The Number Of Homeless Vets Dropped Sharply Over The Last Two Years
The number of veterans experiencing homelessness sank more than 11% from the start of 2020 to early 2022, a dramatic drop after several years of limited progress in finding shelter for those individuals, federal officials announced Thursday.
Tens Of Thousands Of Veterans, Family Members Sign Up To Work The Polls This Election Season
With a week to the Nov. 8 midterm elections, retired Marine Lt. Col. Joe Plenzler is doing his part to ensure that the vote count is done securely, accurately and fairly.
IMPORTANT TO REITERATE: National Veterans And Military Families Month Proclamation By President Biden
President Joe Biden has signed a proclamation designating this month, November 2022, as National Veterans and Military Families Month.
Here is the text of the president's proclamation:
This month, our nation honors the strength and sacrifice of the families, caregivers, and survivors of our veterans and our current service members. They may not wear uniforms, but their service is essential to our national security and the character of our nation. We owe them a debt of gratitude that we can never fully repay.
Constant tours, deployments, and rotations are difficult for our military families. Jill and I have personally experienced the anxious pride that parents feel seeing their child in uniform. We have marveled at the devotion of military families and their resilience to uproot their lives every few years and move to new communities. We honor the stalwart courage and resolve of veteran families caring for their loved ones when their service in uniform concludes. We grieve alongside families of the fallen who have lost a piece of their soul. That is why I take so seriously the sacred obligation to prepare and equip our service members when we send them into harm’s way and to care for them and their families when they return home.
Since coming to office, I have signed into law important expansions of services and benefits to support our veterans and their families, improved VA health care and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances through the PACT Act, and made historic reforms to the military justice system that will enhance safety and protection for service members and their families impacted by sexual assault and domestic violence. The First Lady’s Joining Forces initiative is helping military spouses find jobs, connecting military children with better education, and helping to ensure that military and veteran families, caregivers, and survivors have what they need to thrive. My Administration has also released a comprehensive public health strategy to reduce military and veteran suicides, which will guide our efforts to stand with families and protect the lives of our nation’s heroes.
To be a veteran or a service member is to have endured and survived challenges most Americans will never know. To be the family of one of those proud patriots is to sacrifice more for our country than most Americans will ever give. During National Veterans and Military Families Month, we pay homage to the unrelenting bravery and dedication of all who wear the uniform and to the unwavering love and support of all who serve alongside them. Families who put their lives on hold so our military can hold the line represent the best of America, and we will always remember what they do for our nation.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 2022 as National Veterans and Military Families Month. I call upon the people of the United States to honor veterans and military families with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand on this thirty-first day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-seventh.
Updates the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) by requiring the VA to continue providing assistance to a family caregiver for at least six months after the death of a veteran participating in the program.
Requires the VA to establish a process by which veterans who are determined to have the most significant need for caregiver assistance are permanently eligible for such assistance.
Requires the VA to standardize the criteria used across all facilities in its required evaluations of the needs of the veterans and the skills of the family caregiver.
Standardizes criteria used in accepting and evaluating applications for participation in the program across all facilities.
Support the CHAMPVA Children's Care Protection Act!
This bill provides that a child shall be eligible for medical care under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) until the child's 26th birthday, regardless of marital status.
Support the AUTO for Veterans Act!
Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92795/respond
Legislation Summary
The Advancing Uniform Transportation Opportunities for Veterans "AUTO" Act would reduce the financial burden incurred by virtue of military service by ensuring severely disabled veterans receive a grant from the VA's Automobile Assistance Grant program to purchase a specially equipped vehicle once every ten years - as opposed to only once.
Support the Aid and Attendance Support Act!
Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92792/respond
Legislation Summary
The Aid and Attendance Support Act temporarily increases eligible disabled veterans' and surviving spouses' Aid and Attendance (A&A) allowance by 25%.
Support the Ensuring Survivor Benefits during COVID-19 Act!
The Ensuring Survivor Benefits During COVID-19 Act requires the VA to solicit a medical opinion to determine if a service-connected disability was the principal or contributory cause of death in situations where a veteran's death certificate identifies COVID-19 as the principal or contributory cause of death, the certificate does not clearly identify any of the veteran's service-connected disabilities as the principal or contributory cause of death, and a claim for dependence and indemnity compensation is filed with respect to the veteran.
Ensures Reservists and National Guard members have no-fee healthcare through TRICARE Reserve Select that covers medical and dental coverage.
Fixes the parity gap for Reserve Component retirees receiving early retirement pay due to deployment credits making them eligible for TRICARE upon receipt of retirement pay.
Provides an incentive for small businesses to hire Reserve and National Guard members by ensuring their healthcare costs are covered.
Ensures service members can access physicals needed to be ready for no-notice deployments (which have increased over the past year).
Eliminates the statutory language that excludes Federal Employees Health Benefits Program eligible service members from TRICARE Reserve Select eligibility.
Support the Advancing Toward Impact Aid Full Funding Act!
Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92818/respond
Legislation Summary
The Advancing Toward Impact Aid Full Funding Act would:
Split Impact Aid's $1.1 billion request evenly over five years, across three main categories for funding: Basic Support, Federal Property, and Children with Disabilities.
Increase Basic Support funding by $190 million annually, meeting Impact Aid's 2019 funding requests.
Increase Federal Property funding proportionally to Basic Support (BSP) by allocating an additional $11 million annually.
Increase funding for Children with Disabilities by $9 million annually, funding $2,000 per eligible student.
Advance national K-12 school systems to become more equitable and meet educational needs.
Support military families that are especially impacted by federally tax-exempt land.
Support the Health Care Fairness for Military Families Act!
Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92815/respond
Legislation Summary
Modifies the extension of dependent coverage under TRICARE by allowing a dependent at the age of 26 to be covered without an additional premium.
Authorizes such coverage of dependents without a premium regardless of whether they are eligible to enroll in an employer-sponsored plan.
Support Expanding TRICARE Cranial Remolding Helmet Coverage!
Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92802/respond
AFSA urges our nation's elected officials to support legislation that would expand the scope of TRICARE's coverage of the DOC Band Post-Op device if your baby:
Is three to 18 months old; and
Is diagnosed with craniosynostosis or nonsynostotic positional plagiocephaly (to include torticollis)
Support the Jobs and Childcare for Military Families Act!
Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92799/respond
Legislation Summary
Allow an employer a work opportunity tax credit for hiring the spouse or domestic partner of a member of the Armed Forces.
Specifically, an employer may receive a tax credit equal to 40% of a new employee's first-year wages if the employer hires a service member's spouse or domestic partner (as recognized under state law or by the Armed Forces).
Create programs for service members to pay for childcare on a pretax basis.
Specifically, the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security (with respect to the Coast Guard) must implement flexible spending arrangements that permit members of the Armed Forces to use basic pay and compensation to pay on a pretax basis for dependent childcare.
Support the Retired Pay Restoration Act!
Link to Advocacy Campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/AFSA/campaigns/92798/respond
Legislation Summary
Allowsthe receipt of both military retiredpay and veterans' disability compensation with respect to any service-connected disability.
Extends full concurrent receipt eligibility to individuals who were retired or separated after at least 20 years of military service due to a service-connected disability.
Call To Action:Share How TRICARE's coverage of the Dynamic Orthotic Cranioplasty (DOC) Band Post-Op device negatively impact your family's quality of life!
For the past year, our Military and Government Relations Team has been working with AFSA military families on getting legislation introduced that would expand the scope of TRICARE's coverage of the DOC Band Post-Op device if a baby:
Is three to 18 months old; and
Is diagnosed with craniosynostosis or nonsynostotic positional plagiocephaly (to include torticollis)
Despite unsuccessful efforts (via FOIA request) to obtain important data for the purpose of quantifying the need of this issue in the aggregate, our Team is looking to hear from the field to share your story and help have your voice heard by members of Congress.
Issue Background
Helmet therapy is used to gently correct the shape of babies' skulls over time.
Newborn babies' skulls are soft plates with spaces between them. As the baby grows, these plates grow, gradually harden, and knit together.
Unfortunately, there are circumstances under which the soft plates may develop a flat spot or uneven appearance. This condition is called plagiocephaly.
Today, almost one in two babies (47%) is affected by some form of plagiocephaly.
When the baby's skull joins together too early, or in an abnormal way, this is called craniosynostosis. There are several types of craniosynostosis, depending on when the baby's skull joins together.
Today, it is estimated that 1 in every 2,500 babies has craniosynostosis.
Positional skull deformities and/or abnormalities - whether diagnosed as a form of plagiocephaly or craniosynostosis - can have short and long term health effects on a child.
However, despite this, TRICARE only covers the Dynamic Orthotic Cranioplasty (DOC) Band Post-Op device, synonymously referred to as a "molding helmet," if your baby:
Is three to 18 months old; and
Has had craniosynostoris surgery;
But still has a misshaped skull.
In other words, cranial molding helmet(s) are not covered for the treatment of nonsynostotic positional plagiocephaly or for the treatment of craniosynostosis before surgery; despite medical evidence that suggests the presence or absence of congenital or acquired plagiocephaly (to include torticollis) can, at the very least, increase the risk of gross motor development.
In fact, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics school-aged children with moderate to severe plagiocephaly scored lower than controls on cognitive and academic measures.
As a result, military families - who face unique challenges given the sacrifices that come along with serving our country - have been put in the tragic position to either front the hefty cost of the helmet (approximately $2,000), seek alternative forms of treatment that may not be preferred, or forego treatment altogether.
We are pleased to share the AFSA Set-It-Forever/Auto Pay procedures and marketing materials to help share the process with our members, your membership and potential new recruits.
The Set-It-Forever/Auto Pay program creates an opportunity to JOIN AFSA or RENEW a membership by making a $36 once-a-year/every-year auto payment, or a $4-each-month/every- month auto payment. The $36 once-a-year option is set at $36, and the $4-a-month option includes a bank processing fee of $1 each month.
Review the two ways to enroll, the benefits to using the auto-pay option, and the marketing materials to help share the details of this program and ensure its success.
For questions, please contact AFSAHQ Member & Field team at 800-638-0594 x 288.
Please Update Your Contact Information Today!
Dear Air Force Sergeants Association Member,
In order for the AFSA to effectively communicate with our members, it is essential to ensure we have your current and / or valid e-mail address. We are in the process of updating our records and need your help! Please take a moment to ensure that we have your most current mail and email address (no .mil's); and accurate membership listing information.
We've made it easy, as you can update your information in either one of three ways:
Call Member & Field Relations team directly at 800-638-0594 x 288 (Mon. - Fri. 8:00 am to 5:00 pm (EST)
Email to: msvcs@hqafsa.org
Visit www.hqafsa.org and select the UPDATE button on the right
We thank you in advance for your support and prompt updates.
In sum, the annual national Point-in-Time count results still show that 33,000 veterans nationwide lack stable housing options. According to officials, the development not only highlights the work that needs to be done to assist veterans but also demonstrates that focused initiatives to prevent veteran homelessness can have a good impact.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, VA, and the U.S. The Point-in-Time count is conducted annually by the Interagency Council on Homelessness to estimate the number of homeless people in America, including veterans, on a single night. However, the 2022 count, which was conducted in January, was the first comprehensive exercise since 2020 because coronavirus pandemic restrictions made it impossible to conduct the in-person surveying.
This year, 33,136 veterans were discovered to be without a place to call home, down from 37,252 at the same time last year.
In addition, Gen. John "Jay" Raymond, who has served as the service's chief of space operations since its establishment in late 2019, handed the helm over to Gen. B. Chance "Salty" Saltzmanduring a ceremony at Joint Base Andrews. In attendance was Frank Kendall, secretary of the Department of the Air Force, which includes the Space Force. He congratulated both men for their commitment to establishing a new force without the support of the other military branches.
At a time when the space industry is growing more competitive, Saltzman will serve as the service's leader. The American satellite fleet, which is used for everything from GPS on mobile phones to assisting the U.S. military and its allies in conducting operations on the battlefield, is under threat from adversaries like China and Russia who are developing technologies.
The Space Force asked for $24.5 billion in its 2023 budget request, a 40% increase from the previous year. But to counter looming threats from other countries, it will likely ask for more funding in the coming years. Last week, a top official for the service said it needs more money to protect America's satellites as it faces rapid competition with China.
And lastly, Lt. Col. Joe Plenzler, a retired Marine, volunteered to preside over an election in Charles County, Maryland. He noted that after completing the training, the quality of the instruction gave him a great deal of confidence in the system, which he hopes he and the other poll workers can impart to voters on election day.
Plenzler and his wife, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel, registered to work the polls as part of a campaign by Vet the Vote, an organization that seeks to recruit American veterans to serve as election officials, filling staffing gaps in polling places while also fostering confidence in the electoral process.
The country's confidence in the electoral process has been shaken in recent election cycles by misinformation and accusations of fraud; organizations like Vet the Vote are working to repair it by enticing active-duty personnel and veterans to vote.
According to Anil Nathan, co-executive director of Vet the Vote, as of October 7, it had enrolled 63,000 service members, veterans, and family members on its website. Vet the Vote initiated a drive in June to recruit 100,000 veterans to work in the election this year.
And that's the way it is for Thursday, November 3, 2022.
Stay tuned for our next M&G-B, where we will continue to keep you in the loop on all things pertinent to the coronavirus, veterans, active-duty members, guards and reservists, and military family members. Stay happy, and stay healthy!
