The Florida Veterans Council Hosts A Candidates’ Forum

To establish a strong voice and support network for our nations heroes, the Florida Veterans Council (FVC) will be hosting an event on September 16th 2010. During this event current representatives and candidates within the Florida House of Representatives have been invited to participate in a traditionally closed session meeting.

The event will be of particular interest to our veterans throughout the state of Florida as well as their families and the community that supports them.  Through this meeting, it is the intent of the Council to establish a continuing line of communication and support with those representatives entrusted in providing all veterans in the state of Florida a pledge that their voice is being heard. 

At the event, Council Members will provide each representative the opportunity to address the concerns, questions, and agenda items set forth in the their perspective political areas of expertise.

WASHINGTON – Veterans exposed to herbicides while serving in Vietnam and other areas will have an easier path to access quality health care and qualify for disability compensation under a final regulation that will be published on August 31, 2010 in the Federal Register by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  The new rule expands the list of health problems VA will presume to be related to Agent Orange and other herbicide exposures to add two new conditions and expand one existing category of conditions.

MILWAUKEE (Aug. 30, 2010) – House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, is expected to deliver a major speech here Tuesday on Iraq and national security issues. He will address about 10,000 members of the country’s largest veterans service organization at the 92nd American Legion National Convention.

Michael Walcoff expects 190,000 more claims the first year after new Agent Orange regs go into effect.

MILWAUKEE (Aug. 28, 2010) -- New regulations regarding benefits for veterans suffering from exposure to Agent Orange are expected to be announced as soon as Aug. 30, the Department of Veterans Affairs’ acting under secretary for benefits told The American Legion on Saturday.

Speaking at the organization’s 92nd National Convention in Milwaukee, Michael Walcoff said the new regulations – which simplify for veterans the process of qualifying for disability payments from VA – still will take awhile to go into effect.

“In addition to issuing those regulations, we still can’t do anything about it for another 60 days because – under the Congressional Review Act and because of the size and amount of money involved under this new regulation – Congress  gets 60 days to review it and a make determination of whether they want to stop it or not ,” Walcoff said. “You’ve got Agent Orange. You’ve got presumptions. You’re talking about over $13 billion in the first year.”

Walcoff said VA anticipates an additional 190,000 benefits claims in the first year after the regulations go into effect. For that reason, Walcoff said, the announcement won’t be met with applause from everyone.

MILWAUKEE (Aug. 28, 2010) -- The Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Cemetery Administration would take over control of scandal-rocked Arlington National Cemetery if asked. But the NCA also wants the funding it will require to properly run the nation’s most heralded and cherished cemetery.

That’s what David Schettler, director of Communications Management Service for NCA told The American Legion on Saturday during the Legion’s 92nd national convention in Milwaukee. The Legion has recommended in testimony to Congress that Arlington be placed under NCA’s control. NCA and VA currently are working with Arlington to correct some of the problems at the cemetery, which included hundreds of unmarked or misidentified graves, and a dysfunctional management system.

“My boss, (VA under secretary for Memorial Affairs) Steve Muro, has said openly that, ‘If it’s offered to us, yes, we’ll take it, but you have to give us the funding for it,’” Schettler said. “There also would have to be some memorandums of agreement because Arlington is very unique. It would require an agreement with the Army Military District of Washington with the memorial stuff they do.”

Schettler said that any talk of NCA taking over Arlington is, to his knowledge, premature.

“I am not aware of any detailed talks. If there are, they’re at higher level than I know about,” he said. “But we would be prepared to take (Arlington) on if given to us and funded properly.”

The American Legion National Convention runs through Thursday, Sept. 2 in Milwaukee.