Daily News Summary 12/17

Here are some of today's top stories and happenings at IAVA.

Top Stories

• U.S. 10-Year Treasury Yield Falls [1] Below 2.15% for First Time.
• Gov. David Paterson unveils dire New York State budget [2] that includes new taxes, layoffs and cuts.

Iraq

• Britain: Iraq pullout [3] is 'met with relief'
• Bush on Iraq, then and now [4].
• GE unit inks power deal worth nearly $3B with Iraq. [5]

Afghanistan

• Marine Unit Leading Afghan Troop Boost [6].

Other Military News

• Wal-Mart donates $500K to military charities. [7]
• The City Bolsters Its Effort to Shelter Homeless Veterans. [8]
• Army rolls out revised training doctrine. [9]

Washington

• Obama to Pick Tom Vilsack To Lead USDA [10].
• Obama’s $10 Billion Promise Stirs Hope in Early Education. [11]

Opinion/Op-ed

• The moral of Madoff's tale [12].
• The Matter of Caroline's Qualifications.  [13]

DC Update
 
THE SENATE

The Senate convenes for a pro forma session:
 
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

PRESS RELEASES of INTEREST: SENATE

VA agrees to fix flawed procedures which led to wrongful denial of benefits for thousands of veterans' widows: Chairman Akaka asks VA to pay survivors the money owed them akaka.senate.gov [14]
 
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.

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)

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 22, 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. 1:00 P.M.; Cannon 340 (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)

FUTURE GAO ENTRANCE and EXIT CONFERENCES

December 19, 2008 GAO Exit Conference on Fully Interoperable Electronic Health Care Info for VA & DoD (GAO code 310928) 9:00 a.m.; Room 844, VACO 810 Vermont Ave., NW