1. New GI Bill Ready for President's Signature: One of VFW's top legislative priorities has become a reality. The Senate, in a late night vote (92-6), passed a new GI Bill for the 21st Century. The House had passed their version June 19 by a vote of 416-12. President Bush is expected to sign the bill into law next week. This legislation is a major victory for the VFW, who has been lobbying for a new GI Bill for the 21st Century for the past 10 years, and who led all veterans' service organization to ensure the passage of the legislation that Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) proposed on his first in office in January 2007.

The new GI Bill will pay the highest in-state public tuition rate, and provide for books, fees, and a living stipend. It eliminates the $1,200 enrollment fee, extends the use-or-lose benefit requirement from 10 to 15 years, and greatly enhances the amount paid to Guard and Reserve members. The new GI Bill automatically adjusts itself as tuitions increase, and provides a dollar-for-dollar tuition match for private colleges and universities who choose to participate in the program. A new provision added to the bill allows reenlisting servicemembers to transfer their educational benefit to their spouse and/or children. VFW wants to thank every National Legislative Committee member and the entire Action Corps for helping us bring this long-term goal to fruition.

To read VFW's Press Release, go to: http://www.vfw.org/index.cfm?fa=news.newsDtl&did=4614

2. House VA Committee Hearings:
Tuesday, the House VA Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing on VA/DOD transition services for Guard and Reserve Members. The hearing's main focus was to address what DOD and VA are doing to help members of the National Guard and Reserves reintegrate into civilian life after their return from deployment. Currently, half of those serving in OIF and OEF are members of the Guard or Reserves. The FY 2008 National Defense Authorization Act mandated a 30, 60 and 90-day reintegration program and outreach to ensure that all Guard and Reserve veterans and their families know about the services and benefits available to them. The Committee heard from witnesses about how those programs are working and where improvements need to be made.

Thursday, VFW testified on draft legislation that would improve several areas of health care. The bills before the Subcommittee on Health included draft bills to expand the VA counseling services to family members, especially of OIF/OEF veterans; one to eliminate co-payments for catastrophically disabled Category 4 veterans; and one to strengthen and improve VA's nonprofit research corporations by streamlining administrative costs to make more funds available for critical VA research.
To read our testimony and more about the hearings, visit the House VA Committee website at: http://veterans.house.gov/

3. Senate Moves Vet Bills: The Senate VA Committee marked up several veterans' bills yesterday. Among the bills discussed were the annual cost-of-living adjustment and two large health and benefit-related bills that would improve options for veterans and their families. Among the provisions in the benefits bill is language that would change the definition of "engaged in combat with the enemy" to all people who receive combat pay for purposes relating to VA compensation. It would also allow for new and better home loan refinancing options and a temporary increase in the maximum loan guaranty amount for veterans. The Committee also moved VFW-supported legislation that would expand and improve upon the health care services provided to women veterans. The bill would put special emphasis on providing mental health coverage, and requires several studies and assessments as to VA's capacity for care for women veterans and their future needs. For more about the bills, visit the Senate VA Committee website at: http://veterans.senate.gov/public/

4. Congress on 4th of July Recess: Congress heads out of town today to begin a week-long recess for the 4th of July holiday. They are expected back in Washington on July 7. Now is the perfect time to make an appointment to discuss VFW legislative priority goals in their district offices. Remember to thank them for providing a strong GI Bill for today's veterans. Many of your legislators will be campaigning and attending 4th of July events, so any time you can spend "bending their ear" is always helpful in furthering our legislative goals. To find contact information for your member, type your Zip Code in the box provided in this link: http://capwiz.com/vfw/dbq/officials/. For a list of our priority goals, go to the Capitol Hill link on the VFW website at: http://www.vfw.org/