The first glimpse of the FY 2019 National Defense Authorization Act includes a directive that the Secretary of the Army, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, to take steps to extend the life of Arlington as an active cemetery by revising interment criteria. The new criteria for in-ground burials must be established by Sept. 30, 2019. The issue is gaining steam because of the limited remaining years for new burials.
For those who want to take a deeper dive into the statutes defining eligibility, check out the following articles:
• Eligibility for interment in Arlington National Cemetery
• Eligibility for inurnment in Arlington National Cemetery
• Eligibility for interment of cremated remains in the Arlington National Cemetery Unmarked Area

Multiple studies and surveys reveal that a significant barrier for veterans seeking VA services is lack of child care.  The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is not authorized to provide child care assistance or services, with the exception of a limited number of pilot programs and many veterans with children find it difficult to access to VA health care, mental health services, benefits, training and educational services.

S. 2565- the Veteran Employment and Child Care Access Act of 2018 introduced by Senator Tammy Duckworth (IL), would require the VA Secretary to provide child care assistance to an eligible veteran for any period that the veteran receives training or rehabilitation services under the following VA programs:  job counseling, training, and placement services; therapeutic and rehabilitative activities; homeless veterans reintegration programs; and homeless veterans with children reintegration programs.

In accordance with DAV Resolution No. 001, we support S. 2565 which would provide child care assistance to many service-disabled veterans-vastly improving their ability to successfully complete training, rehabilitative, and education programs.

Please use the prepared electronic letter or draft your own to urge your Senators to support and cosponsor S. 2565-the Veteran Employment and Child Care Access Act of 2018.

Your commitment and advocacy helps make DAV a highly influential and effective organization in Washington.  Thank you for all you do for America’s veterans and their families.

Take Action

Please check out these documents to find out if Decision Ready Claims are right for you.

For more information please contact your local OKDAV service officer, a complete list of Oklahoma Service Officers can be found @
http://okdav.org/service-officers/

Continue reading →

When confirmation hearings for the next Veterans Affairs secretary begin in a few weeks, privatization of the department will be the main focus of most lawmakers’ questions. Nearly everyone in the veterans community and on Capitol Hill is against privatizing VA — and nearly everyone has a different definition of what privatization is. Last week, VA officials released a statement titled “Debunking the VA Privatization Myth,” which insists “there is no effort underway to privatize VA,” and “to suggest otherwise is completely false and a red herring designed to distract and avoid honest debate on the real issues surrounding veterans’ health care.” The move came in response to comments from former VA Secretary David Shulkin, fired by President Donald Trump. In an op-ed just hours after his dismissal, Shulkin warned of individuals within the White House who “seek to privatize veteran health care as an alternative to government-run VA care.” But the definition of what privatizing the nearly $200 billion department would mean depends largely on who is making the argument. The VA “debunking” statement notes that the department budget has gone up five times in the last 20 years, and the VA workforce has increased about 60 percent since then (to around 385,000 workers). The argument is that adding more resources to the bureaucracy can’t be considered privatizing VA. But veterans groups have noted that increase is a function of inflation and increased demands on the department, and has little to do with future plans to shift more resources into community care programs.

Agent Orange Related
1. Acute & Subacute Peripheral Neuropathy 2. Adult Fibrosarcoma 3. Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma 4. Angiosarcoma 5. B-Cell Leukemias 6. Bone Pain 7. Chloracne 8. Clear Cell Sarcoma of Aponeuroses 9. Clear Cell Sarcoma of Tendons & Aponeuroses 10. Congenital Fibrosarcoma 11. Dermatofibrosarcoma Protuberans 12. Ectomesenchymoma 13. Epithelioid Malignant Leiomyosarcoma 14. Epithelioid & Grandular Mailignant Schwannomas 15. Epitheliod Sarcoma 16. Extraskeletal Ewing’s Sarcoma 17. Hemangiosarcoma 18. Hodgklin’s Disease 19. Infantile Fibrosarcoma 20. Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD) 21. Leiomyosarcoma 22. Liposarcoma 23. Lymphangiosarcoma 24. Malignant Fibrous Histiocytoma 25. Malignant Ganglioneuroma 26. Malignant Giant Cell Tumor of the Tendon Sheath 27. Malignant Glandular Schwannoma 28. Malignant Granular Cell Tumor 29. Malignant Hemangiopericytoma 30. Malignant Leiomyoblastoma 31. Malignant Mesenchymoma 32. Malignant Schwannoma with Rhabdomyoblastic Differentiation 33. Malignant Synovioma 34. Multiple Myeloma 35. Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma 36. Parkinson’s Disease 37. Porphyria Cutanea Tarda 38. Proliferating Angiendothliomatosis 39. Prostate Cancer 40. Respiratory Cancer 41. Rhabdomyosarcoma 42. Synovial Sarcoma 43. Type II Diabetes Mellitus
[Source: http://www.veteranprograms.com/pd-full-list.html | April 2018 ++]

When confirmation hearings for the next Veterans Affairs secretary begin in a few weeks, privatization of the department will be the main focus of most lawmakers’ questions. Nearly everyone in the veterans community and on Capitol Hill is against privatizing VA — and nearly everyone has a different definition of what privatization is. Last week, VA officials released a statement titled “Debunking the VA Privatization Myth,” which insists “there is no effort underway to privatize VA,” and “to suggest otherwise is completely false and a red herring designed to distract and avoid honest debate on the real issues surrounding veterans’ health care.” The move came in response to comments from former VA Secretary David Shulkin, fired by President Donald Trump. In an op-ed just hours after his dismissal, Shulkin warned of individuals within the White House who “seek to privatize veteran health care as an alternative to government-run VA care.” But the definition of what privatizing the nearly $200 billion department would mean depends largely on who is making the argument. The VA “debunking” statement notes that the department budget has gone up five times in the last 20 years, and the VA workforce has increased about 60 percent since then (to around 385,000 workers). The argument is that adding more resources to the bureaucracy can’t be considered privatizing VA. But veterans groups have noted that increase is a function of inflation and increased demands on the department, and has little to do with future plans to shift more resources into community care programs.

Lifting The 15-Year Time Limit To Use GI Bill
The law eliminated the current 15-year time limit on use of the Post-9/11 GI Bill for those who were discharged on or after Jan. 1, 2013. This means that you have forever to use your GI Bill benefits! This removal of the 15 year time limit also applies to surviving dependents using the Fry Scholarship. Surviving spouses and children who first became eligible after Jan. 1, 2013 will have no time limit to use their Fry Scholarship benefits.
GI Bill Benefits Restored For Those Who Attended Some Colleges That Closed
If you went to a school that closed or lost accreditation and you didn’t get credit for the classes you took, the GI Bill that you used for those classes will be given back to you. This is effective for any school closings after Jan. 1, 2015.
More Guard, Reserve Members Now Eligible
Reservists called to active duty under sections 12304(a) (when a governor requests federal assistance in responding to a major disaster or emergency), or 12304(b) (when the DoD mobilizes reservists in support of a combatant command) are now eligible. Previously, only reservists called to active duty by presidential order as a result of a national emergency were eligible.
This applies to all reservists mobilized after Aug. 1, 2009, but reservists can get only get paid for classes that started after Aug. 1, 2018.
CHANGES EFFECTIVE AUGUST 1, 2018
All Purple Heart Recipients Get Full Benefit
Anybody who is awarded the Purple Heart will get the full GI Bill amount no matter how long they served on active duty.
Dependents’ Education Assistance (DEA)
Dependents’ Education Assistance (DEA) monthly payments will increase by about 50 percent, but the maximum number of months that a dependent can get DEA decreases from 45 to 36. This applies if you begin using the benefit after Aug. 1, 2018. Individuals who first enrolled in school before Aug. 1, 2018, would still qualify for a maximum of 45 months of entitlement.
Reserve Duty That Counts Toward Post-9/11 Eligibility
If a Reservist was ordered to active duty after September 1, 2010 to receive authorized medical care, be medically evaluated for disability, or complete a DoD health care study, that time will count as active duty toward GI Bill eligibility. The reservist can use their Post-9/11 GI Bill, if otherwise eligible after August 1, 2018.

Arlington National Cemetery is reaching out to the public for suggestions after Congress asked to find the means necessary to keep the burial site open — despite estimates it could run out of space in approximately 23 years.
Army National Military Cemeteries Executive Director Karen Durham-Aguilera testified before a House panel on March 8 and warned about the grim future of capacity at Arlington based on current eligibility requirements, according to a press release.
“Without changes to the current eligibility requirements and physical footprint, Arlington National Cemetery will not be a burial option for most who served in the Gulf War – or any conflict since – regardless of their contribution, achievements, or valor,” she said.

In a sweeping legal victory for veterans, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overturned a 19-year lower court precedent which prohibited the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from awarding disability benefits to a veteran for disabling pain if it was not linked to a medical diagnosis.
“What this ruling means is that if a physician cannot diagnose the cause of the pain the veteran is experiencing,but the pain is related to an event, injury, or disease that occurred during the veteran’s military service, the veteran should now win disability benefits,” said Bart Stichman, executive director and co-founder of the National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP) and one of the attorneys who represented the veteran in the case.
The Federal Circuit’s decision in Saunders v. Wilkie overturned the 1999 precedential decision issued by the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims that said VA had no authority to award benefits for pain alone, if the pain was untethered to a medical diagnosis explaining its cause.

Under this seldom used education program, family members of troops killed in action or those with 100% serviceconnected disabilities are able to obtain up to 45 months of education benefits in the form of a monthly stipend. The DEA program provides education and training compensation to eligible dependents of veterans who are permanently and totally disabled due to a service-related condition or of veterans who died while on active duty or as a result of a service-related condition. The amount allocated to a dependent can be up to a maximum of $1,021.00 a month for full-time students per rates as determined in October 2015. The money from this program is intended to be used as supplemental income for dependents seeking degrees, certificate programs, apprenticeships, or on-the-job training. The DEA program is separate from the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill. Dependents of service members who died in the line of duty or served adequate time to be able to transfer their G.I. Bill benefits can also be eligible for the DEA program, but only for up to 81 months of total full-time benefits. However, both programs may not be used concurrently. Dependent children planning to apply for this benefit must fall between the ages of 18 and 26. As a dependent child, he/she will have up to age 26 to use the benefits. Spouses must use it within 10 years from the date VA finds one eligible or from the date of death of the Veteran. The bill appears to be flexible in that children of fallen or disabled service members can be married, the money can be used for colleges or job training programs, and there are rates that vary and can apply to part-time or full-time schooling — unlike with the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill. In order to apply, dependents must complete VA Form 22-5490 [https://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/vba-22-5490-are.pdf] and submit it to the VA for consideration.