Veterans tuition assistance suspended during shutdown

Tuition assistance suspended during shutdown
Army Times
Oct. 1, 2013

Tuition assistance for all classes starting today or after Oct. 1 has been suspended as a result of the government shutdown, the Army announced today.

“Effective 1 October, all soldier accounts in GoArmyEd will be placed on hold and they will not be able to process any new TA requests,” the Army said in an emailed statement, which was also posted on the GoArmyEd website.

About 20,000 soldiers have requested TA for classes in fiscal year 2014, the Army said in an email to Army Times. About 2,000 soldiers have classes scheduled to start this week.

The Army also will not fulfill TA requests submitted before Oct. 1, for classes that start on or after Oct. 1.
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VA says veterans' benefits would stop in long shutdown

In combat, they lived and died for each other. Didn't matter where the other guy was from, how he voted or what he did for a living before. All that mattered was they were all in it together. Imagine that. Now imagine how they feel when they did all that deployed into combat to fight the battles members of Congress decided had to be done, then see all this crap going on in Washington. We elected children playing a game with the country the veterans risked their lives for. This continuing disgraceful, unacceptable behavior should not be tolerated by anyone especially when our veterans may end up paying for what Congress screws up yet again!

VA says veterans' benefits would stop in long shutdown
Posted by
CNN's Kevin Bohn
September 28, 2013

Washington (CNN) – The Department of Veterans Affairs clarified itself Saturday, saying that if a government shutdown occurs, and lasts at least a month, not all compensation and pension payments would continue.

“Those benefits are provided through appropriated mandatory funding, and that funding will run out by late October. At that point, VA will be unable to make any payments,” spokeswoman Victoria Dillon said in a statement to CNN.

The agency earlier this week said all payments would be handled.

She said the agency has excepted certain workers - meaning they can work if there is a shutdown. That means claims can be processed and beneficiaries can receive payments during a shutdown that lasts less than a month.

Among the benefits in question would be disability and GI Bill payments.
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UPDATE
Defense Secretary Hagel calls government shutdown threat shortsighted
Associated Press
Lolita C. Baldor
September 28, 2013

ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel criticized Congress on Saturday as “astoundingly irresponsible” and said that using threats to shut down the government to satisfy a political whim is dangerously shortsighted.

Hagel, who oversees as much as half of the government civilians who would be furloughed next week if Congress doesn’t reach a budget agreement, said the impasse threatens to delay paychecks to troops serving in Afghanistan.

“When you look at the greatest democracy in the world, the largest economy in the world and we’re putting our people through this — that’s not leadership. That’s abdication of responsibilities,” Hagel said en route to South Korea to meet with with top defense and diplomatic leaders. “This is an astoundingly irresponsible way to govern.”
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Student Loans can be forgiven with Total and Permanent Disability rating

This came from a friend of our's with the DAV.

Subject: Student Loans can be forgiven if the VA has determined that a vet is unemployable due to a service-connected disability.

Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) Discharge

A TPD discharge relieves you from having to repay a William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program loan, Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loan, and/or Federal Perkins Loan (Perkins Loan) Program loan or complete a TEACH Grant service obligation on the basis of your total and permanent disability.

Before your federal student loans or TEACH Grant service obligation can be discharged, you must provide information to the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to show that you are totally and permanently disabled. ED will evaluate the information and determine if you qualify for a TPD discharge.

You can show that you are totally and permanently disabled in one of the following three ways: If you are a veteran, you can submit documentation from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) showing that the VA has determined that you are unemployable due to a service-connected disability.

If you are receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, you can submit a Social Security Administration (SSA) notice of award for SSDI or SSI benefits stating that your next scheduled disability review will be within five to seven years from the date of your most recent SSA disability determination.

You can submit certification from a physician that you are totally and permanently disabled. Your physician must certify that you are unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of a medically determinable physical or mental impairment that

Can be expected to result in death,
Has lasted for a continuous period of not less than 60 months, or
Can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 60 months.

Navy veteran finishing college killed in robbery

Navy veteran finishing college killed in robbery
Suspect in custody but has yet to be charged
By Ellen Jean Hirst and Karen Chen
Chicago Tribune reporters
August 27, 2013

A 33-year-old Chicago State University student was preparing for his last year of studies when he was shot and killed Sunday afternoon during a robbery at his apartment building in the South Chicago neighborhood, authorities said.

The gunman shot Telkia Burns in the right temple about 3 p.m. and fled with his money and house keys, according to Chicago police.

"I'm just a mother without a child," Katherine Burns said. "That's all."

An 18-year-old suspect was in custody over the shooting in the 2900 block of East 91st Street but had not been charged, according to police. When the robber tried to go through Burns' pockets, Burns fought back and was shot in the head, police said.

Burns was a Navy veteran who learned to speak Japanese while stationed in Japan for three years, according to Milton Thornton, who said he served in the military with him. Burns was studying community health at Chicago State through a Veterans Affairs work-study program, Thornton said.
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President Obama on jobs and eduction for our veterans

President Obama at the DAV convention in Orlando. This one addresses jobs and education for our veterans.

Senator Mitch McConnell thinks blog satire is real

GI Bill' Parody Draws Official Response
Feb 22, 2013
United Press International

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's office confirms it queried the Pentagon about a satirical report that Guantanamo detainees will get GI Bill benefits.

The parody appeared in The Duffel Blog, founded in 2012 by a Marine veteran and frequently described as a military version of the satirical news website, The Onion.

It quoted a fictitious Defense Department spokesman as saying, "By allowing the detainees to use the Department of Veterans Affairs, we hope to completely crush their souls with bureaucracy" -- and included a made-up quote attributed to Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, saying his department is prepared to process detainees' GI Bill benefits claims "in 12-15 years as per standard operating procedure."
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Gov. Scott Walker revealed $43.3 million in veteran-related spending

Gov. Walker proposes $43.3 million in veteran-related spending
Chippewa Herald
February 19, 2013
State Journal

On the eve of his biennial budget's unveiling, Gov. Scott Walker revealed $43.3 million in veteran-related spending proposals.

The proposals announced Tuesday would make permanent tax credits for hiring disabled veterans, expand the state's GI Bill, significantly increase staffing at the state's largest veterans' nursing home and add $5.3 million of taxpayer money to the Veterans Trust Fund.

The $5.3 million toward the Veterans Trust Fund would improve the fund's long-term solvency, said Cullen Werwie, a spokesman for the governor.
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Troy veteran upset after GI Bill not offered

This is what happens when one generation of veterans is treated differently from all veterans.

Troy veteran upset after GI Bill not offered
Oakland Press
Published: Monday, February 18, 2013
By JERRY WOLFFE

A retired Army veteran says he and thousands of others in the military in the late 1950s and early ’60s were cheated out of veterans benefits.

Cicero Acton, now 73 and a retired veteran who spent his career as a Troy history teacher and coach, said communication with veterans was lacking.

During the administration of Republican President Dwight Eisenhower, the GI Bill was terminated.

The 1959 repeal provided that persons entering the military after Jan. 31, 1955, would not be entitled to any benefits at all, and those in the service prior to that date who had not signed up for its benefits by July 25, 1956, would receive nothing.

The U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs failed to inform them the GI Bill was reinstated in 1966 by President Lyndon Baines Johnson and made retroactive to those who served in the military from 1955.

“Those of us that graduated in the late 1950s (and were in the Armed Services) didn’t get the GI Bill,” Acton said.

“I am really bitter about it, not so much for myself but for others who could not afford to go to college. But I’m not the story, the story is the military didn’t inform those like me that they were entitled to educational benefits,” he said.

Veterans officials in Oakland County said Acton was mistaken about the GI Bill. The benefits were reinstated on March 3, 1966, by Johnson.
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John McCain slams Chuck Hagel

UPDATE
I totally forgot about this part. McCain wanted Hagel when McCain wanted to be President and Hagel backed him up. What did McCain want Hagel for? Secretary of Defense! That's right and here it is out of McCain's own mouth.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Too many people think Senator John McCain as a hero. While that was true a long time ago when he was captured and held as a POW in Vietnam, while serving in the Senate, his record has been one of voting against the best interests of the troops and our veterans.

Looking up his voting record has left many in shock. He has voted against Bills that passed and then accepted credit for them. The biggest one was the GI Bill. McCain and President Bush were against this Bill. McCain said it was "too generous" and "too expensive" but after President signed it, he gave credit to McCain among others.

That is why Senators Jim Webb and Chuck Hagel proposed the new GI Bill, which would bring back WWII-style standards of providing vets with full tuition, room and board. And that is why 51 senators have signed on, including 9 Republicans like John Warner, giving this GI Bill tremendous bi-partisan support.

In 2010 he called the "Suicide Prevention Bill overreach" and blocked the Bill. He said this even though there was a report that in Portland Oregon Suicide Prevention hotline had rescued 5 veterans in a two hour period.

Now he is slamming Chuck Hagel even though, as history has proven, Hagel was right about Iraq. Hagel was part of McCain's campaign for the Presidency in 2008 but now he is not good enough for McCain. Chuck Hagel was not just a Senator, he is also another Vietnam veteran.

Hegal volunteered to join the Army and ended up serving a yearlong tour in 1968 during the Tet Offensive, considered the most violent period in that war. Because of a clerical error, he served side by side with his younger brother.

He earned two Purple Hearts, one of which was for saving his brother's life. The second Purple Heart was for shrapnel he took in the chest while on patrol with his brother; his brother saved his life by patching up the wound.

How many student veterans graduate? No one knows

How many student veterans graduate? No one knows
By LEO SHANE III
Stars and Stripes
Published: January 7, 2013

ORLANDO, Fla. – Veterans advocates worry that lawmakers will consider trimming GI Bill benefits as part of their deficit reduction plans unless they can show that student veterans are graduating and succeeding in their education goals.

But no one knows whether they are.

Neither veterans affairs nor federal education officials have reliable data on student veterans’ graduation rates, student grade point averages, or post-college employment success. Without it, proving the value of the more than $20 billion spent to send veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan war era becomes problematic, if not impossible.

This week, Student Veterans of America – which boasts more than 21,000 members at 700 college campuses nationwide – announced a partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Student Clearinghouse to research those graduation figures, with the goal of showing the return taxpayers are getting on the money spent.
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Vietnam Veteran, Senator Jim Webb, no plans to rest

No Rest for Jim Webb
Dec 27, 2012
The Virginian-Pilot
by Bill Bartel

Webb's most praised Senate achievement was a new GI Bill that passed Congress 18 months after he took office. The legislation dramatically improved education and related benefits for veterans. To date, more than 800,000 former service members have used the benefits.

Jim Webb may be walking away after a single term in the U.S. Senate, but that doesn't mean he's exiting public life for good.

And the 66-year-old is not going into retirement.

"I will be working. Trust me," he said in a recent interview in the wood-paneled conference room of his Capitol Hill office.

"My situation is different than most people up here. I didn't come out of a law firm. There isn't a structure that I can easily go back into. But it's a very healthy thing, at least from the way my career has played itself out, to step out every now and then and just think about things."

The victory was the latest chapter in a career that began in 1969 in the Marines. As a lieutenant, Webb served in Vietnam, earning the Navy Cross, a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts.

He worked on the staff of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs after law school, and he served during the Reagan administration as an undersecretary of defense and Secretary of the Navy.

His books, both fiction and nonfiction, include the critically acclaimed novel "Fields of Fire," which is based on his wartime experiences. He's also won an Emmy as a documentary filmmaker.
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Born Fighting
Sense of Honor
A Country Such As This
Lost Soldiers
Emperor's General

VA training benefits for Marine stress out family

Family of veteran on the brink after VA benefits don't arrive
by DAVID SCHECHTER
WFAA
Posted on November 15, 2012

AUBREY, Texas -- A North Texas mom says she’s working three side jobs because the Veterans Administration is four months behind in releasing GI Bill benefits to her husband, a Marine veteran who just came home from Afghanistan.

To cover the monthly rent, she sells jewelry at living room parties and cleans funeral homes at night.

"It's frustrating," said a tearful Tiffany Nichols. "I'm sorry. It's really frustrating."

Jerron Nichols, a Marine veteran just back in April from Afghanistan, took an apprenticeship as a utility lineman in June. As part of the GI Bill, Jerron is entitled to a housing benefit while he learns a trade. It's money the family counted on when it rented their home.

How far behind is the government?

"Almost five months," Tiffany Nichols said. "They owe us a little over $4,000."
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Who takes care of veterans and who just claims they do

New ad for Obama features a 20 year Navy veteran, Tyre Nelson. There are many things he says in this video, but one thing stands out that we need to pay attention to. The difference between how the "military" is viewed by politicians.

There is the side of the military budget dedicated to contractors. They build and supply the equipment and weapons. Then there is the side of the budget dedicated to troops.

Just to give you an idea, this is from IAVA and gives the grades for members of congress on how they voted for our veterans.

2007
FUNDING VETERANS HEALTH CARE JANUARY
JOSHUA OMVIG SUICIDE PREVENTION ACT MARCH
WOUNDED WARRIORS ASSISTANCE ACT MARCH
REFUGEE STAUS FOR IRAQI INTERPRETERS MAY
TREATING TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY MAY
FUNDING VETERANS HEALTH CARE FOR 2008 JUNE
EXPANDED VETERANS BENEFITS DECEMBER
VETERANS GUARANTEED BONUS ACT DECEMBER

2008
POST 9-11 GI BILL FAIR EDUCATION MAY
A SECOND RATE GI BILL MAY

A small but vocal opposition in Congress argued that the benefit was too generous. In an effort to derail the popular and bipartisan Post-9/11 GI Bill already a part of the war supplemental funding, a motion was made to advance a meager and ill-conceived “alternate” GI Bill before the Post- 9/11 GI Bill had the opportunity to be passed and signed into law.

ANOTHER EDUCATION GI BILL JUNE
HOMES FOR HEROES JUNE
FUNDING VETERANS HEALTH CARE FOR 2009 AUGUST

Then there was this bill that tried to help out families when they had to stay home to take care of a disabled veteran. There are more bills that took care of the veterans and our troops coming back, but you get the idea. This Caregivers Bill shows they were thinking about the families.

May 05, 2010 Remarks by the President at Signing of Caregives and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act

This will give you a better idea what happened when Republicans took over the House. Notice a name in this article. It is Paul Ryan.

Republicans Seek To Cut Benefits for Disabled Veterans
106
Posted April 16, 2011 by Benjamin Krause in Ben's Blog
Remember Michele Bachmanns’s attempted $4 billion cut from disabled veterans compensation? Well, “they’re ba-ack…” Except this time they are looking to cut away at our VA healthcare.

Republican Paul Ryan and the House of Representatives are looking to end VA healthcare benefits for disabled veterans – that’s for over 1.3 million veterans who are Priority 7 and 8. These veterans are the least disabled veterans using the system, usually with disability ratings of 0 percent or no service-connected disability.

According to the Congressional Budget Office “Option 35,” the cuts would leave 130,000 veterans with no healthcare alternative. This means veterans with conditions not recognized by the VA, like certain diseases from Agent Orange exposure, would have to pay for healthcare out of pocket if they had not other service connected disability.

Currently, the VA spends over $4 billion yearly on benefits for disabled veterans to treat them, despite co-pays intended to offset the expense. Ryan’s cuts are intended to save $6 billion off the VA’s tab and $62 billion over the next 10 years. Instead of merely increasing the co-pay or taxing Wall Street, Congress wants to just cut your benefits out, all together.

Disabled American Veterans (DAV) is fighting the across the board cut because many of the veterans in question have come to rely on VA healthcare over the years. In times when healthcare costs are astronomical, these veterans will go without the care they were promised, if the proposal becomes law. DAV voiced additional concerns that this attempt is just the start of a gradual and specifically focused erosion of veterans’ benefits.

But while this Congress loves to play games and has done little to fix any of the problems they complain about, they are blocking bills that would help veterans even more. This is the record for the 112th Congress.

14 reasons why this is the worst Congress ever

So when you hear this veteran talk about why he is voting the way he is, now you'll know why he says what he does.

Veterans hired to help others not getting their paychecks?

'I can't afford to live like this': VA weeks, months late paying student veterans
By Bill Briggs
NBC News contributor

Student veterans hired by the Department of Veterans Affairs to help fellow ex-service members transition into college have routinely waited four to six weeks — and, in one case, four months — for unpaid wages, prompting eviction worries and mounting debt, according to a survey of program members obtained by NBC News.

Ashley Metcalf, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan — and the student veteran who organized the survey of other VA "work-study" employees at 18 campuses — said he’s been living on credit cards since June and was forced to obtain an emergency loan because the VA has failed to compensate him for about 100 hours he's logged in the VA program.

“How can this happen? If I was working for McDonald’s and they said they’re not going to pay me for 10 weeks, I’d have a lawsuit,” said Metcalf, an Air Force veteran now enrolled at the University of Colorado Denver.
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VA launches next round of retraining program

VA launches next round of retraining program
By LEO SHANE III
Published: September 24, 2012

WASHINGTON – Veterans Affairs officials announced last week that they filled all 45,000 slots for the fiscal 2012 phase of the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program, and are now opening applications for the 54,000 openings available for next fiscal year.

The program, created by Congress late last year, awards unemployed veterans one year of GI Bill benefits to learn new, high-demand skills. Lawmakers designed the program to be a safety net mainly for mid-career veterans who find themselves in financial trouble, but do not have military education benefits to fall back on like their younger peers.
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Twenty States File Settlement To Shut Down Veterans Services Website

Twenty States File Settlement To Shut Down Veterans Services Website
June 27, 2012
by Daniela Perallon
WHNT News

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) – Twenty states, including Alabama, will be reaping the benefits of the $2.5 million settlement filed against QuinStreet, Inc. on Wednesday.

The company runs GIBill.com, a website aiming to help veterans make sense of their benefits, but is accused of misleading and deceiving users by directing them to for-profit clients.

“It’s really tragic that organizations would intentionally be deceptive and take advantage of veterans,” said William Webb, a spokesperson for Still Serving Veterans in Huntsville.
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States’ Attorneys General Action A Victory for Veterans and the GI Bill

States’ Attorneys General Action A Victory for Veterans and the GI Bill
WASHINGTON (June 27, 2012) – Officials of the Department of Veterans Affairs applauded a decision by the attorneys general of several states to give VA the rights to use the GIBill.Com website, after the website’s original owners QuinStreet Inc. agreed to give up the internet site to settle a lawsuit by the states.

“This action is a victory for Veterans and a victory for the GI Bill. Veterans and VA applaud the great work by the states’ attorneys general, along with Holly Petraeus and her team,” said W. Scott Gould, Deputy Secretary for Veterans Affairs. “We all want Veterans to be informed consumers and for schools to meet their obligations in training this Nation’s next ‘Greatest Generation.’”

Holly Petraeus is assistant director for service member affairs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The attorneys general of several states had sued QuinStreet Inc., the owner of the GI Bill.com domain, charging it with deceptive practices by directing Veterans and Service Members on its website exclusively to for-profit schools that were clients of QuinStreet.

The announcement comes as VA is seeking legal authority to trademark the term GI Bill. An executive order by President Obama on April 26 directed VA and the Department of Defense to undertake a number of measures to “stop deceptive and misleading” promotional efforts that target the GI Bill educational benefits of Service members, Veterans, and eligible family members and survivors.

The Post-9/11 GI Bill, which was authorized by Congress in 2008, is the most extensive educational assistance program since the original GI Bill was signed into law in 1944. VA has issued nearly $20 billion in Post-9/11 GI Bill benefit payments to more than 759,000 people and their educational institutions.

All of VA's education benefits are designed to be flexible and give Veterans the power of choice by enabling them to pursue college degrees, technical certifications, or vocational training according to their preferences and needs, at public, private non-profit and private for-profit schools.

For-profit schools are held to the same approval standards as all other schools, and VA education programs at for-profit institutions are approved by the State Approving Agencies, which act independently on behalf of the federal government to ensure quality education and training is provided to Veterans within each state.

Gould said Veterans should not be recruited aggressively by institutions principally because of financial motives, and that VA’s and other federal and state agencies’ oversight activities provide strong monitoring. VA is engaging with other federal agencies to provide this oversight, including the departments of Defense, Education, and Justice, as well as the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

“VA looks forward to helping Veterans make informed decisions by accepting this gift of the GIBill.com domain. We will continue to support our Veterans by helping them obtain the best education of their choosing—a right for which they have bravely served, and which they have rightly earned,” Gould said.

For more information on GI Bill programs, please visit www.GIBILL.va.gov or call 1-888-GI-Bill-1 (1-888-442-4551) to speak with a GI Bill representative.

Problem arises for veterans job training program

UPDATE June 21, 2012
VA fixes problem with vets job training program
By Rick Maze
Staff writer
Army TImes
Posted : Wednesday Jun 20, 2012
With just 10 days before a new education benefits is launched to help unemployed veterans learn a new skill, the VA has rushed to fix a problem that could have left community colleges in 18 states and Puerto Rico ineligible for participation.

Veterans Affairs Department officials told Congress late Wednesday they were revising their eligibility criteria for community colleges to be part of the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program so that schools that offer a limited number of four-year bachelor degrees would not be left out.

Four-year colleges and universities will remain ineligible but community colleges listed by the U.S. Education Department’s National Center for Educational Statistics College Navigator as a two-year school will be covered, VA officials said in a note to the House Veterans Affairs Committee, which raised questions about eligibility on Tuesday.
read more here

Problem arises for vets job training program
By Rick Maze
Staff writer
Army Times
Posted : Tuesday Jun 19, 2012

A problem has arisen for a veterans’ training program expected to launch July 1: Classes at community colleges in 18 states and territories will not be covered because those schools also provide bachelors’ degrees.

The Veterans Retraining Assistance Program, created by Congress to provide one year of training and education benefits to certain unemployed veterans to prepare them for work in high-demand fields, was to be limited to short courses that could yield big results.

However, “using VA’s narrow definition of ‘community college,’ if a school awarded one bachelor’s degree along with hundreds or even thousands of associate degrees, that school would not qualify for VRAP training,” said Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., the second ranking Republican on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

Bilirakis said some community colleges are allowed by state law to provide a small number of four-year degrees. For example, 23 of Florida’s 28 community colleges are not eligible for VRAP, the chancellor of the Florida College System has warned.

“The reason given for this denial is that each of those 23 community colleges awards a very limited number of bachelors’ degrees, most often in technical and health care fields, such as a bachelor of nursing degree,” Bilirakis said.
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This came in from the Department of Veterans Affairs

Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Hosts Workshops during Detroit VA for Vets Hiring Fair

WASHINGTON ( June 19, 2012) – The Department of Veterans Affairs Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment program (VR and E) will host several workshops aimed at helping Veterans understand the many benefits and programs that promote Veteran employment during the VA for Vets Hiring Fair being held in Detroit June 26-28.

As part of the Veteran Open House, VA will educate Veterans on vocational rehabilitation and employment services, register them for VA’s online employment toolkit, www.VetSuccess.gov , and provide tools that help Veterans find meaningful careers, receive accommodations for disabilities at their place of employment, and start a small business.

“At VA, we know the skills and characteristics Veterans bring with them to a new career can only benefit an organization,” said Under Secretary for Benefits Allison A. Hickey. “Our VR and E program is committed to assisting Veterans find meaningful careers, whether in the federal government or in the private sector.”

VA is hosting three major events at Detroit’s Cobo Center June 26-29: The VA for Vets Hiring Fair, the Veterans Open House, and the National Veterans Small Business Conference and Expo. The events are expected to attract thousands of Veterans, business owners and federal employees, with an economic impact estimated at $11 million for the city.

More than 24,000 federal and private-sector job openings across the country will be available at the free Veteran Hiring Fair June 26-28. VA will bring together partners like the First Lady’s “Joining Forces” initiative and Hiring Our Heroes, along with private sector companies, during the fair. Not only will the fair provide Veterans an opportunity to showcase their skills to potential employers, it will also assist Veterans with resume preparation, interview techniques and career coaching to help Veteran attendees become career ready. VA hosted a similar event Jan. 18 in Washington, D.C., which attracted over 4,100 Veterans and resulted in over 2,600 on-the-spot interviews and more than 500 tentative job offers.

The Open House gives Veterans and their families the chance to find out about the wide range of financial and health-care benefits, services and resources that are available from federal, state and community agencies. Veterans can conveniently enroll in VA care, sign up for eBenefits and MyHealtheVet, and get their questions answered face to face.

The National Veterans Small Business Conference and Expo is the premier government event for Veteran-owned businesses. Last year’s conference in New Orleans drew almost 5,000 attendees, and more than 6,000 participants are expected this year. VA will provide Veteran-owned and Service-Disabled Veteran-owned businesses with a wide range of information to help them maximize opportunities in the federal workplace.

Known historically as the world’s capital for the transportation industry, the Detroit metro area is reinventing itself with six booming industries: medical research, defense, entertainment, green tech, urban farming, and aeronautics. About 330,000 Veterans are served by the city’s VA medical center, and more than 704,000 Veterans live in Michigan.

VA invites all interested persons and businesses to attend. More information about the small business conference is available at National Veterans Conference. Information and registration for the hiring fair is available at VAforVets.

New Education Benefit for Vets

 

New Education Benefit for Unemployed Veterans Has Strong Response

VA Outreach for Veterans Retraining Assistance Program Garners Over 12,000 Applicants since May 15

 

WASHINGTON (May 31, 2012) – Within two weeks of being announced, a program to give skills training to some unemployed Veterans has garnered over 12,000 online applications, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

 

“VA is committed to supporting Veterans as they seek employment.  This initiative will help provide education and training so that Veterans have an opportunity to find meaningful employment in a high-demand field,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “We will continue to build on the success of our initial outreach efforts to Veterans.”

 

Called the Veteran Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP), the program allows qualifying Veterans between the ages of 35 and 60 to receive up to 12 months of education assistance.  Maximum payments are equal to the full-time rate for the Montgomery GI Bill – Active Duty, currently $1,473 monthly. 

 

Under VRAP, Veterans apply on a first-come, first-served basis for programs that begin on or after July 1.  VA began accepting applications on May 15.  Forty-five thousand  Veterans can participate during the current fiscal year, and up to 54,000 may participate during the fiscal year  beginning Oct. 1, 2012.

 

The goal of the program is to train 99,000 Veterans for high-demand jobs over the next two years.

 

To qualify Veterans must:

• Be 35 to 60 years old, unemployed on the day of application, and have been issued discharges under conditions other than dishonorable;

 

• Be enrolled in education or training after July 1, 2012, in a VA-approved program of education offered by a community college or technical school leading to an associate degree, non-college degree or a certificate for a high-demand occupation as defined by the Department of Labor;

 

• Not be eligible for any other VA education benefit, such as the Post-9/11 GI Bill, the Montgomery GI Bill, or Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment;

 

• Not have participated in a federal or state job training program within the last 180 days; and

 

• Not receive VA compensation at the 100 percent rate due to individual unemployability.

 

While the initial response has been encouraging, VA officials stress the need for a sustained effort to reach potential VRAP applicants. 

 

“Besides the Veterans themselves, we are asking anyone who knows of an unemployed Veteran to help us get the word out so everyone can take advantage of this new benefit,” said Curtis Coy, VA’s deputy undersecretary for economic opportunity.  “With the help of our Veterans community and our partners in the Department of Labor, we hope to reach as many eligible Veterans as possible.”

 

In addition to its national outreach campaign, VA will seek out potential VRAP-qualified Veterans through online applications and at the National Veterans Small Business Conference being held in Detroit June 26-28.  During 2012, VA representatives will also provide VRAP information and assistance at hiring fairs sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce through the Hiring Our Heroes campaign.

 

For more information on the Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) program, the Hire Heroes Act of 2011, VRAP, high demand occupations, and application procedures, visit the website at www.benefits.va.gov/VOW, or call VA National Call Center toll free at 1-800-827-1000. 

 

Veterans may also access the VRAP application online athttps://www.ebenefits.va.gov through eBenefits, a joint project between VA and the Department of Defense.

Veterans are also encouraged to visit the nearly 3,000 One-Stop Career Centers across the nation for assistance from staff, Local Veterans’ Employment Representatives (LVERS), and Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Program (DVOP) specialists.  Center locations are listed at www.servicelocator.org.

Are we doing enough for our veterans?

Are we doing enough for our veterans?
A Q and A with Jim Webb
By: WESLEY P. HESTER
Times-Dispatch
Published: May 14, 2012

U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., knows a thing or two about veterans' issues.

A decorated Vietnam Marine combat veteran, Webb served as the first assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs and later as secretary of the Navy.

After being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006, Webb introduced the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, which passed Congress and became law in 2008, providing a landmark increase in college aid to veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Webb, who is retiring from the Senate next year, spoke with the Richmond Times-Dispatch last week about the current state of services for veterans.

Q: Are we doing enough to help our veterans? If not, what else do we need to work toward?

A: We — as a Congress and a nation — can always do more, but in terms of what we have been able to accomplish in the post-9/11 era, I think we have come quite a long way. I introduced the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill my first day in office, starting with a simple concept: that we owe those people who have served since 9/11 the same type of quality educational benefits that those who served in World War II received. The president's budget request for FY2013 veterans spending is $140 billion — more than double the amount in constant dollars appropriated in 1980, when the veterans' population was larger by a third.

I have worked on many other veterans-related priorities during my time in the Senate. I believe that our nation has a clear responsibility to provide an appropriate level of compensation and outstanding health care coverage to those who have put themselves in harm's way in the service of our country, and I have worked to ensure this as a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee and as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee.
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