Veterans! Here’s your Top 10 News stories of the day compiled from the latest sources

We encourage you to browse our list so that you can take what you want and keep what you need

 
1.First Lady Michelle Obama to visit the U.S. Naval Academy and Attend a Military Credentialing and Licensing Bill Signing with Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley.  Today, as part of her Joining Forces initiative, First Lady Michelle Obama will visit the U.S. Naval Academy and deliver remarks at a bill signing with Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley for the state’s Veterans Full Employment Act of 2013.
2.Military vets have new resource center, place to call home.  Richmond Confidential
Eduardo Ramirez, a retired Air Force Master Sergeant and current U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs administrative officer for mental health and Minority Veterans Program coordinator in San Francisco said California has 2.2 million veterans and that …
3.Lawmakers support national Gulf War memorial.  More than two decades after Operation Desert Storm’s conclusion, the United States still lacks a national memorial honoring veterans and casualties of the first Gulf War.
4.Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on 2014 Budget Request.  Hyperlink to Story C-SPAN (Video):  Secretary Eric Shinseki and other officials testified before on the president’s fiscal year 2014 budget request. The Veterans Administration was requesting $152.7 billion, including $66.5 billion in discretionary and $86.1 billion in mandatory funding.
5.VA, HUD and Jon Bon Jovi Announce Project REACH Grand Prize Winner.  Hyperlink to Story  GISuser.com: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has announced the winner of a mobile application competition designed to make local assistance resources accessible to people helping homeless Veterans and others in need.  The winner of the $25,000 prize was Reston, Va.-based Qbase, which developed “Homeless REACH.”
6.   NH doctor sentenced on drug fraud charge.  Hyperlink to Story  The Boston Globe (AP): A New Hampshire doctor has been sentenced to three years’ probation on a charge of fraudulently obtaining prescription drugs… Douglas McCullom of East Wakefield worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs in New Hampshire and is licensed to practice medicine in Maine.
7.   On Friday, Kill the #ChainedCPI Cut to Social Security & Veterans’ Benefits.  Hyperlink to Story  The Huffington Post:  On Friday, MoveOn has called for actions at Congressional offices across the country to oppose President Obama’s proposal to cut Social Security and veterans’ benefits by using the “chained CPI” to cut the cost-of-living adjustment. At these actions, folks will be delivering SignOn petitions against the chained CPI cut, or any other cut to Social Security.

8.   Why Obama’s Chained-CPI “Protections” Aren’t Good Enough.  Hyperlink to Story  The Nation:  The Chained-CPI provisions in President Obama’s budget proposal come with an ostensible sweetener: extra protections for the very elderly and poor, along with veterans… As we touched on last week, these protections fall short in several ways.
9.   The VA’s good customer service.  Hyperlink to Story The Washington Post:  Yes, it took several months for my claim in 2010 to be adjudicated by the Department of Veterans Affairs, but I was advised on an ongoing basis as to the status of the claim… Since then, the service and treatment I have received from the VA has been nothing less than outstanding.
10.  Health care provided by Veteran’s Administration often lacking.  Hyperlink to Story   San Antonio Express-News:  When it comes to the health care provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs , “free” doesn’t mean “good” or even “adequate” health care… As the caregiver of an Army veteran of Afghanistan, I can assure you that the VA’s care is fraught with errors and inadequacies.

Have You Heard?

Seven out of 10 Veterans and service members obtain services from private health care providers, making it difficult for the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense to maintain a complete record of a patient’s health care. That’s why VA and DoD actively participate in the eHealth Exchange. Formerly known as the Nationwide Health Information Network (NWHIN), the eHealth Exchange is a partnership between 38 public and private organizations that, with a patient’s permission, securely share health information. With the recent addition of the Idaho Health Information Exchange, VA is currently exchanging data with 14 regional private sector partners. As the eHealth Exchange network continues to grow, VA and DoD plan to expand their health information sharing programs into additional regions of the U.S. For more information about eHealth Exchange, visit http://vaww.blog.va.gov/oit360/814/ehealth-knowledge-is-power/.