Slide: 25ID Huey Inbound Vietnam                                  photo by D. Nau                                           

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Help Us Help Service-Connected Families: Support MOAA’s Crisis Relief Program

JANUARY 2025

. (Photo by Apu Gomes/Getty Images)

By MOAA Staff

Many residents of Southern California -- including tens of thousands of servicemembers, veterans, and service-connected families -- will face incredible challenges in the coming weeks, months, and years as they rebuild from the ongoing wildfires.

MOAA's Crisis Relief Program offers emergency financial assistance for service-connected households. Currently serving personnel and their spouses, veterans, surviving spouses, and military and veteran caregivers can apply for this aid, which is open to all ranks and branches of uniformed service. Aid can be used to cover housing and automobile costs, utilities, and other bills connected to financial emergencies.

[DONATE TODAY | APPLY FOR AID TODAY]

"Uniformed servicemembers, veterans, and their families work hard everyday to protect our great nation, and we here at MOAA are dedicated to working hard to protect them," MOAA President and CEO Lt. Gen. Brian T. Kelly, USAF (Ret), said in a recent video supporting the Crisis Relief Program.

VIDEO

Last year, The MOAA Foundation experienced record-setting grant disbursements totaling nearly $500,000, with more than half of the grants supporting hurricane relief. We hope to continue to provide relief efforts for those in California but can't do so without continued support from MOAA members and other donors.

[RELATED: MOAA Charities 2024 Impact Report]

Don't wait: Click here to donate to the Crisis Relief Program today. Learn more about the fund at the MOAA Charities website.

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VA Accelerates Toxic Exposure Claims, Urges Veterans to Apply Now

An airman tosses unserviceable uniform items into a burn pit in Balad, Iraq, March 10, 2008. (Senior Airman Julianne Showalter/U.S. Air Force photo)

Military.com | By Patricia Kime

Veterans who qualify for disability compensation under the recently signed landmark toxic exposures act should begin filing claims, Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough said Wednesday.

Speaking at the American Legion's national convention in Milwaukee, McDonough announced that the department has retroactively designated all health conditions listed in the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics, or PACT, Act as presumed to be related to military service effective Aug. 10 -- the date the bill was signed.

The law had called for phasing in conditions for many of the eligible veterans over the next several years. Instead, the VA will start processing claims for all beginning on Jan. 1, the "earliest possible date" the department can address them, McDonough said.

Read Next: Military Families Sue Over Red Hill Water Crisis Claiming Navy Negligence

"Veterans have waited too long for this care and these benefits already, and we're not going to make them wait any longer," McDonough said.

The law added 23 conditions to a list of presumptive illnesses considered related to burn pits, including certain types of cancer and respiratory illnesses, but they were to be phased in over the next three years, with those who are terminally ill, elderly or survivors having priority and eligible to file immediately.

The law also added high blood pressure to the list of illnesses presumed related to Agent Orange, a provision that could affect up to 500,000 Vietnam veterans. Most Vietnam veterans, except for those who are terminally ill; facing financial hardship or homelessness; or were 85 and older, weren't eligible to file a claim until October 2026, according to the law.

However, the PACT Act gave the VA the authority to move more quickly, and McDonough said the department wants every veteran to "get the care they need and their benefits they've earned."

"We're processing claims faster than we ever have before," he said.

More than 623,000 total claims were pending at the VA as of Aug. 27, with 154,000 categorized as "backlogged," or older than 125 days. That figure is down from more than 264,000 late last year.

To deal with the backlog and expected influx of new claims, the VA has hired thousands of new processors and automated its processing system to handle filings for commonly seen illnesses in veterans, such as hypertension, asthma, sleep apnea and prostate cancer.

McDonough said that, in many cases, the system reduces the processing time frame from months to days.

The PACT Act provides $278 billion over the next 10 years to expand VA health care and disability benefits for veterans exposed to a variety of toxins during military service, including burn pits, radiation, herbicides and chemicals.

More than 1 million veterans may be eligible under the legislation, and many have started claims already, according to McDonough. On Aug. 11 -- the day after President Joe Biden signed the new law -- the VA received the highest number of filings ever in a single day through the department's online disability claims filing system, McDonough said.

"No veteran is going to have to fight to get the quality care and benefits they've earned, no matter who they are or where they are," McDonough said.

To learn more or file a claim, veterans can visit the department's online page regarding PACT information or call 1-800-MyVA411 (800-698-2411).

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime.

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Arlington Cemetery Update: Bill Would Fix Unjust Changes, But It Needs Support

By: Mark Belinsky

MAY 25, 2022

A view from above of Section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery. (Photo by Elizabeth Fraser/Arlington National Cemetery)

A long-term legislative solution will preserve burial with full military honors for countless elderly and women veterans who could lose that earned benefit – but only if MOAA members and others encourage their lawmakers to act.

[TAKE ACTION: Ask Your Lawmakers to Co-Sponsor the Expanding America’s National Cemetery Act]

The Expanding America’s National Cemetery Act of 2022 has yet to be introduced in either chamber.  A draft version of the law doesn’t specifically address the planned reduction of eligibility at Arlington National Cemetery (ANC), but it takes significant steps toward a long-term solution. The bill would:

• Authorize the transformation of a VA-run national cemetery “to continue provision of full military honors” prior to Arlington reaching capacity. This would remove the space restrictions at Arlington which led to the ill-conceived eligibility changes now working their way through the federal rulemaking process.
   
• Ensure all eligibility criteria used for full military honors at the proposed cemetery are the same as those in effect for ANC as of March 31, 2022. This would make Congress’ intent clear regarding eligibility changes beyond that date, increasing the likelihood of the current process staying in place.
   
• Require a joint DoD/VA report covering both cemetery expansion and any new eligibility criteria, paying special attention to women veterans and to those whose military careers did not include service in combat. This further clarifies Congress’ intent to better account for these groups in the eligibility process.

[RELATED: Public Memorial Day Events Return to VA National Cemeteries]

Original co-sponsors of this legislation will be key to its success, either as a standalone bill or included in the FY 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). That’s why MOAA is asking its members to reach out now, even before the bill is introduced, to rally support behind this critical measure at this critical time.

Why It Matters

Despite its Southern Expansion, and despite eligibility restrictions designed to extend the life of the cemetery, ANC eventually will run out of room. Changing the rules is a cost-cutting measure – one that comes on the backs of military retirees and others whose final plans included burial at a national cemetery. It’s also shortsighted – a long-term solution involving the transformation of an existing VA national cemetery is cost-sensitive and establishes efficiencies by relying on existing VA expertise.

And it’s discriminatory: As the Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN) put it in a February letter to congressional leadership, “Suddenly, most living veterans eligible for burial at ANC, many of whom served in critical operations at sea or in the air and all but a few women – who were barred by law from service in combat occupations and units until recently – will be denied internment at ANC despite their dedication, gallant, and often dangerous service to their Country.”

[READ THE SWAN LETTER]

What’s Next

The House and Senate Armed Services Committees will begin marking up the NDAA in the coming weeks. The House Armed Services Committee included report language in last year’s NDAA for a joint DoD and VA report on the ANC issue, with unanimous consent, only to have it removed by the Senate. Outreach to your elected officials, especially your two senators, will help improve the chances for the Expanding America’s National Cemetery act to be included in the FY 2023 NDAA.

If you’ve already sent a message, consider a follow-up phone call. Use MOAA’s Capital Hotline – 866-272-MOAA (6622), a toll-free line to the U.S. Capitol switchboard – to connect with your legislators' offices.

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MOAA is the nation's largest and most influential association of military officers. It is an independent, nonprofit, politically nonpartisan organization.