NewsBytes March 3, 2023
In this issue:
NED Testifies on Capitol Hill
FRA on Capitol Hill for Concurrent Receipt
Sen. Moran Honored with FRA Pinnacle Award
Happy Birthday Navy Seabees, Reserve and Band
FRA Testifies on Capitol Hill
FRA’s National Executive Director, Chris Slawinski testified before a joint hearing of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees expressing FRA member concerns on veteran’s issues. NED Slawinski thanked both committees for their work to pass the comprehensive veterans toxic exposure law (PACT Act) that was signed into law in August 2022. Slawinski thanked Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Tester (Mont.) and Rep. Gus Bilirakis (Fla.) for re-introducing the Major Richard Star Act, (H.R.1282, S.344) expanding concurrent receipt to include Combat Related Special Compensation veterans who are medically retired with less than 20 years of service. He noted that the membership of the association strongly believes that reducing a retiree’s retired pay because they are disabled is an injustice! The FRA supports authorizing the immediate payment of concurrent receipt of full military retired pay and veterans’ disability compensation for all disabled retirees, and that the Major Richard Star Act is an important step in the right direction.
Slawinski informed the committees that a majority of FRA members were opposed to burial restrictions for in-ground burials at Arlington National Cemetery (ANC). Further, more than 73 percent of FRA members surveyed in January 2023 support creating a second national cemetery, perhaps on the west coast, in lieu of additional burial restrictions that would afford full military honors. That is why the FRA supports the “Expanding America’s National Cemetery Act” that would authorize the DoD and the VA to transform an existing VA cemetery to maintain interment with full honors as ANC reaches capacity. Veterans should not be forced to change their well-earned plans because of unnecessary administration rules.
He also urged the committees to support and provide oversight of the ongoing implementation of VA technology upgrades that will provide a joint Electronic Health Record (EHR), which is vital to ensuring improvements to the system. The FRA wants to ensure adequate funding for DoD and the VA health care resource sharing in delivering seamless, cost-effective, quality services to personnel wounded in combat and other veterans and their families. The cost and the long time for implementation notwithstanding, FRA believes there is a tremendous opportunity with the two departments using the same EHR.
The FRA National President James E. “Robbie” Robbins, PNP LA FRA Sandy Robbins and FRA National Vice President John Handzuk attended the hearing.
FRA on Capitol Hill to Discuss Concurrent Receipt
The FRA staff, as well as staff from other organizations, visited Congressional offices urging legislators to co-sponsor the Major Richard Star Act (S.344, H.R.1282). This legislation provides concurrent receipt for service members unable to complete 20 years of service due to combat-related injuries has been re-introduced from the last session of Congress. More than two-thirds of Congress co-sponsored the Major Richard Star Act that was introduced during the previous session of Congress. Later in the day, the Senate sponsor and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester (Mont.) held a press conference to demand Congressional action on this bipartisan bill to fix this injustice named in honor of decorated war veteran Major Richard A. Star. He was forced to medically retire due to his combat-related injuries and later passed away. Members are strongly urged to ask their legislators to co-sponsor this important legislation on the Action Center.
FRA Honors Senator Jerry Moran with Pinnacle Award
FRA National President James E. “Robbie” Robbins (Branch 126) presented the FRA’s prestigious Pinnacle Award to Senator Jerry Moran (Kans). Since the FRA National Board of Directors is scheduled to meet when Congress is not in session, the award was presented to the Senator in his Senate office on Capitol Hill. National Vice President John Handzuk, PNP LA FRA Sandy Robbins, NED Chris Slawinski, DLP John Davis and ADLP Theo Lawson attended the award presentation.
Sen. Moran currently serves as the Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. He was raised in a small town in west-central Kansas and was first elected to Congress in 1996. Moran represents Kansas’ 1st District in the U.S. House of Representatives and 10 years later won his first election to the U.S. Senate.
Ha also was a leading supporter of the veteran’s comprehensive toxic exposure law (PACT Act) that was enacted this past session of Congress. Moran was instrumental in allowing the FRA to be one of only three associations that testified before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on the comprehensive veteran’s toxic exposure in March of last year.
Happy Birthday Navy Seabees, Navy Reserve and Navy Band
Friday, March 3 marks the 108th anniversary of the Navy Reserve, which was known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, and is now the Reserve Component of the United States Navy.
The United States Navy Band, based at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., has served as the official musical organization of the U.S. Navy since March 4, 1925. The Navy Band serves the ceremonial needs at the seat of government, performing at presidential inaugurations, state arrival ceremonies, state funerals, state dinners and other significant events.
United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees, form the U.S. Naval Construction Force (NCF). The Seabee nickname is from the initial letters “CB” from the words “Construction Battalion” were started on March 5, 1942, as replacements for civilian construction companies in combat zones after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
NewsBytes is FRA's weekly legislative update. If you received this through a forward and would like to subscribe, please e-mail us and include your name and contact information in the body of e-mail. If you are a member of FRA or LA FRA, please include your member number.
Follow FRA on Twitter (https://twitter.com/FRAHQ); Follow FRA on Instagram (www.instagram.com/fra_hq) and "like" FRA on Facebook (use the shortcut of www.fra.org/fb)