The Women Veterans Health And Wellness Expo will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27, at the Zem Zem Shrine Club, 2525 W. 38th St. in Erie. The Erie VA Medical Center invites female veterans to attend the expo. Attendees will find pertinent health information from demonstrators and browse vendors. This event is free of charge. For more information, contact Nadean Sitter at the Erie VA by calling (814) 860-2907. Be sure to have your VA Card. If not enrolled in the VA, bring your DD 214s.
VFW Testifies on Hearing to Review VA Debt Collection Process
Last week, the House Veterans’ Affairs Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee held a hearing to discuss why VA overpays benefits to veterans and to improve the collection process to prevent veterans from facing financial hardships due to VA administrative errors and processing delays. VFW National Legislative Service Director Carlos Fuentes urged the subcommittee to pass bills that prevent VA from collecting debt that is created because of VA errors and to eliminate the requirement for VA to withhold benefits to offset drill pay.
VFW Testifies at Disability Assistance & Memorial Affairs Subcommittee Hearing
This week, State Adjutant for the VFW Department of Virginia and accredited Veteran Service Officer Kenneth Wiseman testified before the House Veterans’ Affairs Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee regarding contracted compensation and pension (C&P) exams. Contracted exams allow VA to complete a greater number of C&P exams while ensuring that VA physicians and staff remain focused on treating veterans. While this program is important, many veterans have experienced issues related to their contracted C&P exams, especially if they live in a rural area. At the hearing, Wiseman recommended that VA allow veterans the opportunity to use telehealth for their C&P examinations, partner with other federal agencies to use their doctors to provide the exams, or partner with medical schools.
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020
Last Thursday, the Senate and House conferees for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (NDAA) began meeting to resolve the differences between the House and Senate versions of the defense authorization bill. The conferees are mostly members of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees. No specific deadline has been set, but since many of the authorities provided by the NDAA expire at the end of the fiscal year, significant efforts are being made to reconcile the bills by Oct. 1. Once the conferees complete their report, the House and Senate will vote on the final NDAA, which Congress has passed for 58 straight years. Once complete, the NDAA will be presented to the president for final approval.
POW/MIA Update
Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Herschel H. Mattes, 22, of Pittsburgh, will be buried Sept. 23 in Avon, Conn. Assigned to the 525th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 86th Fighter-Bomber Group, Mattis was piloting an A-36A Apache on March 6, 1944, when it crashed near Lake Bracciano, Italy.
Army Cpl. Henry L. Phillips, from Tennessee, was a member of Company C, 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Nov. 28, 1950, as the result of enemy action 50 miles south of the Yalu River in North Korea.
Army Cpl. Lloyd B. Odom, from Missouri, was a member of Company A, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, 31st Regimental Combat Team. He was reported missing in action Dec. 2, 1950, as the result of enemy action in the vicinity of the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea.
Army Cpl. Wilfred K. Hussey, Jr., from Hawaii, was a member of Company K, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, who would be reported missing in action on Dec. 12, 1950.
Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Thomas J.E. Crotty, from New York, served aboard the USS Quail in the Philippines as part of the 16th Naval District-in-Shore Patrol Headquarters, during the onset of World War II. Crotty was at Cabanatuan POW camp, where he died on July 19, 1942.
Army Cpl. Asa E. Vance, from Illinois, a member of Company D, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, was reported missing in action Dec. 2, 1950, in North Korea.
Army Pfc. William J. Winchester, from Alabama, a member of Company D, 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, was captured during combat operations in the vicinity of Unsan, North Korea. He was reported to have died in captivity in February 1951.
Till next week, praying for all service members.
– Charles Castelluccio
