POOR BABY JAY-JAY CARNEY. THE WHITE HOUSE PLUS-SIZE SPOKESMODEL IS A REAL LITTLE BITCH WHO TRIES TO COME ON BOYISH AS HE'S CLOSING IN ON 50. THAT MEANS WEARING SUIT JACKETS THAT SWALLOW HIM UP SO THAT HE'LL LOOK LIKE LIKE A LITTLE-WITTLE BOY (RUMOR HAS IT THAT, IN THE CROTCH, HE LOOKS LIKE A 2-YEAR-OLD).
BUT BITCHY LITTLE TANTRUMS KEEP POPPING UP LIKE THIS WEEK'S ATTACK ON ABC'S JONATHAN KARL WHO RESPONDED TO JAY-JAY'S BITCHY WITH, "YOUR MOCKING IS ENTERTAINING BUT THE PRESIDENT SAID YOU CAN APPLY WITHIN 25 MINUTES, THAT'S NOT TRUE."
REACHED FOR COMMENT THIS MORNING, JAY-JAY TOLD THESE REPORTERS, "YEAH-YEAH, WHAT I WANT TO KNOW IS DOES A PENIS PUMP REALLY INCREASE LENGTH? CLAIRE KEEPS JOKING THAT I'M HUNG LIKE A HAMSTER AND THREATENING TO GO BACK TO HER FIRST HUSBAND."
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
"We are here today to examine the issues facing our military and veterans cemeteries. Our goal in this hearing is to learn more about the operations of the National Cemetery Administration as well as seek the administration's input on several focus issues that I will highlight momentarily," US House Rep Jon Runyan declared last Wednesday. He was speaking at the House Veterans Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs. He is Subcommittee Chair. Last Wednesday, we covered the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing -- see that day's "Iraq snapshot," Thursday's "Iraq snapshot," Kat's "A very bad Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing," Wally's "Disappointing Chair Bernie Sanders (Wally)" and Ava's "The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee is not cutting it" -- and I noted I would try to get this hearing in a snapshot by Friday. I failed. My apologies, it was a busy week with Nouri al-Maliki visiting the US. We're covering it now.
The Subcommittee has been made aware of a terrible incident in Indianna in May of 2013, a veteran shot and
Appearing before the Subcommittee were two panels. The first was made of up DoD's Patrick Hallinan and VA's Glenn Powers. The second panel was made up of the Ohio Historical Society's Todd Kleismit, the VFW's Ray Kelley, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors' Ami Neiberger-Miller and AMVETS' Diane M. Zumatto. We're going to include Rankin Member Dina Titus's prepared statement in full:
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding a hearing on this very important topic. I also want to thank the witnesses for their attendance this morning.
It is my belief that the option of a burial in a VA national cemetery, in the state you call home, is a solemn obligation our government should fulfill. The National Cemetery Administration has grown dramatically since its creation in 1862 when 14 cemeteries were established to serve as a permanent resting place for those killed during the Civil War.
On July 17 of that year, Congress enacted legislation that authorized the President to purchase "cemetery grounds" to be used as national cemeteries "for soldiers who shall have died in the service of the country."
In 1873, ALL honorably discharged Veterans became eligible for burial.
Since then, NCA has expanded its geographic diversity to better serve Veterans across the country and recent legislation has even further expanded NCA’s reach to rural and urban areas.
There are 131 National Cemeteries in the United States. New York has seven active national cemeteries. Three other states have six active national cemeteries, and Puerto Rico has two.
However, while access has grown significantly, there is still a very large population of Veterans that do not have the option of being buried in one of our nation’s prestigious National Cemeteries in the state they call home.
The state with the largest Veterans population without a National Cemetery happens to be Nevada, home to a fast growing population of over 301,000 veterans. I represent Las Vegas, home to 170,000 veterans. We also represent the largest area in the country without a National Cemetery.
In total, 11 states with a combined Veteran population of 1.8 million are not served by a National Cemetery.
The nation’s largest group of wartime veterans phrased this challenge well in stating that, “NCA must be flexible enough in their policies to recognize locations where under current policy, no new national cemetery will be developed, but other factors like geographic barriers or states that have invested in state cemeteries but have not been granted a national cemetery MUST be considered.”
I am in complete agreement with the VFW and thank them for their testimony. While I applaud VA’s efforts to reach underserved populations, I am also concerned that NCA is not working within the local veterans’ community to determine where the placement of rural initiatives should be.
Has the VA asked the Nevada and Idaho veteran community if they agree that the rural initiatives should be in Elko and Twin Falls? I am hopeful that NCA is willing to do the right thing by engaging our local veterans with regards to the placement of these shrines in western states that have long been overlooked by our nation and the National Cemetery Administration.
I also hope that the VA is not looking to use these rural initiatives as a way to appease these states that are not served by a national cemetery and then suggest that they are served by a National Cemetery. Let’s be clear, rural initiatives are not National Cemeteries. These rural initiatives will be operated by contractors unlike National Cemeteries, and are being placed in rural areas, even by western standards, and will serve very few veterans.
It is also very concerning that NCA only surveys the families of veterans who have chosen to utilize a national cemetery, while ignoring those who chose a different option as a final resting place. If NCA is looking to offer options that serve all veterans and their families, this self-selecting survey fails to provide honest feedback.
I am hopeful to hear an update from NCA on any plans they may have to better address our western veteran’s lack of an option to be buried in a National Cemetery. Let us remember all of these veterans and servicemembers served our nation. As such, with over 130 national cemeteries, it is time to open a national cemetery to the 1.8 million veterans that do not have this option.
Two Steves joined the hearing. US House Reps Steve Daines and Steve Stivers do not serve on the Subcomittee but were allowed to sit in.
US House Rep Steve Stivers: My first question is for Mr. Powers. You may know that I'm the sponsor of the Honor Those Who Served Act which is HR 2018 involving headstones. At a Subcommittee hearing on April -- in April of this year, Mr. Muro [VA's Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs Steve Muro] testified that the VA is currently viewing its regulation that allows only the next of kin or a person authorized by them in writing to apply for a VA headstone. Congressman Daines and I are very interested in this subject due to civic minded folks in both Ohio and Montana that have actively sought to procure headstones for deceased veterans in our areas. And I'm just curious what the NCA has done in recent months to review and remedy the regulation because what's happening is it's preventing folks from receiving headstones if you can't identify a next-of-kin, whether they are homeless veterans whether they are folks who have been deceased for generations and you can't identify next-of-kin. And I'm just curious what you are doing to review the overly restrictive application process and try to fix this so that our veterans can have honorably marked graves?
Glenn Powers: Thank you, Congressman. We are actively engaged in a comprehensive review and subject -- on the subject that you talked about -- which is a rewrite of the existing regulations. We, uh, -- A-a-a regulation was created in 2009. The regulation looked at -- and there was a concern that very well intended people were asking for headstones markers and we were removing the families the equation. Then we found out some headstones and markers were ordered without the family's being aware of that. However, uh-uh-uh as you pointed out, uh, we-we-we're determined that -- along from the information that we're gathering from your constituents -- from the Veterans Service Organizations -- particularly your constituents -- and-and you have a number of them in Ohio and I believe we're-we're going to hear from them --
US House Rep Steve Stivers: You will
Glenn Powers: -- about some of the great activities that they have done in Ohio to recognize veterans. Uhm . . .
US House Rep Steve Stivers: And I would urge you to look at HR 2018, you know it essentially lays out a process that allows the families first to make the decisions and if you can't identify next-of-kin, it allows Veterans Service Organizations, military historians, other, uh, civically engaged folks that can find documentation to present to the VA to get a headstone. I understand that it's inappropriate to circumvent the families but I think that if you'd take a look at what we proposed in HR 2018 and Congressman Daines is the co-sponsor and we'd love to have you review -- whether that's the final review -- but we'd love to have you look at it for consideration.
Glenn Powers: And-and we have. And-and-and -- Uhm, I-I think -- and I would-I would-I would tell you right now that Mr. Murrow had the senior leaders quite recently engaged for a number of hours looking at, uh, uh,the proposal and-and-and the regulation. The bottom line is we need to do this right
US House Rep Steve Stivers: Yes.
Glenn Powers: The correct way. And-and-and-and it involves a significant rewrite of a number of regulations over time, we believe. We also believe it involves recrafting our forms that people request this benefit to make them more explainable about what we're asking. In the case of historical aaspect, the kind of documentation we would require and because of the-the aspects --
US House Rep Steve Stivers: I think that's great and we want to give you some time to do it but I'm going to continue to pursue HR 2018. I don't want to have to put it into the law but if it doesn't get fixed any other way, we will fix it.
For those who may be confused, it is currently a regulation. If Congress has to get involved, it will become a law. Like any Department in the federal government, the VA wants to keep the ability to write regulations. So they should get off their lazy butts and fix the problem.
Let's note the proposed bill:
HR 2018 IH
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2018
To amend title 38, United States Code, to identify the persons who
are eligible to request headstones or markers furnished by the Secretary
of Veterans Affairs, and or other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Mr. STIVERS (for himself, Mr. TIBERI, and Mrs. BEATTY) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’
Affairs
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to identify the persons who
are eligible to request headstones or markers furnished by the Secretary
of Veterans Affairs, and or other purposes.
May 16, 2013
Mr. STIVERS (for himself, Mr. TIBERI, and Mrs. BEATTY) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’
Affairs- Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
- This Act may be cited as the ‘Honor Those Who Served Act of 2013’.
SEC. 2. PERSONS ELIGIBLE TO REQUEST HEADSTONES OR MARKERS FURNISHED BY THE SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.
- (a) In General- Section 2306 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsections:
‘(h) A person may request a headstone or marker to commemorate a decedent under this section if the person is--(b) Effective Date- The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply with respect to a request for a headstone or marker submitted after the date of the enactment of this Act.
‘(1) the decedent’s next of kin;
‘(i) In the case of a request for a headstone or marker under this section for a decedent for whom insufficient information exists regarding the religious beliefs of the individual to select an appropriate emblem of belief for the headstone or marker of the decedent, the person requesting the headstone or marker may request a headstone or marker without an emblem of belief.’.
‘(2) a person authorized in writing by the decedent’s next of kin to make such request;
‘(3) a personal representative authorized in writing by the decedent to make such request;
‘(4) in the case of a decedent for whom no person described in paragraphs (1), (2), or (3) may be identified, a State veterans service agency, a military researcher, a local historian, or a genealogist or other person familiar with the research sources and methods necessary to prove the identity of the decedent; or
‘(5) in the case of a decedent who is a veteran who served on active duty in the Armed Forces at least 62 years before the date on which the headstone or marker is requested, any person.
GovTrack offers:
- Status
- This bill was assigned to a congressional committee on May 16, 2013, which will consider it before possibly sending it on to the House or Senate as a whole.
- Progress
Introduced May 16, 2013 Referred to Committee May 16, 2013 Reported by Committee ... Passed House ... Passed Senate ... Signed by the President ... - Prognosis
-
14% chance of getting past committee.
2% chance of being enacted.
Only 11% of bills made it past committee and only about 3% were enacted in 2011–2013. [show factors | methodology]
- Cosponsors
- 6 cosponsors (4R, 2D) (show)
- Committees
- House Veterans' Affairs
The committee chair determines whether a bill will move past the committee stage.
So let's recap. Under the current VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, a new regulation was created in 2009 which is harming the honoring of veterans who have passed away. In April of this year, the VA's Muro told Congress that the VA was in the midst of a comprehensive review. All these months later, Glenn Powers of the VA shows up and tells Congress that . . . the VA is in the midst of a comprehensive review.
Forget that this isn't a difficult issue to solve. Remember that Shinseki's VA is responsible for the screw up to begin with. That should mean you take ownership of it and you get off your ass and you fix it. Fix it doesn't take months. You come up with a regulation within a wee, you put it through legal, you get feedback within the department and you've got a regulation within 30 days.
There is no leadership at the VA.
Equally true, they have no response to the proposed bill. The bill was introduced in May.
There's no excuse for this nonsense.
But it's typical. It's what we complained about last Wednesday, how the VA is not following the rules, not providing timely feedback on laws, etc, etc.
There's no excuse for this and that's especially true when Shiseki implemented this regulation. If this effected one veteran, it would matter. The Subcomittee used the figure of 200,000 for the number of homeless veterans currently. That's a low number. That's a number for veterans who have no where but homeless shelters. There are many more homeless veterans who move couch to couch among friends. Were any of them to die under the current policy, they would also be at risk of no marker on their grave.
US House Rep Steve Daines: I am here today because of these very troubling stories that have come my way and come to my attention from the veterans in my home state of Montana. At the Yellowstone Community Veterans Cemetery in Laurel, Montana, just outside of Billings, just this year alone, there are 8 veterans who've been buried who have no markers. In each of these eight cases, all of the proper papers was presented but they were denied. The VA explained that with the exception of state or national cemeteries, all requests for a headstone must be signed by a veteran or the veterans' next-of-kin. Now we have groups, veterans groups, back home like Missing in America, The Patriot Guard Riders. They stand ready to honor these veterans and have done so in the past but because of this revised policy, I think Mr. Powers mentioned from 2009, they can no longer provide a headstone to honor the sacrifices of our veterans. I'm the son of a US Marine and I was taught very early on the importance of commitment and sacrifice -- but also the importance of honoring these veterans who served their country honorably and the lack of justice we see here upon their passing.
So there are 8 in one cemetery, just one, who would have markers right now if Eric Shinseki had stopped wasting time and taxpayer money and actually done something for veterans?
There were many other important issues raised in the hearing. To note only one, US House Rep Belo O'Roarke focused on the shoddy cemetery his district got, "Nobody wants to kneel on gravel when they're visiting a grave site at Fort Bliss. You got to Arlington which is just absolutely beautiful and lush by comparison. I don't know that we need to have Arlington in El Paso but we should have something that, uh, commemorates the level of sacrifice, the level of respect that's owed to those who gave so much to our country and to their families who also sacrificed as well."
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