Rao bulletin 1 December 2015 html edition this bulletin contains the following articles
National WWII Memorial Washington DC
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National WWII Memorial Washington DC ********************************* State Veteran's Benefits & Discounts ► Rhode Island 2015 The state of Rhode Island provides several benefits to veterans as indicated below. To obtain information on these plus discounts listed on the Military and Veterans Discount Center (MCVDC) website, refer to the attachment to this Bulletin titled, “Vet State Benefits & Discounts – RI” for an overview of the below benefits. Benefits are available to veterans who are residents of the state. For a more detailed explanation of each of the following benefits listed refer to http://www.vets.ri.gov and http://militaryandveteransdiscounts.com/location/rhode-island.html:
[Source: http://www.military.com/benefits/veteran-state-benefits/rhode-island-state-veterans-benefits.html Nov 2015 ++] * Vet Legislation * 
VA Family Caregiver Assistance Update 02: ► H.R.2894 Introduced DAV has worked diligently for several years as a part of a larger coalition of veterans organizations that promoted the advent of family caregiver support services for severely injured and ill veterans. Congress finally responded five years ago by enacting Public Law 111-163, the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010. However, that act limited services and supports to family caregivers of veterans injured or who became severely ill in military service only on or after September 11, 2001. That omission left thousands of veterans' families without the level of caregiver support and services they have needed because those veterans' health challenges, many from war injuries, occurred before that effective date. On 25 JUN, Representatives Elizabeth Esty and Ryan Costello introduced H.R. 2894, the "Caregivers Access and Responsible Expansion for All Veterans Act," or the "CARE for All Veterans Act." If enacted, this bill would responsibly and finally address these families' needs on the same basis as those of veterans injured after September 11, 2001. Ultimately, when fully implemented, the bill would improve the lives of tens of thousands of veteran families, and will save the federal government massive sums that otherwise would need to be spent to provide institutional solutions to these veterans' health challenges and health maintenance. Therefore, this bill is both beneficial to these families and a taxpayer-friendly measure. Veterans can assist in getting this legislation passed by urging their Representative to co-sponsorship and support of passage of H.R. 2894. A letter has been prepared for this purpose or you may write your own to express your views. Go to http://www.dav.org/can/?vvsrc=%2fCampaigns%2f43357%2fRespond to review DAV’s editable letter which can automatically be sent to legislators by their constituency. [Source: DAV Commander’s Action Network | November 14, 2015 ++] ********************************* VA Bonuses Update 29 ► H.R.1338 | 2016 $2M Senior Exec Cap The House on 16 NOV unanimously passed legislation capping fiscal 2016 bonuses for Veterans Affairs senior executives at $2 million. The measure amends the 2014 Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act to specifically limit the total amount of performance awards and bonuses given to top career executives at the department in fiscal 2016. The language in the Choice Act required the department to cap the aggregate amount of award and bonuses doled out to all VA employees at $360 million in each of the fiscal years 2015 through 2024. The VA had nearly 360,000 employees as of June 2015, according to data from the Office of Personnel Management’s Fedscope; of that total, 335 were listed as career senior executives. The provision was inserted into H.R.1338, which requires the department to study the burial of veterans’ unclaimed remains in national cemeteries run by the National Cemetery Administration. House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller (R-FL) praised lawmakers for “reining in VA’s outrageous, everyone-gets-a bonus culture,” calling on the Senate to follow suit. The Senate companion bill to H.R.1338 was folded into a larger measure aimed at improving VA’s disability compensation claims backlog, which the Senate passed last week. Neither one of those bills contained a provision that would cap senior executive bonuses in fiscal 2016, as H.R.1338 does. Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) unsuccessfully offered an amendment earlier this month to the fiscal 2016 Military Construction-VA spending bill that would have prohibited senior executives at the Veterans Benefits Administration from receiving bonuses. A Nov. 11 USA Today report found that the VA paid out more than $142 million in performance-based bonuses in 2014 to senior executives and other employees despite the department’s wide-ranging management problems. “Among the recipients were claims processors in a Philadelphia benefits office that investigators dubbed the worst in the country last year,” the report said. “They received $300 to $900 each. Managers in Tomah, Wis., got $1,000 to $4,000, even though they oversaw the over-prescription of opiates to veterans – one of whom died.” The newspaper’s editorial board on 16 NOV criticized the department for rewarding employees involved in mismanagement with bonuses. “Misbegotten bonuses are not the VA’s most vital concern, but they're a troubling sign of ongoing dysfunction,” the piece stated. “If the agency can’t even stop handing out rewards to employees implicated in scandals, prospects seem poor that it can fix its far more complex problems.” VA has argued that performance awards and bonuses are an important way the department recruits and retains a talented workforce. "We are making every effort to recruit more quality people to help us care for those who 'have borne the battle,' particularly health care professionals," wrote VA Secretary Bob McDonald, in a separate op-ed published in USA Today on Monday. "We need every tool to compete and attract exceptional people to serve veterans as well as they served our nation." McDonald pushed back on the criticism over the newspaper's report on performance awards, saying that "severely curtailing" such incentives only at the VA would be a "mistake." He also noted that the bonuses mentioned in the story were "more than a year old" and adhered to Office of Personnel Management standards. "They are based on performance during that period, not on events occurring after it. The majority who received awards were rank-and-file workers," he said. [Source: GovExec.com | Kellie Lunney | November 17, 2015++] 
********************************* NDAA for 2016 Update 17 ► Obama Signs Into Law After an extra month wait, the annual defense authorization bill is finally law. President Obama signed the budget and policy bill on 25 NOV, marking the 54th consecutive year the measure has survived Washington political fights to become law. The most significant result for troops is the renewal of dozens of specialty pay and bonus authorities, and a massive overhaul of the military retirement system. Starting in 2018, newly enlisted troops will no longer have the traditional 20-year, all-or-nothing retirement plan. Under the changes, it will be replaced with a blended pension and investment system, featuring automatic contributions to troops' Thrift Savings Plans and an opportunity for government matches to personal contributions. The new system is expected to give roughly four in five service members some sort of retirement benefit when they leave the military, as opposed to the current system which benefits only one in five. The $607 billion authorization bill also includes comprehensive defense acquisition reform and language designed to stop Obama from closing the detention facilities at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. White House officials had objected to that language and hinted at a possible veto. But similar language in the measure each of the last six years didn't stop the president from signing past authorization measures into law Obama did veto an earlier draft of this fiscal 2016 authorization bill, but over broader fiscal fights that were resolved last month when lawmakers approved a new two-year spending plan that goes around mandatory budget caps for both defense and nondefense programs. The legislation is only half the annual budget process for Congress. Lawmakers still need to pass a defense appropriations bill for fiscal 2016 to start new programs and acquisition plans. Congressional leaders are hopeful that can be done before Dec. 11, when a short-term budget extension expires. But finalizing the annual defense authorization bill is a significant step forward in that larger process, and gives Pentagon planners a host of other policy updates as well:
[Source: NavyTimes | Leo Shane | November 25, 2015 ++] ********************************* SSA COLA 2016 ► S.2251 | One Time Payment in Lieu of COLA On October, 15, 2015, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced that due to low inflation this year, no cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) would be made in 2016 for Social Security beneficiaries. Since that decision would also apply to veterans receiving financial benefits, Senator Elizabeth Warren and 18 of her colleagues have jointly introduced a bill, S. 2251, the Seniors and Veterans Emergency Benefit Act. The bill would provide veterans and others in receipt of VA financial support a one-time payment of about $580 (calculated based on 3.9 percent of the average annual Social Security payment). This one-time payment would soften the financial blow associated with the lack of an increase through a COLA, and the payment would be tax free. Payments would be disbursed to beneficiaries beginning 120 days after enactment. Even if eligible for multiple federal benefits payments, individuals could receive only one payment under this bill. A one-time payment is not comparable to an annual COLA, and a one-time payment becomes less valuable to more seriously disabled veterans because of their higher cost of living. However, in absence of a COLA or other viable alternative, NCOA calls upon its members and supporters to contact their elected officials in Congress and urge their support, co-sponsorship and passage of S.2251. A letter for this purpose has been prepared for your use, or you may write a personalized message to inform your House Member and Senators of your support for this bill. Go to http://ncoausa.org/index.php/legislation/legislative-action-center/?vvsrc=%2fCampaigns%2f43433%2fRespond and complete the contact data to forward the editable letter via email to your Senators. [Source: NCOA DC msg | November 18, 2015 ++] ******************************** Vet Employment/Education/Healthcare Improvement Act ► H.R. 3016 As ordered reported by the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on 17 SEP H.R. 3016 the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has submitted their report which is available at https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/114th-congress-2015-2016/costestimate/hr3016.pdf. In summary:
[Source: CBO | November 19, 2015 ++] ********************************* Vet Bills Submitted to 114th Congress ► 151115 thru 151130 Refer to this Bulletin’s “House & Senate Veteran Legislation” attachment for a listing of Congressional bills of interest to the veteran community introduced in the 114th Congress. The list contains the bill’s number and name, what it is intended to do, it’s sponsor, any related bills, and the committees it has been assigned to. Support of these bills through cosponsorship by other legislators is critical if they are ever going to move through the legislative process for a floor vote to become law. A good indication of that likelihood is the number of cosponsors who have signed onto the bill. Any number of members may cosponsor a bill in the House or Senate. At https://beta.congress.gov you can review a copy of each bill’s content, determine its current status, the committee it has been assigned to, and if your legislator is a sponsor or cosponsor of it by entering the bill number in the site’s search engine. To determine what bills, amendments your representative/senator has sponsored, cosponsored, or dropped sponsorship on go to: https://beta.congress.gov/search?q=%7B%22source%22%3A%5B%22legislation%22%5D%7D, Select the ‘Sponsor’ tab, and click on your congress person’s name. You can also go to http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php. Grassroots lobbying is the most effective way to let your Congressional representatives know your wants and dislikes. If you are not sure who is your Congressman go to https://beta.congress.gov/members. Members of Congress are receptive and open to suggestions from their constituents. The key to increasing cosponsorship support on veteran related bills and subsequent passage into law is letting legislators know of veteran’s feelings on issues. You can reach their Washington office via the Capital Operator direct at (866) 272-6622, (800) 828-0498, or (866) 340-9281 to express your views. Otherwise, you can locate their phone number, mailing address, or email/website to communicate with a message or letter of your own making at either: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm http://www.house.gov/representatives FOLLOWING IS A SUMMARY OF VETERAN RELATED LEGISLATION INTRODUCED IN THE HOUSE SINCE THE LAST BULLETIN WAS PUBLISHED
FOLLOWING IS A SUMMARY OF VETERAN RELATED LEGISLATION INTRODUCED IN THE SENATE SINCE THE LAST BULLETIN WAS PUBLISHED
[Source: https://beta.congress.gov & http: //www.govtrack.us/congress/bills November 30, 2015 ++] * Military * 
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