From: Wayne Gatewood, Jr 
Subject: Veterans News for Thurday, June 21, 2012

31.VA / VSO-MSO Hearings as June 21, 2012:

            June 21, 2012.  HVAC, Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity will hold a hearing on pending legislation.  10:00 A.M.; 334 Cannon

            June 27, 2012.  SVAC will conduct a legislative hearing.  The agenda is comprised mainly of bills regarding health care, disability compensation, and NCA matters.  10:00 A.M.; 418 Russell

1. Today in History:

• 1621 – Execution of 27 Czech noblemen on the Old Town Square in Prague as a consequence of the Battle of White Mountain.
• 1734 – In Montreal in New France, a slave known by the French name of Marie-Joseph Angélique is put to death, having been convicted of setting the fire that destroyed much of the city.
• 1788 – New Hampshire ratifies the Constitution of the United States and is admitted as the 9th state in the United States.
• 1791 – King Louis XVI of France and his immediate family begin the Flight to Varennes during the French Revolution.
• 1798 – Irish Rebellion of 1798: The British Army defeats Irish rebels at the Battle of Vinegar Hill.
• 1813 – Peninsular War: Battle of Vitoria.
• 1824 – Greek War of Independence: Egyptian forces capture Psara in the Aegean Sea.
• 1826 – Maniots defeat Egyptians under Ibrahim Pasha in the Battle of Vergas.
• 1854 – The first Victoria Cross is awarded during the bombardment of Bomarsund in the Åland Islands.
• 1861 – American Civil War: The Battle of Jerusalem Plank Road begins.
• 1864 – New Zealand Land Wars: The Tauranga Campaign ends.
• 1877 – The Molly Maguires, ten Irish immigrants convicted of murder, are hanged at the Schuylkill County and Carbon County, Pennsylvania prisons.
• 1898 – The United States captures Guam from Spain.
• 1900 – Boxer Rebellion. China formally declared war on the United States, Britain, Germany, France and Japan, as an edict issued from the Dowager Empress Cixi.
• 1915 – The U.S. Supreme Court hands down its decision in Guinn v. United States 238 US 347 1915, striking down an Oklahoma law denying the right to vote to some citizens.
• 1919 – The Royal Canadian Mounted Police fire a volley into a crowd of unemployed war veterans, killing two, during the Winnipeg General Strike.
• 1919 – Admiral Ludwig von Reuter scuttles the German fleet in Scapa Flow, Orkney. The nine sailors killed are the last casualties of World War I.
• 1929 – An agreement brokered by U.S. Ambassador Dwight Whitney Morrow ends the Cristero War in Mexico.
• 1930 – One-year conscription comes into force in France.
• 1940 – France signs an armistice with Germany at Compiègne.
• 1942 – World War II: Tobruk falls to Italian and German forces.
• 1942 – World War II: A Japanese submarine surfaces near the Columbia River in Oregon, firing 17 shells at nearby Fort Stevens in one of only a handful of attacks by the Japanese against the United States mainland.
• 1948 – Columbia Records introduces the long-playing record album in a public demonstration at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, New York.
• 1957 – Ellen Fairclough is sworn in as Canada's first woman Cabinet Minister.
• 1963 – Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini is elected as Pope Paul VI.
• 1964 – Three civil rights workers, Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Mickey Schwerner, are murdered in Neshoba County, Mississippi, United States, by members of the Ku Klux Klan.
• 1970 – Penn Central declares Section 77 bankruptcy, largest ever US corporate bankruptcy up to this date.
• 1973 – In handing down the decision in Miller v. California 413 US 15, the Supreme Court of the United States establishes the Miller Test for obscenity in U.S. law.
• 1982 – John Hinckley is found not guilty by reason of insanity for the attempted assassination of U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
• 2001 – A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, indicts 13 Saudis and a Lebanese in the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 American servicemen.
• 2004 – SpaceShipOne becomes the first privately funded spaceplane to achieve spaceflight.
• 2009 – Greenland assumes self-rule.

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From: Sobota, Joseph F. [Joseph.Sobota@sba.gov]
Sent:  Thursday, June 21, 2012 12:33 PM

Subj: New Research Opportunities at SBA's Office of Advocacy (See Attached)

Greetings Veterans advocates and roundtable attendees.  I know that many of you have asked about Advocacy’s upcoming research opportunities, and I am pleased to share with you links to the latest round of solicitations just posted on FedBizOpps.   The attached listing includes links to the FBO sites with full descriptions and statements of work on each project.  Please note that the first solicitation on the list (SBAHQ-12-Q-0038 Research Veteran Businesses) is reserved for competition among firms owned by service-disabled veterans only.   Veteran-owned firms are of course encouraged to respond to any of the seven projects listed. 

As you can see, these opportunities range over a variety of topics, and there is considerable flexibility in each for those interested to design creative proposals.  We have had many great proposals from veteran-owned firms in the past, and I know that many of you use the research products that resulted, including a growing body of research on veteran entrepreneurship.  Some years, we get multiple proposals on a single topic that we would like to fund, but are only able to award one contract because of resource limitations.  So I would encourage those who have responded before, but were not awarded a contract, to try again.  The competitions change every year.  All of the current solicitations are set-aside for competition among small businesses only.

Because of procurement rules, Advocacy will not be able to answer questions directly on these solicitations.  Such inquiries can be directed to the contracting officer in Denver, whose contact information is included in each solicitation, as are all other procedures and requirements.  The deadline for submission of proposals is July 18^th at 2:00 p.m. Mountain time.

I know that some of you have great networks of your own, so please feel free to share this email with all interested parties.  The more folks who know about these opportunities, the better our competitions will be and the research projects that result.

Best wishes to everyone!  -  Joe

  Joseph F. Sobota |  Assistant Chief Counsel  | SBA Office of Advocacy 

------------------------------

From: Mitchell, Amy [Amy.Mitchell@mail.house.gov]
Sent:   Thursday, June 21, 2012 6:08 PM
E: June 21, 2012                           CONTACT: Amy Mitchell (202) 225-3527

 Agreement Reached on Comprehensive Legislation for Veterans

WASHINGTON, D.C.undefinedToday, Rep. Jeff Miller, Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, issued the following statement on an amendment to H.R. 1627, which reflects an agreement reached in conference by the Republican and Democratic leadership of the Veterans’ Affairs Committees in the House and Senate:

“This comprehensive legislation represents more than a year’s worth of work by the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees on behalf of America’s veterans. The Committees have worked in unison for months to come to agreement on a package that will improve benefits and services to veterans and their families.

“This bill includes nearly 50 provisions, which combines House-passed legislation and Senate Committee-reported bills. Today, we move forward to improve healthcare, housing, education, homelessness, memorial affairs, and compensation for veterans and certain dependents. This legislation also protects veterans from predatory behaviors and requires increased accountability and transparency within VA.

“We have achieved this legislative accomplishment in a fiscally responsible manner and the bill will not cost the taxpayer an extra dime. We have received a great deal of input from Veterans Service Organizations and advocates from across the country to address the most pressing concerns our veterans face today. Their participation has been key to moving this legislation forward.

“I would like to thank my colleagues, Chairman Murray and Ranking Member Burr in the Senate, and Ranking Member Filner in the House, for their continued support and dedication to ensure the benefits earned by veterans are preserved and remain one of our nation’s top priorities.”

For more news from the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, please visit: Veterans.House.Gov

Find us on Facebook at: Facebook.com/HouseVetsAffairs or follow us on Twitter at:

@HouseVetAffairs