View in browser

20 February 2024

Military Times | Lawmakers accuse VA secretary of ignoring sexual harassment charges

“We will find the truth, no matter how long it takes,” said committee Chairman Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill. “We are going to continue to demand answers from the department and pursue this investigation as far as it goes.” Bost called the office “a broken organization that has been poisoned with a toxic culture by bad leaders,” and called the accusations evidence that VA is “broken and dysfunctional.”

Stars and Stripes | Senate approves $95B aid package for Ukraine and Israel, sending it to uncertain fate in House

Senators voted 70-29 in favor of the bill, with a coalition of Republicans breaking with their party to support giving $60 billion to Ukraine to fend off Russian invaders, $14 billion to Israel for its war in the Gaza Strip and nearly $5 billion to Taiwan and other partners in the Indo-Pacific region to deter China.

The Hill | Biden blames Putin for Navalny’s death, urges House to pass Ukraine funding

President Biden on Friday blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny and urged House Republicans to pass aid for Ukraine in the wake of the incident. “Reports of his death, if they’re true, and I have no reasons to believe they’re not — Russian authorities are going to tell their own story,” Biden said in remarks from the White House.

Associated Press | Homeland Security’s Mayorkas impeached by House over border policies

The U.S. House voted Tuesday to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, with the Republican majority determined to punish the Biden administration over its handling of the U.S-Mexico border after failing last week in a politically embarrassing setback.

Fox News | Vulnerable Senate Democrat silent about Biden admin providing veteran medical resources to illegal immigrants

So far, Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., has been silent about efforts by the VA to assist with healthcare claims made by illegal immigrants who are currently held in ICE's custody as the backlog for veterans' claims piles up.

The Hill | Honor America’s National Guard by ending unnecessary deployments

The scope and scale of the Global War on Terror led to “all hands on deck” with regular active duty troops, National Guardsmen and reservists all suddenly deployable. Thousands of guard and reserve veterans share a story of expecting a part-time career, only to find themselves headed to a combat zone. Of course, we all know when we join the military that war is a possibility, and we’re ready to go. But U.S. foreign policy in the last 23 years has created a reliance on guard and reserve resources as was never intended by Congress.

Washington Times | Biden traps veterans in the VA Corral

While these two steps backward were inconvenient, Mr. Biden’s reversal of Mr. Trump’s progress on improving the case backlog truly hurt veterans. The statistics are jarring.

Foreign Affairs | Why America can’t have it all

Going forward, the options are stark: the United States can selectively retrench and control costs and risks, or it can stick with global primacy and lurch from crisis to crisis.

X.com | CVA comments on OAR self-assessment on tracking aid in Ukraine

They admit to dropping the ball on getting items into their tracking system before they're even shipped to Ukraine. Once the gear lands, updates to their database drag their feet, making it outdated almost immediately.

Komo News | WWII veteran celebrates 101^st birthday at the Museum of Flight

Nelms is now the oldest volunteer at the Museum of Flight, meeting with visitors and sharing his experiences during the war with younger generations.

Know someone who wants their own copy?

Forward them a copy of this email.

‌

Did someone forward this to you?

Hit the button below to sign up.