In the News: President Biden signs bills to honor veterans, improve VA healthcare

 Here's another great piece of legislation that President Biden signed into law- this one benefits ALL Veterans (including those who supported Trump). Take note of this Veterans!!

President Biden signs bills to honor veterans, improve VA healthcare

  By Rachel Tillman Nationwide PUBLISHED 5:37 PM ET Jun. 07, 2022

President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed into law a slew of bills aimed at honoring veterans and improving their care, telling those gathered in the State Dining Room the government was fulfilling its “sacred obligation” to protect those who gave up so much in defense of the country.

QUICK READ:

* President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed into law a series of nine bills aimed at honoring veterans and improving their care 

* The Dr. Kate Hendricks Thomas SERVICE Act expands mammogram eligibility for veterans who may not have been exposed to toxic burn pits 

* Another bill will extend a two-year program, set to expire next month, to compensate World War II veterans exposed to radiation

A separate bill will name a new out-patient clinic set to be opened in Oahu, Hawaii as the Daniel Kahikina Akaka VA Clinic “You've heard me say it many times before – our nation has many obligations, but it only has one truly sacred obligation,” Biden said. “That's to prepare and equip those we send into harm's way and to care for them and their families when they come home. It's a sacred obligation. Because veterans are the backbone, the spine, of who we are as a country.”

The nine bills signed by the president passed Congress with overwhelmingly bipartisan support. Biden was flanked by senators from both parties as he signed the legislation into law, including Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and moderate Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia.

NEW BENEFITS

Some of the legislation focuses on improving veterans’ access to healthcare. The Dr. Kate Hendricks Thomas SERVICE Act expands mammogram eligibility for veterans who may not have been exposed to toxic burn pits, which will allow more individuals to receive the potentially life-saving screening. A separate bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to overhaul its breast cancer screening and treatment services entirely. Yet another bill will extend a two-year program, set to expire next month, that compensates veterans who developed “cancer and medical conditions from the nation's World War II-era nuclear programs,” Biden said Tuesday. 

BIDEN FAMILY HAS LONG CONNECTION TO MILITARY

 The Bidens have a long, personal connection to the military. Dr. Biden’s father, Donald Jacobs, served in the Navy during World War II; President Joe Biden's son, Beau Biden, who Jill also raised, served in both the United States Army and the Delaware Army National Guard before his death from brain cancer in 2015.

Beyond healthcare, Biden signed a number of highly symbolic or commemorative bills. One was to name a new out-patient clinic set to be opened in Oahu, Hawaii as the Daniel Kahikina Akaka VA Clinic. Akaka, whom Biden on Tuesday called a “great friend” and “one of the finest people I’ve ever served with,” was in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during World War II.

He later went to Congress as a member of the House of Representatives from 1977 to 1991 and was the first Native Hawaiian to serve as Senator beginning in 1991. Akaka passed away in 2018.

Another bill will award a Congressional Gold Medal to all of the Army Rangers who served in World War II, who Biden said “played a critical role in the D-Day invasion of Normandy.”

Monday marked the 78th anniversary of D-Day, when nearly 160,000 troops from Britain, the U.S., Canada and other nations landed on the beaches of France to liberate the region from the clutches of Nazi Germany.

“On behalf of our nation, we're gonna thank them for their heroism and their service,” the president said.

Before signing the series of bills, Biden took a moment to address veterans and their family members directly.

“We can never fully repay the debt to all of you. But I promise that my administration will always have your back,” he said, adding: “This is something we Bidens take personally. Every veteran and family member of a veteran who serves has made our lives, our liberty and our very nation possible. We owe you, we owe you and we thank you.” The Associated Press contributed to this report

GOOD NEWS! -Rhode Island Latest State Poised To End Veterans' Homelessness

    We have deep appreciation for the sacrifices and dedication shown by our veterans and active military men and women. Thank you for your service.

 As everyone has heard, Veterans have not been getting the care and attention they deserve, but there are things being done to correct that. This article from the Associated Press indicates that several states have already helped end veteran homelessness. It's a program between by both President Barack Obama's administration and Zero: 2016, a campaign run by the nonprofit group Community Solutions. Story below. 

Rhode Island Latest State Poised To End Veterans' Homelessness 

By MICHELLE R. SMITH Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/rhode-island-veterans-homeless_563f938de4b0307f2cadd1d3?ncid=newsltushpmg00000003

Posted: 11/08/2015 01:29 PM EST | Edited: 11/08/2015 01:37 PM EST

John Nordell via Getty Images
 

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — For more than two years, Don Perrault lived without a home as the Vietnam veteran struggled with depression and personal setbacks that at one point left him with nothing to do but take a therapeutic 7-day walk to New Jersey — then walk back.

Now, after living out of a shelter where he shared a room with six other men, he has a home of his own under an ambitious push to wipe out homelessness among veterans in Rhode Island.

"It helps a little bit with your mind, your mental aspect," Perrault, 60, said. "It's hard for a person who is homeless to have dignity."

The efforts that have secured Perrault a newly renovated one-bedroom apartment — complete with new furniture and even a TV — for a rental voucher and $25 per month for rent and utilities are part of a national push to end homelessness among veterans by the end of the year. The goal has been spurred by both President Barack Obama's administration and Zero: 2016, a campaign run by the nonprofit group Community Solutions

In August, the federal government declared Connecticut the first state to end chronic homelessness among veterans. New Orleans, Houston and a handful of other communities have also reached the goal.

Nearly 50,000 veterans were homeless nationwide before the effort began, Community Solutions estimated.

Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Mexico, all part of the campaign, are on track to reach the veterans goal, said Community Solutions spokesman Adam Gibbs. One strategy all three states are using is a list of names, he said.

In Rhode Island, every person who comes into the homeless system is given a "vulnerability survey," which asks a series of questions about their history and assigns them a score based on how likely they are to die on the street. Then, advocates create a list of all the people who are homeless with the most vulnerable people listed on top, by name. 

A committee meets weekly and goes down the list to try to find housing for each person. If a person has a problem that's standing in the way of getting an apartment, such as a criminal record, the committee tries to come up with a solution.

The state is also using a "housing first" strategy, which prioritizes getting people into permanent housing, said Eric Hirsch, a professor of sociology at Providence College, who chairs the Zero: 2016 campaign in Rhode Island. In the past, people would be placed in temporary housing and have to get substance abuse or mental health counseling or jump through other hoops before getting a permanent place to live, Hirsch said.

Now, they get the apartment first and are then "surrounded" with services that they can then choose to use. Many decide on their own they want the help, he said. Hirsch said his research and research by others shows 85 to 95 percent of people placed in permanent housing were there a year later using this approach.

A big help has also been a dedicated stream of money from the state, and more money set aside for things like rental subsidies, said Jim Ryczek, executive director of the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless.

Advocates say they don't expect to eliminate homelessness completely, but that their goal is to make sure if people become homeless, they have a permanent home within weeks, rather than months or years.

Rhode Island advocates last year estimated that 4,067 Rhode Islanders used a homeless shelter at some time in 2014, out of a population of around 1 million people.

The Zero: 2016 program's next goal is to end chronic homelessness in a several states and cities by the end of next year.

In Rhode Island, the project will be using the same model they have used for veterans. They have already found homes for 176 chronically homeless people since January, out of an estimated 400 chronically homeless. They also plan to focus on housing families.