Veterans
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A just-released report from the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship states that the TVC has failed in its mandate to properly provide monetary and educational resources to military veterans wishing to establish small businesses.
Congress created TVC in 1999 to provide military veterans with the resources and guidance necessary to start small businesses, but an investigation report released by the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship revealed that TVC failed to achieve its goals.
"This latest report from Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee Chairman Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and ranking member Olympia Snow (R-ME) indicates that the TVA has continued its pattern of failure to perform," said David K. Rehbein, The American Legion's national commander. "This appears to be due, in part, to questionable expenditures and excessive compensation for its executives. The TVC has failed miserably in meeting its obligation to the entire veterans' community and should be held accountable.
The Senate committee recommended that TVC no longer receive any federal funding for fiscal 2009 and beyond. The VFW national commander agrees.
"This is a prime example of a good government initiative that went bad," said Glen M. Gardner, Jr., a Vietnam veteran from Round Rock, Texas. "Without proper oversight, TVC management had their way with $17 million in taxpayer funding over the past seven years. That has to stop and TVC needs to be shut down."
The VFW wants TVC’s funding redirected to expand veteran-specific programs within the Small Business Administration, and for the federal government to incorporate TVC business centers into its Veterans Business Outreach Center network. The Small Business Administration, unlike TVC, is subject to congressional oversight and accountability, and with 1,500 small business development centers across the country, it is more capable of reaching out and working with veterans.
"The Small Business Administration is the right place for Congress to fund and expand small business programs for veterans," said Gardner. "It has a proven track record and provides greater bang for the buck."
The American Legion raised this issue many months ago, said Rehbein.
In March the American Legion fired off a letter to Sen. Robert Byrd, chairman of the Appropriations Committee, pointing to the TVC's insufficient support of the country's three Veteran Business Resource Centers, said Rehbein. At that time, The American Legion requested emergency monies be distributed to these centers by the Small Business Administration to compensate for the TVA's inadequate actions.
At the group's August convention, members adopted a resolution stating that it no longer supports the continuing initiatives or the existence of the National Veterans Business Development Corp., Rehbein said.
"Therefore, we reiterate our call for the dismantling of the Veterans Business Development Corporation and propose that its funding be redirected to the Small Business Administration's Veterans Business Development Office. The SBA is subject to congressional oversight and has in place 1,500 small business development centers across the country that can certainly incorporate dedicated services to entrepreneurial veterans. This, in our view, would be of much greater benefit to our nation's warriors."
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"This benefit payment is long overdue to many of our beneficiaries," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake. "In these difficult economic times, it is imperative that we take aggressive action to fix this situation for the families of our veterans."
Problems in VA's implementation of a change in law that was effective in 1997 resulted in some surviving spouses not receiving the veteran's compensation or pension payment for the month of death.
This problem was recently brought to VA's attention by Sen. Daniel K. Akaka, chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee.
Peake immediately directed the formation of a special task force to identify and pay the beneficiaries who never received the benefit or were inadvertently required to repay the money issued for the month of a veteran's death.
Surviving spouses most likely to be affected by this processing problem are those who never applied to VA for survivors' benefits following the death of a veteran.
The task force is in the process of reviewing VA's payment records for veterans who died after Dec. 31, 1996, and who are survived by a spouse. The review will identify those to whom VA owes retroactive benefits for the month of the veteran's death. Current address information is being obtained for as many of these beneficiaries as possible.
VA will begin issuing retroactive payments to eligible surviving spouses at the end of this month. Payments will continue to be issued as additional unpaid beneficiaries are identified and VA is able to obtain current address information.
Because there are deceased veterans for whom VA does not have marital status information, a special Survivors' Call Center has been established for spouses who believe they may be entitled to this
retroactive month-of-death benefit.
Surviving spouses are encouraged to contact the Survivors' Call Center at the toll-free telephone number, 1-800-749-8387. Call center agents will assist surviving spouses in providing VA with the information needed to determine their eligibility.
The Call Center is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. central standard time. Inquiries may also be submitted through the Internet at www.vba.va.gov/survivorsbenefit.htm.
VA is aggressively changing its processing procedures to ensure this benefit is correctly paid to all surviving spouses in the future. VA's disability payment system will also be enhanced to automate the
month-of-death payment for all eligible surviving spouses.
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The fourth annual “Seniors Not Forgotten” project will be launched with a packing party on Saturday, Dec. 20, from 10 a.m. until noon at St. Mary Immaculate Catholic Church Hall.
Dan Davi and Frank Parker coordinated the project receiving generous donations in the past weeks from local merchants and residents despite difficult economic times. Suzanne Schneider crafted an abundance of handmade items for the residents.
Schedule for distribution will be:
Sunday, Dec. 21, at 10 a.m.: Edelweiss Nursing Home, Lakeport.
Monday, Dec. 22, at 3 p.m.: Evergreen Nursing Home, Lakeport.
Tuesday, Dec. 23, at 2:30 p.m.: Lakeport Skilled Nursing Home.
Thursday, Dec. 25, at 10 a.m.: Meadowood Nursing Home, Clearlake.
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The group will meet at 6 p.m. at Umpqua Bank, 805 11th St., Lakeport.
Each month the group meets to put together care packages for local troops serving overseas.
Anyone interested in volunteering is welcome to attend.
For more information contact Ginny Craven at 349-2838.
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LAKEPORT – Local veterans groups and residents gathered for a holiday wreath-laying ceremony on Saturday morning at Hartley Cemetery outside of Lakeport.
The ceremony, part of the Wreaths Across America commemoration, took place at 9 a.m. Dec. 13 at Hartley Cemetery's Veterans Circle.
The Wreaths were donated to Lake County by Worcester Wreath Co., the same company that donates thousands of wreaths to Arlington National Cemetery every year.
The laying of the wreaths at Veterans Circle coincided coincide with the noon laying of the wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D.C.
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WASHINGTON, DC – The nation's oldest major veterans' organization is urging its 2.2 million members to contact Congress and urge them to help America's businesses stay in business.
"The image that is the United States of America is one of strength, compassion and stability, yet this financial crisis is undermining our ability as a nation to think positively about the future," said Glen M. Gardner, Jr., the national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. and its Auxiliaries.
"The debate in Washington is about Wall Street and Detroit, but the true debate is on Main Street, where confidence is at a critical point because the crisis is affecting everyone, to include veterans and their families who are employed in industries affected the most, or who own small businesses and property."
Gardner, a Vietnam veteran from Round Rock, Texas, is now asking the 2.2 million VFW and auxiliary members to contact their elected officials in Congress and urge their support to work with the administration in a bipartisan manner to help America get working again.
"America became a superpower in the last century because of an economic engine that enabled our military to win its wars," he said. "We absolutely cannot allow our industrial capacity to diminish to the point that we are dependent upon other nations to arm our military, employ our workers or outright own us."
For information on how to contact Lake County's representative and senators, visit Congressman Mike Thompson's Web site, http://mikethompson.house.gov/contact/index.shtml; Sen. Barbara Boxer at http://boxer.senate.gov/contact/; or Sen. Dianne Feinstein, http://feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactUs.Home.
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These new options are available as a result of the Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 2008, which the President signed into law on Oct. 10.
“These changes will allow VA to assist a substantial number of veterans with subprime mortgages refinance into a safer, more affordable, VA guaranteed loan,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake. “Veterans in financial distress due to high rate subprime mortgages are potentially the greatest beneficiaries.”
VA has never guaranteed subprime loans. However, as a result of the new law VA can now help many more veterans who currently have subprime loans.
The new law makes changes to VA’s home loan refinancing program. Veterans who wish to refinance their subprime or conventional mortgage may now do so for up to 100 percent of the value of the property. These types of loans were previously limited to 90 percent of the value.
Additionally, Congress raised VA’s maximum loan amount for these types of refinancing loans. Previously, these refinancing loans were capped at $144,000. With the new legislation, such loans may be made up to $729,750 depending on where the property is located.
Increasing the loan-to-value ratio and raising the maximum loan amount will allow more qualified veterans to refinance through VA, allowing for savings on interest costs or even potentially avoiding foreclosure.
Originally set to expire at the end of this month, VA’s authority to guaranty Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) and Hybrid ARMs was also extended under this new law through Sept. 30, 2012. Unlike conventional ARMs and hybrid ARMs, VA limits interest rate increases on these loans from year to year, as well as over the life of the loans.
Since 1944, when home loan guaranties were offered with the original GI Bill, VA has guaranteed more than 18 million home loans worth over $911 billion. This year, about 180,000 veterans, active duty service members, and survivors received loans valued at about $36 billion.
For more information, or to obtain help from a VA Loan Specialist, veterans may call VA at 1-877-827-3702 or visit www.homeloans.va.gov.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The head of the nation's largest veterans service organization expressed his congratulations and desire to work with President-Elect Obama's choice to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs in the upcoming administration.
"Gen. Eric Shinseki has made a career of serving this country," said American Legion National Commander David K. Rehbein. "A former Army chief of staff and a Vietnam veteran, Gen. Shinseki knows what it's like to lead. We are all familiar with the current slogan ‘Army Strong.' We are committed to working with Gen. Shinseki to provide a health care system that is ‘VA Strong.'"
Rehbein added that Shinseki will face great challenges.
"Eliminating the backlog that veterans face to use the health care system that was created for them must be a top priority," he said. "VA must also ensure that veterans understand and can easily access the benefits for which they are entitled under the new GI Bill. Funding must remain a priority, even during tough economic times.
He added, “Congress must remember that if not for America's veterans, there would not be a U.S. economy to worry about. We hope that Gen. Shinseki's Pentagon experience will enhance the integration underway for DoD and VA to share its information technologies and provide for a seamless transition. The American Legion stands ready to assist Gen. Shinseki in providing the care and benefits that America's veterans deserve."
With a membership of 2.6-million wartime veterans, The American Legion was founded in 1919 on the four pillars of a strong national security, veterans affairs, Americanism, and patriotic youth programs. Legionnaires work for the betterment of their communities through more than 14,000 posts across the nation.
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The wreaths will be placed at the base of the flag poles that represent the five branches of our military, the POWs and Merchant Marines. Hartley Cemetery is located at 2552 Hill Road East, Lakeport.
At that exact moment, wreaths will be placed all across America and other countries at military cemeteries and U.S. ships at sea.
Wreaths Across America began more than 15 years ago, when the Worcester Wreath Co. began a tradition of placing wreaths on the headstones of our nations fallen heros at Arlington National Cemetery during the holidays.
Since then Worcester Wreaths has donated 90,000 wreaths, which were placed by volunteers in ceremonies each December.
Last year at 286 participating locations – including Hartley Cemetery – 32,553 wreathes were placed on headstones of those who served and sacrificed for our freedoms.
As the word spread the mission to remember the fallen, honor those who served and teach our children the value of freedom, has captured the hearts and minds of many communities across this country.
The local ceremony was started in 2007 by the sole efforts of Lakeport resident Slick Hultquist and his wife, Sandy Hultquist.
Lake County residents are invited to take part in the second annual “Remember, Honor and Teach.” All Lake County youth organizations are invited to take part in the Saturday ceremony. Arrive between 8 a.m. and 8:15 a.m.
If you would like to sponsor a wreath to be placed at next year's ceremonies or if you wish to donate to the Lakeport Wreaths Across America, purchase handheld flags for the children for next years’ ceremony, contact Slick Hultquist at 263-6238.
Groups interested in the wreath company's fundraising program should visit www.wreaths-across-america.org.
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