1.      Yarmuth hosts black veterans, hears concerns.  Louisville Courier-Journal “I have no inside information on which way they (the federal Department of Veterans Affairs) is leaning,” Yarmuth said. Among those attending was Harlon Williams, commander of the VFW Post 2822 who served 21 years in the Army, including tours in Korea

2.      Veterans News.  California Department of Veterans Affairs. Veterans News ... Service Officers ( CVSOs) and local veteran service organizations to help ensure veterans receive all the benefits entitled to them, however, due to the state's current fiscal

3.      Bill would fight homelessness among veterans.  Arctic Sounder The Helping Our Homeless Veterans Act would authorize and encourage the VA to partner with eligible state and local governments, tribes and community-based service providers to ensure homeless veterans have access to HUD-VASH housing vouchers and case

4.      Drivers needed.  Spencer Daily Reporter Clay County Veterans Affairs Director Joan Waller oversees the program for Palo Alto, Clay, O'Brien and Sioux counties. "Any veteran can ride the van," she said. "If they need a care provider, a care provider can ride with them.

5.      Privatizing state prisons in Central Louisiana will save millions, governor says.  Alexandria Town Talk  Also taking part in the medal ceremony were state Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Lane Carson and Maj. Gen. Bennett C. Landreneau, adjutant general of the Louisiana National Guard. Jindal highlighted the heroics of some of the medal recipients

6.      Veterans Affairs planning new medical care offices.  Birmingham Business Journal The US Department of Veterans Affairs is looking to add a local patient care medical office to handle an increasing patient load, and it may mean new construction on Birmingham's horizon. The Department of Veterans Affairs is looking for more than

7.      Veteran's Affairs - News Radio 970 KBUL.  The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has approved construction to double the ... Local News, State News Tags: jon tester, VA Clinic, Veteran's Affairs

8.      Ontario Hydro sprayed Agent Orange.  Toronto Star Four years ago, Newton was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, one of more than 50 medical conditions associated with exposure to Agent Orange by the US Department of Veteran Affairs. George Hambley, 62, spent three summers spraying near Kirkland Lake

9.      Report details Agent Orange use at Fort Detrick - The Frederick News-Post Online. http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?storyid=117158

10. Walk in Belgium honors WW II U.S. paratroops.  For nearly three decades, Americans, Belgians and residents of other nearby lands have met in the Ardennes each February to symbolically march in the footsteps of the 82nd Airborne Division paratroops who fought and died there in World War II.

11. Letter from the American Legion to Congressional Leaders Regarding the Defense of Marriage Act (PDF).  Congressional Correspondence.  Directed to Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.; Rep. John A. Boehner, R-Ohio; Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

12. House Speaker Boehner: Common-Sense House Proposal Will Keep the Government Running, Cut Spending. (PDF).  Rep. John A. Boehner, R-Ohio Press Release,  Subjects: Appropriations CQ Hot Docs, 112th Congress (2/25/2011; Posted: 2/25/2011)

13. Sen. Reid Spokesman's Statement Regarding Short-Term Continuing Resolution. (PDF) Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev. Press Release. CQ Hot Docs, 112th Congress (2/25/2011; Posted: 2/25/2011)

14. Rep. Conyers Hosts Capitol Hill Forum on the Possible Impacts of HR 1 on Job Creation, Public Safety and the Justice System.  Final CQ Newsmaker Transcripts

15. Review calls for fewer Marines but greater capabilities. The Marine Corps is planning a reset, a top general said Wednesday, shrinking in size but expanding its ability to function as the tip of the spear in conflict or crises around the globe.

16. Legion Commander: VA Reacted Properly To Contamination Concerns In St. Louis.Infection Control Today (2/24), "The Department of Veterans Affairs acted swiftly and correctly to temporarily suspend surgeries earlier this month at the John Cochran VA Medical Center in St. Louis after stains and water spots were noticed on some medical trays and one surgical instrument, American Legion National Commander Jimmie Foster asserts." The "American Legion's System Worth Saving (SWS) Task Force" has "closely scrutinized VA performance on medical equipment sterilization procedures since a 2009 VA Inspector General's Office report revealed the potential for contamination due to the cleaning procedures of reusable endoscopy and colonoscopy instruments."

17. More Than Half Federal Workforce Would Not Be Subject To Shutdown.AP "Fewer than half of the 2.1 million federal workers subject to a shutdown would be forced off the job" if one begins in early March. Under a "precedent-setting memorandum by Reagan budget chief David Stockman, federal workers are exempted from furloughs if their jobs are national security-related or if they perform essential activities that 'protect life and property.' In 1995, that meant 571,000 Defense Department civilian employees, some 69 percent, remained at post, while 258,000 other Pentagon workers were furloughed," and 85% of "Veterans Administration employees went to work," as "did 70 percent of Transportation Department workers."

18. Large Portions Of VA, DOD Expected To Continue Operating If Shutdown Occurs. Navy Times "Large portions of the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments are expected to continue operating under a government shutdown that could begin March 5." However, "processing of new veterans' benefit claims could be delayed and some initial benefits payments for new veterans could be reduced if the shutdown continues for more than a few weeks. And the union representing commissary employees fears commissaries also would be forced to close temporarily."  Troops on active duty overseas and at home won't stand down if the federal budget impasse boils over into an actual shutdown of the government but, according to the Defense Department, other military operations deemed inessential to national security, or to the safety of life and property, might cease while politicians battle. Likewise, veterans won't lose essential medical services, but other" VA functions, "such as benefits processing," could "stop until Democrats and Republicans can agree on how deeply to cut President Obama's 2011 federal budget proposal." Officials with the DOD "did not respond to questions about which activities are nonessential in a shutdown," while VA officials "referred to the White House statement on agency plans for maintaining essential services." 

19. Baker Expecting IT Staff To Continue Assists Vets During Shutdown.  NextGov If the "government shuts down next month," VA Chief Information Officer Roger Baker "expects that most of the department's information technology staff will be declared essential personnel to support operations in VA hospitals. In a call with reporters Thursday, Baker said he expects the IT staff to continue doing what they always do -- help provide health care to veterans. In Washington, where everyone seems to be spun-up over the possibility of a shutdown, Baker stands out as one of the few people who says he does not anticipate one." 

20. Baker Pleased With January Data Breach Report. FierceGovernmentIT "Veterans Affairs Department Chief Information Officer Roger Baker spoke with reporters Feb. 24 about the department's monthly data breach report" to Congress, which in this case "covers data incidents from Jan. 3 to Jan. 30. On the call Baker described it as 'the most boring privacy report to date'-that's similar to a comment he made during last month's data breach report as well and a trend he said he hopes will continue. Although, he said there have been some incidents in February that will likely make next month's report a bit more interesting." 

21. Committee Approves Shellito For Minnesota VA Commissioner.AP  "It took less than 10 minutes for Larry Shellito to win the backing of a Minnesota Senate committee, which recommended" on Wednesday that "he be confirmed as state Veterans Affairs commissioner." The "full Senate usually follows committee recommendations."  

22. Military Groups Divided Over Bump In Tricare Fees. Stars And Stripes Lawmakers seeking guidance on whether to support the new Defense Department plan to raise TRICARE Prime enrollment fees modestly for working-age retirees are getting "mixed signals" from different military associations. For example, Joyce Wessel Raezer, national director of the National Military Family Association, has called the rate hikes "amazingly reasonable," and expressed her belief that "accepting these 'surprisingly small' increases now ... is better than waiting until lawmakers come 'looking for a peace dividend.'" However, retired Army Major Gen. William M. Matz, Jr., president of the National Association for Uniformed Services, worried the increase was only the first of many to come. 

23. VA Providing Assistance To Homeless Vets. WalletPop The US VA "has a toll-free National Call Center for Homeless Veterans (877-424-3838), with trained counselors staffing the phone lines 24 hours a day, 7 days a week." The website also points out that following a 2009 pledge by VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to "end homelessness among veterans within five years," VA "spent about $3.5 billion on homeless programs in 2010 and has asked for $4.2 billion for 2011." 

24. VA Psychologist Train Law Enforcement Officers In Crisis Intervention.Murfreesboro (TN) Post  Dr. Thomas M. Kirchberg, chief psychologist at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Memphis, "was one of several instructors who trained 26 law enforcement officers from Rutherford County Sheriff's office, Murfreesboro, Smyrna and La Vergne Police departments, the Rutherford County Correctional Work Center and agencies from Putnam and Anderson Counties in a 40-hour" Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) class.  

25. VA, DOD Preparing Joint EHR Recommendation.Federal Computer Week "The Veterans Affairs and Defense departments are preparing to make a recommendation by late March on a joint strategy for managing their electronic health records, a senior VA official said" on Thursday. FCW adds, "The joint strategy has been in development for several months and has considered several options, including possibly creating a single joint digital record system or maintaining some separate elements with common data standards, applications or interfaces, among other choices, Roger Baker, assistant secretary for information and technology at the VA, said" during a "conference call with reporters."  

26. Vet Raising Money For Wounded Warriors Warmly Welcomed In Texas. The KBTV-TV Beaumont, TX (2/24, Juan) website noted that 31-year-old Iraq veteran Troy Yokum, who is "walking across America to raise money for military families and wounded warriors," arrived in Southeast Texas on Thursday, where he was "greeted with a hero's welcome at the Ben J. Rogers Regional Visitors Center." Yokum "started his trek last April, and he hopes to raise at least $5 million by the end of his mission." 

27. Agent Orange May Have Been Used More At Fort Detrick Than Previously Reported.AP  Randal Curtis, an Army Corps of Engineers official, "says the military may have used more Agent Orange chemicals decades ago at Fort Detrick than previously reported." On Wednesday, Curtis "said...his office has been searching government documents that indicate 20 to 30 pounds of the defoliating compounds may have been sprayed on test plots at the Army installation in Frederick from 1944 to 1968." After noting that the Army, which "recently pegged the amount at 17 pounds based on a preliminary search," is "trying to counter claims by an activist group that its carelessness with chemicals caused a cancer cluster among neighboring residents," "Public health officials haven't found higher rates of cancer near Fort Detrick than in the rest of Frederick County."

28. Woman By Woman, The VA Is Changing Its Culture. Salt Lake Tribune

29. Coalition Sees Good Signs. Lafayette (LA) Daily Advertiser

30. Vet's Life Changed In An Instant. KNSD-TV

31. Spirit Of Giving: Volunteers Build Home For Soldier. Fort Gordon (GA) Signal

32. W&M Law School Reaches Out To Homeless Vets. Virginia Gazette