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New Educational Tool, VFW Teams Up With Vet Tix

Farmingdale Observer - 4/18/2018

Certain Adoption Expenses Reimbursable: The VA has amended its regulation to provide reimbursement of qualifying adoption expenses incurred by veterans with service-connected disability that results in infertility. Covered veterans may request reimbursement for qualifying adoption expenses incurred for adoption that was finalized after Sept. 29, 2016. With this rule making, funds are authorized to provide reimbursement for qualifying adoption expenses incurred by a covered veteran in the adoption of a child under 18 years of age.

Education Information: For any service member or veteran looking to pursue their educational goals through the use of the GI Bill, there is an important tool offered by the VA. The GI Bill Comparison Tool allows users to compare different programs and institutions that accept the GI Bill. In the past, some student veterans have been impacted by the abrupt closures of the schools they were attending. These schools were using predatory business practices and had numerous complaints. The GI Bill Comparison Tool gives users the ability to check on the schools they wish to attend, and provides up to date data received from current and past students, helping GI Bill users make better, more informed decisions about where to attend school.

VFW Teams Up With Vet Tix to Support Veterans: The VFW and Veteran Tickets Foundation (Vet Tix) are pleased to announce they've entered into an official alliance that is designed to benefit all veterans and service members, as well as their families and caretakers. By teaming up, both organizations increase awareness of the opportunities offered by both the VFW and Vet Tix events, which provide service members and veterans a unique opportunity to spend quality time with one another and family. Vet Tix seats are often grouped in blocks enabling Vet Tixers to be seated with others at events, helping promote comradery similar to that experienced while in service.

World War I Memorial Update: The U.S. World War I Centennial Commission and the Pritzker Military Museum and Library have announced the final 50 WWI memorials to be awarded grants and honored with the official national designation as "WWI Centennial Memorials." All 100 memorials in all 100 cities have now been designated, including such national

landmarks as Chicago's Soldiers Field, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, San Francisco's War Memorial Veterans Building and Opera House, Honolulu's "Nataorium," the National World War I Memorial at Pershing Park in Washington, D.C., plus many smaller, local community projects, including several that were VFW-initiated. The newly designated memorials will each receive a $2,000 matching grant toward the restoration, conservation and maintenance of these local historical treasures.

Arlington Launches Second "Future

of the Cemetery" Survey: Only one percent of all veterans are buried or inurned at Arlington National Cemetery, but the cemetery is still projected to run out of space in two decades unless new land is obtained, eligibility requirements change, or some combination of both. That's why Congress asked the Department of the Army to consider what could be done to preserve Arlington as an active military cemetery well into the future, and that's why Arlington has launched a second survey to hear from its stakeholder. The first survey was conducted in July 2017 in partnership with the VFW and other organizations. Finding new land that is adjacent to the cemetery would be extremely difficult in an urban environment, but would closing Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall be a solution or just prolong the inevitable? One acre extends the service life of the cemetery by only three months. Should Arlington be reserved just for active duty deaths, combat deaths, former POW's, high heroism medal recipients, or not?

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Testifies on VA Budget Request: Secretary David Shulkin testified before the house Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies. Subcommittee members asked Shulkin about his priorities to expand access to care at VA medical facilities and through private-sector doctors, reduce the rate of suicide among veterans, and efforts to adopt the same electronic health care record as DOD.