Blog post

• Proposed VA Funding Changes Could Face Resistance
• Hedge fund body wants help for Madoff victims.
• Federal Reserve may cut interest rates to 0% soon
• Emanuel, Blagojevich Aides Discussed Senate Seat
• States’ Funds for Jobless Are Drying Up
  

Iraq

• Bush signs security deal in Iraq
• Shoe-Throwing Mars Bush's Baghdad Trip
• Beyond Iraq: A New U.S. Strategy for the Middle East.
  

Afghanistan

• Graham in Quickie Afghan Tour
  

World

• Hamas, Showing Split, Hints It May Extend Truce.
• Rice loads up foreign agenda - Seeks U.N. help with final efforts.
• In Visits, British Prime Minister Tries to Defuse Tensions of India and Pakistan
  
  

Other Military News

• VA Glitches Rob Vet Widows of Benefits.
• Veterans in need return to a nation in the red - Mental health, job services could shrink as demand grows
  

Op-Ed/Opinion

• A new report warns Obama about our aging nuclear weapons.
• Their Own Obama
• We are fighting the same terrorist disease.
  

IAVA in the News

Media Outlet: Beernews.org
Title: Holiday beer pays tribute to American Veterans
Topic: $1 off of every bottle of Home for the Holidays to Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
Date: Saturday, December 13
IAVA mentioned – Yay!

DC

THE SENATE

The Senate will convene for a pro forma session:

11:00 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2008

10:00 a.m. Friday, Dec. 19, 2008

11:00 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2008

11:00 a.m. Friday, Dec. 26, 2008

10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2008

10:00 a.m. Friday, Jan. 2 , 2009

NOMINATIONS and APPOINTMENTS of INTEREST

January 14, 2009 SVAC has scheduled a confirmation hearing on the nomination of Eric Shinseki to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 10:00 A.M.; Russell 418 (TBD)

SPEECHES, REMARKS and COMMUNICATIONS of INTEREST

Gulf War Illness Research Funding Rockefeller-WV <http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query>

Sen. Salazar Urges VA to End Mental Health Care Hiring Delays salazar.senate.gov <http://salazar.senate.gov/news/releases/081211vahiring.htm> – letter to Secretary Peake <http://salazar.senate.gov/images/pdf/081211secpeakeltr.pdf>

FUTURE COMMITTEE HEARINGS & MARKUPS of INTEREST

January 14, 2009 SVAC has scheduled a confirmation hearing on the nomination of Eric Shinseki to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 10:00 A.M.; Russell 418 (TBD)

FUTURE BRIEFINGS and VISITS of INTEREST

December 15-16, 2008 Ryan Pettit, Legislative Assistant, SVAC, will be traveling to New Orleans to attend the Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans conference.

December 18, 2008 Brad Mayes, Director, Compensation and Pension Service, Tom Pamperin, Deputy Director for Policy, Compensation and Pension Service, and Tom Kniffen, Chief, Legislative Staff, Compensation and Pension Service, will brief the Four Corners on their preliminary approach to developing a report to the Congress, mandated by P.L. 110-389, on policy options for compensation and transition benefits for service-disabled veterans. 10:00 A.M.; Russell 418 (Smith)

EXTERNAL MEMBER PRESS: SENATE|X|

Veterans Affairs Slammed for Recovering Benefits From Widows [Akaka-HI] cq.com <http://www.cq.com/document/display.do?matchId=69214019>

THE HOUSE of REPRESENTATIVES

The House is in recess, subject to the call of the chair. Currently, the House is scheduled to reconvene at 11:00 a.m. Jan. 3, 2009.

FUTURE COMMITTEE HEARINGS of INTEREST

February 4, 2009 (tentative). HVAC will hold a hearing for the Secretary to present his agenda for the upcoming fiscal year. 10:00 A.M.; Cannon 334 (TBD)

FUTURE BRIEFINGS and VISITS of INTEREST

December 17, 2008 Richard Hartman, Director, Policy Analysis and Forecasting and Patricia Gheen, Deputy Chief Business Officer, Purchased Care will brief the HVAC committee staff and staff for members of the committee on recent developments and challenges related to rural health and the impact project hero has had on addressing this issue. 9::00 a.m.; location TBD (Vasquez/McGinley)

January 7, 2009 Stefanie Mardon, Deputy Chief Business Officer, VHA, and Susan Reed, Consolidated Patient Account Center (CPAC) Program Manager, VHA, will brief HVAC Ranking Member Steve Buyer (IN-4), and Art Wu, Minority Staff Director, HVAC Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, on the CPAC roll out plans. 1:00 A.M.; Rayburn 2230 (Vasquez)

JOINT COMMITTEE BRIEFINGS & VISITS of INTEREST

December 15, 2008 VHA will offer a briefing to the Eight Corners to present the fundamentals of VHA’s actuarial modeling. A similar briefing was given on October 27 to SVAC Minority, HVAC Health Minority, and Senate Appropriations Military Construction-VA Subcommittee Minority staffs. VHA’s briefers will be Pat Vandenberg, Assistant Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Policy and Planning, and Duane Fleming, Director, Enrollment & Forecasting. 3:30 p.m.; Cannon 334 (Ballenger)

WHITE HOUSE TRANSITION

Gen. Shinseki's Silence washingtonpost.com <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/14/AR2008121401812.html>