NMFA Government and You E-News - December 12, 2006

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1. What's Important to You?


2. Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld to Step Down December 18


3. Congress Passes Critical Veterans Bill


4. DFAS Adds Enhancements to myPay Site


5. FDIC Address Pay Day Lending Alternatives for Military Families


6. DoD Updates Survivor Guide


7. Sesame Workshop Special Talks About When Parents are Deployed


8. Gift Giving for Overseas Troops


9. Walter Reed Stops Accepting "Any Wounded Soldier" Gifts


10. VA Announces Insurance Dividends


Topics in This Week's News Include:


1. What's Important to You?
Should DoD do more to support families of deployed service members? Is
helping military spouses in their careers a priority? How about making
it easier for you to get an appointment at your local military medical
facility? Should Congress provide bigger military pay raises or housing
allowances? As the year comes to a close, NMFA is preparing its list of
legislative and policy goals for 2007. We know we will be asked by
Members of Congress and others about the critical challenges facing
military families, about what's working for them, and about what is
important to them. Now's your chance to help us tell them what really
is important to military families. Complete our "What's Important?"
survey today! Go to: www.nmfa.org/whatsimportant


2. Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld to Step Down December 18:
On December 18, 2006, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld will leave
his office as the newly-confirmed Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
takes his place. With his departure, the Secretary leaves behind a six
year tenure that makes him the second longest running Secretary of
Defense in our nation's history. During his surprise visit to troops in
Iraq, Secretary Rumsfeld stated, "For the past six years, I have had
the opportunity and, I would say the privilege, to serve with the
greatest military on the face of the Earth. I leave understanding that
the true strength of the United States military is not in Washington,
it's not in the Pentagon, it's not in the weapons. It's in the hearts
of the men and women who serve... It has been the honor of my life to
serve with you, and I will never forget it; I will treasure it always."
(Source: http://www.defenselink.mil/news/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=2365)


3. Congress Passes Critical Veterans Bill:
Before its Friday adjournment, the 109th Congress reached agreement on
critical veterans' legislation. The $3.2 billion Veterans Benefits,
Health Care and Information Technology Act of 2006 (S. 3421) is an
collection of House and Senate initiatives that had been in limbo for
months while lawmakers tried to reach a compromise. The bill includes
an historic provision allowing veterans to hire an agent or attorney to
represent them after a notice of disagreement has been filed. The
attorney representation provision, opposed by some veterans' groups and
endorsed by others, allows-but does not require-veterans to be
represented by an attorney or some other agent when filing claims.
Under current law, an attorney cannot be paid for representation until
a claim has made its way through the entire administrative process, but
the provision's primary sponsor, Senator Larry Craig (R-ID), the Senate
Veterans' Affairs Committee chairman, argued claims today are so
complex today that veterans should not be precluded from getting
additional help.


The bill also includes an NMFA-supported provision to expand
eligibility for Dependents Education Assistance to the spouse or child
of a service member hospitalized or receiving outpatient care before
the service member's discharge for a total and permanent
service-connected disability. The provision's intent is to help enhance
the spouse's earning power as early as possible before discharge of the
service member.


The bill also: 


  • Provides increased support for service members returning from the
    war on terror through improved VA outreach and $65 million to increase
    the number of clinicians treating post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
    and improve their training. It authorizes the hiring of marriage and
    family therapists to expand counseling resources.

  • Expands
    tele-health initiatives to improve health care to rural veterans, and
    expands the number of community-based outpatient clinics able to treat
    mental illnesses. 

  • Authorizes spending for collaboration in PTSD diagnosis and treatment between VA and the Department of Defense (DoD). 

  • Authorizes increased access to bereavement counseling for surviving family members at Vet Centers.

  • Boosts
    VA health care construction by authorizing more than $600 million for
    repair or replacement of flood-damaged facilities in New Orleans and
    elsewhere on the Gulf Coast; $36.8 million for advance planning of a
    collaboration project between the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in
    Charleston, S.C., and the adjacent Medical University of South Carolina
    (MUSC); $98 million for the replacement of the VA medical center in
    Denver as well as 22 other major construction projects in 15 states.

  • Authorizes
    $2 million for additional blind rehabilitation specialists and
    increases the number of facilities where these specialists will be
    located.

  • Authorizes VA to designate six Parkinson's Disease
    Research, Education, and Clinical Centers of Excellence, and at least
    two Multiple Sclerosis Centers of Excellence, and strengthens VA's
    homeless grant and per diem programs.

  • Creates a VA office of rural health and improves outreach for rural veterans.

  • Provides
    for reimbursement by the VA to state veterans homes for the costs of
    care provided to veterans with a 70 percent or higher service-connected
    condition; further, veterans in these homes with service-connected
    conditions rated at least 50 percent would get their medications free
    of charge.

The May 3, 2006, theft of a VA employee's laptop computer put at
risk the personal data of 25.6 million veterans and 2.2 million active
duty members of the Guard and Reserves. This was the government's
largest information security breach, and the second largest in the
nation's history. Reinforcing VA Secretary R. James Nicholson's recent
decision to centralize management of information security, the bill
directs the VA to provide breach notification to individuals, reports
to Congress, fraud alerts, data breach analysis, credit monitoring
services and identity theft insurance. It also provides for an
Information Security Education Assistance program, an incentive to
allow the VA the ability to recruit personnel with the information
skills necessary to meet department requirements. (Source: http://veterans.house.gov/news/109/12-8-06.html)


4. DFAS Adds Enhancements to myPay Site: Several improvements have been made to the myPay website (https://mypay.dfas.mil/mypay.aspx).
A new feature has been added for service members participating in the
Savings Deposit Program (SDP). The SDP allows service members serving
in designated combat zones an opportunity to deposit a specific amount
of money in a high interest rate account. Previously, only deposits
could be made through myPay. Now, service members can request
withdrawals from the account through myPay. DFAS has also added a link
to the withdrawal form from the SDP statement.


Another improvement provides service members access to a
printer-friendly option. While all myPay customers can print their own
LES and W2s from the web whenever and wherever, the printer-friendly
option allows for higher quality print copies of all documents.


DFAS officials also emphasize they want to keep customers up-to-date
on new information and notifications related to their pay. A new myPay
feature asks customers to enter their current email address so DFAS can
send them pertinent information. Once on file, the system annually
certifies the address to make sure it is current. Officials also noted
that maintaining the safety and security of myPay is a top priority.
DFAS implements new security features on a routine basis to protect
customers against Identity theft and scams. The secure technology
provided to myPay customers meets or exceeds security requirements in
private industry worldwide. (Source: DFAS Press Release, 1206-0001)


5. FDIC Addresses Pay Day Lending Alternatives for Military
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) held a roundtable
entitled "Affordable, Responsible Loans for the Military: Programs and
Prototypes" on December 6 at FDIC headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.
The event was attended by member banks of the Association of Military
Banks, community bankers, members of the Defense Credit Union
Association, DoD and Service representatives who deal in financial and
banking issues, and FDIC regulators. NMFA Deputy Director of Government
Relations Kathy Moakler also attended. The event grew out of a
challenge by Sheila C. Bair, Chairman of the FDIC to reach out to
community groups to meet the needs of banking consumers. With the
recent changes in the 2007 National Defense Authorization Act requiring
that a creditor may not impose an annual percentage rate of interest
greater than 36 percent with respect to the consumer credit extended to
a military service member or dependent of a service member, both
government officials and many creditors see the need for providing
products with affordable, reasonable interest rates with no or low fees
as alternatives to loans offered by predatory lenders.


The conference began with opening remarks by Chairman Bair, followed
by a keynote from Representative Barney Frank (D-MA,4th), the incoming
chair of the House Financial Services Committee in the 110th Congress.
He stressed the under-utilization by Americans in the lower income
bands of the banking system on the whole. He thanked the participants
for setting a model for offering banking products for lower income
consumers.


The rest of the day featured panels addressing the various aspects
of providing affordable loans to service members and their families.
The first panel, featuring representatives from the Ft. Hood National
Bank, Armed Forces Bank, First National Bank located at Tinker AFB,
Bank of America Military Bank and Eisenhower National Bank, spoke to
existing programs that are offered to service members who find
themselves in financial straits. All featured low interest rates on
small dollar loans, but required service members to commit to
continuing education on financial consumer issues such as auto loans,
budgeting, powers of attorney and coping with unforeseen financial
situations. Each program also featured an asset building and credit
building component to help prevent the service member from falling into
the debt trap again. This discussion was a monumental event in that
most financial institutions do not ordinarily share their practices
with each other.


The next panel discussed how banks and credit unions outside the
military arena are developing programs that help their customers climb
up from the debt spiral. The final panel of the morning, consisting of
regulators from the FDIC discussed the newly issued draft guidelines on
small dollar loans that had been issued for comment to coincide with
this conference. In the proposed guidelines, the FDIC encourages banks
to offer products with affordable, reasonable interest rates with no or
low fees; payments that pay down the principal balance of the loan; and
a saving component incorporated into the loans. The FDIC also
encourages banks to leverage technology in managing these products. In
addition to a savings component, programs also should include financial
education for frequent borrowers. The panelists also discussed how the
FDIC would work with responsible lending institutions and DoD in the
development of regulations and guidelines in line with the requirements
of the recent change of the interest rate that can be charged to
service members and their families. For more information on the FDIC
guidelines on small dollar loans visit the FDIC web site at:   http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2006/pr06017.html and http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2006/pr06017a.html.


At lunch, the group was addressed by Kelvin Boston, the host of the
PBS series Moneywise and the moving force behind Moneywise in the
Military seminars, which are being presented at several military
installations in 2006 and 2007. The panels continued with an overview
of high-cost credit and its impact on military personnel. Members of
this panel included Marcus Beauregard, DoD State Liaison office;
Barbara Thompson, Director of the DoD Office of Family Policy and
Children and Youth and RADM Jan Cody Gaudio, USN (Ret), Executive Vice
President and COO, Navy Marine Corps Relief Society. They commented on
the DoD Report "Predatory Lending Practices aimed at Military Members"
and the effect not only on the financial well being of service members
but on readiness as well, especially in the area of security
clearances. While applauding the efforts of the previous panels, they
did point out that one of the reasons that service members do avail
themselves of the services of predatory lenders is that they can
receive the money they need quickly. This speed has not always been
readily available when dealing with conventional lending institutions.
They also reported that with continuing education to service members
about the pitfalls of predatory lenders, the use of these institutions
in on the decrease. DoD and the Services have partnered with 26
financial organizations and non profits, including the military banks,
defense credit unions, and NMFA to increase the counseling and
information available to service members and their families.


After listening to all the panels, the bankers broke up into small
groups to collaborate on developing a template for an affordable
alternative small loan product. Information on the panels and the
outcome can be found at: http://www.fdic.gov/news/conferences/index.html.
NMFA applauds the efforts of all these agencies coming together to
provide alternatives for service members and their families when they
confront financial difficulties, and for providing them with tools to
avoid those difficulties altogether. NMFA will continue to monitor the
progress of these initiatives and promote financial education for all
military families. Visit www.nmfa.org and click on the "Money and You" section for tools to help military families become more financially savvy.


6. DoD Updates Survivor Guide:  The
DoD publication "A Survivor's Guide to Benefits Taking Care of Our Own"
has recently been updated. This update features an enlarged list of
additional resources, the newest information concerning health benefits
for surviving children and the inclusion of the Coast Guard emblem to
reflect all the military services. DoD is fulfilling its promise to use
the guide as an up-to-the minute presentation of the benefits that are
available to the survivors of those who have made the greatest
sacrifice. The guide may be accessed through http://www.militaryhomefront.dod.mil/ under the Families section.


7. Sesame Workshop Special Talks About When Parents are Deployed:
Sesame Workshop expands its Military Families Initiative with a
primetime special, When Parents are Deployed, premiering December 27 at
9:00 pm ET/PT on PBS. The half hour special will be hosted by Academy
Award winning actor Cuba Gooding, Jr. With more than 700,000 children
of military families under the age of five separated from their mother
or father this holiday season Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit
educational organization behind Sesame Street, has responded with a
program geared to address the challenges military families face with
deployment.
Sesame Workshop recently launched a partnership with
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc, with additional support from The New York State
Office of Mental Health (NYSOMH), DoD, and other organizations to
create an educational outreach program titled, Talk, Listen, Connect:
Helping Families During Military Deployment. The program was created to
assist the children of the military cope with the enormous separation
anxiety they face when a parent is called to duty. Program kits are
available at http://www.militaryonesource.com/ or www.sesameworkshop.org/tlc .
When
Parents Are Deployed reveals candid and intimate moments with the
parents, caregivers, and children impacted by deployment. They express
how they are coping with the daily stress and fears associated with
having a parent depart for military duty, and how families deal with
that member when they return home after serving their country. As the
holidays can be a very difficult time for military families, Sesame
Workshop saw this special as way to illustrate how this group of
Americans is managing during times of extended separation.
When
Parents Are Deployed was made possible by the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting and portions of the special were contributed by Wal-Mart
as part of their support of Talk, Listen, Connect. NMFA applauds Sesame
Workshop and their partners for the meaningful difference they are
making in the lives of military children and their families.


8. Gift Giving For Overseas Troops:
During the holiday season our deployed service members are never far
from our thoughts. If you would like to share a holiday greeting or
send a goodie package to a loved one or "any soldier" overseas, here
are a few of the many places that could help:


  • Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES): Friends and family of
    military overseas can sent a gift certificate from the one-shop shops
    for military personnel worldwide that stock all sort of goods, from
    licorice sticks to digital cameras to "bug-out" bags. A "bug out" bag
    is a backpack that service members pack in anticipation of having to
    change locations at a moment's notice. Service members can buy anything
    they want with the gift certificate, but CDs and DVDs have been the
    most popular, say AAFES officials. Sold in denominations of $10 and
    $20, gift certificates can be redeemed at any AAFES PX (Postage
    Exchange) or BX (Base Exchange) throughout the world. AAFES currently
    operates 51 stores in the "SW Asian theater" or the countries involved
    in Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom (OEF/OIF), including 29 in
    Iraq, 10 in Kuwait, five in Afghanistan, four in Qatar/UAE/Djibouti,
    one in Pakistan, one  in Kyrgyzstan and one in Uzbekistan. http://www.aafes.com/index.html 

  • United
    Service Organizations (USO) Every donation of $25 covers the cost of
    delivering a package to members of the U.S. Armed Forces deployed
    around the world. Each package contains a pre-paid worldwide phone
    card, sunscreen, travel size toiletries, a disposable camera and more. http://www.usocares.org/src/uso_home.htm

  • Gifts
    From the Homefront: Anyone can send a gift certificate to a service
    member or an organization assisting families by making a donation to
    one of the organizations listed at the AAFES website: http://www.aafes.com/.
    Among the organizations currently on the list are the American Red
    Cross national headquarters, the Air Force Aid Society, The Fisher
    House and the USO. You can make a donation for a Gift of Groceries
    through some of the same organizations by going to: http://www.commissaries.com/certificheck/index.cfm.

  • America
    Supports You: America Supports You," a nationwide program launched by
    the Department of Defense, recognizes citizens' support for military
    men and women and communicates that support to members of the Armed
    Forces at home and abroad. All events and information is highlighted on
    the America Supports You website (http://www.americasupportsyou.mil/),
    which allows participants to register and be recognized, share their
    stories of support with the nation and the troops, and download program
    materials for distribution and dissemination. Americans can find
    support efforts in their state in which they might participate by
    clicking on the U.S. map on the site. Military members can also access
    the web and learn about America's support for their service.

9. Walter Reed Stops Accepting "Any Wounded Soldier" Gifts:
Officials at Walter Reed Army Medical Center have stopped accepting
anonymous holiday gifts and cards for wounded patients there, citing
administrative costs and security concerns. All packages and cards
delivered to "any wounded soldier" at the medical campus will be
returned to their senders with a note explaining the program change and
suggesting other charities. The change was enacted in the past week.
Packages sent to specific patients won't be affected. Officials have
expressed appreciation for the donations, but state staff simply cannot
handle the distribution and monitoring of the packages. Last December,
the hospital received more than 500,000 holiday packages and cards.
Officials believe donors will understand the security and logistical
reasons behind the decision, and hope it will not affect their
generosity. Program administrators are speaking with local charities
about receiving some holiday donations for the wounded patients, but no
decisions have been made.


The center's medical family assistance center will still distribute
some donations both with patients in Washington and at Landstuhl
Regional Medical Center in Germany. Meanwhile, officials have offered a
list of websites of other charities where donors can send their gifts



Walter Reed has treated more than 5,400 patients from Iraq and
Afghanistan over the last five years, approximately 1,700 of whom have
been battle casualties. (Source: http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=42082)


10. VA Announces Insurance Dividends:
More than one million veterans are in line to share $369 million in
annual insurance dividends during 2007, according to the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA). VA operates one of the nation's largest life
insurance programs, providing more than $1 trillion in coverage to 4.5
million service members, veterans, spouses and children. The dividend
payments will be sent to an estimated 1.2 million holders of VA
insurance policies on the anniversary date of their policies. Sent
automatically through different payment plans, the amounts will vary
based on the age of the veteran, the type of insurance, and the length
of time the policy has been in force.


The dividends come from the earnings of a trust fund into which
veterans have paid insurance premiums over the years, and are linked to
returns on investments in U.S. government securities. Dividends are
paid each year to veterans holding certain government life insurance
policies and who served between 1917 and 1956.  World War II veterans
holding National Service Life Insurance ("V") policies comprise the
largest group receiving 2007 insurance dividend payments. They are
expected to receive total payments of $286.3 million. An additional
group of World War II era veterans, those who have Veterans Reopened
Insurance ("J", "JR" and "JS") policies, will in total receive
dividends of $10.1 million. Korean War era veterans who have maintained
Veterans Special Life Insurance ("RS" and "W") policies can expect to
receive dividends totaling $71.6 million. Dividends totaling $1 million
will be paid to veterans who served between World War I and 1940 and
who hold U.S. Government Life Insurance ("K") policies.


VA officials caution veterans about a long-running scam in which
various groups charge fees to "locate" veterans who are eligible for
the dividends. Veterans eligible for the dividends have had VA life
insurance policies in effect since they left the military and have
received annual notifications from VA about the policies. 


Veterans who have questions about their policies may contact the VA
insurance toll-free number at 1-800-669-8477 or send an e-mail to VAinsurance@va.gov.  They may also visit the Internet at http://www.insurance.va.gov/.


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