Members of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees announced this week that they reached a deal on the National Defense Authorization Act, an annual bill that outlines military spending for the 2014 fiscal year. According to ABC News, the bill grants the Department of Defense $552 billion for national defense spending and an additional $81 billion for overseas operations.
Legislators were pressured to resolve the bill before leaving for winter recess, the news source reported. For the bill to pass before the end of the year, the House needs to vote on the bill later this week and the Senate would have to open the floor for a vote next week.
"I wish we had time for a more full debate on this. But we're here at this point saying we are where we are and we ran out of time," Rep. Buck McKeon, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, told the news outlet. "We owe the men and women in uniform and our national security to finish up this bill."
According to The Huffington Post, the NDAA compromise would allow the executive branch to close Guantanamo Bay and transfer detainees to prisons in the U.S.
The Minnesota VA is currently overwhelmed by its disability claims backlog, as efforts to reduce the paperwork pileup nationwide have failed.
According to The Associated Press, the Minnesota VA was one of the most efficient regional offices, with an above-average record of processing veterans disability claims. As a result, the Department of Veterans Affairs allocated 1,000 new claims to the Minnesota office as a way to alleviate several other regional offices that fell behind.
County veterans services directors told The St. Cloud Times that it's now taking the office around nine months to process the claims, when it previously took just 90 days. The news source reported that Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki directed regional offices to focus on the claims that have been pending for more than a year. For many Minnesota veterans, that means their claims might be put on the back burner.
Minnesota Sen. Al Franken is currently working on legislation that would help lessen the backlog and improve the service for the state's veterans.
"The fundamental issue is making sure Minnesota veterans are getting the benefits they're entitled to as quickly as possible," Franken told The St. Cloud Times.
According to the VA, disability claims are supposed to be answered within 125 days. The VA issued a plan earlier this year to eliminate its entire backlog by 2015.
Veterans who left the service with an other-than-honorable discharge often find themselves without many military benefits or resources. According to a recent report from NPR, more than 100,000 servicemembers received such a discharge in the last decade, potentially disqualifying them from benefits such as health care, tuition assistance and VA loans.
For the NPR series, reporter Quil Lawrence interviewed dozens of veterans with an other-than-honorable discharge and found that many of them were turned away from the VA when seeking financial assistance and health care, including treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. According to the VA website, veterans with other-than-honorable discharge can be placed in a pending verification status for health care benefits at the discretion of VA medical center staff, but it's typically a case-by-case basis.
"I had spoken with the receptionist [at a VA medical center] and I told her what was going on with me. She looked at my discharge and said, well, you have a bad discharge, other than honorable," Iraq and Afghanistan veteran Eric Highfill told the news outlet. "And they said we will not see you. Congress does not recognize you as a veteran."
Lawrence said that many veterans, especially those with trauma, are facing the same experience as Highfill. As a result, they not only have a harder time receiving care and treatment, but also finding employment, housing and overall stability in their lives.
Despite a state ban on recognizing same-sex marriage, the Louisiana National Guard will begin processing applications for military benefits for its servicemembers who are in same-sex relationships.
According to The Washington Post, officials from the Louisiana National Guard devised a plan with the Department of Defense last week that allows servicemembers to receive their eligible benefits without conflicting with the state's laws. National Guard members who want to apply for the entitlements, which include military identification cards for their spouses and survivor benefits, will be temporarily placed on a federal status by the National Guard Bureau. Federal employees will then undertake the enrollment of the benefits. However, servicemembers will be able to apply for the benefits at Louisiana National Guard offices instead of federal installations.
"State officials will still follow the state constitution as we always have. We have worked with the Department of Defense and the National Guard Bureau to help them come up with a federal solution to their federal program," National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Mike Kazmierzak told The Associated Press.
The state's change of policy for military spousal benefits comes just a few weeks after the Texas Military Forces created a similar measure for its National Guard members. According to The Washington Post, Georgia and Mississippi are the only states that are still resisting the directive from the Pentagon, which stated that all servicemembers in same-sex marriages must be able to apply and receive these spousal rewards.
In an effort to help former servicemembers, Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto has established a foundation to provide veterans in Cincinnati and his hometown of Toronto who are currently coping with post-traumatic stress disorder with military benefits.
According to MLB.com, the first baseman announced the launch of the Joey Votto Foundation this week in a news conference.
"I've always been motivated to look at and respect military members," Votto said at the conference, as quoted by the news source. "Every day when we play a game in the second or third inning, especially in Cincinnati, there's a veteran that returns who stands on the dugout. … I'm on a daily basis impressed and honored to be in the presence of somebody that I can't even relate to what they think or how they got to that position or the way they risked their lives."
Votto added that he wanted to focus on former servicemembers with PTSD, as well as their families and spouses, because of his previous experience with anxiety and depression. According to the news outlet, the foundation will feature a military stress disorder program that will provide therapy for about 500 new patients each year. The foundation will work with the University of Cincinnati to offer veterans the highest quality of care and treatment.
A study from the RAND Corporation found that at least 20 percent of Iraq war and Afghanistan veterans have PTSD, while a recent report from The Wall Street Journal added that about 30 percent of veterans treated at VA facilities show symptoms of PTSD.
The Veterans Writing Project, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., is holding a workshop at the College of William and Mary this weekend to help former servicemembers find some therapy through the written word. Created in 2011 by Army veteran Ron Capps, the nonprofit hosts workshops led by professional writers who are also combat veterans, according to the organization's website.
Capps, who grew up in Virginia Beach and served in Rwanda, Kosovo and Afghanistan, told The Virginia Gazette that he decided to work with other veterans after receiving his master's degree in creative writing. Suffering from stress and trauma, Capps found therapy in writing and wanted to share his skills with other servicemembers, especially those with post-traumatic stress disorder.
At this weekend's workshop, 25 pre-selected veterans will have a chance to share their stories, thanks to the generosity of William and Mary students, the news outlet reported.
"I knew I wanted to do something to help veterans, and I was looking at more creative ways to do it," Sam Pressler, a 21-year-old junior at the college who helped organize the event, told the news source. "The goal is to create this experience with veterans of different generations. Each generation has a story to tell."
In an Op-Ed for The Tampa Tribune, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) addressed the current issues facing both Congress and the military.
When the Senate reconvenes next week, it will again take up the National Defense Authorization Act, proposed legislation that outlines the fiscal budgets and priorities for all defense activities. While the bill is a major piece of legislation, Rubio stated that the Senate's current "dysfunction" means that many military benefits for servicemembers and veterans might fall through the cracks, including the legislation he drafted with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass). The proposal calls for stronger protection for elderly veterans who fall victim to financial scams, and mandates that the VA work with federal agencies to cut down on the scam artists targeting veterans.
However, despite bipartisan effort on many measures, Rubio states that leadership in the Senate is still divided, which will eventually affect the military.
"Our nation deserves better than this and, without question, the men and women of our military deserve more," Rubio wrote. "As we continue to deploy troops overseas to fight terrorism, respond to disasters and defend our interests, we have a duty to take care of them and their families and ensure that they can live safe and dignified post-military lives."
Could the Internet be harming the up-and-coming crop of military recruits? Gen. Martin Dempsey seems to think so. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff stated at a conference this week that the widespread use of social media has made current teens ignorant to the potential damage they could do to their character, The Associated Press reported.
"I worry a bit about … the young men and women who are now in their teens, early teens, and who probably underestimate the impact of their persona in social media and what impact that could have later in life on things like security clearances and promotions," Dempsey said, as quoted by the news source.
Dempsey added that the military might give young recruits a second chance if their actions on social media accounts disqualify them from military service. However, he did admit that the ways teens are posting on social media are affecting the military's recruiting pool.
According to a 2013 report from the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project, 95 percent of teens between the ages of 12 and 17 use the Internet. Of those teens who regularly go online, 8 in 10 have social media accounts. Facebook is the social media platform of choice for teens, but Twitter use is also on the rise.
A group of military families gathered at the White House this week for a sneak-peek of its vibrant holiday decorations. Hosted by first lady Michelle Obama, the special tour took families throughout several different rooms of the White House, including one where children were able to enjoy arts and crafts and make gifts for their families.
The theme for this year's decorations is "Gather Around," meant to celebrate the unity of Americans, according to the White House website. Many of the light displays also featured tributes to the military.
"Your sacrifice and service to this country [and] your families' stories are such an important part of our great American story – stories that remind us of the true meaning of the holiday season," the first lady said, as quoted by the Defense Department.
More than 80 volunteers helped decorate the White House beginning the day after Thanksgiving. USA Today reported that the holiday presentation includes two dozen Christmas trees and more than 2,000 ornaments, as well as a 300-pound gingerbread replica of the White House. Visitors will be able to tour the White House decorations this month.
In 2009, former Air Force Reserve major John J. Murphy applied to be the manager of Radnor Township, Penn., a suburb of Philadelphia. Although Murphy believed his military experience would give him a better chance at clinching the position, he was denied the job, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Now, Murphy is suing the township's Board of Commissioners, alleging that the board used his military service against him in the hiring process.
The news source reported that Murphy and his lawyers are meeting with city officials this week to set up a trial date regarding the claims that the board was worried about Murphy's military commitment. The board, according to Murphy, thought that his service would force him to frequently leave the township.
"Someone who decides to put their life on the line for their country should not be denied the right to fair treatment," Murphy's attorney, David Tomaszewski, told the news outlet.
Military service is protected under the Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, which bars employees from discriminating against servicemembers during the hiring process. Active-duty and former servicemembers are equally protected under the USERRA, according to the Department of Labor. The law also protects disabled veterans looking for employment, and also ensures that returning servicemembers can be re-employed at their former jobs at the same pay and seniority status, regardless of their military absence.