ND Veterans Affairs News: Federal

A bill to allow post-9/11 vets to use their G.I. Bill benefits as collateral for business startups passed an important milestone in the Senate Wednesday with growing bipartisan support in Congress and the backing of major veteran organizations.

Most people have never heard of Purple Heart Day, which takes place annually on August 7th to commemorate the medals origins and the more than 1.7 million combat-wounded Purple Heart recipients.   

The House voted Wednesday to cut workplace protections for Department of Veterans Affairs employees and extend their probationary period, making it easier to fire new staffers.

The “VA Accountability Act of 2015” was approved with a 256 – 170 vote, largely, though not strictly, along party lines, despite a White House veto threat.

WASHINGTON — Veterans who suffered sexual assault or other sexual abuse while in uniform would get help more easily from the Department of Veterans Affairs under a bill approved Monday by the House.

The bill would allow a statement by a survivor of military sexual trauma to be considered sufficient proof that an assault occurred. The House approved the bill by voice vote Monday night.

WASHINGTON -- The Department of Veterans Affairs may have to shut down some hospitals next month if Congress does not address a $2.5 billion shortfall for the current budget year, VA officials warned Monday.

The VA told Congress that it needs to cover shortfalls caused by an increased demand by veterans for health care, including costly treatments for hepatitis C. The agency also is considering furloughs, hiring freezes and other steps to close a funding gap for the budget year that ends Sept. 30.

Unemployment for post-9/11 veterans in June held steady at the near-record low of the previous month, 5.4 percent, government data show.

As a whole, the nation added 223,000 jobs last month, with the overall unemployment rate dipping to 5.3 percent, down from the 5.5 percent recorded in May, according to the Bureau for Labor Statistics.

June marks only the third month in history with an unemployment rate for the latest generation of vets below 5.5 percent. May 2015, also with a 5.4 percent rate, was the second, and May 2014, with a record 5.3 percent rate, was the first.

WASHINGTON-Dozens of South Dakotans visited the nation’s capitol to see the Vietnam Veterans Memorial for themselves on Wednesday.

The Vietnam Memorial wall has more than 58-thousand names of men and women who died in the war.

“There’s 7 coasties on the wall that i make a point looking up i didn’t know them, i didn’t serve with them but being in that small branch of service it’s an obligation to pay my respects,” said veteran Edward Timm.