is "mindful" of the dangers with its course of action": possibly putting "the potential to put ever-more taxpayers’ dollars at risk; sow[ing] the seeds of inflation in the future; and encourage[ing] ‘moral hazard.’"