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DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20180606T043000
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UID:1582-1528259400-1528266600@mnuvlc.org
SUMMARY:June 2018 Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Report\nMeeting at Building 9\, VAMC Campus \nCall to order – 9:30\, Invocation – Pledge of Allegiance \nGreetings: Recognition of visitors and guests \nAnnouncements -Jerry Kyser\, Chair\, Mike Rivard\, Vice Chair. \nIntroducing Tom Tshida with Congressman Lewis’s office. \nIntroducing Paul Groskreutz\, president of the MN State Reserve Officer Association and director of the Air Force Retired Activities Office. \n1. Federal Congressional Representatives\nSenator Amy Klobuchar – Kurt Johnson\n*Not present. \nSenator Tina Smith – Alex Schueller Reporting\n*Smith sponsored the Mark Takai Atomic Veterans Healthcare Parity Act that was reintroduced from the last congressional session. She was one of the original sponsors. \n*In the senate\, Smith sponsored the National Guard Promotion Accountability Act and co-sponsored the Military Justice Improvement Act. The latter would reform procedures for prosecuting serious crimes to include sexual assaults\, which takes the unit chain of command out of the prosecution seat and the adjutant general into the picture.. Smith has agreed to offer an amendment to the NDAA regarding the relief funding. \nQ. On the sexual assault bill\, does anyone report on how many assaults happened in Minnesota?\nA. There was a previous bill she signed onto that would inform the DOJ [but not necessarily the public or anyone beyond the DOJ]. \n1st District Representative – Tim Walz – Shawn Schoesser\n*Not present. \n2nd District Representative – Jason Lewis – Tom Tshida Reporting\n*Lewis voted for and the House passed sixteen bills impacting veterans. Most involved the VA\, including a bill to expand the Choice program. He co-sponsored a bill combatting veteran opioid abuse\, as well as bills to provide job training. \n*Lewis supported the VA Mission Act\, the Military Save Act\, and the VA Accountability Act. \n*This week\, the House is voting on the minibus\, which will include military construction and VA funding. Lewis will be supporting this. \n*The VA Mission Act has passed both chambers and is just waiting for a signature from the president. It extends Choice for one year to allow the funding and preliminary groundwork for getting the new program in place. Benefits will be expanded to all veterans and everything will be under a single community care umbrella. \n3rd District Representative – Erik Paulsen – Margaret Cavanaugh\n*Not present. \n4th District Representative – Betty McCollum – Connie Haddeland Reporting\n*HR 299\, The Blue Water Naval Veterans Bill\, came out of committee and is currently on the House floor. It is expected to be voted on in the next week. It is estimated that 90\,000 to 100\,000 Vietnam war Naval veterans will be impacted. It’s funded through a mechanism that puts a fee on a veteran’s home loan\, the total of $350. Blue Water naval veterans will be eligible for presumptive conditions. McCollum is supporting this legislation. \n*We are concerned that many of our constituents are suffering illnesses related to Agent Orange\, but will wait to see how the current legislation plays out before acting further. \n*HR 1279 and HR 5671 both relate to burn pits. HR 1279 concerns establishing the risk and requiring more accountability and action on the part of the DOD. We are encouraging impacted veterans to sign up with the Burn Pit Registry so there can be more accurate data and aid in treatment. \n*McCollum placed a congressional statement related to the VA Mission Act\, speaking to her reasons for voting against the legislation\, specifically related to mandatory discretionary funding. \n*We had a good Academy Recognition Night with our graduates heading to service academies. \n5th District Representative – Keith Ellison – Mike Siebenaler\n*Not present. \n6th District Representative – Tom Emmer – Alejandra Henriquez Reporting\n*The House passed the VA Mission Act of 2018 to reform and reauthorize the Veterans Choice program. Emmer supported this. \n*Congress passed a number of defense related bills before Memorial Day\, including the Veterans Opioid Abuse Prevention Act and the Homeless Veteran Reintegration Organization Act\, which will authorize the creation of a program of the same name. \n*The FY2018 Construction and Veterans Appropriations Bill will be up for a floor vote later this week. \n7th District Representative – Collin Peterson – Meg Louwagie\n*Not present. \n8th District Representative – Rick Nolan – Rick Olseen Reporting\n*The Chisago Lakes Area is beginning to have a Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Community and we had the opportunity to see Annette Kuyper speaking to them earlier this week. \n*Our DC staff has requested that Congress Comes to You reach out specifically to veterans. We have added this as a commitment. \n*Nolan continues to support HR 5662\, the Volunteer Drivers Act. We think there is a good chance it will pass. \nQ. Is there coordination between the House and the senators supporting these bills to get things done so there is equal support on both sides?\nA. Whoever the chief author of the legislation is will be working with their counterpart in the senate and with the leadership to move the legislation along. \nYMCA Twin Cities (Minneapolis) – Amanda Hooper\n*Not present. \nCounty Veteran Service Officers – Robbie Robinson\n*Not present. \n2. Federal Agencies\nVISN 23 – Director Janet Murphy – Ralph Heussner Reporting\n* VISN Director Janet Murphy retired on May 29th. Our director\, Pat Kelly\, is the acting VISN director. Jason Petty\, the deputy director\, is currently on travel. Andre Kok is ill. They have asked Ralph Heussner to speak on their behalf. \n*Leadership is in flux at the moment. Positions have been posted. \n*The Acting Director of the Minneapolis VA is Darwin Goodspeed. He is the director of the Sioux Falls VA. \nVA Regional Office – Kim Graves – Ron Woolery Reporting\n*For the first time in almost two years\, we have a real Undersecretary for Benefits. Dr. Paul Lawrence was recently confirmed. We have a new Principal Deputy Undersecretary and there will likely be a few more changes forthcoming. We are beginning to see direction coming from the leadership. \n*The St. Paul Regional Office Service Center is in the process of going through training to a RAMP station. St. Paul was selected to become one of those stations. \nQ. Concerning the ruling about ambulances for veterans\, is that impacting your world?\nA. That would be Ralph’s world. If it is not covered by the regular insurance\, the VA won’t pay the copay. But if it’s beyond what the insurance would cover\, the VA would cover that. \nQ. Now that you’re doing RAMP here\, is that going to slow down the non-RAMP claims?\nA. There will be no non-RAMP appeals at St. Paul. All the legacy appeals will be bundled up and distributed to non-RAMP stations. \nQ. Is that going to slow it down because you’re hiring new people for RAMP?\nA. No. Right now\, there is no change in FTE. I will have better answers for you once we see RAMP in action. \nVAHCS Minneapolis – Director Patrick J. Kelly – Ralph Heussner Reporting\n*We are now holding community events at all of our Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs). Each of our thirteen CBOCs must have one public community event each year. This is in addition to our annual meetings. \n*There will be an event on June 7th in Albert Lee\, where we will be telecommunicating between our leadership and the people in Albert Lee. \n*There will be a town hall meeting in Rochester on June 14th. This will be a tele-town hall. We will be contacting 4\,000+ veterans and asking them to stay on the line for a one hour conversation with the VA. On June 13th\, we will send out an alert call to let veterans know what to expect. \n*June 27th will be our third job fair in the last two years. Currently we have thirty-five local businesses that will be on-site\, prepared to interview veterans. Prior to the interviews\, we have career counselors ready to help veterans with interview prep. It will be held in the auditorium. \n*The American Legion National Convention will be held in Minneapolis this year in August. We have been asked to offer support. We will be at the convention every day offering integrative health techniques. A shuttle bus will be available for veterans who need it. \n*A researcher at the Minneapolis VA last year drew a fair amount of positive media attention. She is a neuropsychologist looking at early indicators of Alzheimer’s using artificial intelligence and is looking for approximately 400 seniors to participate in a four year study. Please contact the VA research office if you are interested. \n*For the first time in over 10 years\, the number of unique patients at the VA has declined. This is significant because VA funding is due to the number of unique patients and not the number of hospitalizations or outpatient care\, both of which are on the rise. In response to this\, we are making an effort to identify eligible but unenrolled veterans. We have been approved to do some advertising and marketing toward this in the next few months. \nQ. How many years was Janet Murphy here for?\nA. She was the network director for eight years and was with the VA for twenty-one years. \nQ. What is your definition of a unique patient?\nA. A unique patient has been seen at least one time per year. This could be for a pharmacy visit\, annual physical\, etc. \nQ. Are you in a position to talk about the relocation/expansion of the Rochester VA clinic?\nA. Not really. We are looking for a larger space within Rochester and do not intend to move from Rochester . \nSt. Cloud VA HCS – Director Stephen D. Black – Dave Hinchen Reporting\n*We are doing second-round interviews for our Director of Mental Health Services and hope to have the position filled soon. Our canteen facility is nearly complete. \n*There will be a ceremony honoring Vietnam veterans at the Monticello Community Center on June 18th. \n*The Mental Health Summit will be held on July 13th at the Resource Training Center at Sartell. \n*We are waiting for the president’s signature on the VA Mission Act. It concerns construction\, hiring practices\, and consolidation of care. \n*We have a small (less than 1%) amount of positive growth at St. Cloud this year. Most of that growth is returning veterans or veterans who were not previously eligible for care. \n*We are sponsoring the next meeting at St. Cloud on July 11th. \nFt. Snelling Cemetery – Jerry Kyser Reporting\n*We have just reached our 75\,00th rifle salute. \nVets Employment and Training Services [VETS] – David Seay\n*Not present \n3. State Agencies and MN Veteran Assistance Organizations\nMN Department of Veteran Affairs – Ben Johnson Reporting\n*We are working with the Department of Economic Employment state agency to do a veterans career fair on July 18th. It will be held in the Earle Brown Heritage Center from 2 to 6 PM. \n*The MN Department of Veteran Affairs just announced four grants from the Supporting the Troops License Plates. The proceeds are divided between the Military Affairs and Veteran Affairs committees. There are opportunities to apply for grants to receive financial support for creative projects involving veterans. The four recipients are the Community Action Partnership of Hennepin County\, who will be using the funds to do case management assistance and rental subsidies for veterans and their families\, Every Third Saturday Inc.\, who will be using their funds to provide case management assistance for veterans and their families who have made recent positive changes in their lives such as exiting homelessness or completing a mental health or substance abuse program. Freedom Flight Inc. received a grant to purchase mobility accessible hot air balloon baskets for disabled veterans. The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe will be purchasing a handicap accessible van to support bringing wheelchair bound veterans to VA medical facilities. \n*After the large turnout\, we will likely only open one grant application session per year. Previously it was open twice a year. The next open session will likely be open in November. \n*The 90th legislative session has ended. There were some veteran related pieces of legislation that were included in the state government finance tax bill that were vetoed by the governor. However\, a lot of veteran-related legislation that we have reported on over the course of this session did come through in stand-alone bills and had relatively unanimous support. \n*The New Homes Funding selected three communities for a total of $32 million. The communities are Bemidji\, Montevideo\, and Preston. They each received a differing amount based upon what their community needs. All of these communities have identified sites for the homes. More information will be forthcoming. The MN Department of Administration\, the MN Department of Veteran Affairs\, and the MN Department of Management will be meeting this week and next to begin the process of collaborating with these communities to develop their application packets for the federal funding. There is a significant amount of money available at the federal level if the VA chooses to access it. There is an additional annual appropriation for the state construction program. The earliest that we could potentially see federal funding would be 2021. \n*We will continue to do campus planning at Minneapolis. We are not done assessing our needs in the Metro area. We are trying to determine how best to address the Hastings domiciliary\, the Minneapolis domiciliary\, and the Minneapolis home and we continue our commitment to serving all veterans. \n*Concerning the bridge: we are working with the contractor to finalize the assessment of the additional issues that were identified at the final inspection. \n*MDVA was successful in our Asset Preservation request. This will address major repairs at some of our existing veterans homes. We requested $31.1 million and were appropriated $9 million. This is the largest lump sum of asset preservation we have ever received. \n*In total\, the legislature appropriated between this year and last totaled nearly $2 billion. \n*We have three new designations: the Purple Heart County designation\, June 29th as General June Vessey Day\, and July 16th will be Atomic Veterans Day in Minnesota. The official signing ceremony will be forthcoming. \n*In legislative issues\, there have been some statutory changes to the MN GI Bill. We added some additional language last year and there was confusion about the new permissible uses. We were able to get that clarified and passed by both chambers. \n*Currently the Assignment of Military Payer Benefits prohibits individuals from attempting to lend veterans or their beneficiaries money in exchange for the rights to their pay or benefits. This is against federal law but Minnesota didn’t have any laws on the books or ways to penalize someone who took advantage of that. We successfully moved this through the legislature. \n*There was no special session. \n*Primaries are August 14th. \nQ. What is the total pool of money involved with these license plate grants?\nA. It varies from year to year. The amount is dependent on how many of the license plates are sold. The distribution this time around was $250\,000 of grants. $90\,000 to Community Action Partnership\, $100\,000 to the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe\, $37\,500 for Freedom Flight Inc\, and $50\,000 for Every Third Saturday Inc. The grants are available from $1\,000 to $100\,000. \nQ. Do the administrative fees come of that money?\nA. We are authorized to utilize the funds to administer\, but we have a full time grants manager who works with us through the VA. I am not sure about the particulars. \nMN National Guard – Director Brian Winters Reporting\n*Concerning the legislative session\, one of the policy initiatives that made it through was granting authority to the Adjutant General to order (with their consent) serving and retired members to duty to support armory rentals at the expense of renter. This streamlines the process and expands the pool of potential armory workers for these events. \n*One policy proposal that failed to advance on the state side\, though it passed on the House\, protected military training mission of the agency by preempting the authority of local governments to impact military training activities that conflict with local ordinances. We will continue to pursue this proposal. \n*In terms of bonding\, six of our eight requests were funded to $13 million. All of these were related to armory renovations. All of the grants that get state funding will get matching federal dollars. \n*We are looking at a little over $10 million in our remaining needs for the next bonding session. \n*In May we hosted Congressman Emmer and his wife for a tour of Camp Ripley\, as well as several information briefings. \n*Congressman Nolan’s office hosted an event on Camp Ripley on May 30th\, Congress Comes to You\, to discuss military and veteran issues. \n*Two units are getting ready to deploy. Charlie Company of the 211 General Support Aviation Battalion in St. Cloud will have a ceremony on June 15th is at 10 AM. Senator Smith will be in attendance. June 16th will be the event for the 147 Financial Management Support Detachment. Their deployment ceremony will be in the Arden Hills training center at 2 PM. Senator Smith and Representative McCollum will be in attendance. Both of the units will be deploying to southwest Asia. \n*We are currently interviewing for three Yellow Ribbon regional outreach coordinators in Camp Ripley\, Mankato\, and Cottage Grove. Those interviews are happening this week. \n*There are two new Yellow Ribbon companies: Central Lakes College in Brainerd and Replenex in Eden Prairie. Initial kickoff meetings are scheduled for next week. \n*We are watching the Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program. The funding for that program comes from the DOD\, then the National Guard bureau\, then out to armories and training facilities across the country. This allows Camp Ripley to purchase or lease development rights of land all around the training ground border\, preventing development up to the Camp Ripley border. The issue concerns the definition of what is considered an “installation”; there have been issues with real-estate attorneys. We are hoping this will pass this week. \n*The Advanced Turbine Engine Program is focused on repairing and rebuilding M1 tank engines and transmissions. The program is at risk of being divested as an additional operation cost and has saved Minnesota alone $6.7 million. Senator Moran from Kansas will be introduced an amendment this week to fix this on a statutory side. \n*We are tracking the NDAA and are waiting for the Senate Armed Services Committee markup to come out. Several things we are watching: there is some new language that has come out to potentially impact our Title 31 dual status full time military technician users\, and changing some of the language that would guarantee those people a Title 5 dual status position in the agency if they are separated for any reason. They are currently guaranteed a position if they are separated due to a military-related disability\, but this would expand that. This language is concerning because it gives people who retire from the military or separated from the military due to disciplinary actions a guaranteed avenue to stay in the agency. This would present challenges and limit our upward mobility within the force. \nMilitary Action Group (MAG) – Jerry Kyser Reporting\n*The next MAG meeting will be June 25th at 10 AM in the state office building. \n*We will be meeting with Anderson and Dettmer to figure out our next steps. \nMN Military Affairs – Major General Jon Jensen\, Annette Kyper\n*Not present. \nMN Assistance Council For Veterans (MACV) – Jon Lovald Reporting\n*The June legal clinic at the VA Medical Center will be held on the 12th. There will be another on the 14th in Anoka. There will be another in Minneapolis on July 10th. \n*The next Stand Down will be happening at June 23rd in Rochester. There will be a smaller event in Princeton on July 5th. \n*The metro Stand Down event this year will be a one-day event on August 14th at the Target Center. \n*MACV will be participating with AUSA for the Army Birthday event out at Lake Minnetonka. \n*The Wall That Heals is being set up at the state capital\, to be opened from the 22nd through the 25th. MACV will be there with a booth and assisting with volunteers. \n*MACV’s annual Salute to Servicewomen Golf Classic will take place on August 26th. \n*We have taken possession of the house in Hibbing\, which was donated through a partnership with United Way. The goodwill from that house created a story\, which was seen by another veteran who wants to donate her house to be used by other female veterans. A team is looking at the new house. \n*We are in the process of locking down a location for the next Betsy Lenore House. \nHistoric Fort Snelling – Tom Pfannenstiel\n*Not present. \nTwin Cities Public Television – Jerry Kyser Reporting\n*The Healing Wall was given $600\,000 in support of the project. A flyover has been authorized. It opens on the 21st. \n*On the 23rd\, there will be a flyover of Vietnam era equipment. \n*There will be a number of public television programs. \n4. Announcements\n*The July meeting will be in St. Cloud. \n*National Veterans Wheelchair Games will be July 29th through August 5th in Orlando\, FL. \n*Aspen Dental is doing their annual Day of Service\, providing free dental care to veterans and service members on June 9th. Please make an appointment. Call 1-844-ASPEN HMM for more information. \n*The Commemorative Air Force will be putting on a show on June 9th in South St. Paul\, Fleming Field Airfield. www.cafmn.org \n5. Meeting in Recess for five minutes\nOur next meeting will be July 11th\, 2018\, at St. Cloud. We will send you a map and directions. Lunch will be provided.\n_ _ _ _ _ _ _ \nTreasurer’s Report as of 1 June 2018\nBalance as of 1 May 2018 $3\,123.40\nDeposits for May 2018 $100.00\nExpenses for March 2018\nTranscription Expense ($120.00)\nBalance as of 1 June\, 2018 $3\,103.40 \nSubmitted by Donald Rask\, Treasurer UVLC \nEnd of UVLC June Report \nVISN 23 Newsletter – June 2018 \n[print-me target=”.report” title=”Print Report”]
URL:https://mnuvlc.org/event/june-2018-meeting/
LOCATION:Mpls VAHC Building 9 Auditorium\, 1 Veterans Drive\, Minneapolis\, MN\, 55417\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mnuvlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1920-1080-UVLC-images-for-website-10.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20180606T043000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20180606T063000
DTSTAMP:20260524T213734
CREATED:20210421T083659Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210421T083659Z
UID:2869-1528259400-1528266600@mnuvlc.org
SUMMARY:June 2018 Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Report\nMeeting at Building 9\, VAMC Campus \nCall to order – 9:30\, Invocation – Pledge of Allegiance \nGreetings: Recognition of visitors and guests \nAnnouncements -Jerry Kyser\, Chair\, Mike Rivard\, Vice Chair. \nIntroducing Tom Tshida with Congressman Lewis’s office. \nIntroducing Paul Groskreutz\, president of the MN State Reserve Officer Association and director of the Air Force Retired Activities Office. \n1. Federal Congressional Representatives\nSenator Amy Klobuchar – Kurt Johnson\n*Not present. \nSenator Tina Smith – Alex Schueller Reporting\n*Smith sponsored the Mark Takai Atomic Veterans Healthcare Parity Act that was reintroduced from the last congressional session. She was one of the original sponsors. \n*In the senate\, Smith sponsored the National Guard Promotion Accountability Act and co-sponsored the Military Justice Improvement Act. The latter would reform procedures for prosecuting serious crimes to include sexual assaults\, which takes the unit chain of command out of the prosecution seat and the adjutant general into the picture.. Smith has agreed to offer an amendment to the NDAA regarding the relief funding. \nQ. On the sexual assault bill\, does anyone report on how many assaults happened in Minnesota?\nA. There was a previous bill she signed onto that would inform the DOJ [but not necessarily the public or anyone beyond the DOJ]. \n1st District Representative – Tim Walz – Shawn Schoesser\n*Not present. \n2nd District Representative – Jason Lewis – Tom Tshida Reporting\n*Lewis voted for and the House passed sixteen bills impacting veterans. Most involved the VA\, including a bill to expand the Choice program. He co-sponsored a bill combatting veteran opioid abuse\, as well as bills to provide job training. \n*Lewis supported the VA Mission Act\, the Military Save Act\, and the VA Accountability Act. \n*This week\, the House is voting on the minibus\, which will include military construction and VA funding. Lewis will be supporting this. \n*The VA Mission Act has passed both chambers and is just waiting for a signature from the president. It extends Choice for one year to allow the funding and preliminary groundwork for getting the new program in place. Benefits will be expanded to all veterans and everything will be under a single community care umbrella. \n3rd District Representative – Erik Paulsen – Margaret Cavanaugh\n*Not present. \n4th District Representative – Betty McCollum – Connie Haddeland Reporting\n*HR 299\, The Blue Water Naval Veterans Bill\, came out of committee and is currently on the House floor. It is expected to be voted on in the next week. It is estimated that 90\,000 to 100\,000 Vietnam war Naval veterans will be impacted. It’s funded through a mechanism that puts a fee on a veteran’s home loan\, the total of $350. Blue Water naval veterans will be eligible for presumptive conditions. McCollum is supporting this legislation. \n*We are concerned that many of our constituents are suffering illnesses related to Agent Orange\, but will wait to see how the current legislation plays out before acting further. \n*HR 1279 and HR 5671 both relate to burn pits. HR 1279 concerns establishing the risk and requiring more accountability and action on the part of the DOD. We are encouraging impacted veterans to sign up with the Burn Pit Registry so there can be more accurate data and aid in treatment. \n*McCollum placed a congressional statement related to the VA Mission Act\, speaking to her reasons for voting against the legislation\, specifically related to mandatory discretionary funding. \n*We had a good Academy Recognition Night with our graduates heading to service academies. \n5th District Representative – Keith Ellison – Mike Siebenaler\n*Not present. \n6th District Representative – Tom Emmer – Alejandra Henriquez Reporting\n*The House passed the VA Mission Act of 2018 to reform and reauthorize the Veterans Choice program. Emmer supported this. \n*Congress passed a number of defense related bills before Memorial Day\, including the Veterans Opioid Abuse Prevention Act and the Homeless Veteran Reintegration Organization Act\, which will authorize the creation of a program of the same name. \n*The FY2018 Construction and Veterans Appropriations Bill will be up for a floor vote later this week. \n7th District Representative – Collin Peterson – Meg Louwagie\n*Not present. \n8th District Representative – Rick Nolan – Rick Olseen Reporting\n*The Chisago Lakes Area is beginning to have a Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Community and we had the opportunity to see Annette Kuyper speaking to them earlier this week. \n*Our DC staff has requested that Congress Comes to You reach out specifically to veterans. We have added this as a commitment. \n*Nolan continues to support HR 5662\, the Volunteer Drivers Act. We think there is a good chance it will pass. \nQ. Is there coordination between the House and the senators supporting these bills to get things done so there is equal support on both sides?\nA. Whoever the chief author of the legislation is will be working with their counterpart in the senate and with the leadership to move the legislation along. \nYMCA Twin Cities (Minneapolis) – Amanda Hooper\n*Not present. \nCounty Veteran Service Officers – Robbie Robinson\n*Not present. \n2. Federal Agencies\nVISN 23 – Director Janet Murphy – Ralph Heussner Reporting\n* VISN Director Janet Murphy retired on May 29th. Our director\, Pat Kelly\, is the acting VISN director. Jason Petty\, the deputy director\, is currently on travel. Andre Kok is ill. They have asked Ralph Heussner to speak on their behalf. \n*Leadership is in flux at the moment. Positions have been posted. \n*The Acting Director of the Minneapolis VA is Darwin Goodspeed. He is the director of the Sioux Falls VA. \nVA Regional Office – Kim Graves – Ron Woolery Reporting\n*For the first time in almost two years\, we have a real Undersecretary for Benefits. Dr. Paul Lawrence was recently confirmed. We have a new Principal Deputy Undersecretary and there will likely be a few more changes forthcoming. We are beginning to see direction coming from the leadership. \n*The St. Paul Regional Office Service Center is in the process of going through training to a RAMP station. St. Paul was selected to become one of those stations. \nQ. Concerning the ruling about ambulances for veterans\, is that impacting your world?\nA. That would be Ralph’s world. If it is not covered by the regular insurance\, the VA won’t pay the copay. But if it’s beyond what the insurance would cover\, the VA would cover that. \nQ. Now that you’re doing RAMP here\, is that going to slow down the non-RAMP claims?\nA. There will be no non-RAMP appeals at St. Paul. All the legacy appeals will be bundled up and distributed to non-RAMP stations. \nQ. Is that going to slow it down because you’re hiring new people for RAMP?\nA. No. Right now\, there is no change in FTE. I will have better answers for you once we see RAMP in action. \nVAHCS Minneapolis – Director Patrick J. Kelly – Ralph Heussner Reporting\n*We are now holding community events at all of our Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs). Each of our thirteen CBOCs must have one public community event each year. This is in addition to our annual meetings. \n*There will be an event on June 7th in Albert Lee\, where we will be telecommunicating between our leadership and the people in Albert Lee. \n*There will be a town hall meeting in Rochester on June 14th. This will be a tele-town hall. We will be contacting 4\,000+ veterans and asking them to stay on the line for a one hour conversation with the VA. On June 13th\, we will send out an alert call to let veterans know what to expect. \n*June 27th will be our third job fair in the last two years. Currently we have thirty-five local businesses that will be on-site\, prepared to interview veterans. Prior to the interviews\, we have career counselors ready to help veterans with interview prep. It will be held in the auditorium. \n*The American Legion National Convention will be held in Minneapolis this year in August. We have been asked to offer support. We will be at the convention every day offering integrative health techniques. A shuttle bus will be available for veterans who need it. \n*A researcher at the Minneapolis VA last year drew a fair amount of positive media attention. She is a neuropsychologist looking at early indicators of Alzheimer’s using artificial intelligence and is looking for approximately 400 seniors to participate in a four year study. Please contact the VA research office if you are interested. \n*For the first time in over 10 years\, the number of unique patients at the VA has declined. This is significant because VA funding is due to the number of unique patients and not the number of hospitalizations or outpatient care\, both of which are on the rise. In response to this\, we are making an effort to identify eligible but unenrolled veterans. We have been approved to do some advertising and marketing toward this in the next few months. \nQ. How many years was Janet Murphy here for?\nA. She was the network director for eight years and was with the VA for twenty-one years. \nQ. What is your definition of a unique patient?\nA. A unique patient has been seen at least one time per year. This could be for a pharmacy visit\, annual physical\, etc. \nQ. Are you in a position to talk about the relocation/expansion of the Rochester VA clinic?\nA. Not really. We are looking for a larger space within Rochester and do not intend to move from Rochester . \nSt. Cloud VA HCS – Director Stephen D. Black – Dave Hinchen Reporting\n*We are doing second-round interviews for our Director of Mental Health Services and hope to have the position filled soon. Our canteen facility is nearly complete. \n*There will be a ceremony honoring Vietnam veterans at the Monticello Community Center on June 18th. \n*The Mental Health Summit will be held on July 13th at the Resource Training Center at Sartell. \n*We are waiting for the president’s signature on the VA Mission Act. It concerns construction\, hiring practices\, and consolidation of care. \n*We have a small (less than 1%) amount of positive growth at St. Cloud this year. Most of that growth is returning veterans or veterans who were not previously eligible for care. \n*We are sponsoring the next meeting at St. Cloud on July 11th. \nFt. Snelling Cemetery – Jerry Kyser Reporting\n*We have just reached our 75\,00th rifle salute. \nVets Employment and Training Services [VETS] – David Seay\n*Not present \n3. State Agencies and MN Veteran Assistance Organizations\nMN Department of Veteran Affairs – Ben Johnson Reporting\n*We are working with the Department of Economic Employment state agency to do a veterans career fair on July 18th. It will be held in the Earle Brown Heritage Center from 2 to 6 PM. \n*The MN Department of Veteran Affairs just announced four grants from the Supporting the Troops License Plates. The proceeds are divided between the Military Affairs and Veteran Affairs committees. There are opportunities to apply for grants to receive financial support for creative projects involving veterans. The four recipients are the Community Action Partnership of Hennepin County\, who will be using the funds to do case management assistance and rental subsidies for veterans and their families\, Every Third Saturday Inc.\, who will be using their funds to provide case management assistance for veterans and their families who have made recent positive changes in their lives such as exiting homelessness or completing a mental health or substance abuse program. Freedom Flight Inc. received a grant to purchase mobility accessible hot air balloon baskets for disabled veterans. The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe will be purchasing a handicap accessible van to support bringing wheelchair bound veterans to VA medical facilities. \n*After the large turnout\, we will likely only open one grant application session per year. Previously it was open twice a year. The next open session will likely be open in November. \n*The 90th legislative session has ended. There were some veteran related pieces of legislation that were included in the state government finance tax bill that were vetoed by the governor. However\, a lot of veteran-related legislation that we have reported on over the course of this session did come through in stand-alone bills and had relatively unanimous support. \n*The New Homes Funding selected three communities for a total of $32 million. The communities are Bemidji\, Montevideo\, and Preston. They each received a differing amount based upon what their community needs. All of these communities have identified sites for the homes. More information will be forthcoming. The MN Department of Administration\, the MN Department of Veteran Affairs\, and the MN Department of Management will be meeting this week and next to begin the process of collaborating with these communities to develop their application packets for the federal funding. There is a significant amount of money available at the federal level if the VA chooses to access it. There is an additional annual appropriation for the state construction program. The earliest that we could potentially see federal funding would be 2021. \n*We will continue to do campus planning at Minneapolis. We are not done assessing our needs in the Metro area. We are trying to determine how best to address the Hastings domiciliary\, the Minneapolis domiciliary\, and the Minneapolis home and we continue our commitment to serving all veterans. \n*Concerning the bridge: we are working with the contractor to finalize the assessment of the additional issues that were identified at the final inspection. \n*MDVA was successful in our Asset Preservation request. This will address major repairs at some of our existing veterans homes. We requested $31.1 million and were appropriated $9 million. This is the largest lump sum of asset preservation we have ever received. \n*In total\, the legislature appropriated between this year and last totaled nearly $2 billion. \n*We have three new designations: the Purple Heart County designation\, June 29th as General June Vessey Day\, and July 16th will be Atomic Veterans Day in Minnesota. The official signing ceremony will be forthcoming. \n*In legislative issues\, there have been some statutory changes to the MN GI Bill. We added some additional language last year and there was confusion about the new permissible uses. We were able to get that clarified and passed by both chambers. \n*Currently the Assignment of Military Payer Benefits prohibits individuals from attempting to lend veterans or their beneficiaries money in exchange for the rights to their pay or benefits. This is against federal law but Minnesota didn’t have any laws on the books or ways to penalize someone who took advantage of that. We successfully moved this through the legislature. \n*There was no special session. \n*Primaries are August 14th. \nQ. What is the total pool of money involved with these license plate grants?\nA. It varies from year to year. The amount is dependent on how many of the license plates are sold. The distribution this time around was $250\,000 of grants. $90\,000 to Community Action Partnership\, $100\,000 to the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe\, $37\,500 for Freedom Flight Inc\, and $50\,000 for Every Third Saturday Inc. The grants are available from $1\,000 to $100\,000. \nQ. Do the administrative fees come of that money?\nA. We are authorized to utilize the funds to administer\, but we have a full time grants manager who works with us through the VA. I am not sure about the particulars. \nMN National Guard – Director Brian Winters Reporting\n*Concerning the legislative session\, one of the policy initiatives that made it through was granting authority to the Adjutant General to order (with their consent) serving and retired members to duty to support armory rentals at the expense of renter. This streamlines the process and expands the pool of potential armory workers for these events. \n*One policy proposal that failed to advance on the state side\, though it passed on the House\, protected military training mission of the agency by preempting the authority of local governments to impact military training activities that conflict with local ordinances. We will continue to pursue this proposal. \n*In terms of bonding\, six of our eight requests were funded to $13 million. All of these were related to armory renovations. All of the grants that get state funding will get matching federal dollars. \n*We are looking at a little over $10 million in our remaining needs for the next bonding session. \n*In May we hosted Congressman Emmer and his wife for a tour of Camp Ripley\, as well as several information briefings. \n*Congressman Nolan’s office hosted an event on Camp Ripley on May 30th\, Congress Comes to You\, to discuss military and veteran issues. \n*Two units are getting ready to deploy. Charlie Company of the 211 General Support Aviation Battalion in St. Cloud will have a ceremony on June 15th is at 10 AM. Senator Smith will be in attendance. June 16th will be the event for the 147 Financial Management Support Detachment. Their deployment ceremony will be in the Arden Hills training center at 2 PM. Senator Smith and Representative McCollum will be in attendance. Both of the units will be deploying to southwest Asia. \n*We are currently interviewing for three Yellow Ribbon regional outreach coordinators in Camp Ripley\, Mankato\, and Cottage Grove. Those interviews are happening this week. \n*There are two new Yellow Ribbon companies: Central Lakes College in Brainerd and Replenex in Eden Prairie. Initial kickoff meetings are scheduled for next week. \n*We are watching the Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program. The funding for that program comes from the DOD\, then the National Guard bureau\, then out to armories and training facilities across the country. This allows Camp Ripley to purchase or lease development rights of land all around the training ground border\, preventing development up to the Camp Ripley border. The issue concerns the definition of what is considered an “installation”; there have been issues with real-estate attorneys. We are hoping this will pass this week. \n*The Advanced Turbine Engine Program is focused on repairing and rebuilding M1 tank engines and transmissions. The program is at risk of being divested as an additional operation cost and has saved Minnesota alone $6.7 million. Senator Moran from Kansas will be introduced an amendment this week to fix this on a statutory side. \n*We are tracking the NDAA and are waiting for the Senate Armed Services Committee markup to come out. Several things we are watching: there is some new language that has come out to potentially impact our Title 31 dual status full time military technician users\, and changing some of the language that would guarantee those people a Title 5 dual status position in the agency if they are separated for any reason. They are currently guaranteed a position if they are separated due to a military-related disability\, but this would expand that. This language is concerning because it gives people who retire from the military or separated from the military due to disciplinary actions a guaranteed avenue to stay in the agency. This would present challenges and limit our upward mobility within the force. \nMilitary Action Group (MAG) – Jerry Kyser Reporting\n*The next MAG meeting will be June 25th at 10 AM in the state office building. \n*We will be meeting with Anderson and Dettmer to figure out our next steps. \nMN Military Affairs – Major General Jon Jensen\, Annette Kyper\n*Not present. \nMN Assistance Council For Veterans (MACV) – Jon Lovald Reporting\n*The June legal clinic at the VA Medical Center will be held on the 12th. There will be another on the 14th in Anoka. There will be another in Minneapolis on July 10th. \n*The next Stand Down will be happening at June 23rd in Rochester. There will be a smaller event in Princeton on July 5th. \n*The metro Stand Down event this year will be a one-day event on August 14th at the Target Center. \n*MACV will be participating with AUSA for the Army Birthday event out at Lake Minnetonka. \n*The Wall That Heals is being set up at the state capital\, to be opened from the 22nd through the 25th. MACV will be there with a booth and assisting with volunteers. \n*MACV’s annual Salute to Servicewomen Golf Classic will take place on August 26th. \n*We have taken possession of the house in Hibbing\, which was donated through a partnership with United Way. The goodwill from that house created a story\, which was seen by another veteran who wants to donate her house to be used by other female veterans. A team is looking at the new house. \n*We are in the process of locking down a location for the next Betsy Lenore House. \nHistoric Fort Snelling – Tom Pfannenstiel\n*Not present. \nTwin Cities Public Television – Jerry Kyser Reporting\n*The Healing Wall was given $600\,000 in support of the project. A flyover has been authorized. It opens on the 21st. \n*On the 23rd\, there will be a flyover of Vietnam era equipment. \n*There will be a number of public television programs. \n4. Announcements\n*The July meeting will be in St. Cloud. \n*National Veterans Wheelchair Games will be July 29th through August 5th in Orlando\, FL. \n*Aspen Dental is doing their annual Day of Service\, providing free dental care to veterans and service members on June 9th. Please make an appointment. Call 1-844-ASPEN HMM for more information. \n*The Commemorative Air Force will be putting on a show on June 9th in South St. Paul\, Fleming Field Airfield. www.cafmn.org \n5. Meeting in Recess for five minutes\nOur next meeting will be July 11th\, 2018\, at St. Cloud. We will send you a map and directions. Lunch will be provided.\n_ _ _ _ _ _ _ \nTreasurer’s Report as of 1 June 2018\nBalance as of 1 May 2018 $3\,123.40\nDeposits for May 2018 $100.00\nExpenses for March 2018\nTranscription Expense ($120.00)\nBalance as of 1 June\, 2018 $3\,103.40 \nSubmitted by Donald Rask\, Treasurer UVLC \nEnd of UVLC June Report \nVISN 23 Newsletter – June 2018 \n[print-me target=”.report” title=”Print Report”]
URL:https://mnuvlc.org/event/june-2018-meeting-2/
LOCATION:Mpls VAHC Building 9 Auditorium\, 1 Veterans Drive\, Minneapolis\, MN\, 55417\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mnuvlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1920-1080-UVLC-images-for-website-10.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20180502T043000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20180502T063000
DTSTAMP:20260524T213734
CREATED:20210421T084128Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210427T022223Z
UID:1587-1525235400-1525242600@mnuvlc.org
SUMMARY:May 2018 Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Report\nMeeting at Building 9\, VAMC Campus \nCall to order – 9:30\, Invocation – Pledge of Allegiance \nGreetings: Recognition of visitors and guests \nAnnouncements -Jerry Kyser\, Chair\, Mike Rivard\, Vice Chair. \n1. Federal Congressional Representatives\nSenator Amy Klobuchar – Kurt Johnson\n*Not present. \nSenator Tina Smith – Alex Schueller\n*Not present. \n1st District Representative – Tim Walz – Shawn Schoesser Reporting\n*Walz introduced the VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act\, which would authorize the VA to perform research on the benefits and disadvantages of medical cannabis. Without this research\, we cannot move forward on alternatives to pain and chronic pain management for service members. \n*Service members in the Guard or the Reserve and who have chosen to purchase TriCare Reserve Select\, if they then become a federal employee\, they lose the option of having TriCare Reserve Select and switch to the Federal Employee Health Benefit Program\, which is significantly more expensive. We would like Reserve and Guard members to consider federal employment and want to ensure this is not a disincentive for them to do that\, financially. \n*Concerning the Reserve Components Benefits Parity Act\, we were able to address most but not all of the problems. Walz and Palazzo put together a bill to take care of those last few issues. \n*Walz and the House Veteran Affairs Committee have committed to working towards our next Care in the Community Program. We are still working on both the foundation and structure\, but also how to pay for it. It is still moving forward. More information will be forthcoming. \nQ. I understand the difference in cost between federal and TriCare insurance programs\, what is the difference in care?\nA. I don’t know the difference in care. \nQ. There are also many different federal policies that a person can choose from\, which may feed into the decision.\nA. We will look into that. \nQ. Concerning the Choice program\, are you looking into expanding beyond the thirty day and thirty mile requirements now?\nA. The vision is not to privatize the VA but to allow conversations between your primary care provider and you. We also want the VA to have the option to pull all their care in the community together\, so providers know what they’re receiving\, and that it’s equitable across every program. \n2nd District Representative – Jason Lewis – Angela Sedlacek\n*Not present. \n3rd District Representative – Erik Paulsen – Maragret Cavanaugh\n*Not present. \n4th District Representative – Betty McCollum – Connie Haddeland Reporting\n*There will be a recognition meeting for the seven students who will be entering the Service Academies. \n*The Armed Services Committee has finished reviewing their budget for fiscal year 2019. The regular appropriations process will continue. \n*There is a new proposed Army Futures Command that was created under an order of the secretary to create an innovate center that would bring together different sections of the army in a different location to hold discussions about innovation and cyber security. The army put out letters to various areas of the country that fit demographics and other categories found by a consultant. Many different states are putting together packages to address the questions that are being asked\, and are looking to involve Minnesota in the Army Futures Command. They are looking to bring an Army command of approximately 500 people to a location that is not in Washington DC. They are looking for collaboration between high tech\, academia\, science\, and innovation. The metropolitan area is one on the list. Everything is at the preliminary stage. \n5th District Representative – Keith Ellison – Mike Siebenaler\n*Not present. \n6th District Representative – Tom Emmer – Alejandra Henriquez\n*Not present. \n7th District Representative – Collin Peterson – Meg Louwagie\n*Not present. \n8th District Representative – Rick Nolan – Rick Olseen Reporting\n*We are looking closely at the National Defense Authorization Act. \n*Concerning the volunteer driver issue\, Nolan introduced HR 5662. This would set the volunteer rate to be the same as the federal reimbursement rate so the drivers would not be taxed on the difference. We are working with Klobuchar’s office to carry it in the senate. \nQ. Where do you stand on the reimbursement issue?\nA. Congressman Collin Peterson is on board and we have reached out to a national organization of nonprofits. This doesn’t just impact Minnesota. \n2. Federal Agencies\nVISN 23 – Director Janet Murphy – Andre Kok Reporting\n*May is Mental Health month. VISN 23 has compiled a list of resources for veterans\, among them Make the Connection (https://maketheconnection.net) and MyHealthEVet (https://www.myhealth.va.gov/mhv-portal-web/home). \n*Janet Murphy will be retiring from service to the VA at the end of May. An acting network director will be named at that point. She has been serving with us for 17 years. \nVA Regional Office – Kim Graves Reporting\n*The Veterans Benefits Administration confirmed the president’s nominee for undersecretary in the senate. Mr. Paul Lawrence will be joining us soon. We have not yet heard about the official swearing in\, but expect that will be happening soon. \n(Text provided by VA Benefits office:) \nPlanning Your Legacy Pamphlet: This workbook was developed in partnership by the Regional Office’s Innovation Board and Fort Snelling National Cemetery’s employee innovation group. Development of the workbook was guided by feedback from local VSO and CVSOs and Minnesota Veterans. The publication will be available shortly for national distribution. The St. Paul RO has ordered a large quantity to support distribution to CVSOs\, VA medical facilities\, Vet Centers and other locations where Veterans can obtain them. \nDecision Ready Claims (DRC): The Decision Ready Claims program allows Veterans and their representatives to proactively gather and submit the evidence necessary to support claims for increase and other specific claim types\, allowing for expedited decision making. Nationally\, 952 DRC claims have been completed since the program was piloted here in Minnesota. These claims were completed in an average of 10.7 days from submission. Locally\, 135 DRC claims have been completed in an average of 8.9 days from submission. \nRapid Appeals Modernization Plan (RAMP): The purpose of the RAMP initiative is to allow Veterans who have a claims appeal pending with VA to “opt in” to the new appellate process\, which otherwise does not go into effect in February 2019. So far\, across the nation\, there have been 15\,453 appellants who have opted-in; those Veterans had been waiting in the appeal process for an average of 902.4 days from the submission of their Notice of Disagreement (NOD). Of those\, 1\,084 have been completed in an average of 54.7 days from opt in. The current grant rate is 44.3%. If the Veteran isn’t satisfied with the decision received under RAMP\, he or she may still have their case considered by the Board of Veterans Appeals. BVA consideration will occur after October 2018\, and those who have been through RAMP and not satisfied will have their cases placed on a new docket. BVA will work cases both from the new docket and the existing docket. Veterans interested in RAMP should consult with their representative to determine if this is a good option for their particular situation. If the Veteran does not have a representative\, VA can also assist in reviewing the Veteran’s circumstances. \nFor more information about RAMP and how to opt-in\, please visit \nhttps://www.benefits.va.gov/benefits/appeals.asp \n*Another thing the VA Regional Benefits office has been working on is ensuring that veterans entitled to 100% compensation due to hospitalization for a service-connected condition also receive a period of convalescence after surgery. This benefit has been available but historically\, there has been some unevenness with how it is administered from a timeliness perspective. We piloted a new process and it has been accepted for national implementation. \nVAHCS Minneapolis – Director Patrick J. Kelly – Ralph Heussner\n*Not present. \nSt. Cloud VA HCS – Director Stephen D. Black – Barry Venerable Reporting\n*The remodeled portion of our canteen store opened in early April. The entire canteen operation is in the midst of being remodeled. \n*Along with the regional office\, we were in Brainerd on May 1 for a town hall. We recognized 45 Vietnam veterans for their service and conducted a ribbon cutting ceremony for the construction that expanded their clinic. Full service audiology and full service optometry will be moving into that space. \n*We held a career fair on April 28th and had 202 individuals participate. We are planning on hiring a number of nurses\, medical clerks\, and social workers as a result. \n*We are hosting a veterans job fair on May 4th\, in partnership with 18 local businesses in the greater St. Cloud Development Corporation. \n*We are hosting a baby shower on May 9th at the VA in an effort to reach out to our women veterans and veterans who are planning to have a child in 2018. This is part of a national initiative. \n*Our Vietnam Veteran Recognition Ceremonies continue. This is a DOD-led effort. \n*The St. Cloud Metro Vets will be hosting a Memorial Day event on May 28th at the VA. It starts at 11 AM and is preceded by a parade. \nFt. Snelling Cemetery – Bob Razor Reporting\n*We are getting ready to put on a benefits online conference that we will be leading. We appreciate the help of the VA regional office in this. \n*We are preparing for Memorial Day. Unfortunately\, the weather has put us about a month behind. The biggest priority for us is to get in there and fix the winter graves. \n*Major General Loidolt will be speaking at the Memorial Day event. \n*We are partnering with Flags For Ft. Snelling again this year. Their goal is to put flags on every marker in the cemetery. \n*We are still in the testing phases for one weekend a month burial services. \n*The Memorial Rifle Squad is getting ready to hit their 75th Service rendered. They’re expected to do this around Memorial Day. \nQ. How many total employees do you have?\nA. We have a total of 50 FTE. \n3. State Agencies and MN Veteran Assistance Organizations\nMN Department of Veteran Affairs – Ben Johnson Reporting\n*The governor has not signed any veteran-specific bills this legislative season. There are less than three weeks to go until the end of session. They are working through their priorities\, which at this point appear to be the federal tax conformity bills. The House version did include some changes to the Homestead Property Value Exclusion Act\, the House version does not eliminate the 8 year sunset for surviving spouses but does includes language that the Commander’s Task Force worked on to make it easier for veterans\, their spouses\, and the county. Thus far we have not seen any changes to the jobs or tax credits. \n*There are two MDVA initiatives standing by for the final vote. One is a correction to the MN GI Bill changes that were implemented last year and the other is the prohibition on assigning benefits\, adding penalties to those who take advantage of veterans. This would add state penalties to something that is already illegal on the federal level. \n*We have not seen a Capital Investment Bonding Bill from the legislature yet. The governor released his jobs bill in January and the legislature has been hearing proposals from communities and state agencies on informational terms\, but have not yet released their list of objectives. \n*On April 27th\, we held a joint press conference and tour at the Hastings Veterans Home. The presentation was done jointly with the Department of Administration\, Commissioner Massman\, and Commissioner Shellito. They spoke on our request for asset preservation. The request as $13.1 million to fund existing facilities repairs. \n*We are shifting priorities slightly from funding new homes to funding existing facilities. \n*The proposed funding included in the People’s Veterans Homes Act is not sufficient to fund to get on the application list on the federal level for matching money. \n*Between tax conformity\, a potential Capital Investment Bill\, and the supplemental budget bills\, there is a lot of diversity of thought on whether anything is going to get done. \nQ. They want to keep the modification for the property tax bill at eight years?\nA. Yes. They took the modification in when you can apply and how much is available\, but the elimination of the eight year sunset was not included. \nQ. The only way that we can impact this is to talk to our individual representatives before it goes on the floor\, correct?\nA. Correct. The House version has already passed\, so it would be on the Senate side. \nQ. Rumor in the veterans community says that there is $120 million remaining in the stadium fund and that there is a push to fund all three new homes with that money. Can you speak on this?\nA. The stadium reserve fund was set up as part of the funding mechanism for the new Vikings stadium. Any additional money beyond what the state needs to pay the borrowing that built the stadium is kept in reserve. Projects right now are around $38 to $40 million is there or will be there\, and as much as $68 million in a few years. The House version does fund from the reserve and it would take $26 million to fund all three new veterans homes. The challenge is that the estimates from those communities for what the state’s 35% share would be is different from what we believe it would be. However\, there is an additional pool of money for the VA to fund construction on a federal level. There are opportunities to address the backlog of applications for projects that have been submitted. \nQ. What do we need to do to push for that?\nA. The governor’s preference would be that it be bonded at the full estimated cost\, rather than taking from general fund money that would then impact schools and other uses\, in addition to utilizing the stadium reserve fund that was put in place to ensure that things were taken care of. The governor is not in favor of the idea\, though he is in favor of new veterans homes. The governor is focusing on existing state needs at this time. Talk to your local legislators. A more likely way to get it down would be through bonding. \nMN Military Affairs – Major General Jon Jensen – Lt. Col. Brian Winter Reporting\n*During the last week of April\, a group from the MN National Guard\, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas\, and other public service agencies made a trip out to Washington DC. The purpose was to visit the National Holocaust Memorial and conduct office calls with Senator Klobuchar and Senator Smith. Topics of discussion included the partnership between the JCRC and the MN National Guard’s Diversity Inclusion Office. \n*Additionally\, we informed both of the offices about an issue that has come to our attention over the last six to twelve months in respect to extraordinarily long waits for Army National Guard officers to get promoted. The issue seems to stem from the Army side but is starting to get traction nationally. We have heard there is legislation to address this in the works with Senator Warren and Senator Cruz. \n*Last week we had a successful Yellow Ribbon Company seminar hosted by General Mills. The intent was to gather and share best practices for transitioning service members from a military environment to a civilian workplace. Governor Dayton was in attendance. Our next event will be in September at 3M headquarters. \n*We have gotten approval to hire three additional Yellow Ribbon outreach coordinators. These will be state employee positions. They will be located in Mankato\, Cottage Grove\, and Ripley. The coordinators will be tasked with strengthening our community networks in each of those three assigned regions. The jobs have not been posted yet\, but hope to see them open up in the next few weeks. \n*The Chisago Lakes Yellow Ribbon Community kickoff was originally scheduled for April 14th\, but was canceled due to the weather. It has been rescheduled for June 2nd at 2:00 PM at Lakes Free Church in Lindstrom. \n*Our agency has approved three new Yellow Ribbon Companies: Land O’Lakes\, USAA\, and Capital One. Their proclamation ceremonies will be forthcoming. \nMN Assistance Council For Veterans (MACV) – Trista Matascastillo Reporting\n*MACV has a specific focus this year on ending homelessness for women veterans. As of today\, we have 20 women veterans on the homeless registry. We are down from 22 in March. \n*There was a groundbreaking ceremony on April 27th for a new home in Maplewood\, which will be dedicated for women veterans and their families. \n*We are moving forward with hiring new intake coordinators. They should come on board by June 1st. \n*There will be a gala on September 6th at CHS Field. The gala will be a fundraiser for women veterans facing homelessness. \n*Our metro Stand Down dates are August 14th at Target Field. \n*The Mission Continues is doing a service project for our other houses on 909 St. Anthony. \n*There is an open house for our new SIL home in Hibbing that will take place on May 23rd. \n*Legal clinic dates:\nMay 8th in Minneapolis\nMay 22nd in Worthington Marshal\nMay 23rd in Mankato \n*There will be a Stand Down in Rochester on June 23rd. More details will be forthcoming. \nMilitary Action Group (MAG) – Jerry Kyser Reporting\n*Please talk to your legislators about increasing support for veteran specific bills\, specifically the conference committee. We have approximately 20 days to do that. \n*The next MAG meeting May 14th at 9 AM in the state office building at 400 N. \n*We had a discussion with Veteran Voices and June 1 is the deadline for nominations. \nQ. There’s an official for MOA coming in\, are you familiar with this?\nA. No\, I’m not. \nParalyzed Veterans of America – Todd Kemery Reporting\n*The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018\, HR 4\, was passed. We want to thank our representatives who supported this. This is all part of the Air Carrier Access Act revamping. PVA has been one of the advocates for change. Passengers with disabilities bill of rights have the requirement that the Department of Transportation must investigate the feasibility of cabin wheelchair restraint systems. \n*On the senate side\, Senator Baldwin has put forth Senate Bill 1318\, which similar language to HR 4. We are hoping they will get this signed into law before September. \n*We have partnered with the MN Council of Disability on accessible state parks\, HR 39 and Senate File 2963. We are in the midst of an email and a phone call blitz. This is for $29 million to go toward paying for accessibility in William O’brien State Park\, Ft. Snelling State Park\, and Big Woods State Park\, and Minneopa State Park. Of the approximately 100+ DNR parks in Minnesota\, around 75% of them are not disability accessible. This is a start. \n*We would have liked to have had the governor sign off on a 4% increase in the payment for Personal Care Assistants\, but that did not happen. This will be one of our priorities moving forward. \n*We attended the meeting on the House side on April 27th when they were deciding on some veteran issues. We waited for at least five hours and when it came time for public testimony\, the committee chair refused to allow us to comment. Most of us were there to discuss the Homestead Widows issue. \nSt. Paul Vets Center – Scott Braden Reporting\n*We have a new director on board\, Dr. Lisa Wallace. \n*We are moving forward with a lot of our programs and now have a full staff of clinicians. \n*We are going to be attending a lot of different veteran events moving forward. \n*We want to correct miscommunications about what vet centers can do. Please spread the word that we are available for every veteran\, active duty service members\, and Guard and Reserve. \n*We are starting spousal support groups and golf for veterans. \nMN CVSO – Robby Robinson Reporting\n*Concerning property tax exclusion\, this is the first year that CVSOs can certify that everyone is 70 to 100% service connected disabled and ensure that they are living at the proper address. \n*The Military Order of the Purple Heart will be closing on 6/30/18. Contact any veterans who are involved so we can get them a new power of attorney. It closed due to funding issues at the federal issue. \nTwin Cities Public Television – Randall Dietrich Reporting\n*The documentary Going to War will premiere on May 28th. It illuminates the training\, battle\, and coming home of soldiers across multiple conflicts. There will be a special advanced screening in Washington DC at the Library of Congress on May 17th. \n*There will be advanced screenings at TPT Studios on May 22nd at 6:30 PM. A second screening is scheduled at Camp Ripley on May 24th. \n*There will be another program on May 28th called Perspectives and Profiles: Twelve MN Vietnam Veterans. All of this is leading up to the big weekend at the state capital\, where we will have the Wall That Heals. It is a traveling replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. There will be programing in Cedar Street Armory\, including documentaries\, discussions with Vietnam veterans\, and an exhibit donated by the military museum. \n*Please spread the word\, we need volunteers for the Wall that Heals June 21st through 24th. \n*We are hosting our final Minnesota Remembers Vietnam public program at the Ordway theater\, called Epilog at 7:00 PM on June 3rd. Tickets are on sale now. \nHistoric Fort Snelling – Tom Pfannenstiel Reporting\n*We are hosting an Indie Lens Popup on May 15th\, presented by Twin Cities Public Broadcasting and the MN Historical Society. It will be a documentary entitled Served Like A Girl\, which will look at homeless women veterans who entered into the Ms. Veteran America Competition. There will be a panel discussion afterwards. \nNational Guard Association of Minnesota – Col. James Douglas Reporting\n*Our annual conference for the state of Minnesota was held this past weekend. Retirement for National Guard Service Members is a concern. The retirement age is 60. In 2008\, due to the up-tempo of deployments\, legislation was passed that reduced the retirement age of Guardsmen due to the number of times they have been deployed. We are looking to get this back-dated to 2001. \n*TriCare Reserve Select is still an issue. \n*Concerning Reservist travel\, the up-tempo of the Reserve is getting increasingly high. Drill weekends are getting longer and Guardsmen who live more than 100 miles away from their drill location can get a tax deduction for their hotel and meals. We want to shorten that to 50 miles with HR 1697. \n*We have been pushing the state-sponsored life insurance legislation and it looks good so far. \n*The Guard Association of Minnesota is having their annual golf tournament on June 1st. It will be held on the Emerald Greens Golf Course in Hastings. Registration is open through May 15th. \nProject Got Your Back – Allison Alstrin Reporting\n*There has been a group that has been working to create an organization that provides caregivers and service providers an opportunity to talk about legislative issues\, much like the UVLC. The next meeting is May 16th from 12:00 to 2:00 PM at the VFW in Uptown. \n*We are working toward a calendar system where people can make announcements that they want other service providers to know about. \nEnd of Report \nSummer meetings:\nJune 6\, 2018 (MSP VAMC Building 9)\nJuly 11\, 2018 at St. Cloud\nAugust \, 2018 (MSP VAMC Building 9) \nTreasurer’s Report as of 1 May 2018 \n[print-me target=”.report” title=”Print Report”]
URL:https://mnuvlc.org/event/may-2018-meeting/
LOCATION:Mpls VAHC Building 9 Auditorium\, 1 Veterans Drive\, Minneapolis\, MN\, 55417\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mnuvlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1920-1080-UVLC-images-for-website-10.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20180502T043000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20180502T063000
DTSTAMP:20260524T213734
CREATED:20210421T084128Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210421T084128Z
UID:2870-1525235400-1525242600@mnuvlc.org
SUMMARY:May 2018 Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Report\nMeeting at Building 9\, VAMC Campus \nCall to order – 9:30\, Invocation – Pledge of Allegiance \nGreetings: Recognition of visitors and guests \nAnnouncements -Jerry Kyser\, Chair\, Mike Rivard\, Vice Chair. \n1. Federal Congressional Representatives\nSenator Amy Klobuchar – Kurt Johnson\n*Not present. \nSenator Tina Smith – Alex Schueller\n*Not present. \n1st District Representative – Tim Walz – Shawn Schoesser Reporting\n*Walz introduced the VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act\, which would authorize the VA to perform research on the benefits and disadvantages of medical cannabis. Without this research\, we cannot move forward on alternatives to pain and chronic pain management for service members. \n*Service members in the Guard or the Reserve and who have chosen to purchase TriCare Reserve Select\, if they then become a federal employee\, they lose the option of having TriCare Reserve Select and switch to the Federal Employee Health Benefit Program\, which is significantly more expensive. We would like Reserve and Guard members to consider federal employment and want to ensure this is not a disincentive for them to do that\, financially. \n*Concerning the Reserve Components Benefits Parity Act\, we were able to address most but not all of the problems. Walz and Palazzo put together a bill to take care of those last few issues. \n*Walz and the House Veteran Affairs Committee have committed to working towards our next Care in the Community Program. We are still working on both the foundation and structure\, but also how to pay for it. It is still moving forward. More information will be forthcoming. \nQ. I understand the difference in cost between federal and TriCare insurance programs\, what is the difference in care?\nA. I don’t know the difference in care. \nQ. There are also many different federal policies that a person can choose from\, which may feed into the decision.\nA. We will look into that. \nQ. Concerning the Choice program\, are you looking into expanding beyond the thirty day and thirty mile requirements now?\nA. The vision is not to privatize the VA but to allow conversations between your primary care provider and you. We also want the VA to have the option to pull all their care in the community together\, so providers know what they’re receiving\, and that it’s equitable across every program. \n2nd District Representative – Jason Lewis – Angela Sedlacek\n*Not present. \n3rd District Representative – Erik Paulsen – Maragret Cavanaugh\n*Not present. \n4th District Representative – Betty McCollum – Connie Haddeland Reporting\n*There will be a recognition meeting for the seven students who will be entering the Service Academies. \n*The Armed Services Committee has finished reviewing their budget for fiscal year 2019. The regular appropriations process will continue. \n*There is a new proposed Army Futures Command that was created under an order of the secretary to create an innovate center that would bring together different sections of the army in a different location to hold discussions about innovation and cyber security. The army put out letters to various areas of the country that fit demographics and other categories found by a consultant. Many different states are putting together packages to address the questions that are being asked\, and are looking to involve Minnesota in the Army Futures Command. They are looking to bring an Army command of approximately 500 people to a location that is not in Washington DC. They are looking for collaboration between high tech\, academia\, science\, and innovation. The metropolitan area is one on the list. Everything is at the preliminary stage. \n5th District Representative – Keith Ellison – Mike Siebenaler\n*Not present. \n6th District Representative – Tom Emmer – Alejandra Henriquez\n*Not present. \n7th District Representative – Collin Peterson – Meg Louwagie\n*Not present. \n8th District Representative – Rick Nolan – Rick Olseen Reporting\n*We are looking closely at the National Defense Authorization Act. \n*Concerning the volunteer driver issue\, Nolan introduced HR 5662. This would set the volunteer rate to be the same as the federal reimbursement rate so the drivers would not be taxed on the difference. We are working with Klobuchar’s office to carry it in the senate. \nQ. Where do you stand on the reimbursement issue?\nA. Congressman Collin Peterson is on board and we have reached out to a national organization of nonprofits. This doesn’t just impact Minnesota. \n2. Federal Agencies\nVISN 23 – Director Janet Murphy – Andre Kok Reporting\n*May is Mental Health month. VISN 23 has compiled a list of resources for veterans\, among them Make the Connection (https://maketheconnection.net) and MyHealthEVet (https://www.myhealth.va.gov/mhv-portal-web/home). \n*Janet Murphy will be retiring from service to the VA at the end of May. An acting network director will be named at that point. She has been serving with us for 17 years. \nVA Regional Office – Kim Graves Reporting\n*The Veterans Benefits Administration confirmed the president’s nominee for undersecretary in the senate. Mr. Paul Lawrence will be joining us soon. We have not yet heard about the official swearing in\, but expect that will be happening soon. \n(Text provided by VA Benefits office:) \nPlanning Your Legacy Pamphlet: This workbook was developed in partnership by the Regional Office’s Innovation Board and Fort Snelling National Cemetery’s employee innovation group. Development of the workbook was guided by feedback from local VSO and CVSOs and Minnesota Veterans. The publication will be available shortly for national distribution. The St. Paul RO has ordered a large quantity to support distribution to CVSOs\, VA medical facilities\, Vet Centers and other locations where Veterans can obtain them. \nDecision Ready Claims (DRC): The Decision Ready Claims program allows Veterans and their representatives to proactively gather and submit the evidence necessary to support claims for increase and other specific claim types\, allowing for expedited decision making. Nationally\, 952 DRC claims have been completed since the program was piloted here in Minnesota. These claims were completed in an average of 10.7 days from submission. Locally\, 135 DRC claims have been completed in an average of 8.9 days from submission. \nRapid Appeals Modernization Plan (RAMP): The purpose of the RAMP initiative is to allow Veterans who have a claims appeal pending with VA to “opt in” to the new appellate process\, which otherwise does not go into effect in February 2019. So far\, across the nation\, there have been 15\,453 appellants who have opted-in; those Veterans had been waiting in the appeal process for an average of 902.4 days from the submission of their Notice of Disagreement (NOD). Of those\, 1\,084 have been completed in an average of 54.7 days from opt in. The current grant rate is 44.3%. If the Veteran isn’t satisfied with the decision received under RAMP\, he or she may still have their case considered by the Board of Veterans Appeals. BVA consideration will occur after October 2018\, and those who have been through RAMP and not satisfied will have their cases placed on a new docket. BVA will work cases both from the new docket and the existing docket. Veterans interested in RAMP should consult with their representative to determine if this is a good option for their particular situation. If the Veteran does not have a representative\, VA can also assist in reviewing the Veteran’s circumstances. \nFor more information about RAMP and how to opt-in\, please visit \nhttps://www.benefits.va.gov/benefits/appeals.asp \n*Another thing the VA Regional Benefits office has been working on is ensuring that veterans entitled to 100% compensation due to hospitalization for a service-connected condition also receive a period of convalescence after surgery. This benefit has been available but historically\, there has been some unevenness with how it is administered from a timeliness perspective. We piloted a new process and it has been accepted for national implementation. \nVAHCS Minneapolis – Director Patrick J. Kelly – Ralph Heussner\n*Not present. \nSt. Cloud VA HCS – Director Stephen D. Black – Barry Venerable Reporting\n*The remodeled portion of our canteen store opened in early April. The entire canteen operation is in the midst of being remodeled. \n*Along with the regional office\, we were in Brainerd on May 1 for a town hall. We recognized 45 Vietnam veterans for their service and conducted a ribbon cutting ceremony for the construction that expanded their clinic. Full service audiology and full service optometry will be moving into that space. \n*We held a career fair on April 28th and had 202 individuals participate. We are planning on hiring a number of nurses\, medical clerks\, and social workers as a result. \n*We are hosting a veterans job fair on May 4th\, in partnership with 18 local businesses in the greater St. Cloud Development Corporation. \n*We are hosting a baby shower on May 9th at the VA in an effort to reach out to our women veterans and veterans who are planning to have a child in 2018. This is part of a national initiative. \n*Our Vietnam Veteran Recognition Ceremonies continue. This is a DOD-led effort. \n*The St. Cloud Metro Vets will be hosting a Memorial Day event on May 28th at the VA. It starts at 11 AM and is preceded by a parade. \nFt. Snelling Cemetery – Bob Razor Reporting\n*We are getting ready to put on a benefits online conference that we will be leading. We appreciate the help of the VA regional office in this. \n*We are preparing for Memorial Day. Unfortunately\, the weather has put us about a month behind. The biggest priority for us is to get in there and fix the winter graves. \n*Major General Loidolt will be speaking at the Memorial Day event. \n*We are partnering with Flags For Ft. Snelling again this year. Their goal is to put flags on every marker in the cemetery. \n*We are still in the testing phases for one weekend a month burial services. \n*The Memorial Rifle Squad is getting ready to hit their 75th Service rendered. They’re expected to do this around Memorial Day. \nQ. How many total employees do you have?\nA. We have a total of 50 FTE. \n3. State Agencies and MN Veteran Assistance Organizations\nMN Department of Veteran Affairs – Ben Johnson Reporting\n*The governor has not signed any veteran-specific bills this legislative season. There are less than three weeks to go until the end of session. They are working through their priorities\, which at this point appear to be the federal tax conformity bills. The House version did include some changes to the Homestead Property Value Exclusion Act\, the House version does not eliminate the 8 year sunset for surviving spouses but does includes language that the Commander’s Task Force worked on to make it easier for veterans\, their spouses\, and the county. Thus far we have not seen any changes to the jobs or tax credits. \n*There are two MDVA initiatives standing by for the final vote. One is a correction to the MN GI Bill changes that were implemented last year and the other is the prohibition on assigning benefits\, adding penalties to those who take advantage of veterans. This would add state penalties to something that is already illegal on the federal level. \n*We have not seen a Capital Investment Bonding Bill from the legislature yet. The governor released his jobs bill in January and the legislature has been hearing proposals from communities and state agencies on informational terms\, but have not yet released their list of objectives. \n*On April 27th\, we held a joint press conference and tour at the Hastings Veterans Home. The presentation was done jointly with the Department of Administration\, Commissioner Massman\, and Commissioner Shellito. They spoke on our request for asset preservation. The request as $13.1 million to fund existing facilities repairs. \n*We are shifting priorities slightly from funding new homes to funding existing facilities. \n*The proposed funding included in the People’s Veterans Homes Act is not sufficient to fund to get on the application list on the federal level for matching money. \n*Between tax conformity\, a potential Capital Investment Bill\, and the supplemental budget bills\, there is a lot of diversity of thought on whether anything is going to get done. \nQ. They want to keep the modification for the property tax bill at eight years?\nA. Yes. They took the modification in when you can apply and how much is available\, but the elimination of the eight year sunset was not included. \nQ. The only way that we can impact this is to talk to our individual representatives before it goes on the floor\, correct?\nA. Correct. The House version has already passed\, so it would be on the Senate side. \nQ. Rumor in the veterans community says that there is $120 million remaining in the stadium fund and that there is a push to fund all three new homes with that money. Can you speak on this?\nA. The stadium reserve fund was set up as part of the funding mechanism for the new Vikings stadium. Any additional money beyond what the state needs to pay the borrowing that built the stadium is kept in reserve. Projects right now are around $38 to $40 million is there or will be there\, and as much as $68 million in a few years. The House version does fund from the reserve and it would take $26 million to fund all three new veterans homes. The challenge is that the estimates from those communities for what the state’s 35% share would be is different from what we believe it would be. However\, there is an additional pool of money for the VA to fund construction on a federal level. There are opportunities to address the backlog of applications for projects that have been submitted. \nQ. What do we need to do to push for that?\nA. The governor’s preference would be that it be bonded at the full estimated cost\, rather than taking from general fund money that would then impact schools and other uses\, in addition to utilizing the stadium reserve fund that was put in place to ensure that things were taken care of. The governor is not in favor of the idea\, though he is in favor of new veterans homes. The governor is focusing on existing state needs at this time. Talk to your local legislators. A more likely way to get it down would be through bonding. \nMN Military Affairs – Major General Jon Jensen – Lt. Col. Brian Winter Reporting\n*During the last week of April\, a group from the MN National Guard\, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas\, and other public service agencies made a trip out to Washington DC. The purpose was to visit the National Holocaust Memorial and conduct office calls with Senator Klobuchar and Senator Smith. Topics of discussion included the partnership between the JCRC and the MN National Guard’s Diversity Inclusion Office. \n*Additionally\, we informed both of the offices about an issue that has come to our attention over the last six to twelve months in respect to extraordinarily long waits for Army National Guard officers to get promoted. The issue seems to stem from the Army side but is starting to get traction nationally. We have heard there is legislation to address this in the works with Senator Warren and Senator Cruz. \n*Last week we had a successful Yellow Ribbon Company seminar hosted by General Mills. The intent was to gather and share best practices for transitioning service members from a military environment to a civilian workplace. Governor Dayton was in attendance. Our next event will be in September at 3M headquarters. \n*We have gotten approval to hire three additional Yellow Ribbon outreach coordinators. These will be state employee positions. They will be located in Mankato\, Cottage Grove\, and Ripley. The coordinators will be tasked with strengthening our community networks in each of those three assigned regions. The jobs have not been posted yet\, but hope to see them open up in the next few weeks. \n*The Chisago Lakes Yellow Ribbon Community kickoff was originally scheduled for April 14th\, but was canceled due to the weather. It has been rescheduled for June 2nd at 2:00 PM at Lakes Free Church in Lindstrom. \n*Our agency has approved three new Yellow Ribbon Companies: Land O’Lakes\, USAA\, and Capital One. Their proclamation ceremonies will be forthcoming. \nMN Assistance Council For Veterans (MACV) – Trista Matascastillo Reporting\n*MACV has a specific focus this year on ending homelessness for women veterans. As of today\, we have 20 women veterans on the homeless registry. We are down from 22 in March. \n*There was a groundbreaking ceremony on April 27th for a new home in Maplewood\, which will be dedicated for women veterans and their families. \n*We are moving forward with hiring new intake coordinators. They should come on board by June 1st. \n*There will be a gala on September 6th at CHS Field. The gala will be a fundraiser for women veterans facing homelessness. \n*Our metro Stand Down dates are August 14th at Target Field. \n*The Mission Continues is doing a service project for our other houses on 909 St. Anthony. \n*There is an open house for our new SIL home in Hibbing that will take place on May 23rd. \n*Legal clinic dates:\nMay 8th in Minneapolis\nMay 22nd in Worthington Marshal\nMay 23rd in Mankato \n*There will be a Stand Down in Rochester on June 23rd. More details will be forthcoming. \nMilitary Action Group (MAG) – Jerry Kyser Reporting\n*Please talk to your legislators about increasing support for veteran specific bills\, specifically the conference committee. We have approximately 20 days to do that. \n*The next MAG meeting May 14th at 9 AM in the state office building at 400 N. \n*We had a discussion with Veteran Voices and June 1 is the deadline for nominations. \nQ. There’s an official for MOA coming in\, are you familiar with this?\nA. No\, I’m not. \nParalyzed Veterans of America – Todd Kemery Reporting\n*The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018\, HR 4\, was passed. We want to thank our representatives who supported this. This is all part of the Air Carrier Access Act revamping. PVA has been one of the advocates for change. Passengers with disabilities bill of rights have the requirement that the Department of Transportation must investigate the feasibility of cabin wheelchair restraint systems. \n*On the senate side\, Senator Baldwin has put forth Senate Bill 1318\, which similar language to HR 4. We are hoping they will get this signed into law before September. \n*We have partnered with the MN Council of Disability on accessible state parks\, HR 39 and Senate File 2963. We are in the midst of an email and a phone call blitz. This is for $29 million to go toward paying for accessibility in William O’brien State Park\, Ft. Snelling State Park\, and Big Woods State Park\, and Minneopa State Park. Of the approximately 100+ DNR parks in Minnesota\, around 75% of them are not disability accessible. This is a start. \n*We would have liked to have had the governor sign off on a 4% increase in the payment for Personal Care Assistants\, but that did not happen. This will be one of our priorities moving forward. \n*We attended the meeting on the House side on April 27th when they were deciding on some veteran issues. We waited for at least five hours and when it came time for public testimony\, the committee chair refused to allow us to comment. Most of us were there to discuss the Homestead Widows issue. \nSt. Paul Vets Center – Scott Braden Reporting\n*We have a new director on board\, Dr. Lisa Wallace. \n*We are moving forward with a lot of our programs and now have a full staff of clinicians. \n*We are going to be attending a lot of different veteran events moving forward. \n*We want to correct miscommunications about what vet centers can do. Please spread the word that we are available for every veteran\, active duty service members\, and Guard and Reserve. \n*We are starting spousal support groups and golf for veterans. \nMN CVSO – Robby Robinson Reporting\n*Concerning property tax exclusion\, this is the first year that CVSOs can certify that everyone is 70 to 100% service connected disabled and ensure that they are living at the proper address. \n*The Military Order of the Purple Heart will be closing on 6/30/18. Contact any veterans who are involved so we can get them a new power of attorney. It closed due to funding issues at the federal issue. \nTwin Cities Public Television – Randall Dietrich Reporting\n*The documentary Going to War will premiere on May 28th. It illuminates the training\, battle\, and coming home of soldiers across multiple conflicts. There will be a special advanced screening in Washington DC at the Library of Congress on May 17th. \n*There will be advanced screenings at TPT Studios on May 22nd at 6:30 PM. A second screening is scheduled at Camp Ripley on May 24th. \n*There will be another program on May 28th called Perspectives and Profiles: Twelve MN Vietnam Veterans. All of this is leading up to the big weekend at the state capital\, where we will have the Wall That Heals. It is a traveling replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. There will be programing in Cedar Street Armory\, including documentaries\, discussions with Vietnam veterans\, and an exhibit donated by the military museum. \n*Please spread the word\, we need volunteers for the Wall that Heals June 21st through 24th. \n*We are hosting our final Minnesota Remembers Vietnam public program at the Ordway theater\, called Epilog at 7:00 PM on June 3rd. Tickets are on sale now. \nHistoric Fort Snelling – Tom Pfannenstiel Reporting\n*We are hosting an Indie Lens Popup on May 15th\, presented by Twin Cities Public Broadcasting and the MN Historical Society. It will be a documentary entitled Served Like A Girl\, which will look at homeless women veterans who entered into the Ms. Veteran America Competition. There will be a panel discussion afterwards. \nNational Guard Association of Minnesota – Col. James Douglas Reporting\n*Our annual conference for the state of Minnesota was held this past weekend. Retirement for National Guard Service Members is a concern. The retirement age is 60. In 2008\, due to the up-tempo of deployments\, legislation was passed that reduced the retirement age of Guardsmen due to the number of times they have been deployed. We are looking to get this back-dated to 2001. \n*TriCare Reserve Select is still an issue. \n*Concerning Reservist travel\, the up-tempo of the Reserve is getting increasingly high. Drill weekends are getting longer and Guardsmen who live more than 100 miles away from their drill location can get a tax deduction for their hotel and meals. We want to shorten that to 50 miles with HR 1697. \n*We have been pushing the state-sponsored life insurance legislation and it looks good so far. \n*The Guard Association of Minnesota is having their annual golf tournament on June 1st. It will be held on the Emerald Greens Golf Course in Hastings. Registration is open through May 15th. \nProject Got Your Back – Allison Alstrin Reporting\n*There has been a group that has been working to create an organization that provides caregivers and service providers an opportunity to talk about legislative issues\, much like the UVLC. The next meeting is May 16th from 12:00 to 2:00 PM at the VFW in Uptown. \n*We are working toward a calendar system where people can make announcements that they want other service providers to know about. \nEnd of Report \nSummer meetings:\nJune 6\, 2018 (MSP VAMC Building 9)\nJuly 11\, 2018 at St. Cloud\nAugust \, 2018 (MSP VAMC Building 9) \nTreasurer’s Report as of 1 May 2018 \n[print-me target=”.report” title=”Print Report”]
URL:https://mnuvlc.org/event/may-2018-meeting-2/
LOCATION:Mpls VAHC Building 9 Auditorium\, 1 Veterans Drive\, Minneapolis\, MN\, 55417\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mnuvlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1920-1080-UVLC-images-for-website-10.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20180404T043000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20180404T063000
DTSTAMP:20260524T213734
CREATED:20210421T084319Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210427T022238Z
UID:1590-1522816200-1522823400@mnuvlc.org
SUMMARY:April 2018 Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Report\nMeeting at Building 9\, VAMC Campus \nCall to order – 9:30\, Invocation – Pledge of Allegiance \nGreetings: Recognition of visitors and guests \nAnnouncements -Jerry Kyser\, Chair\, Mike Rivard\, Vice Chair. \nIntroducing Galon Miller with the Cyber Warrior Foundation. \nIntroducing Major Chad Paulson. MCA VA Comm. \n1. State Agencies and MN Veteran Assistance Organizations\nBoulevard Chiropractic – Chad Paulson Reporting\n*Concerning HR 49373\, Chiropractic Health Parity for Military Beneficiaries Act and HR 103 and S.609 Chiropractic Care Available To All Veterans Act. This would make chiropractic care available through TriCare. \n*The number one complaint from service members returning from overseas is skeletal/muscular injuries\, which is our focus in chiropractic care. It has been deemed one of the most effective treatments for skeletal/muscular injuries through DOD studies and has been found to be a cost-effective treatment\, in addition to having a high patient satisfaction rate. \n*We are a non-pharmaceutical treatment. \nMN Department of Veteran Affairs – Ben Johnson Reporting\n*Veterans Day on the Hill was a great success. \n*The legislature is currently on their Easter and Passover break and will be reconvening on April 9th. \n*The legislature is still working through their federal tax conformity issue. There have been hearings about various tax proposals\, including those relevant to veterans\, but a larger framework has not yet been released. The legislature and the governor have put out their priorities to each other and are currently working to a compromise. We are expecting an omnibus tax bill between now and the end of session\, which is May 20th. \n*We are watching the Capital Investment bill. Dayton released his proposed jobs bill back in January and the legislature has been hearing some capital investment proposals\, but have not yet released their own statewide capital investment proposal. This will impact the MDVA as well. The governor’s bill was $1.5 billion and focused on existing infrastructure for state agencies and state resources. It does not include any proposals from outside community groups\, though Dayton has stated he is willing to work with the legislature to identify what they deem is important and move forward with that as well. \n*The governor’s proposal includes $13.1 million for MDVA’s homes and cemeteries. Those would be our highest priority items at the moment. \n*Other items of interest include new veterans homes. There are four being proposed for Fillmore County\, Minneapolis\, Montevideo\, and Bemidji. These will be included with the bonding bill if the legislature decides to go forward with them. \n*Sponsors have proposed changes to the Permanent Homestead Market Value Exclusion Act\, as well as an expansion for service-connected disabled veterans. This is Representative Dettmer and Senator Anderson’s bill. It is currently in the tax committees. This change would make a permanent homestead market value exclusion for the surviving spouse rather than the previous 8-year window\, and would allow the spouse to downsize. It would be a benefit to the surviving spouse and the counties. This proposal also includes language that when a property that is receiving this exemption is\ntransferred\, that exclusion travels with the spouse rather than staying with the property. \n* HF 368\, The Military Benefits Pay Protection Act\, has made it through to the General Registrar in the House and has had its hearing in the Senate. It is ready for a vote. \n*Currently\, the Minnesota legislature and the Minnesota courts do not have Veterans Preference in Hiring. A proposal was put forth in 2017\, HF 1318 and SF 1130\, and is now ready for a vote. \n*HF 3507\, Veterans Status Data Collected for Agency Appointments\, is moving forward. It is awaiting final votes in the House and Senate. This is for appointments to state agencies and boards. \n*Our legislative affairs webpage lists all the bills and current language we are following. \n*The $46 million bonding request for Historic Ft. Snelling would also be included in the omnibus tax bill. The governor supported it\, the legislature has not yet decided. \nQ. Where are we at with the bridge for the Minneapolis home?\nA. We received funding to do the repair\, which went through their final inspection in February\, and more issues were discovered. We have not been informed if the new issues are due to the heavy equipment that was brought in to do the repairs or not\, or if they were simply preexisting issues not identified in the initial surveys. They have not given us a solid timeline of when this will be resolved. We currently have sufficient funds to do the repairs\, and are working with vendors to get the issue addressed. We will continue to update you on the situation. \nQ. Will there be a joint committee with Dettmer and Anderson\, or has that already passed?\nA. We were told to be prepared\, but we have not yet been contacted. I will bring you more information when we have it. \nMilitary Action Group (MAG) – Jerry Kyser Reporting\n*The next MAG meeting is April 16th at 9 AM at 400 N. \n*We would like to encourage other organizations to attend legislative hearings to show our support for the bills highlighted by the MN Department of Military Affairs and others relevant to our interests. \nQ. What is going on with the charitable gambling issues?\nA. The Department of Revenue is supposed to support that. We have not yet testified. More information will be forthcoming. \nMN Military Affairs – Major General Jon Jensen\, LTC Brian Winter and Annette Kuyper Reporting\n*We traveled out to DC at the end of February with Major General Jensen and Brigadier General Cruz and discussed the National Guard’s legislative priorities for 2018. It was a successful visit. \n*We are following the TriCare Reserve Select Act. This would remove the prohibition of federal technicians who are dual-status\, meaning members of the National Guard who are prohibited from accessing this healthcare benefit. The bills are HR 5121 and S 1086. This would remove the prohibition on eligibility for TriCare Reserve Select. \n*Reserve Components Parity Act. This would fix one of our mobilization authorities\, under title 12304B. HR 5038 and S 2416 will fix the level of GI Benefits and TriCare that they are getting under the mobilization authority. This will give service members the ability to get credit for Title 10 active duty time to apply towards retired pay. \n*There will be a visit on April 24th in partnership with the MN National Guard Diversity and Inclusion office\, the MN National Guard Government Relations office\, and the Jewish Community Relations Council office of Minnesota and the Dakotas to tour the National Holocaust Memorial. \n*On April 25th\, there will be a deployment ceremony for the 855 Vertical Engineering Company at Little Falls High School at 6 PM. They will be deploying to Southwest Asia under the Army Central Command. \n*The Chisago Lakes Area is forming a Yellow Ribbon Community Network. The kickoff will be held on April 14th from 10 to 11:30 PM at Lakes Free Church. \n*On April 23rd\, our Yellow Ribbon Companies will host a Yellow Ribbon Companies seminar at General Mills. General Joseph Lengyel will be in attendance. Our theme for the seminar will be transitioning service members from full time duty to the civilian world. \n*As many of you know\, we are transitioning the community portion of our Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Program to our Family Programs Team. The transition is going well. \n*We are asking for your help in connecting resources and support partners to our community networks. Currently\, we are prioritizing four communities in the metro area that are going to be impacted by upcoming deployments: Bloomington\, Inver Grove Heights\, Aden Hills\, and Rosemount. \n*August 28th is Military Appreciation Day at the State Fair. Our theme this year is honoring and recognizing female veterans. \nMN Assistance Council For Veterans (MACV) – Jon Lovald Reporting\n*There is an upcoming Vet Law clinic on April 10th in Minneapolis\, another on April 17th in St. Cloud\, and April 24th in Crookston. \n*The first Stand Down of the year will be on April 25th in Fergus Falls. \n*April 26th is our groundbreaking ceremony for the women veterans house in Maplewood. \n*AUSA and ROTC are working together to put together a 5K in Brooklyn Park. Giant’s Ridge Women Veterans Group is hosting an event for women veterans at their location. \n*There will be another Vet Law clinic on May 8th. \n*May 24th is our Women Veterans Gala in Rochester. \n*June 14th is an Army birthday event in collaboration with Fishing for Life on Lake Minnetonka. \n*There will be a Stand Down in Rochester on June 23rd. \n*July Stand Down dates will be forthcoming. \n*One of our new initiatives for 2018 is to reach out to companies and see if they are willing to adopt a SIL House (Sustainable Independent Living)\, similar to how they would adopt a highway. The exact details have yet to be determined. \nHistoric Fort Snelling – Tom Pfannenstiel\n*Not present. \nTwin Cities Public Television – Randal Dietrich Reporting\n*In May\, we will share with you a complete overview of what we have planned for June 21-24th. We will be hosting a replica of the Vietnam Memorial from DC. It will be a three-day event. There will be a flyover. More information will be forthcoming. \n2. Federal Agencies\nVISN 23 – Director Janet Murphy – Andre Kok Reporting\n*The VA has been hosting several events across the network to recognize Vietnam veterans. We have been presenting lapel pins to Vietnam veterans. \n*We want to highlight VeText\, an appointment reminder tool. Veterans who have their cellphone number on record will now receive texts reminding them of upcoming appointments and give them the option to cancel appointments if needed. It will not replace other reminders. \n*Upcoming community meetings are as follows: April 6th in Grafton\, ND\, April 25th in North Platte\, NE\, April 25th in Fort Dodge\, IA\, April 26th in Mankato\, MN\, May 1st in Brainerd\, MN\, May 7th in Des Moines\, IA\, May 8th in Omaha\, NE\, and May 10th in Quincy\, IL. \n*We are continuing to press on with our existing goals and priorities despite the recent staffing changes at Washington. \nVA Regional Office – Kim Graves – Ron Woolery Reporting\n*Several updates with the Rapid Appeals Modernization Act (RAMP). First\, until this April 1st\, a veteran could only opt-in if they had received a letter asking them to opt-in. Beginning on April 1st\, anyone who wants to opt into the program is free to do so. The RAMP team will be coming to St. Paul to meet with the congressional staff and VSOs in the week of April 9th at the Country Veteran Services Officers Conference in Mankato. \n*St. Paul has been chosen to host a RAMP processing site. We do not know what this will entail yet. The training will commence in June. More information will be forthcoming. \n*The End of Life Planning brochure has been through beta-testing with the CVSOs and veterans\, and is now an official VA publication. This will help veterans and family members easily gather information for record keeping and end of life planning. \nVAHCS Minneapolis – Director Patrick J. Kelly – Mike Rosecran Reporting\n*Our claims clinic on the 29th was successful. \n*Our quarterly town hall was held last week in Anoka. It was a good event. \n*April 26th is the Lyle Pearson and CBOC community open house from 11 to 1 PM. The DAV will be presenting a plaque in Pearson’s honor. All the CBOC leadership team will be there. \nSt. Cloud VA HCS – Director Stephen Black Reporting\n*Congratulations to Veterans Benefit Administration on their end of life benefits brochure. \n*There was an article in the St. Cloud Times on our behavioral recovery team. This is an innovate program in Minneapolis\, St. Cloud\, and central Iowa. We are working with veterans who have advanced dementia to improve their quality of life and return them to their own communities. This program will be rolling out nationally over the next year. \n*We are pleased with our Access to Care. 70% of veterans who are eligible for care at our VA receive their care at our VA. Additionally\, 20% of the veterans who come to us for care come from other areas. \n*We are seeing continued growth at about 1% a year. \n*We are in the top 25 of green healthcare. \n*Suicide prevention remains our top clinical priority for us. We have a goal of passing out 12\,000 gunlocks for 2018. \n*CARF came to examine our homelessness and vocational rehab programs. On their exit\, they stated that St. Cloud was one of the top three facilities they had ever seen in homelessness in vocational rehab and homelessness. \nFt. Snelling Cemetery – Bob Razor Reporting\n*There will be upcoming advertising on KARE11 for Flags for Ft. Snelling\, a private organization we have loosely partnered with to raise funds to place flags on every grave in Ft. Snelling for Memorial Weekend. \n*The national rate for veterans using a national cemetery is about 17%. Locally\, we were 49% for Ft. Snelling. \n3. Federal Congressional Representatives\nSenator Amy Klobuchar – Kurt Johnson Reporting\n*In March\, Senator Klobochar wrote to the then Secretary Shulkin regarding the Veterans Choice Program and the fact that many providers have not been paid. In late March\, the VA announced that the third party administrator of that program for our region will not be renewing that contract. There is still pending legislation. \n*The Omnibus Tax bill was passed. \n*The latest NDAA included language giving the DVA authority to study the effects of burn pits and start providing treatment. Unfortunately\, this did not come with funding. The new Omnibus bill could provide a path to funding. Klobuchar is working on this. \nSenator Tina Smith – Alex Schueller Reporting\n*Smith recently joined the National Guard caucus for the senate and was an original co-sponsor for the Military Hunger Prevention Act. \n*Smith signed onto the 12304 Bravo Component Benefits Parity Act and is signing onto a letter requesting to sustain the SSVF Hud Vash Appropriation Funds. \n*Smith will be signing onto a prosthetics and medical research funding appropriations letter for the VA. Recently\, she sent a letter to the VA secretary over concerns with the military electronic health records transition. \n*Smith co-sponsored S422\, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act\, as well as the Veterans Childcare Access Act. \n*Please let us know about different funding streams you are receiving that are federally related\, or general legislative issues you would like the senator to focus on. \n1st District Representative – Tim Walz – Shawn Schoesser\n*Not present. \n2nd District Representative – Jason Lewis – Angela Sedlacek Reporting\n*We are working out our exact stance on HR5038. \n*16 of our students nominated for service academies have received an acceptance to one or more of the academies. \n3rd District Representative – Erik Paulsen – Margret Cavanaugh Reporting\n*Paulson recently spoke at the deployment ceremony for the 337th Regional Support Group. \n*The Omnibus bill did include a record level of funding for the VA\, with more resources for healthcare\, opioid abuse treatment\, and better medical facilities. It provides the biggest increase in defense funding in fifteen years. \n*We nominated approximately thirty students to the service academies. So far\, eighteen have received offers of appointment. There will be a reception for our appointees on June\n18th. \n4th District Representative – Betty McCollum – Connie Haddeland Reporting\n*We are hosting a service academy information night on April 17th. \n*Concerning the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee\, the total defense spending outlined in the new omnibus bill is $654.7 billion. This funds a 2.4% pay increase for the military and civilian employees. It provides $853 million above the request to fill readiness shortfalls. $220 million was set aside for the National Guard’s High Mobility Multipurpose Yield Vehicle and $120 million for ambulance modernization. $1.3 billion for the National Guard Reserve equipment account. \n*This will mean more training for active duty and reserve components\, more procurement of weapons systems and equipment\, and modernization of many systems. It will provide the money to do the much delayed repairs on infrastructure and equipment. This puts in place the ability for people to come and train and know that they will be paid. \n*It also increases funding for the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Program by $20 million. \n5th District Representative – Keith Ellison – Mike Siebenaler\n*Not present. \n6th District Representative – Tom Emmer – Alejandra Henriquez\n*On March 22nd\, the House approved $1.3 trillion in fiscal year 2018. This provides the largest overall amount to Veteran Affairs in history. Emmer opposed this legislation and has consistently worked to fund the DVA and enact reforms to eliminate waste and the claims backlog. \n*Our service academy reception will be held in the end of May. \n7th District Representative – Collin Peterson – Meg Louwagie Reporting\n*Peterson cosponsored the Veterans Treatment Court Coordination Act and signed onto HR 1802\, the Care for All Veterans Act as well as HR 93\, Gender Specific Care for Female Veterans. He joined letters urging the VA to reconsider proposal rules to limit a veteran’s access to prosthetics. He also sent a letter to the secretary about merging the VA with TriCare. \n*Two of our academy nominees received appointments\, one to the Naval Academy and one to the Air Force. \n8th District Representative – Rick Nolan – Rick Olseen Reporting\n*Concerning the volunteer driver situation\, the federal reimbursement rate is 54 cents per mile. The federal volunteer rate is 14 cents a mile. The IRS is now taxing the difference. We are hoping to move forward with this soon. \n*Nolan will be retiring in 2019. \n*Lets Go Fishing is a wonderful organization for veterans. Please support them. \n*HF 5152 was introduced last month\, concerning positive psychological programing. \nYMCA Twin Cities (Minneapolis) – Amanda Hooper Reporting\n*April is Military Month of the Child. April 13th is wear purple in support of your community and military children. The Forest Lake program will be doing a Family Fun Night on April 13th. \n*April 5th at 6:45 PM at the Harmony Studio in Downtown Douglas YMCA\, we will be partnering with the Veterans Yoga Project to have a demo. We are trying to develop a veterans resilience and mindfulness program through the YMCA. Please spread the word. \n*We are working on our membership program for veterans. We have a personal pricing military membership that will be coming soon. More information will be forthcoming. \nCounty Veteran Service Officers – Robbie Robinson Reporting\n*The military retiree dental plan will be ending on December 31st. Anyone who has it will be eligible to get their dental through the federal employees dental and vision insurance program. \n4. Announcements\n*The May UVLC meeting is May 2nd.\n*The UVLC meeting for July will be at the St. Cloud VA on July 11. \n5. Business Meeting\nTreasurer’s Report of April 1\, 2018 \nBalance as of 1 March 2018 $3\,434.40\nDeposits for March 2018 $100.00\nExpenses for March 2018\nTranscription Expense $120.00\nBalance as of 1 March\, 2018 $3\,414.40\nSubmitted by Donald Rask\, Treasurer UVLC \n[print-me target=”.report” title=”Print Report”]
URL:https://mnuvlc.org/event/april-2018-meeting/
LOCATION:Mpls VAHC Building 9 Auditorium\, 1 Veterans Drive\, Minneapolis\, MN\, 55417\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mnuvlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1920-1080-UVLC-images-for-website-10.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20180404T043000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20180404T063000
DTSTAMP:20260524T213734
CREATED:20210421T084319Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210421T084319Z
UID:2871-1522816200-1522823400@mnuvlc.org
SUMMARY:April 2018 Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Report\nMeeting at Building 9\, VAMC Campus \nCall to order – 9:30\, Invocation – Pledge of Allegiance \nGreetings: Recognition of visitors and guests \nAnnouncements -Jerry Kyser\, Chair\, Mike Rivard\, Vice Chair. \nIntroducing Galon Miller with the Cyber Warrior Foundation. \nIntroducing Major Chad Paulson. MCA VA Comm. \n1. State Agencies and MN Veteran Assistance Organizations\nBoulevard Chiropractic – Chad Paulson Reporting\n*Concerning HR 49373\, Chiropractic Health Parity for Military Beneficiaries Act and HR 103 and S.609 Chiropractic Care Available To All Veterans Act. This would make chiropractic care available through TriCare. \n*The number one complaint from service members returning from overseas is skeletal/muscular injuries\, which is our focus in chiropractic care. It has been deemed one of the most effective treatments for skeletal/muscular injuries through DOD studies and has been found to be a cost-effective treatment\, in addition to having a high patient satisfaction rate. \n*We are a non-pharmaceutical treatment. \nMN Department of Veteran Affairs – Ben Johnson Reporting\n*Veterans Day on the Hill was a great success. \n*The legislature is currently on their Easter and Passover break and will be reconvening on April 9th. \n*The legislature is still working through their federal tax conformity issue. There have been hearings about various tax proposals\, including those relevant to veterans\, but a larger framework has not yet been released. The legislature and the governor have put out their priorities to each other and are currently working to a compromise. We are expecting an omnibus tax bill between now and the end of session\, which is May 20th. \n*We are watching the Capital Investment bill. Dayton released his proposed jobs bill back in January and the legislature has been hearing some capital investment proposals\, but have not yet released their own statewide capital investment proposal. This will impact the MDVA as well. The governor’s bill was $1.5 billion and focused on existing infrastructure for state agencies and state resources. It does not include any proposals from outside community groups\, though Dayton has stated he is willing to work with the legislature to identify what they deem is important and move forward with that as well. \n*The governor’s proposal includes $13.1 million for MDVA’s homes and cemeteries. Those would be our highest priority items at the moment. \n*Other items of interest include new veterans homes. There are four being proposed for Fillmore County\, Minneapolis\, Montevideo\, and Bemidji. These will be included with the bonding bill if the legislature decides to go forward with them. \n*Sponsors have proposed changes to the Permanent Homestead Market Value Exclusion Act\, as well as an expansion for service-connected disabled veterans. This is Representative Dettmer and Senator Anderson’s bill. It is currently in the tax committees. This change would make a permanent homestead market value exclusion for the surviving spouse rather than the previous 8-year window\, and would allow the spouse to downsize. It would be a benefit to the surviving spouse and the counties. This proposal also includes language that when a property that is receiving this exemption is\ntransferred\, that exclusion travels with the spouse rather than staying with the property. \n* HF 368\, The Military Benefits Pay Protection Act\, has made it through to the General Registrar in the House and has had its hearing in the Senate. It is ready for a vote. \n*Currently\, the Minnesota legislature and the Minnesota courts do not have Veterans Preference in Hiring. A proposal was put forth in 2017\, HF 1318 and SF 1130\, and is now ready for a vote. \n*HF 3507\, Veterans Status Data Collected for Agency Appointments\, is moving forward. It is awaiting final votes in the House and Senate. This is for appointments to state agencies and boards. \n*Our legislative affairs webpage lists all the bills and current language we are following. \n*The $46 million bonding request for Historic Ft. Snelling would also be included in the omnibus tax bill. The governor supported it\, the legislature has not yet decided. \nQ. Where are we at with the bridge for the Minneapolis home?\nA. We received funding to do the repair\, which went through their final inspection in February\, and more issues were discovered. We have not been informed if the new issues are due to the heavy equipment that was brought in to do the repairs or not\, or if they were simply preexisting issues not identified in the initial surveys. They have not given us a solid timeline of when this will be resolved. We currently have sufficient funds to do the repairs\, and are working with vendors to get the issue addressed. We will continue to update you on the situation. \nQ. Will there be a joint committee with Dettmer and Anderson\, or has that already passed?\nA. We were told to be prepared\, but we have not yet been contacted. I will bring you more information when we have it. \nMilitary Action Group (MAG) – Jerry Kyser Reporting\n*The next MAG meeting is April 16th at 9 AM at 400 N. \n*We would like to encourage other organizations to attend legislative hearings to show our support for the bills highlighted by the MN Department of Military Affairs and others relevant to our interests. \nQ. What is going on with the charitable gambling issues?\nA. The Department of Revenue is supposed to support that. We have not yet testified. More information will be forthcoming. \nMN Military Affairs – Major General Jon Jensen\, LTC Brian Winter and Annette Kuyper Reporting\n*We traveled out to DC at the end of February with Major General Jensen and Brigadier General Cruz and discussed the National Guard’s legislative priorities for 2018. It was a successful visit. \n*We are following the TriCare Reserve Select Act. This would remove the prohibition of federal technicians who are dual-status\, meaning members of the National Guard who are prohibited from accessing this healthcare benefit. The bills are HR 5121 and S 1086. This would remove the prohibition on eligibility for TriCare Reserve Select. \n*Reserve Components Parity Act. This would fix one of our mobilization authorities\, under title 12304B. HR 5038 and S 2416 will fix the level of GI Benefits and TriCare that they are getting under the mobilization authority. This will give service members the ability to get credit for Title 10 active duty time to apply towards retired pay. \n*There will be a visit on April 24th in partnership with the MN National Guard Diversity and Inclusion office\, the MN National Guard Government Relations office\, and the Jewish Community Relations Council office of Minnesota and the Dakotas to tour the National Holocaust Memorial. \n*On April 25th\, there will be a deployment ceremony for the 855 Vertical Engineering Company at Little Falls High School at 6 PM. They will be deploying to Southwest Asia under the Army Central Command. \n*The Chisago Lakes Area is forming a Yellow Ribbon Community Network. The kickoff will be held on April 14th from 10 to 11:30 PM at Lakes Free Church. \n*On April 23rd\, our Yellow Ribbon Companies will host a Yellow Ribbon Companies seminar at General Mills. General Joseph Lengyel will be in attendance. Our theme for the seminar will be transitioning service members from full time duty to the civilian world. \n*As many of you know\, we are transitioning the community portion of our Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Program to our Family Programs Team. The transition is going well. \n*We are asking for your help in connecting resources and support partners to our community networks. Currently\, we are prioritizing four communities in the metro area that are going to be impacted by upcoming deployments: Bloomington\, Inver Grove Heights\, Aden Hills\, and Rosemount. \n*August 28th is Military Appreciation Day at the State Fair. Our theme this year is honoring and recognizing female veterans. \nMN Assistance Council For Veterans (MACV) – Jon Lovald Reporting\n*There is an upcoming Vet Law clinic on April 10th in Minneapolis\, another on April 17th in St. Cloud\, and April 24th in Crookston. \n*The first Stand Down of the year will be on April 25th in Fergus Falls. \n*April 26th is our groundbreaking ceremony for the women veterans house in Maplewood. \n*AUSA and ROTC are working together to put together a 5K in Brooklyn Park. Giant’s Ridge Women Veterans Group is hosting an event for women veterans at their location. \n*There will be another Vet Law clinic on May 8th. \n*May 24th is our Women Veterans Gala in Rochester. \n*June 14th is an Army birthday event in collaboration with Fishing for Life on Lake Minnetonka. \n*There will be a Stand Down in Rochester on June 23rd. \n*July Stand Down dates will be forthcoming. \n*One of our new initiatives for 2018 is to reach out to companies and see if they are willing to adopt a SIL House (Sustainable Independent Living)\, similar to how they would adopt a highway. The exact details have yet to be determined. \nHistoric Fort Snelling – Tom Pfannenstiel\n*Not present. \nTwin Cities Public Television – Randal Dietrich Reporting\n*In May\, we will share with you a complete overview of what we have planned for June 21-24th. We will be hosting a replica of the Vietnam Memorial from DC. It will be a three-day event. There will be a flyover. More information will be forthcoming. \n2. Federal Agencies\nVISN 23 – Director Janet Murphy – Andre Kok Reporting\n*The VA has been hosting several events across the network to recognize Vietnam veterans. We have been presenting lapel pins to Vietnam veterans. \n*We want to highlight VeText\, an appointment reminder tool. Veterans who have their cellphone number on record will now receive texts reminding them of upcoming appointments and give them the option to cancel appointments if needed. It will not replace other reminders. \n*Upcoming community meetings are as follows: April 6th in Grafton\, ND\, April 25th in North Platte\, NE\, April 25th in Fort Dodge\, IA\, April 26th in Mankato\, MN\, May 1st in Brainerd\, MN\, May 7th in Des Moines\, IA\, May 8th in Omaha\, NE\, and May 10th in Quincy\, IL. \n*We are continuing to press on with our existing goals and priorities despite the recent staffing changes at Washington. \nVA Regional Office – Kim Graves – Ron Woolery Reporting\n*Several updates with the Rapid Appeals Modernization Act (RAMP). First\, until this April 1st\, a veteran could only opt-in if they had received a letter asking them to opt-in. Beginning on April 1st\, anyone who wants to opt into the program is free to do so. The RAMP team will be coming to St. Paul to meet with the congressional staff and VSOs in the week of April 9th at the Country Veteran Services Officers Conference in Mankato. \n*St. Paul has been chosen to host a RAMP processing site. We do not know what this will entail yet. The training will commence in June. More information will be forthcoming. \n*The End of Life Planning brochure has been through beta-testing with the CVSOs and veterans\, and is now an official VA publication. This will help veterans and family members easily gather information for record keeping and end of life planning. \nVAHCS Minneapolis – Director Patrick J. Kelly – Mike Rosecran Reporting\n*Our claims clinic on the 29th was successful. \n*Our quarterly town hall was held last week in Anoka. It was a good event. \n*April 26th is the Lyle Pearson and CBOC community open house from 11 to 1 PM. The DAV will be presenting a plaque in Pearson’s honor. All the CBOC leadership team will be there. \nSt. Cloud VA HCS – Director Stephen Black Reporting\n*Congratulations to Veterans Benefit Administration on their end of life benefits brochure. \n*There was an article in the St. Cloud Times on our behavioral recovery team. This is an innovate program in Minneapolis\, St. Cloud\, and central Iowa. We are working with veterans who have advanced dementia to improve their quality of life and return them to their own communities. This program will be rolling out nationally over the next year. \n*We are pleased with our Access to Care. 70% of veterans who are eligible for care at our VA receive their care at our VA. Additionally\, 20% of the veterans who come to us for care come from other areas. \n*We are seeing continued growth at about 1% a year. \n*We are in the top 25 of green healthcare. \n*Suicide prevention remains our top clinical priority for us. We have a goal of passing out 12\,000 gunlocks for 2018. \n*CARF came to examine our homelessness and vocational rehab programs. On their exit\, they stated that St. Cloud was one of the top three facilities they had ever seen in homelessness in vocational rehab and homelessness. \nFt. Snelling Cemetery – Bob Razor Reporting\n*There will be upcoming advertising on KARE11 for Flags for Ft. Snelling\, a private organization we have loosely partnered with to raise funds to place flags on every grave in Ft. Snelling for Memorial Weekend. \n*The national rate for veterans using a national cemetery is about 17%. Locally\, we were 49% for Ft. Snelling. \n3. Federal Congressional Representatives\nSenator Amy Klobuchar – Kurt Johnson Reporting\n*In March\, Senator Klobochar wrote to the then Secretary Shulkin regarding the Veterans Choice Program and the fact that many providers have not been paid. In late March\, the VA announced that the third party administrator of that program for our region will not be renewing that contract. There is still pending legislation. \n*The Omnibus Tax bill was passed. \n*The latest NDAA included language giving the DVA authority to study the effects of burn pits and start providing treatment. Unfortunately\, this did not come with funding. The new Omnibus bill could provide a path to funding. Klobuchar is working on this. \nSenator Tina Smith – Alex Schueller Reporting\n*Smith recently joined the National Guard caucus for the senate and was an original co-sponsor for the Military Hunger Prevention Act. \n*Smith signed onto the 12304 Bravo Component Benefits Parity Act and is signing onto a letter requesting to sustain the SSVF Hud Vash Appropriation Funds. \n*Smith will be signing onto a prosthetics and medical research funding appropriations letter for the VA. Recently\, she sent a letter to the VA secretary over concerns with the military electronic health records transition. \n*Smith co-sponsored S422\, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act\, as well as the Veterans Childcare Access Act. \n*Please let us know about different funding streams you are receiving that are federally related\, or general legislative issues you would like the senator to focus on. \n1st District Representative – Tim Walz – Shawn Schoesser\n*Not present. \n2nd District Representative – Jason Lewis – Angela Sedlacek Reporting\n*We are working out our exact stance on HR5038. \n*16 of our students nominated for service academies have received an acceptance to one or more of the academies. \n3rd District Representative – Erik Paulsen – Margret Cavanaugh Reporting\n*Paulson recently spoke at the deployment ceremony for the 337th Regional Support Group. \n*The Omnibus bill did include a record level of funding for the VA\, with more resources for healthcare\, opioid abuse treatment\, and better medical facilities. It provides the biggest increase in defense funding in fifteen years. \n*We nominated approximately thirty students to the service academies. So far\, eighteen have received offers of appointment. There will be a reception for our appointees on June\n18th. \n4th District Representative – Betty McCollum – Connie Haddeland Reporting\n*We are hosting a service academy information night on April 17th. \n*Concerning the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee\, the total defense spending outlined in the new omnibus bill is $654.7 billion. This funds a 2.4% pay increase for the military and civilian employees. It provides $853 million above the request to fill readiness shortfalls. $220 million was set aside for the National Guard’s High Mobility Multipurpose Yield Vehicle and $120 million for ambulance modernization. $1.3 billion for the National Guard Reserve equipment account. \n*This will mean more training for active duty and reserve components\, more procurement of weapons systems and equipment\, and modernization of many systems. It will provide the money to do the much delayed repairs on infrastructure and equipment. This puts in place the ability for people to come and train and know that they will be paid. \n*It also increases funding for the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Program by $20 million. \n5th District Representative – Keith Ellison – Mike Siebenaler\n*Not present. \n6th District Representative – Tom Emmer – Alejandra Henriquez\n*On March 22nd\, the House approved $1.3 trillion in fiscal year 2018. This provides the largest overall amount to Veteran Affairs in history. Emmer opposed this legislation and has consistently worked to fund the DVA and enact reforms to eliminate waste and the claims backlog. \n*Our service academy reception will be held in the end of May. \n7th District Representative – Collin Peterson – Meg Louwagie Reporting\n*Peterson cosponsored the Veterans Treatment Court Coordination Act and signed onto HR 1802\, the Care for All Veterans Act as well as HR 93\, Gender Specific Care for Female Veterans. He joined letters urging the VA to reconsider proposal rules to limit a veteran’s access to prosthetics. He also sent a letter to the secretary about merging the VA with TriCare. \n*Two of our academy nominees received appointments\, one to the Naval Academy and one to the Air Force. \n8th District Representative – Rick Nolan – Rick Olseen Reporting\n*Concerning the volunteer driver situation\, the federal reimbursement rate is 54 cents per mile. The federal volunteer rate is 14 cents a mile. The IRS is now taxing the difference. We are hoping to move forward with this soon. \n*Nolan will be retiring in 2019. \n*Lets Go Fishing is a wonderful organization for veterans. Please support them. \n*HF 5152 was introduced last month\, concerning positive psychological programing. \nYMCA Twin Cities (Minneapolis) – Amanda Hooper Reporting\n*April is Military Month of the Child. April 13th is wear purple in support of your community and military children. The Forest Lake program will be doing a Family Fun Night on April 13th. \n*April 5th at 6:45 PM at the Harmony Studio in Downtown Douglas YMCA\, we will be partnering with the Veterans Yoga Project to have a demo. We are trying to develop a veterans resilience and mindfulness program through the YMCA. Please spread the word. \n*We are working on our membership program for veterans. We have a personal pricing military membership that will be coming soon. More information will be forthcoming. \nCounty Veteran Service Officers – Robbie Robinson Reporting\n*The military retiree dental plan will be ending on December 31st. Anyone who has it will be eligible to get their dental through the federal employees dental and vision insurance program. \n4. Announcements\n*The May UVLC meeting is May 2nd.\n*The UVLC meeting for July will be at the St. Cloud VA on July 11. \n5. Business Meeting\nTreasurer’s Report of April 1\, 2018 \nBalance as of 1 March 2018 $3\,434.40\nDeposits for March 2018 $100.00\nExpenses for March 2018\nTranscription Expense $120.00\nBalance as of 1 March\, 2018 $3\,414.40\nSubmitted by Donald Rask\, Treasurer UVLC \n[print-me target=”.report” title=”Print Report”]
URL:https://mnuvlc.org/event/april-2018-meeting-2/
LOCATION:Mpls VAHC Building 9 Auditorium\, 1 Veterans Drive\, Minneapolis\, MN\, 55417\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mnuvlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1920-1080-UVLC-images-for-website-10.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20180307T033000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20180307T053000
DTSTAMP:20260524T213734
CREATED:20210421T084541Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210427T022347Z
UID:1594-1520393400-1520400600@mnuvlc.org
SUMMARY:March 2018 Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Report\nMeeting at Building 9\, VAMC Campus \nCall to order – 9:30\, Invocation – Pledge of Allegiance \nGreetings: Recognition of visitors and guests \nAnnouncements -Jerry Kyser\, Chair\, Mike Rivard\, Vice Chair. \n*Introducing Damian Cooley with the DAV and Vets for Peace. \n*Introducing Colleen Bush with Building Healthy Military Families. \n1. Federal Agencies\nVISN 23 – Director Janet Murphy – Andre Kok Reporting\n*Our Iowa City medical center will be participating in a two-year pilot program that will look at using tele-health to conduct psychotherapy for veterans with PTSD in rural areas. We hope to continue to roll this program out. \n*Please share the following link (vets.gov/welcometova). It provides an overview of services for veterans looking to utilize the VA. \n*There are several upcoming community meeting\, including the following: March 8th in Fargo\, ND. March 26th in Anoka. \nVA Regional Office – Kim Graves – Ron Woolery Reporting\n*We will be holding a town hall meeting in conjunction with the Minneapolis VAMC in Anoka on March 26th at the Anoka American Legion. This will be from 5 to 7. The first half\, from 5 to 6\, will be VHA and the second half\, from 6 to 7\, will be VBA. \n*On march 29th\, in conjunction with the Minneapolis VAMC\, we will be doing a Vietnam Veteran Recognition Day and claims clinic. This will be from 9 AM to 3 PM in the Flag Atrium. \n*St. Paul is currently the only VA resource office that has an innovation team. Current successes from this include an end of life planning book and a pilot webinar focused on MN CVSOs. This will be a one-hour program where CVSOs will be able to interact and ask questions\, as well as a training format. We hope this will become a monthly feature. We are currently looking at our own feedback metrics in order to better share information and concerns with the CVSOs. \nVAHCS Minneapolis – Director Patrick J. Kelly – Ralph Heussner Reporting\n*On February 26th\, we opened up the 4F super clinic and the last one\, 4E\, will be opened in March. Once all three clinics are operational\, there will be space for all the service organizations in one location. We are looking at an additional year of renovation. Super clinics include primary care\, nutritionists\, social workers\, mental healthcare\, and physical therapy. \n*Suicide prevention is the number one priority for the VA secretary. We are adding three additional staff members to our suicide prevention team\, bringing the total to eight. The new hires include two additional case managers and an educator. They will be in place by June. \n*The Journal of the American Medical Association published a study from the VA/University of MN comparing opioids vs. non-opioids for chronic back pain in veterans. The findings indicate no difference in outcome between veterans who received opioids or non-opioids. \nQ. In relation to suicide prevention\, does the VA have any partners that can deal with the arts as a mechanism for veterans getting to recovery?\nA. Yes. Two weeks ago\, we had the Creative Arts Fair at the medical center. Recreation therapists are the first point of contact for getting veterans help through the arts. \nQ. I heard that Senator Shulkin has signed off on using private outpatient clinics in suicide prevention. Do you have any commentary on this?\nA. I do not have any additional details at this time. \nSt. Cloud VA HCS – Director Stephen D. Black – Tyler Bieniek Reporting\n*We are currently on-boarding our new director of Quality\, Safety\, and Value. Joanie Bitts will be brought on board on March 18th. She previously worked for the VA before going to the private sector and is now returning. \n*We have hired a new chief of Voluntary Service\, Dan Ball. He started on march 4th. \n*We are currently interviewing for a new police chief and recruiting for both an Associative Chief of Staff and Chief of Mental Health services. \n*We are looking to increase and promote online scheduling. This includes the Veterans Appointment app and a new service we are on-boarding for text messaging. \n*We hope to increase our tele-health opportunities through Video Connect and have been promoting across our facility. You will see more of this moving forward. \n*We manned a booth at the Central MN Farm Show. On March 5th\, we had a VA Radio Show. On March 6th\, we hosted a veterans law clinic. There will be another law clinic on March 20th from noon to 2 PM in Building 28. \n*There will be a mental health recovery outreach group on March 7th from 5 to 6 PM. These are hosted off-sight at the Good Earth co-op. \n*There will be a Coffee Talk event on March 9th at 4 PM to let veterans know what we offer and get them connected to services that they need. \n*There will be a Voices for Veterans radio show on March 21st. \n*There will be a career fair for St. Cloud where we are looking for applicants in nursing\, social work\, and medical support assistants on April 28th from 9 AM to noon. \nFt. Snelling Cemetery – Bob Razor Reporting\n*Until spring comes\, there won’t be much to report. \n*Internments were as follows for February: 268 total\, 5 female veterans\, 44 from WWII\, 34 from Korea\, 50 from Vietnam\, 2 from Persian Gulf\, 44 peacetime\, no active duty\, and 123 dependents. Historically\, February has been our lowest month for internments. \n*The Memorial Rifle Squad is approaching its 75\,000 services. \n*Our national call center is having phone issues\, so Ft. Snelling is doing our own scheduling for the next three months. \n*We have a backlog with the Pre-Need screening\, and hope to resolve it within three months. \n2. Federal Congressional Representatives\nSenator Amy Klobuchar – Kurt Johnson – Greg Swanholm\n*Not present. \nSenator Tina Smith – Alex Schueller\n*Not present. \n1st District Representative – Tim Walz – Shawn Schoesser\n*Not present. \n2nd District Representative – Jason Lewis – Angela Sedlacek Reporting\n*Concerning the Veterans Appeals Approval and Modernization Act of 2017\, full implementation of this act is planned for February of 2019. However\, RAMP (Rapid Appeals Modernization Program) allows veterans to use the new appeal links prior to that. Current feedback says that RAMP has greatly improved responses on disability claims. \n*Lewis is co-sponsoring HR 5038. Waltz is the Democratic lead. It corrects some issues with how National Guard and Reserve members were being denied tri-care benefits after deployment\, Post 9/11 GI Bill Benefits\, reduction in retirement age for Reserve component members on active duty\, non-reduction of civilian pay for service members called to active duty\, and high-tempo deployment allowances. \n*We do not have an update for the exact language on the Burn Pit legislation\, but it remains a priority for us. \n3rd District Representative – Erik Paulsen – Margret Cavanaugh\n*Not present. \n4th District Representative – Betty McCollum – Connie Haddeland Reporting\n*We want to thank VISN 23 for the conference call update on March 6th. \n*McCollum met with the adjutant general\, the MN American Legion\, and others. This week she is meeting with the MN VFW\, the Secretary of the Air Force\, and others. \n*The Defense subcommittee has started their budget hearings for fiscal year 2019. \n*While the government was in shutdown and service members were not being paid\, McCollum introduced a bill and asked for a procedural motion to bring the bill to the floor so it could be acted upon or added to the CR. It was defeated on the floor and sent to House Appropriations. There will be forthcoming activity on that. \n5th District Representative – Keith Ellison – Mike Siebenaler\n*Not present. \n6th District Representative – Tom Emmer – Alejandra Henriquez\n*Not present. \n7th District Representative – Collin Peterson – Meg Louwagie\n*Not present. \n8th District Representative – Rick Nolan – Rick Olseen Reporting\n*After speaking with the MN Rural Transit Association\, it has recently come to light that volunteer drivers are being taxed on the difference between the federal reimbursement rate and the volunteer federal rate. We are losing volunteer drivers because of this. There are also motions to charge them commercial insurance rates. Nolan and Klobochar are putting bills forward to state that the volunteer driver rate would the same or not less than the federal reimbursement rate. \n*Nolan has introduced a bill\, House File 5152\, the Positive Psychology Reconditioning Act\, to fund a 14 week program for soldiers with PTSD. \nQ. For that 14 week program\, was it in-patient or outpatient care?\nA. It is an outpatient program. \n3. State Agencies and MN Veteran Assistance Organizations\nMN Department of Veteran Affairs – Commissioner Larry Shellito – Ben Johnson Reporting\n*The MN legislature has come into session since we last spoke and has since been funded. They are still working on state contracts for the employees. \n*There have been two meets of the House Veterans Committee and one in the senate. We are continuing to monitor the situation. No specific reports as of yet. More information will be forthcoming. It appears the focus this year will be federal tax conformity\, in addition to public safety\, gun control\, mental health\, workplace discrimination\, and\nsexual harassment. \n*Concerning the Bonding and Capital Investment Bill\, the MN Department of Veteran Affairs is seeking $13.1 million for our most critical needs at our five homes and one of our cemeteries. The governor has proposed $1.5 billion worth of projects. Negotiations are forthcoming. \n*The February budget forecast was released last week\, projecting a surplus of $329 million. Part of this had to do with the re-authorization of the children’s health insurance program at the federal level. \n*Building 22 on the Minneapolis campus will have its ribbon cutting and grand opening on March 22nd at 10 AM. \n*Construction of our new on-sight dental clinic will begin in April and is scheduled to finish in May. \nQ. Are you monitoring legislative efforts to privatize the VA?\nA. I watch it from a personal standpoint\, but aside from providing information\, we are largely removed from the discussion. \nQ. Concerning additional veteran homes\, what are we looking at moving forward?\nA. Our policies are not to advocate for specific locations. There are competing interests across the board and there are benefits to all of the proposed locations. Ultimately it’s a political decision that is based on a lot of different factors. More information will be forthcoming. \nQ. Is the bridge done?\nA. There is still work to be done. \nMN Military Affairs – Annette Kuyper Reporting\n*We are currently experiencing another lapse in our Family Assistance Center contract. The contract is being contested and we are not sure how long this will take to be resolved. This is a top priority for us. \n*We are finishing up the transition of the community portion of the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon to family programs. We are also reaching out to our key support partners and asking them to get involved with their local Yellow Ribbon networks. \n*Chisago Lakes is becoming the next Yellow Ribbon community on April 14th. \n*Our focus will shift toward our Yellow Ribbon companies to get more Yellow Ribbon Companies involved. Best Buy is giving us two community managers that will be working with Bloomington to revitalize the network and get them up and running. \n*Land O’Lakes and the St. Cloud VA medical center have become Yellow Ribbon companies. We now have a total of 60 companies. \n*All the Yellow Ribbon companies will be gathering on April 23rd from 8 to 12 PM at General Mills. This seminar will be focused on the military transition. \n*We have received confirmation that Joseph Lengyel\, Chief of the National Guard Bureau\, will be joining us on the April 23rd event. \n*Our event for the Month of the Military Child will be on April 13th at the Mall of America. We encourage other organizations to see what they can do to honor military youth. More information will be forthcoming. \nMN Assistance Council For Veterans (MACV) – Neil Loidolt Reporting\n*Our new website is (https://www.mac-v.org). \n*There will be a change to three of the Stand Downs this year. The Stand Downs will be conducted in conjunction to community events to try and raise awareness of veteran homelessness. In Minneapolis and Duluth\, and either Rochester or Mankato\, the homeless veteran portion of the Stand Down will be first\, then lunch\, and the remaining services and community events. In Duluth\, this will be in conjunction with DuluthFest. \n*Last year we partnered with the Builders Association of the Twin Cities to build our homeless veterans family home. That home is currently up and running. \n*We are still struggling to serve homeless and in-crisis female veterans. There are currently 18 female veterans on the homeless registry. An announcement on this will be forthcoming. We have partnered again with the Builders Association of the Twin Cities to build a 5-bedroom female veteran transition home. It will be built in Maplewood. \n*The MDVA’s veteran home is not a sustainable long-term model to address veteran homelessness. We have proposed to some of the metro builders that we could be in conversation with larger community development to address this\, and are looking into building a sustainable veterans community. Fundraising efforts are underway. \nQ. Are you working to get your homeless veterans employed?\nA. Yes. We have an employment coordinator and maintain a database of employers willing to hire veterans. \nQ. Did you get a stipend from the state government again?\nA. Last year we were approved for $1.5 million. It’s all necessary funding but most of it has to go into the currently homeless population. We want to move further into prevention\, which is more cost-effective. \nQ. There is a program in California called Plowshares (https://www.swords-to-plowshares.org) that does a great deal of work with housing homeless veterans. They might be able to help you.\nA. Thank you\, we will look into this. \nMilitary Action Group (MAG) – Jerry Kyser Reporting\n*The next MAG meeting will be on March 19th at 9 AM at 400 North. Most discussions will concern Veterans Day on the Hill. \n*We are still focused on cutting the gambling tax at American Legions to put money back into the community. \n*We are excited about the interaction between the legislature and MAG. House members are up for reelection this year and their projects need to be reviewed. \nCounty Veteran Service Officers – Robbie Robinson Reporting\n*We need as many people to attend Veterans Day on the Hill as possible. \n*The CVSO association is working hard to take of our veterans. Our spring training conferences are coming up on March 20th\, 21st\, and 22nd up in Walker. The other will be on April 10th\, 11th\, and 12th in Mankato. \n*We have been working with VISN to try tele-health in some new counties. \nDamian Cooley DAV and Veterans for Peace Reporting\n*Concerning privatization efforts on the VA. I am against privatization. Congress felt the need to act in 2014 to address issues within the VA. The expansion of the Choice program\, without any restrictions\, means that funding for the VA will get funneled out into private care. If you allow this to happen\, the funds will not go back into the VA. Please\, slow everything down. [Two handouts were provided.]\nYMCA Twin Cities (Minneapolis) – Amanda Hooper Reporting\n*We have moved veterans inclusion to the forefront for our project in 2018 and 2019\, which means that the YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities will be looking more extensively at what we can do help veterans in our communities as well as pairing veterans in the community up with the YMCA. \n*A top priority now is membership fees and reduction of membership dues for veterans. We are doing a comprehensive search of how that looks\, what other YMCAs across the US are doing\, and what that discounted rate would look like. More information will be forthcoming. \n*Another priority is community collaborations. We are working with other service providers in the area to create a space for everyone to work together. \n*On April 10th\, the YMCA in Maplewood will be hosting a service providers network. Lunch will be provided. \n*The Veterans Yoga Project contacted us and we will be hosting a Veterans Yoga Project demo day on March 31st and April 5th. This will offer free yoga to veterans in the community. \nHistoric Fort Snelling – Tom Pfannenstiel\n*Present\, but not reporting. \n4. Announcements\n*Breakfast for Veterans Day on the Hill is 8 AM Monday\, March 12\, on the 5th floor of the Veteran Service building. Events will start promptly at 10 AM in the Rotunda. \n5. Meeting in Recess for five minutes\nNext meeting April 4\, 2018. \nTreasurer’s Report as of 1 March 2018 \nBalance as of 1 February 2018 $2\,889.40\nDeposits for February 2018 $650.00 ($600 dues and $50 donation)\nExpenses for February 2018\nTranscription Expense $150.00\nTotal Expenses ($150.00) Balance as of 1 March\, 2018 $3\,389.40 \nSubmitted by Donald Rask\, Treasurer UVLC \n[print-me target=”.report” title=”Print Report”]
URL:https://mnuvlc.org/event/march-2018-meeting/
LOCATION:Mpls VAHC Building 9 Auditorium\, 1 Veterans Drive\, Minneapolis\, MN\, 55417\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mnuvlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1920-1080-UVLC-images-for-website-10.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20180307T033000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20180307T053000
DTSTAMP:20260524T213734
CREATED:20210421T084541Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210421T084541Z
UID:2872-1520393400-1520400600@mnuvlc.org
SUMMARY:March 2018 Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Report\nMeeting at Building 9\, VAMC Campus \nCall to order – 9:30\, Invocation – Pledge of Allegiance \nGreetings: Recognition of visitors and guests \nAnnouncements -Jerry Kyser\, Chair\, Mike Rivard\, Vice Chair. \n*Introducing Damian Cooley with the DAV and Vets for Peace. \n*Introducing Colleen Bush with Building Healthy Military Families. \n1. Federal Agencies\nVISN 23 – Director Janet Murphy – Andre Kok Reporting\n*Our Iowa City medical center will be participating in a two-year pilot program that will look at using tele-health to conduct psychotherapy for veterans with PTSD in rural areas. We hope to continue to roll this program out. \n*Please share the following link (vets.gov/welcometova). It provides an overview of services for veterans looking to utilize the VA. \n*There are several upcoming community meeting\, including the following: March 8th in Fargo\, ND. March 26th in Anoka. \nVA Regional Office – Kim Graves – Ron Woolery Reporting\n*We will be holding a town hall meeting in conjunction with the Minneapolis VAMC in Anoka on March 26th at the Anoka American Legion. This will be from 5 to 7. The first half\, from 5 to 6\, will be VHA and the second half\, from 6 to 7\, will be VBA. \n*On march 29th\, in conjunction with the Minneapolis VAMC\, we will be doing a Vietnam Veteran Recognition Day and claims clinic. This will be from 9 AM to 3 PM in the Flag Atrium. \n*St. Paul is currently the only VA resource office that has an innovation team. Current successes from this include an end of life planning book and a pilot webinar focused on MN CVSOs. This will be a one-hour program where CVSOs will be able to interact and ask questions\, as well as a training format. We hope this will become a monthly feature. We are currently looking at our own feedback metrics in order to better share information and concerns with the CVSOs. \nVAHCS Minneapolis – Director Patrick J. Kelly – Ralph Heussner Reporting\n*On February 26th\, we opened up the 4F super clinic and the last one\, 4E\, will be opened in March. Once all three clinics are operational\, there will be space for all the service organizations in one location. We are looking at an additional year of renovation. Super clinics include primary care\, nutritionists\, social workers\, mental healthcare\, and physical therapy. \n*Suicide prevention is the number one priority for the VA secretary. We are adding three additional staff members to our suicide prevention team\, bringing the total to eight. The new hires include two additional case managers and an educator. They will be in place by June. \n*The Journal of the American Medical Association published a study from the VA/University of MN comparing opioids vs. non-opioids for chronic back pain in veterans. The findings indicate no difference in outcome between veterans who received opioids or non-opioids. \nQ. In relation to suicide prevention\, does the VA have any partners that can deal with the arts as a mechanism for veterans getting to recovery?\nA. Yes. Two weeks ago\, we had the Creative Arts Fair at the medical center. Recreation therapists are the first point of contact for getting veterans help through the arts. \nQ. I heard that Senator Shulkin has signed off on using private outpatient clinics in suicide prevention. Do you have any commentary on this?\nA. I do not have any additional details at this time. \nSt. Cloud VA HCS – Director Stephen D. Black – Tyler Bieniek Reporting\n*We are currently on-boarding our new director of Quality\, Safety\, and Value. Joanie Bitts will be brought on board on March 18th. She previously worked for the VA before going to the private sector and is now returning. \n*We have hired a new chief of Voluntary Service\, Dan Ball. He started on march 4th. \n*We are currently interviewing for a new police chief and recruiting for both an Associative Chief of Staff and Chief of Mental Health services. \n*We are looking to increase and promote online scheduling. This includes the Veterans Appointment app and a new service we are on-boarding for text messaging. \n*We hope to increase our tele-health opportunities through Video Connect and have been promoting across our facility. You will see more of this moving forward. \n*We manned a booth at the Central MN Farm Show. On March 5th\, we had a VA Radio Show. On March 6th\, we hosted a veterans law clinic. There will be another law clinic on March 20th from noon to 2 PM in Building 28. \n*There will be a mental health recovery outreach group on March 7th from 5 to 6 PM. These are hosted off-sight at the Good Earth co-op. \n*There will be a Coffee Talk event on March 9th at 4 PM to let veterans know what we offer and get them connected to services that they need. \n*There will be a Voices for Veterans radio show on March 21st. \n*There will be a career fair for St. Cloud where we are looking for applicants in nursing\, social work\, and medical support assistants on April 28th from 9 AM to noon. \nFt. Snelling Cemetery – Bob Razor Reporting\n*Until spring comes\, there won’t be much to report. \n*Internments were as follows for February: 268 total\, 5 female veterans\, 44 from WWII\, 34 from Korea\, 50 from Vietnam\, 2 from Persian Gulf\, 44 peacetime\, no active duty\, and 123 dependents. Historically\, February has been our lowest month for internments. \n*The Memorial Rifle Squad is approaching its 75\,000 services. \n*Our national call center is having phone issues\, so Ft. Snelling is doing our own scheduling for the next three months. \n*We have a backlog with the Pre-Need screening\, and hope to resolve it within three months. \n2. Federal Congressional Representatives\nSenator Amy Klobuchar – Kurt Johnson – Greg Swanholm\n*Not present. \nSenator Tina Smith – Alex Schueller\n*Not present. \n1st District Representative – Tim Walz – Shawn Schoesser\n*Not present. \n2nd District Representative – Jason Lewis – Angela Sedlacek Reporting\n*Concerning the Veterans Appeals Approval and Modernization Act of 2017\, full implementation of this act is planned for February of 2019. However\, RAMP (Rapid Appeals Modernization Program) allows veterans to use the new appeal links prior to that. Current feedback says that RAMP has greatly improved responses on disability claims. \n*Lewis is co-sponsoring HR 5038. Waltz is the Democratic lead. It corrects some issues with how National Guard and Reserve members were being denied tri-care benefits after deployment\, Post 9/11 GI Bill Benefits\, reduction in retirement age for Reserve component members on active duty\, non-reduction of civilian pay for service members called to active duty\, and high-tempo deployment allowances. \n*We do not have an update for the exact language on the Burn Pit legislation\, but it remains a priority for us. \n3rd District Representative – Erik Paulsen – Margret Cavanaugh\n*Not present. \n4th District Representative – Betty McCollum – Connie Haddeland Reporting\n*We want to thank VISN 23 for the conference call update on March 6th. \n*McCollum met with the adjutant general\, the MN American Legion\, and others. This week she is meeting with the MN VFW\, the Secretary of the Air Force\, and others. \n*The Defense subcommittee has started their budget hearings for fiscal year 2019. \n*While the government was in shutdown and service members were not being paid\, McCollum introduced a bill and asked for a procedural motion to bring the bill to the floor so it could be acted upon or added to the CR. It was defeated on the floor and sent to House Appropriations. There will be forthcoming activity on that. \n5th District Representative – Keith Ellison – Mike Siebenaler\n*Not present. \n6th District Representative – Tom Emmer – Alejandra Henriquez\n*Not present. \n7th District Representative – Collin Peterson – Meg Louwagie\n*Not present. \n8th District Representative – Rick Nolan – Rick Olseen Reporting\n*After speaking with the MN Rural Transit Association\, it has recently come to light that volunteer drivers are being taxed on the difference between the federal reimbursement rate and the volunteer federal rate. We are losing volunteer drivers because of this. There are also motions to charge them commercial insurance rates. Nolan and Klobochar are putting bills forward to state that the volunteer driver rate would the same or not less than the federal reimbursement rate. \n*Nolan has introduced a bill\, House File 5152\, the Positive Psychology Reconditioning Act\, to fund a 14 week program for soldiers with PTSD. \nQ. For that 14 week program\, was it in-patient or outpatient care?\nA. It is an outpatient program. \n3. State Agencies and MN Veteran Assistance Organizations\nMN Department of Veteran Affairs – Commissioner Larry Shellito – Ben Johnson Reporting\n*The MN legislature has come into session since we last spoke and has since been funded. They are still working on state contracts for the employees. \n*There have been two meets of the House Veterans Committee and one in the senate. We are continuing to monitor the situation. No specific reports as of yet. More information will be forthcoming. It appears the focus this year will be federal tax conformity\, in addition to public safety\, gun control\, mental health\, workplace discrimination\, and\nsexual harassment. \n*Concerning the Bonding and Capital Investment Bill\, the MN Department of Veteran Affairs is seeking $13.1 million for our most critical needs at our five homes and one of our cemeteries. The governor has proposed $1.5 billion worth of projects. Negotiations are forthcoming. \n*The February budget forecast was released last week\, projecting a surplus of $329 million. Part of this had to do with the re-authorization of the children’s health insurance program at the federal level. \n*Building 22 on the Minneapolis campus will have its ribbon cutting and grand opening on March 22nd at 10 AM. \n*Construction of our new on-sight dental clinic will begin in April and is scheduled to finish in May. \nQ. Are you monitoring legislative efforts to privatize the VA?\nA. I watch it from a personal standpoint\, but aside from providing information\, we are largely removed from the discussion. \nQ. Concerning additional veteran homes\, what are we looking at moving forward?\nA. Our policies are not to advocate for specific locations. There are competing interests across the board and there are benefits to all of the proposed locations. Ultimately it’s a political decision that is based on a lot of different factors. More information will be forthcoming. \nQ. Is the bridge done?\nA. There is still work to be done. \nMN Military Affairs – Annette Kuyper Reporting\n*We are currently experiencing another lapse in our Family Assistance Center contract. The contract is being contested and we are not sure how long this will take to be resolved. This is a top priority for us. \n*We are finishing up the transition of the community portion of the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon to family programs. We are also reaching out to our key support partners and asking them to get involved with their local Yellow Ribbon networks. \n*Chisago Lakes is becoming the next Yellow Ribbon community on April 14th. \n*Our focus will shift toward our Yellow Ribbon companies to get more Yellow Ribbon Companies involved. Best Buy is giving us two community managers that will be working with Bloomington to revitalize the network and get them up and running. \n*Land O’Lakes and the St. Cloud VA medical center have become Yellow Ribbon companies. We now have a total of 60 companies. \n*All the Yellow Ribbon companies will be gathering on April 23rd from 8 to 12 PM at General Mills. This seminar will be focused on the military transition. \n*We have received confirmation that Joseph Lengyel\, Chief of the National Guard Bureau\, will be joining us on the April 23rd event. \n*Our event for the Month of the Military Child will be on April 13th at the Mall of America. We encourage other organizations to see what they can do to honor military youth. More information will be forthcoming. \nMN Assistance Council For Veterans (MACV) – Neil Loidolt Reporting\n*Our new website is (https://www.mac-v.org). \n*There will be a change to three of the Stand Downs this year. The Stand Downs will be conducted in conjunction to community events to try and raise awareness of veteran homelessness. In Minneapolis and Duluth\, and either Rochester or Mankato\, the homeless veteran portion of the Stand Down will be first\, then lunch\, and the remaining services and community events. In Duluth\, this will be in conjunction with DuluthFest. \n*Last year we partnered with the Builders Association of the Twin Cities to build our homeless veterans family home. That home is currently up and running. \n*We are still struggling to serve homeless and in-crisis female veterans. There are currently 18 female veterans on the homeless registry. An announcement on this will be forthcoming. We have partnered again with the Builders Association of the Twin Cities to build a 5-bedroom female veteran transition home. It will be built in Maplewood. \n*The MDVA’s veteran home is not a sustainable long-term model to address veteran homelessness. We have proposed to some of the metro builders that we could be in conversation with larger community development to address this\, and are looking into building a sustainable veterans community. Fundraising efforts are underway. \nQ. Are you working to get your homeless veterans employed?\nA. Yes. We have an employment coordinator and maintain a database of employers willing to hire veterans. \nQ. Did you get a stipend from the state government again?\nA. Last year we were approved for $1.5 million. It’s all necessary funding but most of it has to go into the currently homeless population. We want to move further into prevention\, which is more cost-effective. \nQ. There is a program in California called Plowshares (https://www.swords-to-plowshares.org) that does a great deal of work with housing homeless veterans. They might be able to help you.\nA. Thank you\, we will look into this. \nMilitary Action Group (MAG) – Jerry Kyser Reporting\n*The next MAG meeting will be on March 19th at 9 AM at 400 North. Most discussions will concern Veterans Day on the Hill. \n*We are still focused on cutting the gambling tax at American Legions to put money back into the community. \n*We are excited about the interaction between the legislature and MAG. House members are up for reelection this year and their projects need to be reviewed. \nCounty Veteran Service Officers – Robbie Robinson Reporting\n*We need as many people to attend Veterans Day on the Hill as possible. \n*The CVSO association is working hard to take of our veterans. Our spring training conferences are coming up on March 20th\, 21st\, and 22nd up in Walker. The other will be on April 10th\, 11th\, and 12th in Mankato. \n*We have been working with VISN to try tele-health in some new counties. \nDamian Cooley DAV and Veterans for Peace Reporting\n*Concerning privatization efforts on the VA. I am against privatization. Congress felt the need to act in 2014 to address issues within the VA. The expansion of the Choice program\, without any restrictions\, means that funding for the VA will get funneled out into private care. If you allow this to happen\, the funds will not go back into the VA. Please\, slow everything down. [Two handouts were provided.]\nYMCA Twin Cities (Minneapolis) – Amanda Hooper Reporting\n*We have moved veterans inclusion to the forefront for our project in 2018 and 2019\, which means that the YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities will be looking more extensively at what we can do help veterans in our communities as well as pairing veterans in the community up with the YMCA. \n*A top priority now is membership fees and reduction of membership dues for veterans. We are doing a comprehensive search of how that looks\, what other YMCAs across the US are doing\, and what that discounted rate would look like. More information will be forthcoming. \n*Another priority is community collaborations. We are working with other service providers in the area to create a space for everyone to work together. \n*On April 10th\, the YMCA in Maplewood will be hosting a service providers network. Lunch will be provided. \n*The Veterans Yoga Project contacted us and we will be hosting a Veterans Yoga Project demo day on March 31st and April 5th. This will offer free yoga to veterans in the community. \nHistoric Fort Snelling – Tom Pfannenstiel\n*Present\, but not reporting. \n4. Announcements\n*Breakfast for Veterans Day on the Hill is 8 AM Monday\, March 12\, on the 5th floor of the Veteran Service building. Events will start promptly at 10 AM in the Rotunda. \n5. Meeting in Recess for five minutes\nNext meeting April 4\, 2018. \nTreasurer’s Report as of 1 March 2018 \nBalance as of 1 February 2018 $2\,889.40\nDeposits for February 2018 $650.00 ($600 dues and $50 donation)\nExpenses for February 2018\nTranscription Expense $150.00\nTotal Expenses ($150.00) Balance as of 1 March\, 2018 $3\,389.40 \nSubmitted by Donald Rask\, Treasurer UVLC \n[print-me target=”.report” title=”Print Report”]
URL:https://mnuvlc.org/event/march-2018-meeting-2/
LOCATION:Mpls VAHC Building 9 Auditorium\, 1 Veterans Drive\, Minneapolis\, MN\, 55417\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mnuvlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1920-1080-UVLC-images-for-website-10.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20180207T033000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20180207T053000
DTSTAMP:20260524T213734
CREATED:20210421T084758Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210427T022407Z
UID:1598-1517974200-1517981400@mnuvlc.org
SUMMARY:February 2018 Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Report\nMeeting at Building 9\, VAMC Campus \nCall to order – 9:30\, Invocation – Pledge of Allegiance \nGreetings: Recognition of visitors and guests \nAnnouncements -Jerry Kyser\, Chair\, Mike Rivard\, Vice Chair. \nIntroducing Harold Standley with the Wounded Warrior project \nIntroducing Scott Braden from the St Paul Vet Center. \nIntroducing Joel Welter\, MN director of the Helmets to Hardhats project. \nIntroducing James Douglas with the National Guard Association. \n1. Federal Agencies\nVISN 23 – Director Janet Murphy – Jason Petti Reporting\n*The VA is transitioning to the new Community Care network. We do not have an effective date yet. One big change is that the medical center will have a lot more ownership related to making and scheduling appointments\, customer relations\, and as such. \n*Our priorities this year are suicide prevention\, education\, prosthetics\, and access to foundational services. \n*5\,800 veterans were treated for Hepatitis C. \n*VISN ranked 3rd in the nation for telehealth encounters and 1st in the nation for tele-audiology. \n*VISN 23 was first in the nation for work with the ammie app\, responsible for 60% of encounters and enrollments in the country. The ammie app also does text messages. \n*6 of our 8 facilities have been listed among the 50 Best Places to Work. \n*Concerning End of Life Care and the percentage of patient deaths for patients who are in hospice vs. those in the ICU\, VISN is ranked the best in the nation. We have more veterans who pass away in hospice care than the ICU. \n*Surgery and patient satisfaction scores are high. \n*We are a five star network. \n*Veteran satisfaction scores:\nEase of getting to clinic while on the phone: 81.5% Courtesy of registration staff: 97%\nInformation about delays: 90% Staff feel protected: 97%\nConcerns for patient privacy: 97% Staff working together: 97%\nLikelihood of recommending clinical practice: 96% \nQ. Do you have any big issues?\nA. Nothing major. \nQ. How is the money issue?\nA. We are still on a continuing resolution\, but all our healthcare operations are funded. Because of what happened in 2014\, we have a two-year appropriation for services. We are hoping to get an FY18 budget passed. \nVA Regional Office – Kim Graves Reporting\n*Our authorized staffing level at the regional office is 901 FTE. \n*The Appeals Modernization Act was passed last August will go into effect in February of 2019. While we are ramping up to full implementation\, we are offering veterans who are currently in the applet process some opportunities to opt into the new program. This will hopefully streamline the appeals process. Letters are being mailed out every month\, starting with veterans who had the oldest appeals in the system\, and therefore our MN veterans are not getting a lot of those letters just yet. Our appeals are in much better shape than other parts of the country. As of this past month\, letters are being sent out to veterans with older appeals but also veterans who have filed Notices of Disagreement. \n*The Decision Ready Claim program is still in full swing. Thus far\, 628 claims have been filed throughout the nation. A full 1/3rd of those came from Minnesota. Average time to complete those claims after being received is a little over nine days. \n*We continue to process claims from Camp Lejeune. About 1200 claims have been filed since the program went into effect. \n*The regional office and the Minneapolis Medical Center will be holding a joint Town Hall meeting in March. An exact date and location will be forthcoming. \n*In partnership with the Minneapolis Medical Center\, we will be hosting a Vietnam Veterans Recognition on March 29th in the Flag Atrium at the Medical Center. We will also be offering a claims clinic from 9 to 3 PM. \nVAHCS Minneapolis – Director Patrick J. Kelly – Ralph Heussner\, Mike Rosecran Reporting\n*On February 22nd\, we will be opening our second super clinic in Primary Care on 4F. The super clinics will offer primary care\, mental health\, vision\, pharmacy\, and social services all in one area. \n*There will be an open house at the Shakopee clinic on February 22nd from 11 to 1 PM. Veterans and the public are invited to attend. Services include primary care\, mental health\, counseling\, podiatry\, imaging services\, home medicine\, education\, and others. This is the first of a series of open houses we will be doing. \n*The annual Salute to Hospitalized Veterans will be February 14th at 10 AM. \n*The Minneapolis VA received their ALS certification and has been named a Certified Treatment Center of Excellence by the ALS association. The Minneapolis VA is the forth MN healthcare system to receive the designation. \nSt. Cloud VA HCS – Director Stephen D. Black – David Hintgen Reporting\n*We also have a Salute to Veteran Patients going on the week of February 12th. \n*February 15th is the Go Red For Women event\, sponsored by the St. Cloud VA to learn about heart disease in women. \n*February 20th will be our Vietnam Veteran Recognition event in Alexandria\, MN. It will be at 5:00 PM at the VFW. \nFt. Snelling Cemetery – Bob Razor Reporting\n*In January\, we performed 325 internments. There were 3 female veterans and the war periods were as follows: 47 WWII\, 52 Korea\, 52 Vietnam\, 3 Persian Gulf\, 10 peacetime\, and 161 dependents. \n*A clean sweep of the national cemetery was performed on February 4th. \n*Our National Scheduling Center is having issues with the phone lines so in the interim\, Ft. Snelling will be doing our scheduling in-house for the next two to three months. We are in the process of getting the word out.\n*There were 131 rifle salutes in January\, bringing the total to just shy of 7\,400. \nQ. How is the Saturday pilot going?\nA. So far\, we have not been very active. However\, we expected this for the winter months but are looking forward to more. The program will probably be here to stay. \nQ. Do they do the rifle salute on Saturdays?\nA. Right now\, not consistently. \nQ. How many times does the Memorial Rifle Squad appear in a day?\nA. During the winter\, around 10 to 12. \nVets Employment and Training Services [VETS] – David Seay\n*Not present. \n2. Federal Congressional Representatives\nSenator Amy Klobuchar – Kurt Johnson – Greg Swanholm Reporting\n*We finished our Service Academy nominations\, with fifty nomination slots to four academies. \n*We are continuing to play close attention to the sequester. \nSenator Tina Smith – Alex Schueller Reporting\n*Smith has agreed to take on the Atomic Veterans Healthcare Parity Act. \n*Smith has signed onto a letter in regards to mental healthcare and a letter requesting the incorporation of military criminal records to be put into the FBI database. Additionally\, she has signed onto the letter for concern over incarcerated veterans. \n*Smith cosponsored the Deborah Sampson Act\, a bill that fills critical gaps in the VA care for women veterans. \nQ. Concerning the DOD bill\, who can put attachments on that bill?\nA. That is procedural. The rules committee is in charge of that. \nQ. Where is the senator’s office?\nA. The Hart building. \n1st District Representative – Tim Walz – Shawn Schoesser Reporting\n*Not present. \n2nd District Representative – Jason Lewis – Angela Sedlacek Reporting\n*Mike Rivard sent out an email concerning the survey that queried Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their priorities for the State of the Union Address\, which I would like to reiterate here. The top priority was suicide prevention and mental health. The Veteran’s Crisis Act of 2017 would require the VA to conduct a study on the outcome and advocacy of the veteran’s crisis hotline. The Vet’s Act would give the secretary the authority to allow VA providers to practice telemedicine across state lines. Veteran Urgent Access to Healthcare Act would require the VA to provide an initial mental health assessment and any subsequent mental health services to meet any urgent healthcare needs for service members who would otherwise be ineligible for such services; for example\, if they had a less than honorable discharge. \n*The Hire Vets Act requires the Department of Labor to establish a hire vets medallion program to recognize companies for their efforts to employ veterans. This program was just launched recently. \n*Concerning medical marijuana research\, Lewis supports more research into the medical benefits. He has been an advocate of medical cannabis and would like to see the VA be able to utilize this for patients. Currently\, doctors are prevented from discussing this with veterans even in states where medical marijuana is legal. \n*The burn pits were 7th in the survey mentioned above. In 2018\, the NDAA Conference Report – which was supported by Lewis – was signed into law and included language directing the VA to coordinate efforts to better understand the effects associated with burn pits and treat veterans who become sick after exposure. \n*We nominated 30 students for the Service Academies\, with some receiving nominations to multiple academies. 10 students received nominations to the US Military Academy\, 10 students received nominations to the Naval Academy\, 10 received nominations to the Air Force Academy\, and 6 received the US MMA. There will be a meet and greet in February to congratulate the students. \n3rd District Representative – Erik Paulsen – Margaret Cavanaugh Reporting\n*We had our annual reception for Academy nominees several weeks ago. So far\, we have 5 appointments to West Point\, with 2 on the waiting list. There are 3 appointments for the Navy and 1 for the Air Force. \n*The session dates for the Navy’s Summer Seminar are June 2nd to the 7th\, June 9th to the 14th\, and June 16th to the 21st. \n4th District Representative – Betty McCollum – Connie Haddeland Reporting\n*We wanted to thank the VA regional office for their tutorial on the Rapid Appeals Modernization program. \n*We have 4 students who have signed up to attend their respective academies and are waiting to hear back from the Air Force. \n*Congress passed the NDAA this year. McCollum sits on Defense Appropriations and House Appropriations. The House of Representatives passed all the appropriations bills and sent them over to the senate. There has been no action by the senate. \n5th District Representative – Keith Ellison – Mike Siebenaler\n*Not present. \n6th District Representative – Tom Emmer – Alejandra Henriquez Reporting\n*After the shutdown\, congress is dealing with short-term funding extension and the proposed CR appears to be headed towards the senate after the February 3rd vote. It includes a full fiscal year of funding for the department of defense\, including a 2.4% raise of pay for our troops. \n7th District Representative – Collin Peterson – Meg Louwagie\n*Not present. \n8th District Representative – Rick Nolan – Rick Olseen\n*Not present. \n3. State Agencies and MN Veteran Assistance Organizations\nMN Dept of Veteran Affairs – Commissioner Larry Shellito – Ben Johnson Reporting\n*February 20th is the beginning of the legislative session. Priorities will be bonding\, infrastructure\, state projects\, taxes\, healthcare\, colleges\, and k-12 funding. This is a bonding session. For the purposes of veteran issues\, we requested asset preservation dollars for our existing veteran homes. We are focusing on veterans homes for the moment. \nDisabled American Veterans Department of MN – Trent Dilks Reporting\n*We have been working on the Veterans Day on the Hill. UVLC\, MACV\, and the Commander’s Task Force are joining together to work on this event. Veterans Day on the Hill is March 12th. \n*We are working on a busing plan and there will be 5 metro-area park and ride buses in order to deal with the parking issue. These will be free. \n*Buses will be coming from Duluth\, Bemidji\, Akin\, St. Cloud\, Rochester\, and Mankato\, among others. More information will be posted on the DAV website and Facebook page. The official flier and booklet will be released soon. Please spread the word and come help support us on March 12th. \n*There will be a free pre-rally breakfast from 8 to 10 AM in the Veteran Services building on the fifth floor. No pre-registration required. \n*There will be six regional rooms this year\, split by CVSO districts. We hope this will make organization easier. The information will be on the DAV website. \nQ. What is the website?\nA. http://davmn.org \nMN Military Affairs – Lieutenant Colonel Brian Winter Reporting\n* Lieutenant Colonel Brian Winter is replacing Lieutenant Colonel Joe Sharkey and Major Scott Ingalsbe. \n*The MN National Guard supported the safety and security efforts Super Bowl 52 at the request of the governor’s office and the Minneapolis police department. More than 400 MN guardsmen were in attendance and assisted in providing pedestrian safety\, traffic control\, security at key venues\, security of infrastructure\, and transportation. \n*The 148th Fighter Wing out of Duluth provided combat air patrols over the US Bank stadium during the event. \n*The Department of Military Affairs is finishing up our adjutant general’s legislative priorities for 2018. Those priorities fall into the following three categories: soldier\, airman\, and family support\, equipment\, and facilities. Some of the key initiatives we’ll be working with in support of those priorities include TriCare Reserve Select for National Guard Federal Technicians\, reduced retirement age eligibility for the reserve component who mobilized under 12304B. \n*We are continuing our efforts to pursue modernization for our C-130 fleet at the 133rd Airlift Wing. \n*With the Army National Guard\, we are focused on recapitalization modernization efforts for our Humvee fleet. \n*Under facilities\, construction of an aircraft shelter in Duluth at the 148th Fighter Wing. \n*We will be traveling to Capitoll Hill with Major General Jensen at the end of February to meet with our 10 Codel offices. \n*We recently had a visit from the office of the Chief of Staff of the Army’s Soldier for Life program. They met with our Beyond the Yellow Ribbon staff to get a briefing on Minnesota’s Beyond the Yellow Ribbon program. \n*We are currently working with Land O’Lakes and the St. Cloud VA to become Yellow Ribbon companies. Several state agencies are interested in going through the Yellow Ribbon company process\, including the Department of Revenue\, the Department of Transportation\, and the Department of Human Services. \n*We have a combined deployment/welcome home ceremony on February 10th at 10 AM at the Minneapolis Convention Center for the outgoing 47 RSG Group and the incoming 257th Military Police Company. \nQ. Has the money been given back to the Military Radio Network?\nA. I do not know\, but I will look into it. \nQ. What about the money that was pulled from the Honor Flights?\nA. I will look into it. \nMN Assistance Council For Veterans (MACV) – Jon Lovald Reporting\n*There is a Webenar happening on February 8th concerning veteran homelessness called Heading Home Together. \n*The Holes for Heroes event in Lake Mille Lacs will be held on February 10th. This is not a MACV event\, but we are supporting it. \n*The Anoka legal clinic will be held on March 1st. \n*March 6th is Homeless Day on the Hill. \n*Our first Stand Down of the year will be held on April 25th at Fergus Falls. \n*In 2017\, MACV added 910 new clients to the people we directly assisted. This does not include people we referred to other providers. Overall\, the total number of clients who received direct assistance from MACV was 1\,482. In January\, we added 75 new clients and have 500 clients carrying over from 2017. One way we are addressing these numbers is through Master Leasing\, which aids veterans in reaching landlords. We will provide case management for clients during the process. \n*The MN Homeless Veteran Registry currently has 200 names on it. \n*We are having issues with other support organizations who are not signing their clients up for coordinated entry. This is hurting programs that need coordinated entry in order to receive funding. We will put this into a specific request soon. \nQ. Are you doing anything to enhance your assets concerning Elder Law?\nA. This has been brought up to our Vet Law team. We are looking for more lawyers who can assist us specifically on this topic. \nMilitary Action Group (MAG) – Jerry Kyser Reporting\n*The MAG meeting is February 12th at 10:00 AM at the state office building. \nWomen Veterans Initiative – Jill Troutner Reporting\n*Women Veterans Initiative is once again hosting the Women Veteran of the Year Award through Veteran Voices. Please submit your nominations.\n*The DAV has signed the Homegrown Heroes contract with the MN Lynx. \nMinnesota Paralyzed Veterans – Todd Kemery Reporting\n*We applaud Trent Dilks’s efforts to make this Veterans Day on the Hill on March 12th possible. \nSt. Paul Vets Center – Scott Braden Reporting\n*Currently we are without a director\, and are looking to fill the position. \n*Please let your veterans know about our organization. We work with veterans on an individual counseling basis and then try to get them into groups. We also provide activities for veterans to combat isolation\, including an event at Afton Alps on February 16th. \n*Combat veterans\, military sexual trauma cases\, and bereavement cases are eligible for our help. \n*We host Golf for Veterans days with Brooklyn Park\, Guitars for Vets\, and Vets on the River. \nQ. Are you seeing any noticeable trends?\nA. There are always issues with PTSD and people trying to work their issues out in isolation. Thankfully we have been able to direct our vets to different agencies to meet their specific needs. \nYMCA Twin Cities (Minneapolis) – Amanda Hooper Reporting\n*Amanda Hooper runs the Veterans Initiative and the Veterans Outreach and Military Service Program for the YMCA of the greater Twin Cities. She was recently appointed as the National Working Group project coordinator for Y of the USA to get a veterans and military working group in motion for YMCA of the greater USA. This would allow the YMCA to create a national initiative to have a military and veterans program outlined online. \n*In 2017\, we put our grant through\, had a Town Hall meeting where we worked with our MOU at the VA hospital\, and we are hoping to put other Town Hall meetings in 2018. We have 26 locations across the Twin Cities if your organizations need space for events. \n*Our main goal is to reach out to other 501c19s so we can coordinate events. \n*The Maplewood community center is now run by the YMCA and are planning on holding a Veterans Resources and Wellness expo day in the spring. A date has not yet been set. More details will be forthcoming. Contact us if you are interested in being involved. \n*There will be a resource fair in May. There was a large disability claims clinic at the town hall in Forest Lake and hope to continue this. \n*Our new facility recently opened in downtown\, the Dayton YMCA. Our new Equity and Innovation Center is now open to the public to help with innovation and equality certification programs. \nHistoric Fort Snelling – Tom Pfannenstiel Reporting\n*Our revitalization efforts continue for the 200th anniversary of the fort. This will be the first bicentennial in the state of MN. It is the largest project the MN Historical Society has done in 25 years. \n*We are on the legislative agenda for 2018 and thank Jerry Kyser and other UVLC organizations for their continued support. \n*Please thank Governor Dayton for including our project in the bonding bill for this session. \n*Volunteer opportunities are available. \nCounty Veteran Service Officers – St. Pres. Robby Robinson Reporting\n*The topic for Robby Robinson’s MN Military Radio appearance this month will be Veterans Day on the Hill. \n*We have found some language issues with the Property Tax Exclusion that will be addressed with the legislature. \n*We have been working with service organizations to get House Bill 4242 moving forward and get the Mayo Clinic back on board. \n*We are working with the VA for telemedicine opportunities for veterans out in the counties. \n*We are working with the Mayo Clinic for a fall prevention program for veterans who have prosthetics below the knee and tend to fall. \n*The Mayo Clinic is looking into performing some TBI studies with veterans. More information will be forthcoming. \nVeterans Resilience Project – Elaine Wynne Reporting\n*Contact elaine@resiliencemn.org for more information. \n*There was a pilot program previously with good results. \n* http://www.resiliencemn.org \n*Next month there will be an unveiling of our project\, including a focus on women veterans\, military sexual trauma\, and homelessness. \n*The National VA supports our projects and considers it one of the best first-line treatments. \n*The project is a third-phase project and is going ahead with a legislative proposal. \n4. Announcements\n*Veterans Day on the Hill is March 12th. \n*It is 60 days to the next Honor Flight. It will be the 20th Honor Flight for Minnesota. It will be held in April. More information will be forthcoming. \n*There will be a service provider meeting on February 13th from noon to 2 PM at the VFW in Uptown. \n5. Meeting in Recess for five minutes\nNext meeting March 7\, 2018. Treasurer’s Report as of 1 February 2018\nBalance as of 1 January 2018 $2\,604.52\nDeposits for January 2018 $100.00\nExpenses for January 2018\nTranscription Expense $165\,00\nPostage $9.80\nAdmin Supplies $15.32\nTotal Expenses ($190.12) \nBalance as of 1 February\, 2018 $2\,889.40 \nSubmitted by Donald Rask\, Treasurer UVLC \n[print-me target=”.report” title=”Print Report”]
URL:https://mnuvlc.org/event/february-2018-meeting/
LOCATION:Mpls VAHC Building 9 Auditorium\, 1 Veterans Drive\, Minneapolis\, MN\, 55417\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mnuvlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1920-1080-UVLC-images-for-website-10.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20180207T033000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20180207T053000
DTSTAMP:20260524T213734
CREATED:20210421T084758Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210421T084758Z
UID:2873-1517974200-1517981400@mnuvlc.org
SUMMARY:February 2018 Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Report\nMeeting at Building 9\, VAMC Campus \nCall to order – 9:30\, Invocation – Pledge of Allegiance \nGreetings: Recognition of visitors and guests \nAnnouncements -Jerry Kyser\, Chair\, Mike Rivard\, Vice Chair. \nIntroducing Harold Standley with the Wounded Warrior project \nIntroducing Scott Braden from the St Paul Vet Center. \nIntroducing Joel Welter\, MN director of the Helmets to Hardhats project. \nIntroducing James Douglas with the National Guard Association. \n1. Federal Agencies\nVISN 23 – Director Janet Murphy – Jason Petti Reporting\n*The VA is transitioning to the new Community Care network. We do not have an effective date yet. One big change is that the medical center will have a lot more ownership related to making and scheduling appointments\, customer relations\, and as such. \n*Our priorities this year are suicide prevention\, education\, prosthetics\, and access to foundational services. \n*5\,800 veterans were treated for Hepatitis C. \n*VISN ranked 3rd in the nation for telehealth encounters and 1st in the nation for tele-audiology. \n*VISN 23 was first in the nation for work with the ammie app\, responsible for 60% of encounters and enrollments in the country. The ammie app also does text messages. \n*6 of our 8 facilities have been listed among the 50 Best Places to Work. \n*Concerning End of Life Care and the percentage of patient deaths for patients who are in hospice vs. those in the ICU\, VISN is ranked the best in the nation. We have more veterans who pass away in hospice care than the ICU. \n*Surgery and patient satisfaction scores are high. \n*We are a five star network. \n*Veteran satisfaction scores:\nEase of getting to clinic while on the phone: 81.5% Courtesy of registration staff: 97%\nInformation about delays: 90% Staff feel protected: 97%\nConcerns for patient privacy: 97% Staff working together: 97%\nLikelihood of recommending clinical practice: 96% \nQ. Do you have any big issues?\nA. Nothing major. \nQ. How is the money issue?\nA. We are still on a continuing resolution\, but all our healthcare operations are funded. Because of what happened in 2014\, we have a two-year appropriation for services. We are hoping to get an FY18 budget passed. \nVA Regional Office – Kim Graves Reporting\n*Our authorized staffing level at the regional office is 901 FTE. \n*The Appeals Modernization Act was passed last August will go into effect in February of 2019. While we are ramping up to full implementation\, we are offering veterans who are currently in the applet process some opportunities to opt into the new program. This will hopefully streamline the appeals process. Letters are being mailed out every month\, starting with veterans who had the oldest appeals in the system\, and therefore our MN veterans are not getting a lot of those letters just yet. Our appeals are in much better shape than other parts of the country. As of this past month\, letters are being sent out to veterans with older appeals but also veterans who have filed Notices of Disagreement. \n*The Decision Ready Claim program is still in full swing. Thus far\, 628 claims have been filed throughout the nation. A full 1/3rd of those came from Minnesota. Average time to complete those claims after being received is a little over nine days. \n*We continue to process claims from Camp Lejeune. About 1200 claims have been filed since the program went into effect. \n*The regional office and the Minneapolis Medical Center will be holding a joint Town Hall meeting in March. An exact date and location will be forthcoming. \n*In partnership with the Minneapolis Medical Center\, we will be hosting a Vietnam Veterans Recognition on March 29th in the Flag Atrium at the Medical Center. We will also be offering a claims clinic from 9 to 3 PM. \nVAHCS Minneapolis – Director Patrick J. Kelly – Ralph Heussner\, Mike Rosecran Reporting\n*On February 22nd\, we will be opening our second super clinic in Primary Care on 4F. The super clinics will offer primary care\, mental health\, vision\, pharmacy\, and social services all in one area. \n*There will be an open house at the Shakopee clinic on February 22nd from 11 to 1 PM. Veterans and the public are invited to attend. Services include primary care\, mental health\, counseling\, podiatry\, imaging services\, home medicine\, education\, and others. This is the first of a series of open houses we will be doing. \n*The annual Salute to Hospitalized Veterans will be February 14th at 10 AM. \n*The Minneapolis VA received their ALS certification and has been named a Certified Treatment Center of Excellence by the ALS association. The Minneapolis VA is the forth MN healthcare system to receive the designation. \nSt. Cloud VA HCS – Director Stephen D. Black – David Hintgen Reporting\n*We also have a Salute to Veteran Patients going on the week of February 12th. \n*February 15th is the Go Red For Women event\, sponsored by the St. Cloud VA to learn about heart disease in women. \n*February 20th will be our Vietnam Veteran Recognition event in Alexandria\, MN. It will be at 5:00 PM at the VFW. \nFt. Snelling Cemetery – Bob Razor Reporting\n*In January\, we performed 325 internments. There were 3 female veterans and the war periods were as follows: 47 WWII\, 52 Korea\, 52 Vietnam\, 3 Persian Gulf\, 10 peacetime\, and 161 dependents. \n*A clean sweep of the national cemetery was performed on February 4th. \n*Our National Scheduling Center is having issues with the phone lines so in the interim\, Ft. Snelling will be doing our scheduling in-house for the next two to three months. We are in the process of getting the word out.\n*There were 131 rifle salutes in January\, bringing the total to just shy of 7\,400. \nQ. How is the Saturday pilot going?\nA. So far\, we have not been very active. However\, we expected this for the winter months but are looking forward to more. The program will probably be here to stay. \nQ. Do they do the rifle salute on Saturdays?\nA. Right now\, not consistently. \nQ. How many times does the Memorial Rifle Squad appear in a day?\nA. During the winter\, around 10 to 12. \nVets Employment and Training Services [VETS] – David Seay\n*Not present. \n2. Federal Congressional Representatives\nSenator Amy Klobuchar – Kurt Johnson – Greg Swanholm Reporting\n*We finished our Service Academy nominations\, with fifty nomination slots to four academies. \n*We are continuing to play close attention to the sequester. \nSenator Tina Smith – Alex Schueller Reporting\n*Smith has agreed to take on the Atomic Veterans Healthcare Parity Act. \n*Smith has signed onto a letter in regards to mental healthcare and a letter requesting the incorporation of military criminal records to be put into the FBI database. Additionally\, she has signed onto the letter for concern over incarcerated veterans. \n*Smith cosponsored the Deborah Sampson Act\, a bill that fills critical gaps in the VA care for women veterans. \nQ. Concerning the DOD bill\, who can put attachments on that bill?\nA. That is procedural. The rules committee is in charge of that. \nQ. Where is the senator’s office?\nA. The Hart building. \n1st District Representative – Tim Walz – Shawn Schoesser Reporting\n*Not present. \n2nd District Representative – Jason Lewis – Angela Sedlacek Reporting\n*Mike Rivard sent out an email concerning the survey that queried Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their priorities for the State of the Union Address\, which I would like to reiterate here. The top priority was suicide prevention and mental health. The Veteran’s Crisis Act of 2017 would require the VA to conduct a study on the outcome and advocacy of the veteran’s crisis hotline. The Vet’s Act would give the secretary the authority to allow VA providers to practice telemedicine across state lines. Veteran Urgent Access to Healthcare Act would require the VA to provide an initial mental health assessment and any subsequent mental health services to meet any urgent healthcare needs for service members who would otherwise be ineligible for such services; for example\, if they had a less than honorable discharge. \n*The Hire Vets Act requires the Department of Labor to establish a hire vets medallion program to recognize companies for their efforts to employ veterans. This program was just launched recently. \n*Concerning medical marijuana research\, Lewis supports more research into the medical benefits. He has been an advocate of medical cannabis and would like to see the VA be able to utilize this for patients. Currently\, doctors are prevented from discussing this with veterans even in states where medical marijuana is legal. \n*The burn pits were 7th in the survey mentioned above. In 2018\, the NDAA Conference Report – which was supported by Lewis – was signed into law and included language directing the VA to coordinate efforts to better understand the effects associated with burn pits and treat veterans who become sick after exposure. \n*We nominated 30 students for the Service Academies\, with some receiving nominations to multiple academies. 10 students received nominations to the US Military Academy\, 10 students received nominations to the Naval Academy\, 10 received nominations to the Air Force Academy\, and 6 received the US MMA. There will be a meet and greet in February to congratulate the students. \n3rd District Representative – Erik Paulsen – Margaret Cavanaugh Reporting\n*We had our annual reception for Academy nominees several weeks ago. So far\, we have 5 appointments to West Point\, with 2 on the waiting list. There are 3 appointments for the Navy and 1 for the Air Force. \n*The session dates for the Navy’s Summer Seminar are June 2nd to the 7th\, June 9th to the 14th\, and June 16th to the 21st. \n4th District Representative – Betty McCollum – Connie Haddeland Reporting\n*We wanted to thank the VA regional office for their tutorial on the Rapid Appeals Modernization program. \n*We have 4 students who have signed up to attend their respective academies and are waiting to hear back from the Air Force. \n*Congress passed the NDAA this year. McCollum sits on Defense Appropriations and House Appropriations. The House of Representatives passed all the appropriations bills and sent them over to the senate. There has been no action by the senate. \n5th District Representative – Keith Ellison – Mike Siebenaler\n*Not present. \n6th District Representative – Tom Emmer – Alejandra Henriquez Reporting\n*After the shutdown\, congress is dealing with short-term funding extension and the proposed CR appears to be headed towards the senate after the February 3rd vote. It includes a full fiscal year of funding for the department of defense\, including a 2.4% raise of pay for our troops. \n7th District Representative – Collin Peterson – Meg Louwagie\n*Not present. \n8th District Representative – Rick Nolan – Rick Olseen\n*Not present. \n3. State Agencies and MN Veteran Assistance Organizations\nMN Dept of Veteran Affairs – Commissioner Larry Shellito – Ben Johnson Reporting\n*February 20th is the beginning of the legislative session. Priorities will be bonding\, infrastructure\, state projects\, taxes\, healthcare\, colleges\, and k-12 funding. This is a bonding session. For the purposes of veteran issues\, we requested asset preservation dollars for our existing veteran homes. We are focusing on veterans homes for the moment. \nDisabled American Veterans Department of MN – Trent Dilks Reporting\n*We have been working on the Veterans Day on the Hill. UVLC\, MACV\, and the Commander’s Task Force are joining together to work on this event. Veterans Day on the Hill is March 12th. \n*We are working on a busing plan and there will be 5 metro-area park and ride buses in order to deal with the parking issue. These will be free. \n*Buses will be coming from Duluth\, Bemidji\, Akin\, St. Cloud\, Rochester\, and Mankato\, among others. More information will be posted on the DAV website and Facebook page. The official flier and booklet will be released soon. Please spread the word and come help support us on March 12th. \n*There will be a free pre-rally breakfast from 8 to 10 AM in the Veteran Services building on the fifth floor. No pre-registration required. \n*There will be six regional rooms this year\, split by CVSO districts. We hope this will make organization easier. The information will be on the DAV website. \nQ. What is the website?\nA. http://davmn.org \nMN Military Affairs – Lieutenant Colonel Brian Winter Reporting\n* Lieutenant Colonel Brian Winter is replacing Lieutenant Colonel Joe Sharkey and Major Scott Ingalsbe. \n*The MN National Guard supported the safety and security efforts Super Bowl 52 at the request of the governor’s office and the Minneapolis police department. More than 400 MN guardsmen were in attendance and assisted in providing pedestrian safety\, traffic control\, security at key venues\, security of infrastructure\, and transportation. \n*The 148th Fighter Wing out of Duluth provided combat air patrols over the US Bank stadium during the event. \n*The Department of Military Affairs is finishing up our adjutant general’s legislative priorities for 2018. Those priorities fall into the following three categories: soldier\, airman\, and family support\, equipment\, and facilities. Some of the key initiatives we’ll be working with in support of those priorities include TriCare Reserve Select for National Guard Federal Technicians\, reduced retirement age eligibility for the reserve component who mobilized under 12304B. \n*We are continuing our efforts to pursue modernization for our C-130 fleet at the 133rd Airlift Wing. \n*With the Army National Guard\, we are focused on recapitalization modernization efforts for our Humvee fleet. \n*Under facilities\, construction of an aircraft shelter in Duluth at the 148th Fighter Wing. \n*We will be traveling to Capitoll Hill with Major General Jensen at the end of February to meet with our 10 Codel offices. \n*We recently had a visit from the office of the Chief of Staff of the Army’s Soldier for Life program. They met with our Beyond the Yellow Ribbon staff to get a briefing on Minnesota’s Beyond the Yellow Ribbon program. \n*We are currently working with Land O’Lakes and the St. Cloud VA to become Yellow Ribbon companies. Several state agencies are interested in going through the Yellow Ribbon company process\, including the Department of Revenue\, the Department of Transportation\, and the Department of Human Services. \n*We have a combined deployment/welcome home ceremony on February 10th at 10 AM at the Minneapolis Convention Center for the outgoing 47 RSG Group and the incoming 257th Military Police Company. \nQ. Has the money been given back to the Military Radio Network?\nA. I do not know\, but I will look into it. \nQ. What about the money that was pulled from the Honor Flights?\nA. I will look into it. \nMN Assistance Council For Veterans (MACV) – Jon Lovald Reporting\n*There is a Webenar happening on February 8th concerning veteran homelessness called Heading Home Together. \n*The Holes for Heroes event in Lake Mille Lacs will be held on February 10th. This is not a MACV event\, but we are supporting it. \n*The Anoka legal clinic will be held on March 1st. \n*March 6th is Homeless Day on the Hill. \n*Our first Stand Down of the year will be held on April 25th at Fergus Falls. \n*In 2017\, MACV added 910 new clients to the people we directly assisted. This does not include people we referred to other providers. Overall\, the total number of clients who received direct assistance from MACV was 1\,482. In January\, we added 75 new clients and have 500 clients carrying over from 2017. One way we are addressing these numbers is through Master Leasing\, which aids veterans in reaching landlords. We will provide case management for clients during the process. \n*The MN Homeless Veteran Registry currently has 200 names on it. \n*We are having issues with other support organizations who are not signing their clients up for coordinated entry. This is hurting programs that need coordinated entry in order to receive funding. We will put this into a specific request soon. \nQ. Are you doing anything to enhance your assets concerning Elder Law?\nA. This has been brought up to our Vet Law team. We are looking for more lawyers who can assist us specifically on this topic. \nMilitary Action Group (MAG) – Jerry Kyser Reporting\n*The MAG meeting is February 12th at 10:00 AM at the state office building. \nWomen Veterans Initiative – Jill Troutner Reporting\n*Women Veterans Initiative is once again hosting the Women Veteran of the Year Award through Veteran Voices. Please submit your nominations.\n*The DAV has signed the Homegrown Heroes contract with the MN Lynx. \nMinnesota Paralyzed Veterans – Todd Kemery Reporting\n*We applaud Trent Dilks’s efforts to make this Veterans Day on the Hill on March 12th possible. \nSt. Paul Vets Center – Scott Braden Reporting\n*Currently we are without a director\, and are looking to fill the position. \n*Please let your veterans know about our organization. We work with veterans on an individual counseling basis and then try to get them into groups. We also provide activities for veterans to combat isolation\, including an event at Afton Alps on February 16th. \n*Combat veterans\, military sexual trauma cases\, and bereavement cases are eligible for our help. \n*We host Golf for Veterans days with Brooklyn Park\, Guitars for Vets\, and Vets on the River. \nQ. Are you seeing any noticeable trends?\nA. There are always issues with PTSD and people trying to work their issues out in isolation. Thankfully we have been able to direct our vets to different agencies to meet their specific needs. \nYMCA Twin Cities (Minneapolis) – Amanda Hooper Reporting\n*Amanda Hooper runs the Veterans Initiative and the Veterans Outreach and Military Service Program for the YMCA of the greater Twin Cities. She was recently appointed as the National Working Group project coordinator for Y of the USA to get a veterans and military working group in motion for YMCA of the greater USA. This would allow the YMCA to create a national initiative to have a military and veterans program outlined online. \n*In 2017\, we put our grant through\, had a Town Hall meeting where we worked with our MOU at the VA hospital\, and we are hoping to put other Town Hall meetings in 2018. We have 26 locations across the Twin Cities if your organizations need space for events. \n*Our main goal is to reach out to other 501c19s so we can coordinate events. \n*The Maplewood community center is now run by the YMCA and are planning on holding a Veterans Resources and Wellness expo day in the spring. A date has not yet been set. More details will be forthcoming. Contact us if you are interested in being involved. \n*There will be a resource fair in May. There was a large disability claims clinic at the town hall in Forest Lake and hope to continue this. \n*Our new facility recently opened in downtown\, the Dayton YMCA. Our new Equity and Innovation Center is now open to the public to help with innovation and equality certification programs. \nHistoric Fort Snelling – Tom Pfannenstiel Reporting\n*Our revitalization efforts continue for the 200th anniversary of the fort. This will be the first bicentennial in the state of MN. It is the largest project the MN Historical Society has done in 25 years. \n*We are on the legislative agenda for 2018 and thank Jerry Kyser and other UVLC organizations for their continued support. \n*Please thank Governor Dayton for including our project in the bonding bill for this session. \n*Volunteer opportunities are available. \nCounty Veteran Service Officers – St. Pres. Robby Robinson Reporting\n*The topic for Robby Robinson’s MN Military Radio appearance this month will be Veterans Day on the Hill. \n*We have found some language issues with the Property Tax Exclusion that will be addressed with the legislature. \n*We have been working with service organizations to get House Bill 4242 moving forward and get the Mayo Clinic back on board. \n*We are working with the VA for telemedicine opportunities for veterans out in the counties. \n*We are working with the Mayo Clinic for a fall prevention program for veterans who have prosthetics below the knee and tend to fall. \n*The Mayo Clinic is looking into performing some TBI studies with veterans. More information will be forthcoming. \nVeterans Resilience Project – Elaine Wynne Reporting\n*Contact elaine@resiliencemn.org for more information. \n*There was a pilot program previously with good results. \n* http://www.resiliencemn.org \n*Next month there will be an unveiling of our project\, including a focus on women veterans\, military sexual trauma\, and homelessness. \n*The National VA supports our projects and considers it one of the best first-line treatments. \n*The project is a third-phase project and is going ahead with a legislative proposal. \n4. Announcements\n*Veterans Day on the Hill is March 12th. \n*It is 60 days to the next Honor Flight. It will be the 20th Honor Flight for Minnesota. It will be held in April. More information will be forthcoming. \n*There will be a service provider meeting on February 13th from noon to 2 PM at the VFW in Uptown. \n5. Meeting in Recess for five minutes\nNext meeting March 7\, 2018. Treasurer’s Report as of 1 February 2018\nBalance as of 1 January 2018 $2\,604.52\nDeposits for January 2018 $100.00\nExpenses for January 2018\nTranscription Expense $165\,00\nPostage $9.80\nAdmin Supplies $15.32\nTotal Expenses ($190.12) \nBalance as of 1 February\, 2018 $2\,889.40 \nSubmitted by Donald Rask\, Treasurer UVLC \n[print-me target=”.report” title=”Print Report”]
URL:https://mnuvlc.org/event/february-2018-meeting-2/
LOCATION:Mpls VAHC Building 9 Auditorium\, 1 Veterans Drive\, Minneapolis\, MN\, 55417\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mnuvlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1920-1080-UVLC-images-for-website-10.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20171206T033000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20171206T053000
DTSTAMP:20260524T213734
CREATED:20210421T085718Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210427T022424Z
UID:1600-1512531000-1512538200@mnuvlc.org
SUMMARY:December 2017 Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Report\nMeeting at Building 9\, VAMC Campus \nCall to order – 9:30\, Invocation – Pledge of Allegiance \nGreetings: Recognition of visitors and guests \nAnnouncements – Ralph Donais\, Chairman – Jerry Kyser\, Vice Chairman. \n1. Federal Congressional Representatives\nSenator Amy Klobuchar – Kurt Johnson\n*Not present. \nSenator Al Franken – Alex Schueller\n*Not present. \n1st District Representative – Tim Walz – Shawn Schoesser\n*Not present. \n2nd District Representative – Jason Lewis – Angela Sedlacek Reporting\n* Bills for veterans:\nHR 918\, access to mental health\nHR 1133\, transplant choice program to include live donor\nHR 2601\, re veterans needing transplants\nHR 4173\, veterans crisis line efficiency \n*Concerned about proposal to merge Choice and Tricare. \n3rd District Representative – Erik Paulsen – Margaret Cavanaugh\n*Not present. \n4th District Representative – Betty McCollum – Connie HaddelandReporting\n*McCollum received her 25-year membership pin at the VFW. \n*We interviewed 17 students for Service Academy appointments. One candidate has three years of enlisted service and is an outstanding candidate. \n*The grand opening of the new clinic will be the week of December 11th. \n*Last month a number of legislators met with Jan Murphy about modernizing the VA. \n5th District Representative – Keith Ellison – Mike Siebenaler\n*Not present. \n6th District Representative – Tom Emmer – Abby Rime\n*Not present. \n7th District Representative – Collin Peterson – Meg Louwagie Reporting\n*We are gravely concerned about the proposed VA-TriCare merger. \n*Our Service Academy interviews will be on December 9th. Currently we have 7. \n8th District Representative – Rick Nolan – Rick Olseen Reporting\n*Leech Lake Reservation is building a new veterans cemetery. \n2. State Agencies and MN Veteran Assistance Organizations\nMN Department of Veteran Affairs – Commissioner Larry Shellito – Ben Johnson Reporting\n*We had great participation in the State of MN’s Veterans Day event at Inver Grove Heights. Both citizens and the congressional delegation came out in force. \n*The Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day is on December 7th\, honoring the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. The Ft. Snelling Memorial Rifle Squad will be on the premise. It will be hosted at Historic Ft. Snelling in the visitors’ auditorium\, beginning at 10 AM. This is the 76th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. \n*Veterans Day on the Hill will be March 12th. Jerry Kyser will be the MC. \n*On November 16th\, the MN Supreme Court released their opinion on the lawsuit brought by the legislature against Governor Mark Dayton. The Supreme Court held that his exercise of the line item veto did comply with the language of the constitution. The judiciary is not authorized to order funding for the legislature within appropriations\, so they could not circumvent the line item veto. The legislature has the statutory authority to access appropriated funds sufficient to function until they reconvene on February 20th. Because they have enough funds to survive until February 20th\, they decided not to offer an opinion about whether or not it was unconstitutionally coercive. There is still broad bipartisan support for initiatives on behalf of veterans and their families. The projected budget deficit\, however\, is worrying. \n*On the federal level\, they are likely not going to be moving forward on the conference committee for Tax Cuts and Jobs Act until they get the federal budget sorted out. There is a potential federal government shutdown. \nQ. The money that the state of MN has in reserve is around a billion dollars?\nA. Yes. \nQ. So you should be able to make it to February.\nA. Absolutely. The operating money is there to keep the government functioning; this is not a dire prediction. This is a growing economy. \nMN Military Affairs – Major Scott Ingalsbe – Annette Kuyper Reporting\n*Major Ingalsbe is currently visiting the congressional delegation in DC. \n*The MN National Guard is preparing for 120 members of the Monticello based military police company to be home before Christmas. They are returning from Guantanamo Bay. \n*Brigadier General John Safstrom has been promoted to oversee the Air Guard. He is now Assistant Adjutant General Air. He previously oversaw the 148th Fighter Wing in Duluth. Taking his place is Col. Chris Blomquist. General Safstrom will be overseeing both the 148th and the 133rd. \n*Brigadier General Ben Corell will be our 34th Infantry Division commander starting December 9th. \n*General John Jensen has set his leadership priorities. Beyond the Yellow Ribbon will be retained as a leadership priority\, with a few changes. Annette Kuyper will continue to oversee the program\, though the sustainment of our community aspect will move to our family programs. We have several new contractors who will be partnering with us\, including Building Healthy Military Communities. Essentially they are the DOD version of Beyond the Yellow Ribbon program. Their state coordinator is Tiffany Kovalski\, who ran the Medal of Honor convention. She began on December 1st. We are working on that transition. \n*We have added three contractors for a new program called Citizen-Soldier For Life. They will work heavily with new recruits and veteran support. They will be working on employment\, career readiness\, and financial literacy. They will be partnering with Annette Kuyper on her new initiative to work on employment for Guard and Reserve with Yellow Ribbon Companies. We will be working with our Yellow Ribbon\nCompanies on two components. First\, to educate their leadership about the up-tempo with the Guard and Reserve and how to support them within their employment\, as well as the value that the Guard members have to offer. Secondly\, to educate companies on the demand of time that is on Guard and Reserve members. \n*Our 60th Yellow Ribbon Company\, Hormel Foods Corporation\, was proclaimed on December 4th. \nMN Assistance Council For Veterans (MACV) – David Nguyen Reporting\n*MACV has been on WCCO recently\, raising funds for our organization. This is part of our strategic plan to diversify our funding base with support from the community. The unrestricted funds from the community allow us to serve veterans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless in various ways and need help with things beyond deposits and rent. Our federal funding does not allow for this. \n*Our MACV Metro office will not be hosting a holiday party this year at Building 47. This year we are doing a Home For The Holidays veterans meal on December 14th at Target Field. We wanted to gear our events more towards homeless veterans that we are serving. There will be two meals\, one at 11 AM for veterans and the other at 1:30 PM. You are welcome to attend either. \n*The next legal clinic will be on December 12th at the Minneapolis VA hospital. We hold legal clinics on the second Tuesday of every month. \n*MACV is now producing an email newsletter. Please contact us if you are interested in receiving it. \nQ. On this funding program\, which goes beyond the federal limitations\, what are your numbers? How many people do you see who need this?\nA. I don’t have exact numbers\, but speaking as a case manager\, I have seen this situation fairly often. I will have to get back to you on the specific numbers. Of the 80 veterans we served this time last year\, I would estimate that 50 had needs outside of the scope of our funding. \nQ. Do you have any idea how many veterans are homeless?\nA. I don’t have the most recent numbers\, but according to the Homeless Registry around 189 veterans were on the list. The average amount of time for veterans on the registry is around 60 to 90 days. That length of time is decreasing as our networks tighten. \nMilitary Action Group (MAG) – Jerry Kyser Reporting\n*The next MAG meeting will be January 8th\, 2018\, at the state office building at 10 AM. \n*Concerning Veterans Day on the Hill\, the UVLC is taking point. We have a responsibility to come up with a mantra or scenario of all the organizations to work together. We want to have one piece of paper and present a united front. \n*We need to put together our legislative initiatives with the Commander’s Task Force and CVOs. \n*We are going to support the VFW and the American Legions and the DAVs. Unfortunately\, the tax situation with their gambling is destroying these organizations. They are being unreasonably taxed. We are going to work on changing that this year. \nProject Got Your Back – Allison Alstrin Reporting\n*I want to update you on an initiative that Randy Kasberg and Tom Haugo put forward. We want to get service providers together to start having conversations about how to best meet the needs of the veteran community to discuss service issues. We want to present a united voice and tighten the network. Wounded Warrior Project invited people to a similar meeting in November. Our meeting was on December 5th at the Uptown VFW. There will be another meeting on February 13th from 10 AM to 12 PM for service providers. Participants were pleased at the networking opportunity and to hear what other groups were doing. Issues they identified were: outreach\, working collaboratively\, finding the proper resources for the proper problems\, network sustainability\, to remove “turf wars”\, and share fundraising strength. We want you to encourage your service providers to engage in this. \nMN Paralyzed Veterans Of America – Todd Kemery Reporting\n*PVA has been involved with legislature\, but we also work with advocacy. We will be attending our 5th stadium committee meeting with the new major league soccer stadium architects later this month. We have been involved in all major discussions concerning the stadium when it comes to ADA (access and disability advocacy). More details will be forthcoming. \n*On the legislative side\, we are working with the DNR concerning a turkey hunt at Camp Ripley similar to the disabled deer hunt. If a veteran participates in the hunt and does not get a turkey\, we want them to be able to use that stamp for somewhere else after the fact. There is precedence on this. \n*Not present. \nState CVSOs – Robby Robinson Reporting\n*We have several CVSOs heading down to meet with troops so we can start our preliminary benefits when they have returned. \n*We have been working with Congressman Walz’s office concerning the Veterans Community Care Act. We are attempting to get Mayo back in the picture\, as they do not currently participate in the Choice program. Another meeting is scheduled for January. \n*We toured the Mayo prosthetics lab and will be working to spread information about a potential study that veterans may want to participate in. \n3. Federal Agencies\nBrooklyn Park Veterans Center – Lina Knox\n*Not present. \nVA Regional Office – Kim Graves\n*Not present. \nVISN 23 – Director – Janet Murphy – Jason Petti Reporting\n* Vets not in the VA medical system and who are not retired can get a VA identification card. To obtain the identification card go to the VA website and look for VA Connect. \n* We are the number 1 network in the country. \n* We are looking at a 5 % cost reduction in prosthesis that includes eye glasses. \nVAHCS Minneapolis – Director Patrick J. Kelly – Ralph Heussner Reporting\n* Announcing that we have a new Center of Integrated Health and Healing\, located at 3rd floor 3P. The center’s offerings include acupuncture and essential oils. You do need a referral from your primary for the services. \n*About town hall meetings: We provide a town hall meeting every 90 days. \n*Our Ely clinic is expanding to three days. It serves 460 veterans. \nSt. Cloud VA HCS – Director Stephen D. Black – James Kampsen Reporting\n* Our senior leadership is set. \n*Our facility received a five star rating. We were noted for our Can Do attitude. \n*We have a suicide prevention push\, “Be There”. \n*We served 39\,000 veterans last year. \n*We have 580 active volunteers who provided 75\,000 hours of service\, which has a value of $2.2 million in benefits. The volunteers also donated $191 thousand in cash. \nFt. Snelling Cemetery – Bob Razor – John Knapp\n* Not present. \nVets Employment and Training Services [VETS] – David Seay\n*Not present. \n4. Announcements\nUVLC had an award ceremony for outgoing Chairman Ralph Donais\, recognizing his twelve years of splendid service. He was presented with three awards. Ralph’s wife Judy attended the ceremony. \nUVLC elected Jerry Kyser as the Chairman\, Mike Rivard as Vice Chairman\, and Todd Kemery as Second Vice Chairman. \nNext meeting January 3\, 2018. \nTreasurer’s Report as of 1 December 2017 \nBalance as of 1 November 2017 $3\,371.45\nDeposits for November 2017 $0.00\nExpenses for November 2017\nTranscription Expense $120.00\nUVLC literature printing $386.93\n($506.93) Balance as of 1 December\, 2017 $2\,624.52 \nSubmitted by Donald Rask\, Treasurer UVLC \n[print-me target=”.report” title=”Print Report”]
URL:https://mnuvlc.org/event/december-2017-meeting/
LOCATION:Mpls VAHC Building 9 Auditorium\, 1 Veterans Drive\, Minneapolis\, MN\, 55417\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mnuvlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1920-1080-UVLC-images-for-website-10.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20171206T033000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20171206T053000
DTSTAMP:20260524T213734
CREATED:20210421T085718Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210421T085718Z
UID:2874-1512531000-1512538200@mnuvlc.org
SUMMARY:December 2017 Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Report\nMeeting at Building 9\, VAMC Campus \nCall to order – 9:30\, Invocation – Pledge of Allegiance \nGreetings: Recognition of visitors and guests \nAnnouncements – Ralph Donais\, Chairman – Jerry Kyser\, Vice Chairman. \n1. Federal Congressional Representatives\nSenator Amy Klobuchar – Kurt Johnson\n*Not present. \nSenator Al Franken – Alex Schueller\n*Not present. \n1st District Representative – Tim Walz – Shawn Schoesser\n*Not present. \n2nd District Representative – Jason Lewis – Angela Sedlacek Reporting\n* Bills for veterans:\nHR 918\, access to mental health\nHR 1133\, transplant choice program to include live donor\nHR 2601\, re veterans needing transplants\nHR 4173\, veterans crisis line efficiency \n*Concerned about proposal to merge Choice and Tricare. \n3rd District Representative – Erik Paulsen – Margaret Cavanaugh\n*Not present. \n4th District Representative – Betty McCollum – Connie HaddelandReporting\n*McCollum received her 25-year membership pin at the VFW. \n*We interviewed 17 students for Service Academy appointments. One candidate has three years of enlisted service and is an outstanding candidate. \n*The grand opening of the new clinic will be the week of December 11th. \n*Last month a number of legislators met with Jan Murphy about modernizing the VA. \n5th District Representative – Keith Ellison – Mike Siebenaler\n*Not present. \n6th District Representative – Tom Emmer – Abby Rime\n*Not present. \n7th District Representative – Collin Peterson – Meg Louwagie Reporting\n*We are gravely concerned about the proposed VA-TriCare merger. \n*Our Service Academy interviews will be on December 9th. Currently we have 7. \n8th District Representative – Rick Nolan – Rick Olseen Reporting\n*Leech Lake Reservation is building a new veterans cemetery. \n2. State Agencies and MN Veteran Assistance Organizations\nMN Department of Veteran Affairs – Commissioner Larry Shellito – Ben Johnson Reporting\n*We had great participation in the State of MN’s Veterans Day event at Inver Grove Heights. Both citizens and the congressional delegation came out in force. \n*The Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day is on December 7th\, honoring the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. The Ft. Snelling Memorial Rifle Squad will be on the premise. It will be hosted at Historic Ft. Snelling in the visitors’ auditorium\, beginning at 10 AM. This is the 76th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. \n*Veterans Day on the Hill will be March 12th. Jerry Kyser will be the MC. \n*On November 16th\, the MN Supreme Court released their opinion on the lawsuit brought by the legislature against Governor Mark Dayton. The Supreme Court held that his exercise of the line item veto did comply with the language of the constitution. The judiciary is not authorized to order funding for the legislature within appropriations\, so they could not circumvent the line item veto. The legislature has the statutory authority to access appropriated funds sufficient to function until they reconvene on February 20th. Because they have enough funds to survive until February 20th\, they decided not to offer an opinion about whether or not it was unconstitutionally coercive. There is still broad bipartisan support for initiatives on behalf of veterans and their families. The projected budget deficit\, however\, is worrying. \n*On the federal level\, they are likely not going to be moving forward on the conference committee for Tax Cuts and Jobs Act until they get the federal budget sorted out. There is a potential federal government shutdown. \nQ. The money that the state of MN has in reserve is around a billion dollars?\nA. Yes. \nQ. So you should be able to make it to February.\nA. Absolutely. The operating money is there to keep the government functioning; this is not a dire prediction. This is a growing economy. \nMN Military Affairs – Major Scott Ingalsbe – Annette Kuyper Reporting\n*Major Ingalsbe is currently visiting the congressional delegation in DC. \n*The MN National Guard is preparing for 120 members of the Monticello based military police company to be home before Christmas. They are returning from Guantanamo Bay. \n*Brigadier General John Safstrom has been promoted to oversee the Air Guard. He is now Assistant Adjutant General Air. He previously oversaw the 148th Fighter Wing in Duluth. Taking his place is Col. Chris Blomquist. General Safstrom will be overseeing both the 148th and the 133rd. \n*Brigadier General Ben Corell will be our 34th Infantry Division commander starting December 9th. \n*General John Jensen has set his leadership priorities. Beyond the Yellow Ribbon will be retained as a leadership priority\, with a few changes. Annette Kuyper will continue to oversee the program\, though the sustainment of our community aspect will move to our family programs. We have several new contractors who will be partnering with us\, including Building Healthy Military Communities. Essentially they are the DOD version of Beyond the Yellow Ribbon program. Their state coordinator is Tiffany Kovalski\, who ran the Medal of Honor convention. She began on December 1st. We are working on that transition. \n*We have added three contractors for a new program called Citizen-Soldier For Life. They will work heavily with new recruits and veteran support. They will be working on employment\, career readiness\, and financial literacy. They will be partnering with Annette Kuyper on her new initiative to work on employment for Guard and Reserve with Yellow Ribbon Companies. We will be working with our Yellow Ribbon\nCompanies on two components. First\, to educate their leadership about the up-tempo with the Guard and Reserve and how to support them within their employment\, as well as the value that the Guard members have to offer. Secondly\, to educate companies on the demand of time that is on Guard and Reserve members. \n*Our 60th Yellow Ribbon Company\, Hormel Foods Corporation\, was proclaimed on December 4th. \nMN Assistance Council For Veterans (MACV) – David Nguyen Reporting\n*MACV has been on WCCO recently\, raising funds for our organization. This is part of our strategic plan to diversify our funding base with support from the community. The unrestricted funds from the community allow us to serve veterans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless in various ways and need help with things beyond deposits and rent. Our federal funding does not allow for this. \n*Our MACV Metro office will not be hosting a holiday party this year at Building 47. This year we are doing a Home For The Holidays veterans meal on December 14th at Target Field. We wanted to gear our events more towards homeless veterans that we are serving. There will be two meals\, one at 11 AM for veterans and the other at 1:30 PM. You are welcome to attend either. \n*The next legal clinic will be on December 12th at the Minneapolis VA hospital. We hold legal clinics on the second Tuesday of every month. \n*MACV is now producing an email newsletter. Please contact us if you are interested in receiving it. \nQ. On this funding program\, which goes beyond the federal limitations\, what are your numbers? How many people do you see who need this?\nA. I don’t have exact numbers\, but speaking as a case manager\, I have seen this situation fairly often. I will have to get back to you on the specific numbers. Of the 80 veterans we served this time last year\, I would estimate that 50 had needs outside of the scope of our funding. \nQ. Do you have any idea how many veterans are homeless?\nA. I don’t have the most recent numbers\, but according to the Homeless Registry around 189 veterans were on the list. The average amount of time for veterans on the registry is around 60 to 90 days. That length of time is decreasing as our networks tighten. \nMilitary Action Group (MAG) – Jerry Kyser Reporting\n*The next MAG meeting will be January 8th\, 2018\, at the state office building at 10 AM. \n*Concerning Veterans Day on the Hill\, the UVLC is taking point. We have a responsibility to come up with a mantra or scenario of all the organizations to work together. We want to have one piece of paper and present a united front. \n*We need to put together our legislative initiatives with the Commander’s Task Force and CVOs. \n*We are going to support the VFW and the American Legions and the DAVs. Unfortunately\, the tax situation with their gambling is destroying these organizations. They are being unreasonably taxed. We are going to work on changing that this year. \nProject Got Your Back – Allison Alstrin Reporting\n*I want to update you on an initiative that Randy Kasberg and Tom Haugo put forward. We want to get service providers together to start having conversations about how to best meet the needs of the veteran community to discuss service issues. We want to present a united voice and tighten the network. Wounded Warrior Project invited people to a similar meeting in November. Our meeting was on December 5th at the Uptown VFW. There will be another meeting on February 13th from 10 AM to 12 PM for service providers. Participants were pleased at the networking opportunity and to hear what other groups were doing. Issues they identified were: outreach\, working collaboratively\, finding the proper resources for the proper problems\, network sustainability\, to remove “turf wars”\, and share fundraising strength. We want you to encourage your service providers to engage in this. \nMN Paralyzed Veterans Of America – Todd Kemery Reporting\n*PVA has been involved with legislature\, but we also work with advocacy. We will be attending our 5th stadium committee meeting with the new major league soccer stadium architects later this month. We have been involved in all major discussions concerning the stadium when it comes to ADA (access and disability advocacy). More details will be forthcoming. \n*On the legislative side\, we are working with the DNR concerning a turkey hunt at Camp Ripley similar to the disabled deer hunt. If a veteran participates in the hunt and does not get a turkey\, we want them to be able to use that stamp for somewhere else after the fact. There is precedence on this. \n*Not present. \nState CVSOs – Robby Robinson Reporting\n*We have several CVSOs heading down to meet with troops so we can start our preliminary benefits when they have returned. \n*We have been working with Congressman Walz’s office concerning the Veterans Community Care Act. We are attempting to get Mayo back in the picture\, as they do not currently participate in the Choice program. Another meeting is scheduled for January. \n*We toured the Mayo prosthetics lab and will be working to spread information about a potential study that veterans may want to participate in. \n3. Federal Agencies\nBrooklyn Park Veterans Center – Lina Knox\n*Not present. \nVA Regional Office – Kim Graves\n*Not present. \nVISN 23 – Director – Janet Murphy – Jason Petti Reporting\n* Vets not in the VA medical system and who are not retired can get a VA identification card. To obtain the identification card go to the VA website and look for VA Connect. \n* We are the number 1 network in the country. \n* We are looking at a 5 % cost reduction in prosthesis that includes eye glasses. \nVAHCS Minneapolis – Director Patrick J. Kelly – Ralph Heussner Reporting\n* Announcing that we have a new Center of Integrated Health and Healing\, located at 3rd floor 3P. The center’s offerings include acupuncture and essential oils. You do need a referral from your primary for the services. \n*About town hall meetings: We provide a town hall meeting every 90 days. \n*Our Ely clinic is expanding to three days. It serves 460 veterans. \nSt. Cloud VA HCS – Director Stephen D. Black – James Kampsen Reporting\n* Our senior leadership is set. \n*Our facility received a five star rating. We were noted for our Can Do attitude. \n*We have a suicide prevention push\, “Be There”. \n*We served 39\,000 veterans last year. \n*We have 580 active volunteers who provided 75\,000 hours of service\, which has a value of $2.2 million in benefits. The volunteers also donated $191 thousand in cash. \nFt. Snelling Cemetery – Bob Razor – John Knapp\n* Not present. \nVets Employment and Training Services [VETS] – David Seay\n*Not present. \n4. Announcements\nUVLC had an award ceremony for outgoing Chairman Ralph Donais\, recognizing his twelve years of splendid service. He was presented with three awards. Ralph’s wife Judy attended the ceremony. \nUVLC elected Jerry Kyser as the Chairman\, Mike Rivard as Vice Chairman\, and Todd Kemery as Second Vice Chairman. \nNext meeting January 3\, 2018. \nTreasurer’s Report as of 1 December 2017 \nBalance as of 1 November 2017 $3\,371.45\nDeposits for November 2017 $0.00\nExpenses for November 2017\nTranscription Expense $120.00\nUVLC literature printing $386.93\n($506.93) Balance as of 1 December\, 2017 $2\,624.52 \nSubmitted by Donald Rask\, Treasurer UVLC \n[print-me target=”.report” title=”Print Report”]
URL:https://mnuvlc.org/event/december-2017-meeting-2/
LOCATION:Mpls VAHC Building 9 Auditorium\, 1 Veterans Drive\, Minneapolis\, MN\, 55417\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mnuvlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1920-1080-UVLC-images-for-website-10.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20171101T043000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20171101T063000
DTSTAMP:20260524T213734
CREATED:20210421T085906Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210427T022434Z
UID:1603-1509510600-1509517800@mnuvlc.org
SUMMARY:November 2017 Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Report\nMeeting at Building 9\, VAMC Campus \nCall to order – 9:30\, Invocation – Pledge of Allegiance \nGreetings: Recognition of visitors and guests \nAnnouncements – Ralph Donais\, Chairman – Jerry Kyser\, Vice Chairman. \nIntroducing Executive Director Ame Callahan with Ft. Snelling National Cemetery. \nIntroducing Alejandra Henriquez with Congressman Emmer’s office. \n1. State Agencies and MN Veteran Assistance Organizations\nMN Department of Veteran Affairs – Commissioner Larry Shellito – Ben Johnson\n*Not present. \nMN Military Affairs – Major Scott Ingalsbe\, Annette Kuyper Reporting\n*Major General Nash is retiring and Major General Jensen will be replacing him. There will be a ceremony on November 4th at the Cedar Street Armory to mark the transition. There will be forthcoming media coverage. \n*We are keeping a close eye on the NDAA on several issues\, especially on Benefits Parity\, and are hopeful about the 12304 Mobilization Act. At the moment\, it doesn’t look like the NDAA is going to include the Reduced Retirement Age act. We will continue to push on this. \n*The Norwegian Chief of Defense was here in the last week of October at Camp Ripley. The initial planning was taking place for the Norwegian exchange that will take place next summer. This will be the 45th Norwegian-American Reciprocal Troop Exchange. 100 Norwegian troops will come to Camp Ripley and 100 American troops will go to Norway to train for two weeks. \n*The Croatian Chief of Defense visited in October for a tour of Camp Ripley\, celebrating 21 years of partnership between the state of MN and Croatia. \n*There have been several transition meetings with General Jensen and the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Program. There will be changes coming\, but it will remain a leadership priority. \n*Three new Yellow Ribbon Companies have been added since October’s meeting: MN West Community and Technical College\, Great River Energy\, and Elite Clean Energy. We have approved the action plan for Hormel Foods in Austin\, MN\, and they will be our 60th Yellow Ribbon Company. They will be proclaimed in December and they will also be the 10th of 17 Station 500 Companies that we are targeting to ask to join the network. \n*November 2nd will be the 6th Joining Community Forces conference. \nMN Assistance Council For Veterans (MACV) – Jon Lovald Reporting\n*There will be a Vet-Law clinic on November 2nd in Brainerd\, as well as November 14th in Minneapolis. The Mankato Stand Down will also be on November 14th. \n*We have a partnership with Rock Bottom Brewery and there will be several forthcoming events there\, with the proceeds going to MACV. The first will be on November 9th\, a tapping of a new beer called New Beginnings that they made specifically for MACV. There will be a brewers dinner with a $20 entrance fee on December 4th. \n*We have an exciting new relationship with WCCO. There will be a theme of “A Home For the Holidays” so starting after Thanksgiving\, there will be several news stories about the work we are doing and our partners. There will be several telethons and we need volunteers. The dates for the telethons are November 26th and December 5th. WCCO will be hosting a holiday dinner in conjunction with the Twins at Target Field for homeless or at risk veterans on December 14th. \n*We are in the process of finalizing our partnership with Project Got Your Back and Warriors Serve\, and are in the process of moving into the digital age. This is a collaborative system and we are very excited about it. It is anticipated that we will be operating in Warriors Serve by the first of 2018. \nQ. How will you be transporting the homeless veterans to the dinner?\nA. We will be working with our partner organizations and public transportation to coordinate. \nQ. How many are you anticipating?\nA. There will be two serving times. Two hundred for the first section\, around 120 for the second. \nQ. Are you still going to have the Building 47 Christmas meal?\nA. We are planning to postpone it since this event will involve the same people. \nMilitary Action Group (MAG) – Jerry Kyser Reporting\n* Veterans Day on the Hill will be March 12th. There will be a media presence and we would like everyone to be ready with their issues to present concerning our legislative goals. The legislative session begins on February 20th. \n*MAG will be putting together our legislative goals by November 15th\, when we will meet with the Commander’s Taskforce and CVS. We want to present a united voice on numerous issues. One issue would be charitable gambling taxes with the VSOs. \n*The next MAG meeting with be November 6th in room 400 in the state office building at 10:00 AM. \nMN Paralyzed Veterans Of America – Todd Kemery\n*Nothing to repor today. \nWomen Veterans Initiative – Edna Mackenzie\n*Not present. \nProject Got Your Back – Allison Alstrin Reporting\n*Project Got Your Back is working to integrate the various veteran community services to better serve the needs of veterans. (http://vetsmn.org/about-us/). This year\, we have been determining what organizations exist in MN\, what they do\, and how they can be connected to better serve the community. We have also been building relationships with the various groups to foster personal connections and incentivize community integration. Our national partnership is American’s Warrior Partnership. Warrior Serve is one of the tools we use to integrate our services. We are close to announcing a partnership with a local community leader that would look holistically at all the needs that our community is facing. This program is meant to meet the needs of every veteran. \n*We will have more information to share about our Twin Cities development soon. Stay tuned. \n*Our launch in Westover County will be the first to test out our process for bringing the community together. Thus far we have had three meetings. \n*Wounded Warrior Project is hosting a lunch in Bloomington on November 8th from 12:00 to 1:00 PM for service providers. \n2. Federal Agencies\nMinnesota Association of County Veteran Service Officers – Robbie Robinson\n*We want to have a better relationship with the local veterans groups and will provide a monthly report on our actions for the UVLC. \nVA Regional Office – Kim Graves – Ron Woolery Reporting\n*Most Compensation and Pension exams are not performed at the hospital\, they are done under contract or outsourced . If you or your veterans are having issues\, please let us know. We are working on this. \n*We recently hired two additional fulltime employees in our regional loan center. This puts us over 900 full time employees. We are the 4th largest regional office in the country. \n*Decision Ready claims are available\, though have not received the amount of interest that we anticipated. As of today\, MN has completed 144. Texas has done 116. Colorado has done 5. Currently the average days to process is 8.4 days. \n*There will be an open house in the flag atrium on November 1st. \nQ. What can older veterans suffering from PTSD\, who have encountered roadblocks\, do to receive adjudication?\nA. We have to make decisions based on the medical evidence that is submitted to us. Have them speak to their CVSO to consider new or changing symptoms in order to increase the VA rating. \nQ. That’s not the problem. We have veterans now\, especially Vietnam era\, who are retiring. These things are coming back.\nA. We are hearing that a lot. They need to see a doctor and submit their medical evidence to the CVSOs. \nVISN 23 – Director – Janet Murphy – Andre Kok\n*There is an open house at the Minneapolis VA on November 1st\, as well as at all of our regional officers in order to highlight the services we offer. This is our kickoff leading to Veterans Day on the Hill. \n*The CARE act was proposed by the VA on October 16th. It reflects the secretary’s priority to make healthcare more veteran-centric. \n*There will be a town hall meeting in Forest Lake on November 7th\, St. Cloud on November 11th. \n*We are in the testing phase of the Anne app\, which allows veterans and providers to have an automated texting interface to help them remember certain health questions. This is one of our attempts to modernize our healthcare. \nVAHCS Minneapolis – Director Patrick J. Kelly – Ralph Heussner Reporting\n*The Bob Hope statue has been returned to the new canopy connecting the hospital to the parking garage. \n*The Minneapolis VA has 13 community based outpatient clinics. Of those\, 6 are contractors. One of those\, Sterling Medical\, operate four CBOCs. We announced in late September that the Hibbing and Eely CBOCs will become VA staffed CBOCs when the contract expires in September 2018. Any Sterling employee may apply to become a VA employee. \n*The VA is mandating that all staff\, volunteers\, and trainees receive the flu vaccine or wear a mask. \n*The VA publishes its star rating every year in October. USA Today published access to it\, focusing on the one and two star facilities. \n*In response to veterans wanting alternative and complementary care\, later this month we will be opening the Center for Integrated Health. Yoga\, mindfulness\, and acupuncture will be offered. \n*The holiday for Veterans Day is Friday\, November 10th. The official day is November 11th. There will be a program for hospitalized veterans on the 10th. \n*There will be a town hall meeting on December 2nd in Forest Lake at the YMCA. Daycare will be provided. \nSt. Cloud VA HCS – Director Stephen D. Black – Sharon Meschke Reporting\n*St. Cloud is in a pilot with the Anne text messaging app\, as well as the virtual medical room. These are both to improve access for veterans and we are excited to move forward with them. \n*St. Cloud was rated a 5 star facility. \n*Our open house is 1:30 to 3:30 PM on November 1st. November 5th is the Veterans Day parade\, partnered with St. Cloud Metropolitan Veterans Council. There will be a Veterans Day ceremony on November 11th at the medical center in building 8 at 1:30 PM. \nFt. Snelling Cemetery – Bob Razor – John Knapp Reporting\n*The Flags for Ft. Snelling group has been making on the radio about their upcoming events. They intend to buy flags for every grave in Ft. Snelling. They are not officially connected to the cemetery\, but we are working together on this. \n*We are participating in modernization efforts in order to advertise to the community. One new feature concerns the Presidential Memorial Certificate\, which veterans receive after they are deceased. They usually take a week to arrive. Ft. Snelling will soon be one of 5 national cemeteries with the ability to present the certificate at the service. We will also be doing weekend burials once a month\, cremation only. This is a test pilot to increase access. We will study the data and move forward from there. \n*The Pre-Need program was exciting for the veterans\, with over 35\,000 applications. There is a slight backlog\, but we are working to catch up. \n*We are updating our automated system for records and systems. \n*We are beginning to use GPS to take photos and GPS data for every headstone in national cemeteries\, as well as incorporate “legacy information” on the veteran. \n*Initiatives for cemeteries in Fargo and Rhinelander will open in September 2019. \n*In 2017\, we had 5342 burials. This is the most we have had in the last 20 years. Our cremation rate went up 5% from last year. \nVets Employment and Training Services [VETS] – David Seay\n*Not present. \n3. Federal Congressional Representatives\nSenator Amy Klobuchar – Kurt Johnson Reporting\n*Klobuchar has co-sponsored Senate Bill 66\, the Retired Pay Restoration Act. All veterans receiving benefits for service-connected injuries will now be able to concurrently receive their retirement benefits. \n*Klobuchar has spoken with the secretary on emergency billing practices to find a method to come into compliance. We are continuing to work on this. There will be a ruling within 90 days. Our office is monitoring the situation. \nSenator Al Franken – Alex Schueller\n*Not present. \n1st District Representative – Tim Walz – Shawn Schoesser\n*Not present. \n2nd District Representative – Jason Lewis – Angela Sedlacek Reporting\n*Lewis cosponsored the Veterans Opiate Abuse Prevention Act. The president’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction issued a preliminary report in July and in that report\, one issue identified was the inability of state prescription drug monitoring systems to share prescription data across state lines. This legislation will help states\, localities\, and doctors address the opioid crisis more effectively\, and more specifically with veterans. \n*Our Service Academy information night was on October 9th. We have 37 applicants that will move into the interview process on December 2nd. \n3rd District Representative – Erik Paulsen – Margret Cavanaugh Reporting\n*Our Academy Information Night was in September. Interviews will be conducted on December 2nd. \n4th District Representative – Betty McCollum – Connie Haddeland Reporting\n*We are currently reading Service Academy applications and will interview on December 2nd. \n5th District Representative – Keith Ellison – Mike Siebenaler\n*Not present. \n6th District Representative – Tom Emmer – Abby Rime Reporting\n*The Dr. Chris Kirkpatrick Whistleblower Act of 2017 was voted on and passed. Federal employees would be protected under this piece of legislature. \n*HR 1133\, the Veterans Transplant Coverage Act\, is under consideration. Previously\, family members have wanted to be living donors for veteran family members\, and the VA would not cover the care for the non-veteran. This piece of legislation would fix that. \n*HR 2601 the Victor Act\, Veterans Increased Choice for Transplanted Organ and Recover\, is under consideration. This act would allow veterans who are 100% disabled and live more than 100 miles away from a VA medical center to receive VA community care through a program and attend a facility in their area that could perform the transplant. \n*HR 299\, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act\, is under consideration. This would extend the presumption of exposure to Agent Orange to veterans who served in the Blue Water Navy. \n*HR 1900\, which would designate the Veterans Memorial and Museum in Columbus as the National Veterans Memorial and Museum. This will be going through the House committee in the next few days. \n7th District Representative – Collin Peterson – Meg Louwagie Reporting\n*Not present. \n8th District Representative – Rick Nolan – Rick Olseen Reporting\n*Not present. \n4. Announcements\n*Conversations about modernization within the VA are ongoing. \n5. Meeting in Recess for five minutes\nNext meeting December 6\, 2017. \nTreasurer’s Report as of 1 November 2017 \nBalance as of 1 October 2017 $3\,251.45\nDeposits for October 2017 $0.00\nExpenses for October 2017\nTranscription Expense ($120.00) \nBalance as of 1 November 1\, 2017 $3\,131.45 \nSubmitted by Donald Rask\, Treasurer UVLC \nEnd of Report \n[print-me target=”.report” title=”Print Report”]
URL:https://mnuvlc.org/event/november-2017-meeting/
LOCATION:Mpls VAHC Building 9 Auditorium\, 1 Veterans Drive\, Minneapolis\, MN\, 55417\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mnuvlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1920-1080-UVLC-images-for-website-10.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20171101T043000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20171101T063000
DTSTAMP:20260524T213734
CREATED:20210421T085906Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210421T085906Z
UID:2875-1509510600-1509517800@mnuvlc.org
SUMMARY:November 2017 Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Report\nMeeting at Building 9\, VAMC Campus \nCall to order – 9:30\, Invocation – Pledge of Allegiance \nGreetings: Recognition of visitors and guests \nAnnouncements – Ralph Donais\, Chairman – Jerry Kyser\, Vice Chairman. \nIntroducing Executive Director Ame Callahan with Ft. Snelling National Cemetery. \nIntroducing Alejandra Henriquez with Congressman Emmer’s office. \n1. State Agencies and MN Veteran Assistance Organizations\nMN Department of Veteran Affairs – Commissioner Larry Shellito – Ben Johnson\n*Not present. \nMN Military Affairs – Major Scott Ingalsbe\, Annette Kuyper Reporting\n*Major General Nash is retiring and Major General Jensen will be replacing him. There will be a ceremony on November 4th at the Cedar Street Armory to mark the transition. There will be forthcoming media coverage. \n*We are keeping a close eye on the NDAA on several issues\, especially on Benefits Parity\, and are hopeful about the 12304 Mobilization Act. At the moment\, it doesn’t look like the NDAA is going to include the Reduced Retirement Age act. We will continue to push on this. \n*The Norwegian Chief of Defense was here in the last week of October at Camp Ripley. The initial planning was taking place for the Norwegian exchange that will take place next summer. This will be the 45th Norwegian-American Reciprocal Troop Exchange. 100 Norwegian troops will come to Camp Ripley and 100 American troops will go to Norway to train for two weeks. \n*The Croatian Chief of Defense visited in October for a tour of Camp Ripley\, celebrating 21 years of partnership between the state of MN and Croatia. \n*There have been several transition meetings with General Jensen and the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Program. There will be changes coming\, but it will remain a leadership priority. \n*Three new Yellow Ribbon Companies have been added since October’s meeting: MN West Community and Technical College\, Great River Energy\, and Elite Clean Energy. We have approved the action plan for Hormel Foods in Austin\, MN\, and they will be our 60th Yellow Ribbon Company. They will be proclaimed in December and they will also be the 10th of 17 Station 500 Companies that we are targeting to ask to join the network. \n*November 2nd will be the 6th Joining Community Forces conference. \nMN Assistance Council For Veterans (MACV) – Jon Lovald Reporting\n*There will be a Vet-Law clinic on November 2nd in Brainerd\, as well as November 14th in Minneapolis. The Mankato Stand Down will also be on November 14th. \n*We have a partnership with Rock Bottom Brewery and there will be several forthcoming events there\, with the proceeds going to MACV. The first will be on November 9th\, a tapping of a new beer called New Beginnings that they made specifically for MACV. There will be a brewers dinner with a $20 entrance fee on December 4th. \n*We have an exciting new relationship with WCCO. There will be a theme of “A Home For the Holidays” so starting after Thanksgiving\, there will be several news stories about the work we are doing and our partners. There will be several telethons and we need volunteers. The dates for the telethons are November 26th and December 5th. WCCO will be hosting a holiday dinner in conjunction with the Twins at Target Field for homeless or at risk veterans on December 14th. \n*We are in the process of finalizing our partnership with Project Got Your Back and Warriors Serve\, and are in the process of moving into the digital age. This is a collaborative system and we are very excited about it. It is anticipated that we will be operating in Warriors Serve by the first of 2018. \nQ. How will you be transporting the homeless veterans to the dinner?\nA. We will be working with our partner organizations and public transportation to coordinate. \nQ. How many are you anticipating?\nA. There will be two serving times. Two hundred for the first section\, around 120 for the second. \nQ. Are you still going to have the Building 47 Christmas meal?\nA. We are planning to postpone it since this event will involve the same people. \nMilitary Action Group (MAG) – Jerry Kyser Reporting\n* Veterans Day on the Hill will be March 12th. There will be a media presence and we would like everyone to be ready with their issues to present concerning our legislative goals. The legislative session begins on February 20th. \n*MAG will be putting together our legislative goals by November 15th\, when we will meet with the Commander’s Taskforce and CVS. We want to present a united voice on numerous issues. One issue would be charitable gambling taxes with the VSOs. \n*The next MAG meeting with be November 6th in room 400 in the state office building at 10:00 AM. \nMN Paralyzed Veterans Of America – Todd Kemery\n*Nothing to repor today. \nWomen Veterans Initiative – Edna Mackenzie\n*Not present. \nProject Got Your Back – Allison Alstrin Reporting\n*Project Got Your Back is working to integrate the various veteran community services to better serve the needs of veterans. (http://vetsmn.org/about-us/). This year\, we have been determining what organizations exist in MN\, what they do\, and how they can be connected to better serve the community. We have also been building relationships with the various groups to foster personal connections and incentivize community integration. Our national partnership is American’s Warrior Partnership. Warrior Serve is one of the tools we use to integrate our services. We are close to announcing a partnership with a local community leader that would look holistically at all the needs that our community is facing. This program is meant to meet the needs of every veteran. \n*We will have more information to share about our Twin Cities development soon. Stay tuned. \n*Our launch in Westover County will be the first to test out our process for bringing the community together. Thus far we have had three meetings. \n*Wounded Warrior Project is hosting a lunch in Bloomington on November 8th from 12:00 to 1:00 PM for service providers. \n2. Federal Agencies\nMinnesota Association of County Veteran Service Officers – Robbie Robinson\n*We want to have a better relationship with the local veterans groups and will provide a monthly report on our actions for the UVLC. \nVA Regional Office – Kim Graves – Ron Woolery Reporting\n*Most Compensation and Pension exams are not performed at the hospital\, they are done under contract or outsourced . If you or your veterans are having issues\, please let us know. We are working on this. \n*We recently hired two additional fulltime employees in our regional loan center. This puts us over 900 full time employees. We are the 4th largest regional office in the country. \n*Decision Ready claims are available\, though have not received the amount of interest that we anticipated. As of today\, MN has completed 144. Texas has done 116. Colorado has done 5. Currently the average days to process is 8.4 days. \n*There will be an open house in the flag atrium on November 1st. \nQ. What can older veterans suffering from PTSD\, who have encountered roadblocks\, do to receive adjudication?\nA. We have to make decisions based on the medical evidence that is submitted to us. Have them speak to their CVSO to consider new or changing symptoms in order to increase the VA rating. \nQ. That’s not the problem. We have veterans now\, especially Vietnam era\, who are retiring. These things are coming back.\nA. We are hearing that a lot. They need to see a doctor and submit their medical evidence to the CVSOs. \nVISN 23 – Director – Janet Murphy – Andre Kok\n*There is an open house at the Minneapolis VA on November 1st\, as well as at all of our regional officers in order to highlight the services we offer. This is our kickoff leading to Veterans Day on the Hill. \n*The CARE act was proposed by the VA on October 16th. It reflects the secretary’s priority to make healthcare more veteran-centric. \n*There will be a town hall meeting in Forest Lake on November 7th\, St. Cloud on November 11th. \n*We are in the testing phase of the Anne app\, which allows veterans and providers to have an automated texting interface to help them remember certain health questions. This is one of our attempts to modernize our healthcare. \nVAHCS Minneapolis – Director Patrick J. Kelly – Ralph Heussner Reporting\n*The Bob Hope statue has been returned to the new canopy connecting the hospital to the parking garage. \n*The Minneapolis VA has 13 community based outpatient clinics. Of those\, 6 are contractors. One of those\, Sterling Medical\, operate four CBOCs. We announced in late September that the Hibbing and Eely CBOCs will become VA staffed CBOCs when the contract expires in September 2018. Any Sterling employee may apply to become a VA employee. \n*The VA is mandating that all staff\, volunteers\, and trainees receive the flu vaccine or wear a mask. \n*The VA publishes its star rating every year in October. USA Today published access to it\, focusing on the one and two star facilities. \n*In response to veterans wanting alternative and complementary care\, later this month we will be opening the Center for Integrated Health. Yoga\, mindfulness\, and acupuncture will be offered. \n*The holiday for Veterans Day is Friday\, November 10th. The official day is November 11th. There will be a program for hospitalized veterans on the 10th. \n*There will be a town hall meeting on December 2nd in Forest Lake at the YMCA. Daycare will be provided. \nSt. Cloud VA HCS – Director Stephen D. Black – Sharon Meschke Reporting\n*St. Cloud is in a pilot with the Anne text messaging app\, as well as the virtual medical room. These are both to improve access for veterans and we are excited to move forward with them. \n*St. Cloud was rated a 5 star facility. \n*Our open house is 1:30 to 3:30 PM on November 1st. November 5th is the Veterans Day parade\, partnered with St. Cloud Metropolitan Veterans Council. There will be a Veterans Day ceremony on November 11th at the medical center in building 8 at 1:30 PM. \nFt. Snelling Cemetery – Bob Razor – John Knapp Reporting\n*The Flags for Ft. Snelling group has been making on the radio about their upcoming events. They intend to buy flags for every grave in Ft. Snelling. They are not officially connected to the cemetery\, but we are working together on this. \n*We are participating in modernization efforts in order to advertise to the community. One new feature concerns the Presidential Memorial Certificate\, which veterans receive after they are deceased. They usually take a week to arrive. Ft. Snelling will soon be one of 5 national cemeteries with the ability to present the certificate at the service. We will also be doing weekend burials once a month\, cremation only. This is a test pilot to increase access. We will study the data and move forward from there. \n*The Pre-Need program was exciting for the veterans\, with over 35\,000 applications. There is a slight backlog\, but we are working to catch up. \n*We are updating our automated system for records and systems. \n*We are beginning to use GPS to take photos and GPS data for every headstone in national cemeteries\, as well as incorporate “legacy information” on the veteran. \n*Initiatives for cemeteries in Fargo and Rhinelander will open in September 2019. \n*In 2017\, we had 5342 burials. This is the most we have had in the last 20 years. Our cremation rate went up 5% from last year. \nVets Employment and Training Services [VETS] – David Seay\n*Not present. \n3. Federal Congressional Representatives\nSenator Amy Klobuchar – Kurt Johnson Reporting\n*Klobuchar has co-sponsored Senate Bill 66\, the Retired Pay Restoration Act. All veterans receiving benefits for service-connected injuries will now be able to concurrently receive their retirement benefits. \n*Klobuchar has spoken with the secretary on emergency billing practices to find a method to come into compliance. We are continuing to work on this. There will be a ruling within 90 days. Our office is monitoring the situation. \nSenator Al Franken – Alex Schueller\n*Not present. \n1st District Representative – Tim Walz – Shawn Schoesser\n*Not present. \n2nd District Representative – Jason Lewis – Angela Sedlacek Reporting\n*Lewis cosponsored the Veterans Opiate Abuse Prevention Act. The president’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction issued a preliminary report in July and in that report\, one issue identified was the inability of state prescription drug monitoring systems to share prescription data across state lines. This legislation will help states\, localities\, and doctors address the opioid crisis more effectively\, and more specifically with veterans. \n*Our Service Academy information night was on October 9th. We have 37 applicants that will move into the interview process on December 2nd. \n3rd District Representative – Erik Paulsen – Margret Cavanaugh Reporting\n*Our Academy Information Night was in September. Interviews will be conducted on December 2nd. \n4th District Representative – Betty McCollum – Connie Haddeland Reporting\n*We are currently reading Service Academy applications and will interview on December 2nd. \n5th District Representative – Keith Ellison – Mike Siebenaler\n*Not present. \n6th District Representative – Tom Emmer – Abby Rime Reporting\n*The Dr. Chris Kirkpatrick Whistleblower Act of 2017 was voted on and passed. Federal employees would be protected under this piece of legislature. \n*HR 1133\, the Veterans Transplant Coverage Act\, is under consideration. Previously\, family members have wanted to be living donors for veteran family members\, and the VA would not cover the care for the non-veteran. This piece of legislation would fix that. \n*HR 2601 the Victor Act\, Veterans Increased Choice for Transplanted Organ and Recover\, is under consideration. This act would allow veterans who are 100% disabled and live more than 100 miles away from a VA medical center to receive VA community care through a program and attend a facility in their area that could perform the transplant. \n*HR 299\, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act\, is under consideration. This would extend the presumption of exposure to Agent Orange to veterans who served in the Blue Water Navy. \n*HR 1900\, which would designate the Veterans Memorial and Museum in Columbus as the National Veterans Memorial and Museum. This will be going through the House committee in the next few days. \n7th District Representative – Collin Peterson – Meg Louwagie Reporting\n*Not present. \n8th District Representative – Rick Nolan – Rick Olseen Reporting\n*Not present. \n4. Announcements\n*Conversations about modernization within the VA are ongoing. \n5. Meeting in Recess for five minutes\nNext meeting December 6\, 2017. \nTreasurer’s Report as of 1 November 2017 \nBalance as of 1 October 2017 $3\,251.45\nDeposits for October 2017 $0.00\nExpenses for October 2017\nTranscription Expense ($120.00) \nBalance as of 1 November 1\, 2017 $3\,131.45 \nSubmitted by Donald Rask\, Treasurer UVLC \nEnd of Report \n[print-me target=”.report” title=”Print Report”]
URL:https://mnuvlc.org/event/november-2017-meeting-2/
LOCATION:Mpls VAHC Building 9 Auditorium\, 1 Veterans Drive\, Minneapolis\, MN\, 55417\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mnuvlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1920-1080-UVLC-images-for-website-10.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20171004T043000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20171004T063000
DTSTAMP:20260524T213734
CREATED:20210421T090059Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210427T022448Z
UID:1605-1507091400-1507098600@mnuvlc.org
SUMMARY:October 2017 Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Report\nMeeting at Building 9\, VAMC Campus \nCall to order – 9:30\, Invocation – Pledge of Allegiance \nGreetings: Recognition of visitors and guests \nAnnouncements – Ralph Donais\, Chairman – Jerry Kyser\, Vice Chairman. \nIntroducing Robby Robinson\, President MN County Veteran Service Officers. \nIntroducing Tom Pfannenstiel\, site manager for Historic Fort Snelling. \nIntroducing Chris Jenson\, Public Television representative. \nIntroducing Tim Woolmuth\, Vice-Commander of the 934 Airlift Wing. \nIntroducing Kirk Hall\, Intel with the 934 Airlift Wing. \nIntroducing Lina Knox with the Brooklyn Park Veterans Center. \n1. Federal Congressional Representatives\nSenator Amy Klobuchar – Kurt Johnson Reporting\n*Klobuchar was recently in town discussing her burn pit legislation\, an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. \n* Klobuchar attended the 934th banquet partnered with the 133rd airlift wing and saw off a number of service members deployed for hurricane relief. \n*It has been a quiet month with legislature. We will update you when more information is available. \nQ. Is the senator involved with the transportation committee in the house? It does not have an equal one in the senate. What is the interaction the senator would have in facilitating that initiative?\nA. At this point we are not supporting that specific initiative. \nSenator Al Franken – Alex Schueller\n*Not present. \n1st District Representative – Tim Walz – Shawn Schoesser Reporting\n*The Forever GI bill\, which helps families improve their educational benefits\, was signed into law. \n*We are pleased with our efforts in reforming the veterans appeals process\, both with streamlining the process itself and with legacy claims. \n*The dates for several important veteran service grants have been extended and will continue to provide support. \n*The American Legion Commemorative Coin act passed the House and the Senate and is currently waiting on the president to sign. \nQ. What is your priority on the Caring for Our Veterans Caregivers act?\nA. We want to make sure that it continues moving forward. It is a high priority. \nQ. Will you be going on the campaign trail?\nA. Walz has announced his candidacy but I will continue to work in the congressional office. A different team will be working on the campaign\, separate from the work we do here. \n2nd District Representative – Jason Lewis – Angela Sedlacek Reporting\n*We have been watching the NDAA carefully\, but September was a quiet month in terms of legislation. \n*Our Academy information night will be on October 9th at St. Thomas Academy. Currently we have 30 applicants. \n3rd District Representative – Erik Paulsen – Margret Cavanaugh\n*Not present. \n4th District Representative – Betty McCollum – Connie Haddeland\n* See below. \n5th District Representative – Keith Ellison – Mike Siebenaler\n*Not present. \n6th District Representative – Tom Emmer – Abby Rime Reporting\n*In September\, the Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act of 2018 was passed. This provides discretionary funding for the federal government for fiscal year 2018. This will join with the funding package passed in late July. \n*The house passed the Department of Veteran Affairs Expiring Authorities Act of 2017 in late September. This extends a number of expiring programs\, including Veterans Benefits\, homelessness\, healthcare\, nursing home care\, support services for caregivers\, transportation\, childcare assistance\, adaptive sports programs\, and housing and home loan services. It also extends the assisted living pilot program for veterans with Traumatic Brain Injuries for five additional months. \n*The House passed the American Legion Commemorative Coin Act. \n*We visited Eagles Healing Nest and toured their facility. \n*We will be sending a letter to the president urging him to recognize the contributions of our Atomic Veterans. This is in partnership with Representative McGovern. \n7th District Representative – Collin Peterson – Meg Louwagie Reporting\n*Peterson cosponsored HR 3605\, the Awareness for Korean/DMZ Veterans Act of 2017\, HR 3327\, the Toxic Exposure Declassification Bill\, HR 1472\, the Military and Veteran Caregivers Improvement Act\, HR 846\, the Military Surviving Spouse Equity Act\, HR 216\, the Second Division Memorial Modification Act\, HR 544\, the Newborn Care Improvement Act\, HR 1328\, the American Heroes COLA Act\, HR 1390\, the Authorization of the Secretary of the VA to Pay Costs Relating to Transportation for Certain Deceased Veterans to Veteran Cemeteries Owned By The State or Tribal Organizations\, HR 1681\, the Women Veterans and Families Veterans Health Services Act\, HR 2147\, the Veterans Treatment Court Improvement Act\, HR 2452\, the Deborah Samson Act\, and HR 3209\, the Protecting Military Honor Act. \n8th District Representative – Rick Nolan – Rick Olseen Reporting\n*There is a CBOC clinic in Hibbing that Nolan is involved with concerning some whistleblowers who alerted him to issues with quality of care. The VA is going to take over the operations of these CBOC clinics in either late 2018 or 2019. We are confident that the care questions will be resolved under the VA’s management. \n2. State Agencies and MN Veteran Assistance Organizations\nMN Department of Veteran Affairs – Commissioner Larry Shellito – Ben Johnson Reporting\n*The Support Our Troops license plate funds are split between Military Affairs and Veterans Affairs\, and are used for grants relating to veterans issues. The grant cycle is now open from October 4th until October 30th. We want to focus on veteran suicide\, but will consider grants concerning other issues as well. The Grants Administrator for our agency is Liz Kelly (liz.kelly@state.mn.us). All information needed to submit is on our website. \n*Veterans Day is November 11th. It will be at Veterans Memorial Center at Inver Grove Heights. We are going to focus on Vietnam veterans this year. More information will be forthcoming. \n*Concerning legislature\, this session is a bonding session. MDVA is primarily focusing on capital investments to improve and repair our state veterans homes and cemeteries. There will also be several other policy initiatives put forward and we will continue to work with the Commander’s Taskforce and the UVLC to help develop proposals that will aid veterans and their families. \n*The legislature comes back in session on February 22nd. The House has sufficient money to run through the beginning of the legislative session and the Senate has indicated that they might have some challenges come December with their funding stream. The Supreme Court ordered mediation and the result was intractable differences between the legislature and the governor. It is now back in the hands of the MN Supreme Court to make a decision about the funding. \n*We are talking with the Commander’s Task Force about Veterans Day On The Hill. It is UVLC’s year to provide an MC and run the program. We are available to help in any way we can. \nQ. What is the status of the bridge?\nA. The renovation started last week and should be in process through December. We are hoping to have it done and open for traffic in the next few months\, with the finishing work completed in spring 2018. Building 22 should be completed in December and we hope to have the residents moved in by March. \nQ. What about Building 16?\nA. It still exists. We are hoping to improve services\, but do not intend to close the building. \nQ. Has the cost for redoing the bridge been elevated because of its historical significance?\nA. Fortunately we took all of that into consideration when we submitted the grant. \nQ. Are you supporting any efforts to build a veterans home in northwestern Minnesota?\nA. It is the governor and the legislature’s job to select the location for new homes. Currently\, the proposed projects in Bemidji\, Fillmore County\, and Montevideo are looking promising. \nQ. Which are you considering supporting? Brand new facilities or schemes that would take advantage of existing facilities that only need renovation?\nA. Generally what we find with existing facilities is that they don’t meet modern standards of care. It is a challenge to work with existing buildings and often it doesn’t make sense to invest in that renovation. We will work with what we are given\, but in most cases\, we prefer building new facilities. It is also important to note that in January 2017\, the Secretary of the VA announced that they were looking into reports concerning veteran care in rural facilities and plan to release their findings in 2018. We are still figuring out how the new program will look and how we need to position our community homes to be looked at favorably. However\, we will not know what the report will say until it is released. \nMN Military Affairs – Major Scott Ingalsbe – Annette Kyper – Don Kerr Reporting\n*As of November 1st\, Major-General Jon Jensen will be the new adjutant general. \n*We have received many inquiries recently about hurricane relief. We have all together about 100 MN National Guardsmen currently assisting in relief efforts. \n*The 133rd Airlift Wing has been deployed for three months and will be returning in the end of October. \n*Our Arden Hills construction project is getting ready to begin. It is on the fiscal year Defense project for 2018. This will be the new headquarters for the 35th Division. The project is currently on track. \n*The Joining Community Forces events have been held in Albert Lee and Proctor. The next one will be on October 5th in Marshal. There will be another on November 2nd at Metro State University. \n*Annette Kuyper is currently over at Great River Energy for their proclamation as a Yellow Ribbon Company. They are the 57th Yellow Ribbon company in MN and there are several more pending. \n*A Yellow Ribbon Company seminar was hosted by Perdue Financials last week\, where they listened to guest speakers and shared best practices. \nMN Assistance Council For Veterans (MACV) – Mike Lowsimanu Reporting\n*There will be a job club hosted every Thursday at 01300 at the Minneapolis South Workforce Center. Our employment coordinator has already placed 31 veterans. \n*Vet Law Clinic dates are as follows:\nOctober 10th from 9:00 to 2:00 PM at the Minneapolis VA\nOctober 17th from 1000 to 15000 at the St. Cloud VA\nNovember 1st from 1000 to 1800 at Fergus Falls VFW Post 612\nNovember 2nd from 0900 to 14000 at the American Legion in Brainerd\nNovember 14th at the Minneapolis VA \nIf there is a veteran seeking legal services\, send them to one of the clinics. \n*The Mankato Stand Down will take place on November 14th at the Verizon Wireless center. There will be a legal clinic there as well. \n*MACV will be closing in on the house that Lenare and the Builders Association built for us on October 6th. It will be in St. Paul and it will house a veteran family in transition for 1 year. We are hoping it will be the first of many such projects. \nQ. What is your success rate for veterans who come in with problems for getting them solved?\nA. Sarah Somerton\, our vet-law director\, would be the person to ask. \nMilitary Action Group (MAG) – Jerry Kyser Reporting\n*We had a meeting on October 2nd with Senator Anderson\, the head of the Veterans Committee in the Senate. \n*We want to thank everyone who showed up on September 30th for the return of the 18th Honor Flight. \n*Veteran’s Voices will have several events coming up soon in conjunction with TPT. In June\, there will be an extravaganza with helicopters. Those interested in telling their Vietnam story should contact https://www.mnvietnam.org \n*The next MAG meeting will be November 6th. \n*American Legion and VWF buildings are centers of veteran communities. Because of tax liabilities around gambling\, it’s coming to the point where they risk going out of business and veterans lose a place to gather. We are trying to work with other veteran service organizations to address this issue. We need to get our issues and thoughts together before the opening of the legislative session. We cannot wait until January to get everything in order. \nMN Paralyzed Veterans Of America – Todd Kemery – Jim Dahlin\n*No report today \nWomen Veterans Initiative – Edna Mackenzie\n*Not present. \n3. Federal Agencies\nBrooklyn Park Veterans Center – Lina Knox Reporting\n*Several months ago\, our policy with readjustment counseling changed. When a veteran calls the vet center\, instead of going to voicemail\, it goes to the vet center call center. So anytime a veteran calls any of the three state veteran centers or nationwide outside of office hours\, it will go directly to a call center. If a veteran can talk to someone from the call center crisis line or leave a detailed message\, the call center will relay that message to the vet center. The vet center’s line is different from the Veterans Crisis line. This is one of the new changes that has been made. \n*We are drawing a lot more underserved veterans at the Brooklyn Park location\, including a lot of women and minorities\, veterans with sexual trauma\, Iraq/Afghanistan era veterans. \n*We have created several community groups for veterans so they can have a social outlet\, including a golf group\, softball\, bowling\, and a guitar group. \n*We have also continued our art therapy group. \n*The University of Minnesota and the University of St. Thomas have been working with veterans with PTSD to produce a documentary on the impact of art thereapy. The documentary is called Visions of Warriors and it will be screened at the University of St. Thomas on October 20th (http://www.visionsofwarriors.com/newsarchive/2017/9/29/visions-of-warriors-to-screen-at-the-university-of-st-thomas-minnesota). \nVA Regional Office – Kim Graves Reporting\n*Our fiscal year ended on September 30th and we are now in fiscal year 2018. We had a goal to reduce our claims backlog below 70\,000 and though we did not quite reach it\, we ended at about 76\,000 veterans over 125 days for a decision. This represents about 23% of our national queue of veterans claims. We completed just shy of 1.4 million ratings claims. \n*The Decision Ready Claims Program was piloted here and has now been fully implemented nationally. The largest proportion of the claims are still being filed and completed under that program are still in Minnesota. \n*The Appeals Modernization Act was signed by the president on August 23rd. That law has an 18 month ramp-up period and will not go into full effect until February of 2019. The secretary has asked that we begin implementing what portions of the law we are able to right now that will give the benefits of the new program to as many veterans as possible. The details are still being worked out. We expect that it will be an incremented process and will provide more details as they become available. \n*We are still hiring at the regional office. If you know any veterans looking for opportunities to come over to the VDA\, please direct them to usjobs.com. We are looking for around 30 additional employees. \nQ. Concerning the Decision Ready Claims\, is that a national queue?\nA. It is becoming a national queue. We are still getting a good portion of the MN veterans here. \nQ. Have you reached out to KARE11 to show that you’re doing something positive? They have given you a lot of negative press in the past and this would give them the opportunity to learn about what you’re doing.\nA. We published information about the national programs and have press releases. \nVISN 23 – Director – Janet Murphy – Andre Kok\n*On October 2nd\, the VA announced that a new federal advisory committee had been started. The purpose of this committee is to provide feedback to the secretary on the whole spectrum of VA programs. \n*We offer flu shots through Walgreens\, in addition to offering them at CBOCs and clinics. \n*As of October 4\, 14 VISN employees have been sent to Puerto Rico and 39 are ready to leave to aid in hurricane relief. \n*Concerning the KARE11 reports on non–VA emergency care claims\, want to encourage veterans to go to the emergency room when they are having an emergency. We are always looking to improve our processes. \n*Upcoming town hall meetings:\nDecember 7th in Forest Lake\nDecember 11th in St. Cloud \n*We want to highlight our tele-primary care hub. We have been working to develop this program for a year and a half. It uses funding from our Office of Rural Health to provide medical providers to rural areas that are having difficult time recruiting physicians\, nurses\, or psychologists. \n*A year ago we started a consolidated call center\, that brings together several different calls. We are seeing a decrease in hold-times for veterans and want to continue to improve on this. \nVAHCS Minneapolis – Director Patrick J. Kelly – Mike Rozcrantz Reporting\n*The Veterans East apartments opened on September 21st. There are 100 units of affordable housing for veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. \n*Our Town Hall in Hibbing was successful. Around 50 veterans and service officers showed up. Most concerns were with the Choice program. \n*We have created a center for Integrated Health and Healing that will open mid-November. It will offer various mindfulness practices. \n*There will be a Veterans Day program at the VA on Friday November 10th at 2:30 PM in the flag atrium. \n*As of September of 2018\, we will be taking over the CBOCs and making them VA staffed in Eely and Hibbing. \nQ. What is the gateway for getting into the Veterans East apartments?\nA. I will send out the contact information to your offices. You can do it through the CRC\, do it directly\, ect. \nSt. Cloud VA HCS – Director Stephen D. Black – Tyler Bieniek Reporting\n*Our new chief of staff was announced on October 1st. It is Doctor Bartley. He has been acting in the role since June and has officially taken up the role. \n*We are hosting a Recovery Night for veteran’s families and community members\, for people to come share stories and help improve mental health recovery. This will be on October 19th from 6 AM through 7:30 PM. \n*There will be a nursing and medical clerk career fair coming up on October 14th at Rasmussen College in St. Cloud. \n*We are doing VA Healthcare 101 on the first Tuesday and second Friday of the month October through December. This will give new veterans the chance to come in and learn about the VA system. \n*We recently opened our new resident dining facility and are slowly transitioning services over from the old dining facility. The space in the old dining facility will be used to create a new primary care space. \n*We are working on the Canteen. It is very close to completion. \n*We are finishing up a project in our Residential Mental Health Treatment Program. Building 28 will be completely renovated with new bed space for RTT. We now have the ability to move some veterans out of areas that need renovation. \n*Construction on our Adult Day Care building will start in fiscal year 2019. The COC cottage will begin construction in 2019. This will add 10 beds to our COC. \n*We are working on our Whole Health Initiative. \nQ. You have several single-occupant rooms on your campus. Do you follow how much occupancy percentage is veteran?\nA. We don’t actively manage those buildings. They are managed by outside contractors\, but I do believe they are over 51% veteran occupied. \nUVLC member question: How we are going to keep Veterans in the [Al Loehr] apartments to keep the number over the 51% threshold? \nResponse: The Al Loehr Veteran and Community Apartments were built via an Enhanced Use Lease (EUL) agreement with the St. Cloud Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA). Construction was 100% financed by the Minnesota Housing Finance Association. The apartments are managed by the Catholic Charities of the St. Cloud Diocese. The apartments offer safe and sober/drug-free\, affordable\, supportive\, housing to Veterans and to other low-income members of the community\, who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. \nPer the EUL and tenant selection plan\, Veterans who qualify to reside at the apartments receive priority placement for vacant apartments if less than 51% of the apartments are occupied by Veterans. If there are no qualifying Veteran applicants at the time of a vacancy then the apartments may be filled with non-Veterans. The tenant selection plan is intended to keep this valuable community resource fully occupied with qualified tenants. \nFor more information\, please visit: http://ccstcloud.org/services/housing/affordable-rental-units/al-loehr-veterans-and-community-studio-apartments/ \nFt. Snelling Cemetery – Bob Razor – John Knapp Reporting\n*No numbers this time\, but there will be data for the next meeting. We are in the full swing of winter operations and will begin pre-digging winter graves. \n*The dedication ceremony for the new Veterans Cemetery at Leech Lake will be on October 5th. \n*22 trees were removed by 40 volunteer private Tree Companies from the twin cities. \n*Wreathes Across America date is forthcoming. Usually it is the first week in December. \nVets Employment and Training Services [VETS] – David Seay\n*Not present. \nHistoric Fort Snelling – Tom Pfannenstiel Reporting\n*In 2020\, the Minnesota Historical Society will be celebrating the 200th anniversary of the founding of Ft. Snelling. It was established in 1820. The society is undertaking the largest project since the construction of the History Center. We will be refurbishing one of the barracks buildings and making it into our Visitors center. We will also be taking an 1880s building on site and turn it into our Visitor Welcome center. There will also be a great deal of landscaping work. We will be approaching the legislative session for funding and other work coming up in 2020. \n*We are working with various constituency groups within the community\, including the veterans community\, to discuss what you want to see at the Fort. \n*We are collaborating with the Minnesota Humanities Center and on October 18th we are going to sponsor a Veterans Voices Program. \nQ. How are you planning to reach rural veterans?\nA. We are working now on the engagement process with staff. \n4. Announcements\n*Mike Rivard received the Veterans Voice Award of Minnesota in September. \n* Connie Haddeland received the Patrick Henry Award from the National Guard. \n*Anoka recently released three buildings at the mental hospital that they plan to rebuild into housing for homeless veterans. It will be funded privately and we are looking for volunteers. Senator Bruce Anderson is spearheading the project. Eagles Healing Nest is taking the lead for the project. Contact: mbutler@eagleshealingnest.com \n5. Meeting in Recess for five minutes\nNext meeting November 1\, 2017. \nTreasurer’s Report as of 1 October 2017 \nBalance as of 1 September 2017 $3\,371.45 \nDeposits for September 2017 $0.00 \nExpenses for September 2017\nTranscription Expense ($120.00) \nBalance as of 1 September\, 2017 $3\,251.45 \nSubmitted by Donald Rask\, Treasurer UVLC \n[print-me target=”.report” title=”Print Report”]
URL:https://mnuvlc.org/event/october-2017-meeting/
LOCATION:Mpls VAHC Building 9 Auditorium\, 1 Veterans Drive\, Minneapolis\, MN\, 55417\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mnuvlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1920-1080-UVLC-images-for-website-10.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20171004T043000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20171004T063000
DTSTAMP:20260524T213734
CREATED:20210421T090059Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210421T090059Z
UID:2876-1507091400-1507098600@mnuvlc.org
SUMMARY:October 2017 Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Report\nMeeting at Building 9\, VAMC Campus \nCall to order – 9:30\, Invocation – Pledge of Allegiance \nGreetings: Recognition of visitors and guests \nAnnouncements – Ralph Donais\, Chairman – Jerry Kyser\, Vice Chairman. \nIntroducing Robby Robinson\, President MN County Veteran Service Officers. \nIntroducing Tom Pfannenstiel\, site manager for Historic Fort Snelling. \nIntroducing Chris Jenson\, Public Television representative. \nIntroducing Tim Woolmuth\, Vice-Commander of the 934 Airlift Wing. \nIntroducing Kirk Hall\, Intel with the 934 Airlift Wing. \nIntroducing Lina Knox with the Brooklyn Park Veterans Center. \n1. Federal Congressional Representatives\nSenator Amy Klobuchar – Kurt Johnson Reporting\n*Klobuchar was recently in town discussing her burn pit legislation\, an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. \n* Klobuchar attended the 934th banquet partnered with the 133rd airlift wing and saw off a number of service members deployed for hurricane relief. \n*It has been a quiet month with legislature. We will update you when more information is available. \nQ. Is the senator involved with the transportation committee in the house? It does not have an equal one in the senate. What is the interaction the senator would have in facilitating that initiative?\nA. At this point we are not supporting that specific initiative. \nSenator Al Franken – Alex Schueller\n*Not present. \n1st District Representative – Tim Walz – Shawn Schoesser Reporting\n*The Forever GI bill\, which helps families improve their educational benefits\, was signed into law. \n*We are pleased with our efforts in reforming the veterans appeals process\, both with streamlining the process itself and with legacy claims. \n*The dates for several important veteran service grants have been extended and will continue to provide support. \n*The American Legion Commemorative Coin act passed the House and the Senate and is currently waiting on the president to sign. \nQ. What is your priority on the Caring for Our Veterans Caregivers act?\nA. We want to make sure that it continues moving forward. It is a high priority. \nQ. Will you be going on the campaign trail?\nA. Walz has announced his candidacy but I will continue to work in the congressional office. A different team will be working on the campaign\, separate from the work we do here. \n2nd District Representative – Jason Lewis – Angela Sedlacek Reporting\n*We have been watching the NDAA carefully\, but September was a quiet month in terms of legislation. \n*Our Academy information night will be on October 9th at St. Thomas Academy. Currently we have 30 applicants. \n3rd District Representative – Erik Paulsen – Margret Cavanaugh\n*Not present. \n4th District Representative – Betty McCollum – Connie Haddeland\n* See below. \n5th District Representative – Keith Ellison – Mike Siebenaler\n*Not present. \n6th District Representative – Tom Emmer – Abby Rime Reporting\n*In September\, the Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act of 2018 was passed. This provides discretionary funding for the federal government for fiscal year 2018. This will join with the funding package passed in late July. \n*The house passed the Department of Veteran Affairs Expiring Authorities Act of 2017 in late September. This extends a number of expiring programs\, including Veterans Benefits\, homelessness\, healthcare\, nursing home care\, support services for caregivers\, transportation\, childcare assistance\, adaptive sports programs\, and housing and home loan services. It also extends the assisted living pilot program for veterans with Traumatic Brain Injuries for five additional months. \n*The House passed the American Legion Commemorative Coin Act. \n*We visited Eagles Healing Nest and toured their facility. \n*We will be sending a letter to the president urging him to recognize the contributions of our Atomic Veterans. This is in partnership with Representative McGovern. \n7th District Representative – Collin Peterson – Meg Louwagie Reporting\n*Peterson cosponsored HR 3605\, the Awareness for Korean/DMZ Veterans Act of 2017\, HR 3327\, the Toxic Exposure Declassification Bill\, HR 1472\, the Military and Veteran Caregivers Improvement Act\, HR 846\, the Military Surviving Spouse Equity Act\, HR 216\, the Second Division Memorial Modification Act\, HR 544\, the Newborn Care Improvement Act\, HR 1328\, the American Heroes COLA Act\, HR 1390\, the Authorization of the Secretary of the VA to Pay Costs Relating to Transportation for Certain Deceased Veterans to Veteran Cemeteries Owned By The State or Tribal Organizations\, HR 1681\, the Women Veterans and Families Veterans Health Services Act\, HR 2147\, the Veterans Treatment Court Improvement Act\, HR 2452\, the Deborah Samson Act\, and HR 3209\, the Protecting Military Honor Act. \n8th District Representative – Rick Nolan – Rick Olseen Reporting\n*There is a CBOC clinic in Hibbing that Nolan is involved with concerning some whistleblowers who alerted him to issues with quality of care. The VA is going to take over the operations of these CBOC clinics in either late 2018 or 2019. We are confident that the care questions will be resolved under the VA’s management. \n2. State Agencies and MN Veteran Assistance Organizations\nMN Department of Veteran Affairs – Commissioner Larry Shellito – Ben Johnson Reporting\n*The Support Our Troops license plate funds are split between Military Affairs and Veterans Affairs\, and are used for grants relating to veterans issues. The grant cycle is now open from October 4th until October 30th. We want to focus on veteran suicide\, but will consider grants concerning other issues as well. The Grants Administrator for our agency is Liz Kelly (liz.kelly@state.mn.us). All information needed to submit is on our website. \n*Veterans Day is November 11th. It will be at Veterans Memorial Center at Inver Grove Heights. We are going to focus on Vietnam veterans this year. More information will be forthcoming. \n*Concerning legislature\, this session is a bonding session. MDVA is primarily focusing on capital investments to improve and repair our state veterans homes and cemeteries. There will also be several other policy initiatives put forward and we will continue to work with the Commander’s Taskforce and the UVLC to help develop proposals that will aid veterans and their families. \n*The legislature comes back in session on February 22nd. The House has sufficient money to run through the beginning of the legislative session and the Senate has indicated that they might have some challenges come December with their funding stream. The Supreme Court ordered mediation and the result was intractable differences between the legislature and the governor. It is now back in the hands of the MN Supreme Court to make a decision about the funding. \n*We are talking with the Commander’s Task Force about Veterans Day On The Hill. It is UVLC’s year to provide an MC and run the program. We are available to help in any way we can. \nQ. What is the status of the bridge?\nA. The renovation started last week and should be in process through December. We are hoping to have it done and open for traffic in the next few months\, with the finishing work completed in spring 2018. Building 22 should be completed in December and we hope to have the residents moved in by March. \nQ. What about Building 16?\nA. It still exists. We are hoping to improve services\, but do not intend to close the building. \nQ. Has the cost for redoing the bridge been elevated because of its historical significance?\nA. Fortunately we took all of that into consideration when we submitted the grant. \nQ. Are you supporting any efforts to build a veterans home in northwestern Minnesota?\nA. It is the governor and the legislature’s job to select the location for new homes. Currently\, the proposed projects in Bemidji\, Fillmore County\, and Montevideo are looking promising. \nQ. Which are you considering supporting? Brand new facilities or schemes that would take advantage of existing facilities that only need renovation?\nA. Generally what we find with existing facilities is that they don’t meet modern standards of care. It is a challenge to work with existing buildings and often it doesn’t make sense to invest in that renovation. We will work with what we are given\, but in most cases\, we prefer building new facilities. It is also important to note that in January 2017\, the Secretary of the VA announced that they were looking into reports concerning veteran care in rural facilities and plan to release their findings in 2018. We are still figuring out how the new program will look and how we need to position our community homes to be looked at favorably. However\, we will not know what the report will say until it is released. \nMN Military Affairs – Major Scott Ingalsbe – Annette Kyper – Don Kerr Reporting\n*As of November 1st\, Major-General Jon Jensen will be the new adjutant general. \n*We have received many inquiries recently about hurricane relief. We have all together about 100 MN National Guardsmen currently assisting in relief efforts. \n*The 133rd Airlift Wing has been deployed for three months and will be returning in the end of October. \n*Our Arden Hills construction project is getting ready to begin. It is on the fiscal year Defense project for 2018. This will be the new headquarters for the 35th Division. The project is currently on track. \n*The Joining Community Forces events have been held in Albert Lee and Proctor. The next one will be on October 5th in Marshal. There will be another on November 2nd at Metro State University. \n*Annette Kuyper is currently over at Great River Energy for their proclamation as a Yellow Ribbon Company. They are the 57th Yellow Ribbon company in MN and there are several more pending. \n*A Yellow Ribbon Company seminar was hosted by Perdue Financials last week\, where they listened to guest speakers and shared best practices. \nMN Assistance Council For Veterans (MACV) – Mike Lowsimanu Reporting\n*There will be a job club hosted every Thursday at 01300 at the Minneapolis South Workforce Center. Our employment coordinator has already placed 31 veterans. \n*Vet Law Clinic dates are as follows:\nOctober 10th from 9:00 to 2:00 PM at the Minneapolis VA\nOctober 17th from 1000 to 15000 at the St. Cloud VA\nNovember 1st from 1000 to 1800 at Fergus Falls VFW Post 612\nNovember 2nd from 0900 to 14000 at the American Legion in Brainerd\nNovember 14th at the Minneapolis VA \nIf there is a veteran seeking legal services\, send them to one of the clinics. \n*The Mankato Stand Down will take place on November 14th at the Verizon Wireless center. There will be a legal clinic there as well. \n*MACV will be closing in on the house that Lenare and the Builders Association built for us on October 6th. It will be in St. Paul and it will house a veteran family in transition for 1 year. We are hoping it will be the first of many such projects. \nQ. What is your success rate for veterans who come in with problems for getting them solved?\nA. Sarah Somerton\, our vet-law director\, would be the person to ask. \nMilitary Action Group (MAG) – Jerry Kyser Reporting\n*We had a meeting on October 2nd with Senator Anderson\, the head of the Veterans Committee in the Senate. \n*We want to thank everyone who showed up on September 30th for the return of the 18th Honor Flight. \n*Veteran’s Voices will have several events coming up soon in conjunction with TPT. In June\, there will be an extravaganza with helicopters. Those interested in telling their Vietnam story should contact https://www.mnvietnam.org \n*The next MAG meeting will be November 6th. \n*American Legion and VWF buildings are centers of veteran communities. Because of tax liabilities around gambling\, it’s coming to the point where they risk going out of business and veterans lose a place to gather. We are trying to work with other veteran service organizations to address this issue. We need to get our issues and thoughts together before the opening of the legislative session. We cannot wait until January to get everything in order. \nMN Paralyzed Veterans Of America – Todd Kemery – Jim Dahlin\n*No report today \nWomen Veterans Initiative – Edna Mackenzie\n*Not present. \n3. Federal Agencies\nBrooklyn Park Veterans Center – Lina Knox Reporting\n*Several months ago\, our policy with readjustment counseling changed. When a veteran calls the vet center\, instead of going to voicemail\, it goes to the vet center call center. So anytime a veteran calls any of the three state veteran centers or nationwide outside of office hours\, it will go directly to a call center. If a veteran can talk to someone from the call center crisis line or leave a detailed message\, the call center will relay that message to the vet center. The vet center’s line is different from the Veterans Crisis line. This is one of the new changes that has been made. \n*We are drawing a lot more underserved veterans at the Brooklyn Park location\, including a lot of women and minorities\, veterans with sexual trauma\, Iraq/Afghanistan era veterans. \n*We have created several community groups for veterans so they can have a social outlet\, including a golf group\, softball\, bowling\, and a guitar group. \n*We have also continued our art therapy group. \n*The University of Minnesota and the University of St. Thomas have been working with veterans with PTSD to produce a documentary on the impact of art thereapy. The documentary is called Visions of Warriors and it will be screened at the University of St. Thomas on October 20th (http://www.visionsofwarriors.com/newsarchive/2017/9/29/visions-of-warriors-to-screen-at-the-university-of-st-thomas-minnesota). \nVA Regional Office – Kim Graves Reporting\n*Our fiscal year ended on September 30th and we are now in fiscal year 2018. We had a goal to reduce our claims backlog below 70\,000 and though we did not quite reach it\, we ended at about 76\,000 veterans over 125 days for a decision. This represents about 23% of our national queue of veterans claims. We completed just shy of 1.4 million ratings claims. \n*The Decision Ready Claims Program was piloted here and has now been fully implemented nationally. The largest proportion of the claims are still being filed and completed under that program are still in Minnesota. \n*The Appeals Modernization Act was signed by the president on August 23rd. That law has an 18 month ramp-up period and will not go into full effect until February of 2019. The secretary has asked that we begin implementing what portions of the law we are able to right now that will give the benefits of the new program to as many veterans as possible. The details are still being worked out. We expect that it will be an incremented process and will provide more details as they become available. \n*We are still hiring at the regional office. If you know any veterans looking for opportunities to come over to the VDA\, please direct them to usjobs.com. We are looking for around 30 additional employees. \nQ. Concerning the Decision Ready Claims\, is that a national queue?\nA. It is becoming a national queue. We are still getting a good portion of the MN veterans here. \nQ. Have you reached out to KARE11 to show that you’re doing something positive? They have given you a lot of negative press in the past and this would give them the opportunity to learn about what you’re doing.\nA. We published information about the national programs and have press releases. \nVISN 23 – Director – Janet Murphy – Andre Kok\n*On October 2nd\, the VA announced that a new federal advisory committee had been started. The purpose of this committee is to provide feedback to the secretary on the whole spectrum of VA programs. \n*We offer flu shots through Walgreens\, in addition to offering them at CBOCs and clinics. \n*As of October 4\, 14 VISN employees have been sent to Puerto Rico and 39 are ready to leave to aid in hurricane relief. \n*Concerning the KARE11 reports on non–VA emergency care claims\, want to encourage veterans to go to the emergency room when they are having an emergency. We are always looking to improve our processes. \n*Upcoming town hall meetings:\nDecember 7th in Forest Lake\nDecember 11th in St. Cloud \n*We want to highlight our tele-primary care hub. We have been working to develop this program for a year and a half. It uses funding from our Office of Rural Health to provide medical providers to rural areas that are having difficult time recruiting physicians\, nurses\, or psychologists. \n*A year ago we started a consolidated call center\, that brings together several different calls. We are seeing a decrease in hold-times for veterans and want to continue to improve on this. \nVAHCS Minneapolis – Director Patrick J. Kelly – Mike Rozcrantz Reporting\n*The Veterans East apartments opened on September 21st. There are 100 units of affordable housing for veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. \n*Our Town Hall in Hibbing was successful. Around 50 veterans and service officers showed up. Most concerns were with the Choice program. \n*We have created a center for Integrated Health and Healing that will open mid-November. It will offer various mindfulness practices. \n*There will be a Veterans Day program at the VA on Friday November 10th at 2:30 PM in the flag atrium. \n*As of September of 2018\, we will be taking over the CBOCs and making them VA staffed in Eely and Hibbing. \nQ. What is the gateway for getting into the Veterans East apartments?\nA. I will send out the contact information to your offices. You can do it through the CRC\, do it directly\, ect. \nSt. Cloud VA HCS – Director Stephen D. Black – Tyler Bieniek Reporting\n*Our new chief of staff was announced on October 1st. It is Doctor Bartley. He has been acting in the role since June and has officially taken up the role. \n*We are hosting a Recovery Night for veteran’s families and community members\, for people to come share stories and help improve mental health recovery. This will be on October 19th from 6 AM through 7:30 PM. \n*There will be a nursing and medical clerk career fair coming up on October 14th at Rasmussen College in St. Cloud. \n*We are doing VA Healthcare 101 on the first Tuesday and second Friday of the month October through December. This will give new veterans the chance to come in and learn about the VA system. \n*We recently opened our new resident dining facility and are slowly transitioning services over from the old dining facility. The space in the old dining facility will be used to create a new primary care space. \n*We are working on the Canteen. It is very close to completion. \n*We are finishing up a project in our Residential Mental Health Treatment Program. Building 28 will be completely renovated with new bed space for RTT. We now have the ability to move some veterans out of areas that need renovation. \n*Construction on our Adult Day Care building will start in fiscal year 2019. The COC cottage will begin construction in 2019. This will add 10 beds to our COC. \n*We are working on our Whole Health Initiative. \nQ. You have several single-occupant rooms on your campus. Do you follow how much occupancy percentage is veteran?\nA. We don’t actively manage those buildings. They are managed by outside contractors\, but I do believe they are over 51% veteran occupied. \nUVLC member question: How we are going to keep Veterans in the [Al Loehr] apartments to keep the number over the 51% threshold? \nResponse: The Al Loehr Veteran and Community Apartments were built via an Enhanced Use Lease (EUL) agreement with the St. Cloud Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA). Construction was 100% financed by the Minnesota Housing Finance Association. The apartments are managed by the Catholic Charities of the St. Cloud Diocese. The apartments offer safe and sober/drug-free\, affordable\, supportive\, housing to Veterans and to other low-income members of the community\, who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. \nPer the EUL and tenant selection plan\, Veterans who qualify to reside at the apartments receive priority placement for vacant apartments if less than 51% of the apartments are occupied by Veterans. If there are no qualifying Veteran applicants at the time of a vacancy then the apartments may be filled with non-Veterans. The tenant selection plan is intended to keep this valuable community resource fully occupied with qualified tenants. \nFor more information\, please visit: http://ccstcloud.org/services/housing/affordable-rental-units/al-loehr-veterans-and-community-studio-apartments/ \nFt. Snelling Cemetery – Bob Razor – John Knapp Reporting\n*No numbers this time\, but there will be data for the next meeting. We are in the full swing of winter operations and will begin pre-digging winter graves. \n*The dedication ceremony for the new Veterans Cemetery at Leech Lake will be on October 5th. \n*22 trees were removed by 40 volunteer private Tree Companies from the twin cities. \n*Wreathes Across America date is forthcoming. Usually it is the first week in December. \nVets Employment and Training Services [VETS] – David Seay\n*Not present. \nHistoric Fort Snelling – Tom Pfannenstiel Reporting\n*In 2020\, the Minnesota Historical Society will be celebrating the 200th anniversary of the founding of Ft. Snelling. It was established in 1820. The society is undertaking the largest project since the construction of the History Center. We will be refurbishing one of the barracks buildings and making it into our Visitors center. We will also be taking an 1880s building on site and turn it into our Visitor Welcome center. There will also be a great deal of landscaping work. We will be approaching the legislative session for funding and other work coming up in 2020. \n*We are working with various constituency groups within the community\, including the veterans community\, to discuss what you want to see at the Fort. \n*We are collaborating with the Minnesota Humanities Center and on October 18th we are going to sponsor a Veterans Voices Program. \nQ. How are you planning to reach rural veterans?\nA. We are working now on the engagement process with staff. \n4. Announcements\n*Mike Rivard received the Veterans Voice Award of Minnesota in September. \n* Connie Haddeland received the Patrick Henry Award from the National Guard. \n*Anoka recently released three buildings at the mental hospital that they plan to rebuild into housing for homeless veterans. It will be funded privately and we are looking for volunteers. Senator Bruce Anderson is spearheading the project. Eagles Healing Nest is taking the lead for the project. Contact: mbutler@eagleshealingnest.com \n5. Meeting in Recess for five minutes\nNext meeting November 1\, 2017. \nTreasurer’s Report as of 1 October 2017 \nBalance as of 1 September 2017 $3\,371.45 \nDeposits for September 2017 $0.00 \nExpenses for September 2017\nTranscription Expense ($120.00) \nBalance as of 1 September\, 2017 $3\,251.45 \nSubmitted by Donald Rask\, Treasurer UVLC \n[print-me target=”.report” title=”Print Report”]
URL:https://mnuvlc.org/event/october-2017-meeting-2/
LOCATION:Mpls VAHC Building 9 Auditorium\, 1 Veterans Drive\, Minneapolis\, MN\, 55417\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mnuvlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1920-1080-UVLC-images-for-website-10.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20170906T043000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20170906T063000
DTSTAMP:20260524T213734
CREATED:20210421T090232Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210427T022504Z
UID:1609-1504672200-1504679400@mnuvlc.org
SUMMARY:September 2017 Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Report\nMeeting at Building 9\, VAMC Campus \nCall to order – 9:30\, Invocation – Pledge of Allegiance \nGreetings: Recognition of visitors and guests \nAnnouncements – Ralph Donais\, Chairman – Jerry Kyser\, Vice Chairman. \n1. Federal Agencies\nVISN 23 – Director – Janet Murphy – Dr. Sanchez Reporting.\n*September is Suicide Prevention month. Suicide prevention is the number one clinical priority for the Secretary of the VA and for our organization. Our goal is to bring the suicide rates down to zero. We need to partner with the community to achieve this goal. This is a social problem. We also need to do a better job of identifying at-risk veterans. It requires research\, an understanding of public health\, and we need to figure out a way to make it easy for at-risk veterans to utilize our organizations. Every single VISN employee is in the process of receiving suicide prevention training. \n*Our program with gun locks is in process and initial reports look promising. Research supports the proposal that at-risk veterans might reconsider an otherwise impulsive suicide if their weapons are not immediately available. \n*We currently offer same-day access to urgent mental health cases\, but have made it a priority to offer this service to every veteran by the end of the year\, not just the urgent cases. This is a large undertaking but we are committed to the cause. \n*VISN is slated to hire a thousand new employees nationwide by the end of the year to support our mental health services. We are in the process of determining which positions have the most urgent need. \n*We will see veterans with an Other Than Honorable Discharge and will give them 90 days to stabilize their situation. If needed\, the chief medical officer can authorize an additional 90 days. We are not going to abandon any veteran who reaches out in their time of need. \nQ. What is the procedure for a veteran with an Other Than Honorable Discharge to come in and be seen?\nA. The same as any other veteran. They can access a CBOC\, go to the ER\, or go to any of our clinics. Their discharge status will become clear during the check-in process. The paperwork will wait until after the crisis is resolved. No one will be turned away. The enrollment will not be an impediment to them getting a referral. \nVA Regional Office – Kim Graves Reporting\n*The Appeals Modernization bill has not passed\, but we are working on it. More information will be forthcoming. \n*The Forever GI Bill has been passed. The old GI bill had a 15-year time limit to use the benefits. This legislation removed that provision for veterans who left active duty on or after January 2013. More information is available at va.gov. \n*We are continuing to hire claims processors. Our staffing ceiling is currently 899. We are a little shy of that number. Our office is currently the 4th largest in the VA system. \n*The state CVSO conference in Grandview will be the week of the 13th. \n*There will be a town hall meeting jointly with the Medical center in Hibbing on September 28th from 4 to 6 PM and there will be an outreach program in the Roseville VFW on October 13th. \nVAHCS Minneapolis – Director Patrick J. Kelly – Ralph Heussner Reporting\n*There will be tables with literature and practical items with the VA crisis line in the atrium of the VAHCS through all of September. We will also be handing out locks for gun cabinets. \n*Congress passed the Faster Care for Veterans Act last year. The Minneapolis VA is one of three pilots for the implementation of a self-scheduling tool which will allow veterans to use cellphones or home computers to make appointments for primary care\, mental health\, audiology\, and optometry. The program will also allow cancellations in addition to scheduling appointments. The pilot launches on October 17th. The goal is to enroll 100 veterans per month with the self-scheduling tool. We hope this will expedite access to the VA. More information will be forthcoming. \n*At the last Stand Down\,135 patients received a Basic Health Screen\, 81 Rapid HIV Tests\, 68 dental exams\, and 53 eye exams. An eye exam for one veteran revealed a condition which could have led to blindness\, but we were able to treat that. \n*At August 22nd\, National Convention in Reno awarded the Distinguished Service Medal to Doctor Apostolos Georgopoulos\, at the Minneapolis VAMC Brain Science Center. The award was for advances in brain imaging for PTSD and Alzheimers. \n*The Health East project will have its ribbon cutting ceremony on September 20th at 1:00 PM. \n*The Mental Health Summit will be on September 22nd in the Whipple building at 8 AM. It is open to the public. Community partners will be talking about where we are with homelessness and mental health issues. \nSt. Cloud VA HCS – Director Stephen D. Black – Kerri Schwegel Reporting\n*With our outreach program we’ve had 180 events and disability claims\, for a total of 1600 contacts \n*We are working to keep veterans connected and aware of their available benefits\, and appreciate the support of other veteran organizations who coordinate with us. The importance of community partnerships cannot be overemphasized. \n*There will be a ribbon cutting on September 11th at 2 PM for the new resident dining facility. \n*The next quarterly meeting will be at 3 PM in the director’s conference room on September 11th. \n*September 19th is our town hall in Montevideo at VFW Post 380. It will start at 4 PM. \nFt. Snelling Cemetery – John Knapp Reporting\n*We are up to 2\,044 internments for the year. There were 483 in the month of July. 80 were from WWII era\, 81 were from Korea\, and 82 were from Vietnam. \n*We were identified as one of four cemeteries nationwide to do a pilot program\, to do weekend burials once a month on Saturday. The cemetery is never closed for more than two days. This program is to ensure that veterans and their families have more options for burial and no one is kept waiting. This program will start in November. \n*The Airborne Circle with 30 monuments is now complete. \n*Veterans have been issuing complains about the pre-need program\, specifically that they have not received their letters\, so we have started an investigation into figuring out why. We have discovered there is a backlog and we are in the midst of working through it. \n*We are currently preparing for winter graves. \n*The Fargo rural initiative is expected to be completed in January of 2019. \n*September 20th is Saluting Branches\, where 40 local arborist companies donate their time and equipment to trim and remove dead trees. \n*To date we’ve had over 225\,000 burials. With cremations now at 68% we seem to have room up to 2060. \nVets Employment and Training Services [VETS] – David Seay\n*Not present. \n2. Federal Congressional Representatives\nSenator Amy Klobuchar – Kurt Johnson Reporting\n*Klobuchar was a co-sponsor of the Forever GI bill. Veterans who were impacted by technical school shut-downs will be able to reapply for those benefits. Service members who were deployed under the designator code 12304 Bravo will also receive their education benefits. There is more work to be done on this\, and Franken’s office is working to get it added to the NDAA\, but it is in process. \n*We are excited for the Faster Pay for Veterans Act pilot program. \n*The Wounded Warrior Workforce Enhancement Act gives the VA the ability to authorize grants to schools that have programs for prosthetics and orthopedics in order to increase the partnership between them. Century Community College is one example that will benefit from additional grants and collaboration with the VA. \n*We are pushing for the burn pit legislation to be attached to the NDAA. Unfortunately it has not been passed yet\, though it was looking good. \nSenator Al Franken – Alex Schueller\n*Not present. \n1st District Representative – Tim Walz – Shawn Schoesser\n*Not present. \n2nd District Representative – Jason Lewis – Angela Sedlacek Reporting\n*Our Service Academy Info Night is October 9th at St. Thomas Academy from 6 to 8:30 PM. \n*Our Service Academy interviews have been scheduled for Saturday December 2nd. \n*We are asking that our Service Academy applications be submitted by October 29th and are currently looking at 30 applicants. \n3rd District Representative – Erik Paulsen – Margret Cavanaugh\n*Not present. See below. \n4th District Representative – Betty McCollum – Connie Haddeland Reporting\n*We are focusing on hurricane relief at the moment\, but will be seeing more action on veterans issues soon. \n*Speaking for Margret Cavanaugh from Paulsen’s office\, who is not in attendance: they will be hosting an Academy evening on September 19th from 5 to 9 PM at Oak Grove Middle School in Bloomington. \n*Information about upcoming bills will be forthcoming at the next meeting. \n5th District Representative – Keith Ellison – Mike Siebenaler\n*Not present. \n6th District Representative – Tom Emmer – Abby Rime Reporting\n*In September\, congress will be taking up the eight remaining omnibus bills. This will be joined by the four omnibus bills that were passed in July. \n*In August\, Emmer was attending the Veterans Lake event and could not attend the UVLC meeting. \n*Emmer had a tour of the Minneapolis VA in August. \n*Our Academy info night is September 26th at Ramsey City Hall from 6 to 8 PM. We currently have 15 applicants. Our interviews will be in November. \n7th District Representative – Collin Peterson – Meg Louwagie Reporting\n*Peterson was on break in August and focused on farm bill hearings. He is looking at the following bills to consider co-sponsoring: The Active Duty Guard Reserve Issues HR 2099 the GI Bill Fairness Act\, HR 1317 the Service Member Retirement Improvement Act\, HR 2850 the Military Patron Protection Act\, HR 1796 the Lift and Relocation Burden for Military Spouses\, and HR 92 Support of Champ VA Children Protection Act. \n*Peterson will be meeting with the VFW later in September. \n*A special Thank You to Congressman Nolan and Congressman Waltz for the roundtable discussion in Duluth last month. \n8th District Representative – Rick Nolan – Rick Olseen Reporting\n*We want to thank Congressman Waltz for attending the Duluth roundtable. \n*We are looking into different contractors to handle Choice issues. \n*We attended the MACV Stand Down in International Falls. Later we will be attending the Mental Health summit at the VA in September and are committed to working with our community partners and fellow veteran organizations on this issue. \n*Our upcoming legislative session begins February 20\, 2018. All constituencies are advised to put together their “Ask” as early as possible. \n*There was a discussion about the charge of $750 for spousal burial at MNDVA cemeteries\, but there was no conclusion to that discussion. \n*About MNDVA veterans homes: Noted was a 6-9 month waiting list for rural homes and a year’s wait for the Minneapolis home. \n3. State Agencies and MN Veteran Assistance Organizations\nMN Department of Veteran Affairs – Commissioner Larry Shellito – Ben Johnson Reporting\n*The funding for the bridge is in place and we have a contractor. They will begin the rehab project in September and plan to finish up before the end of the year. \n*The Building 22 project is scheduled to be substantially completed by December and open in March for a move-in and grand opening. \nMN Military Affairs – Major Scott Ingalsbe – Annette Kuyper Reporting\n* Major General Nash is retiring and the Commanding General of the 34th Red Bull Infantry Division\, MG Jon Jensen is the the state’s new Adjutant General\, The change of command will take place on November 1st. \n*MG Jensen has three priorities: \nDiversify the force.\nA ready force.\nThe Beyond The Yellow Ribbon Program. \n*A new commanding general of the 34th will be announced. \n*MNG will be severely affected if congress does not fund the continuation of government functions. \n*500 soldiers of the 34th Infantry Division will be deployed to Southwest Asia for one year in the fall of 2018. \n*200 members of the 133rd Airlift Wing will be deployed to Kuwait in November. \n*At the recent State Fair 243 Beyond the Yellow Ribbon volunteers assisted the Red Bull Division at its 100th Anniversary Exhibition. \nMN Assistance Council For Veterans (MACV) – John Lovald Reporting\n*We had fewer veterans attending the Metro Stand Down but we were able to provide extensive benefits and medical services. \n*We have built a new residence for homeless and disabled veterans. It is at 1564 Minnehaha Avenue East in St Paul\, and we have an open house on Monday\, September 18. To attend RSVP to rrudisill@mac-v.org or 651b291 8756. \n*We have extensive social media on our facebook page. \nMilitary Action Group (MAG) – Jerry Kyser- Ralph Donais Reporting\n*The next MAG meeting will be on Monday\, October 2nd at 1000\, 4th Floor\, State Office Building. \nMN Paralyzed Veterans Of America – Todd Kemery Reporting\n*We are continuing to work on the “Drive By” lawsuits\, and have come up with recommendations. \n*For us\, a big issue is that airlines are not following existing regulations about tracking and accountability for our manual and motorized wheel chairs. Even though this is a federal issue\, we’ll need some help getting action. \nWomen Veterans Initiative – Edna Mackenzie Reporting\n*Nothing to report. \n4. Announcements\n5. Meeting in Recess for five minutes\nNext meeting October 4\, 2017. Building 9\, VAMC \nTreasurer’s Report as of 1 Aug \n[print-me target=”.report” title=”Print Report”]
URL:https://mnuvlc.org/event/september-2017-meeting/
LOCATION:Mpls VAHC Building 9 Auditorium\, 1 Veterans Drive\, Minneapolis\, MN\, 55417\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mnuvlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1920-1080-UVLC-images-for-website-10.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20170906T043000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20170906T063000
DTSTAMP:20260524T213734
CREATED:20210421T090232Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210421T090232Z
UID:2877-1504672200-1504679400@mnuvlc.org
SUMMARY:September 2017 Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Report\nMeeting at Building 9\, VAMC Campus \nCall to order – 9:30\, Invocation – Pledge of Allegiance \nGreetings: Recognition of visitors and guests \nAnnouncements – Ralph Donais\, Chairman – Jerry Kyser\, Vice Chairman. \n1. Federal Agencies\nVISN 23 – Director – Janet Murphy – Dr. Sanchez Reporting.\n*September is Suicide Prevention month. Suicide prevention is the number one clinical priority for the Secretary of the VA and for our organization. Our goal is to bring the suicide rates down to zero. We need to partner with the community to achieve this goal. This is a social problem. We also need to do a better job of identifying at-risk veterans. It requires research\, an understanding of public health\, and we need to figure out a way to make it easy for at-risk veterans to utilize our organizations. Every single VISN employee is in the process of receiving suicide prevention training. \n*Our program with gun locks is in process and initial reports look promising. Research supports the proposal that at-risk veterans might reconsider an otherwise impulsive suicide if their weapons are not immediately available. \n*We currently offer same-day access to urgent mental health cases\, but have made it a priority to offer this service to every veteran by the end of the year\, not just the urgent cases. This is a large undertaking but we are committed to the cause. \n*VISN is slated to hire a thousand new employees nationwide by the end of the year to support our mental health services. We are in the process of determining which positions have the most urgent need. \n*We will see veterans with an Other Than Honorable Discharge and will give them 90 days to stabilize their situation. If needed\, the chief medical officer can authorize an additional 90 days. We are not going to abandon any veteran who reaches out in their time of need. \nQ. What is the procedure for a veteran with an Other Than Honorable Discharge to come in and be seen?\nA. The same as any other veteran. They can access a CBOC\, go to the ER\, or go to any of our clinics. Their discharge status will become clear during the check-in process. The paperwork will wait until after the crisis is resolved. No one will be turned away. The enrollment will not be an impediment to them getting a referral. \nVA Regional Office – Kim Graves Reporting\n*The Appeals Modernization bill has not passed\, but we are working on it. More information will be forthcoming. \n*The Forever GI Bill has been passed. The old GI bill had a 15-year time limit to use the benefits. This legislation removed that provision for veterans who left active duty on or after January 2013. More information is available at va.gov. \n*We are continuing to hire claims processors. Our staffing ceiling is currently 899. We are a little shy of that number. Our office is currently the 4th largest in the VA system. \n*The state CVSO conference in Grandview will be the week of the 13th. \n*There will be a town hall meeting jointly with the Medical center in Hibbing on September 28th from 4 to 6 PM and there will be an outreach program in the Roseville VFW on October 13th. \nVAHCS Minneapolis – Director Patrick J. Kelly – Ralph Heussner Reporting\n*There will be tables with literature and practical items with the VA crisis line in the atrium of the VAHCS through all of September. We will also be handing out locks for gun cabinets. \n*Congress passed the Faster Care for Veterans Act last year. The Minneapolis VA is one of three pilots for the implementation of a self-scheduling tool which will allow veterans to use cellphones or home computers to make appointments for primary care\, mental health\, audiology\, and optometry. The program will also allow cancellations in addition to scheduling appointments. The pilot launches on October 17th. The goal is to enroll 100 veterans per month with the self-scheduling tool. We hope this will expedite access to the VA. More information will be forthcoming. \n*At the last Stand Down\,135 patients received a Basic Health Screen\, 81 Rapid HIV Tests\, 68 dental exams\, and 53 eye exams. An eye exam for one veteran revealed a condition which could have led to blindness\, but we were able to treat that. \n*At August 22nd\, National Convention in Reno awarded the Distinguished Service Medal to Doctor Apostolos Georgopoulos\, at the Minneapolis VAMC Brain Science Center. The award was for advances in brain imaging for PTSD and Alzheimers. \n*The Health East project will have its ribbon cutting ceremony on September 20th at 1:00 PM. \n*The Mental Health Summit will be on September 22nd in the Whipple building at 8 AM. It is open to the public. Community partners will be talking about where we are with homelessness and mental health issues. \nSt. Cloud VA HCS – Director Stephen D. Black – Kerri Schwegel Reporting\n*With our outreach program we’ve had 180 events and disability claims\, for a total of 1600 contacts \n*We are working to keep veterans connected and aware of their available benefits\, and appreciate the support of other veteran organizations who coordinate with us. The importance of community partnerships cannot be overemphasized. \n*There will be a ribbon cutting on September 11th at 2 PM for the new resident dining facility. \n*The next quarterly meeting will be at 3 PM in the director’s conference room on September 11th. \n*September 19th is our town hall in Montevideo at VFW Post 380. It will start at 4 PM. \nFt. Snelling Cemetery – John Knapp Reporting\n*We are up to 2\,044 internments for the year. There were 483 in the month of July. 80 were from WWII era\, 81 were from Korea\, and 82 were from Vietnam. \n*We were identified as one of four cemeteries nationwide to do a pilot program\, to do weekend burials once a month on Saturday. The cemetery is never closed for more than two days. This program is to ensure that veterans and their families have more options for burial and no one is kept waiting. This program will start in November. \n*The Airborne Circle with 30 monuments is now complete. \n*Veterans have been issuing complains about the pre-need program\, specifically that they have not received their letters\, so we have started an investigation into figuring out why. We have discovered there is a backlog and we are in the midst of working through it. \n*We are currently preparing for winter graves. \n*The Fargo rural initiative is expected to be completed in January of 2019. \n*September 20th is Saluting Branches\, where 40 local arborist companies donate their time and equipment to trim and remove dead trees. \n*To date we’ve had over 225\,000 burials. With cremations now at 68% we seem to have room up to 2060. \nVets Employment and Training Services [VETS] – David Seay\n*Not present. \n2. Federal Congressional Representatives\nSenator Amy Klobuchar – Kurt Johnson Reporting\n*Klobuchar was a co-sponsor of the Forever GI bill. Veterans who were impacted by technical school shut-downs will be able to reapply for those benefits. Service members who were deployed under the designator code 12304 Bravo will also receive their education benefits. There is more work to be done on this\, and Franken’s office is working to get it added to the NDAA\, but it is in process. \n*We are excited for the Faster Pay for Veterans Act pilot program. \n*The Wounded Warrior Workforce Enhancement Act gives the VA the ability to authorize grants to schools that have programs for prosthetics and orthopedics in order to increase the partnership between them. Century Community College is one example that will benefit from additional grants and collaboration with the VA. \n*We are pushing for the burn pit legislation to be attached to the NDAA. Unfortunately it has not been passed yet\, though it was looking good. \nSenator Al Franken – Alex Schueller\n*Not present. \n1st District Representative – Tim Walz – Shawn Schoesser\n*Not present. \n2nd District Representative – Jason Lewis – Angela Sedlacek Reporting\n*Our Service Academy Info Night is October 9th at St. Thomas Academy from 6 to 8:30 PM. \n*Our Service Academy interviews have been scheduled for Saturday December 2nd. \n*We are asking that our Service Academy applications be submitted by October 29th and are currently looking at 30 applicants. \n3rd District Representative – Erik Paulsen – Margret Cavanaugh\n*Not present. See below. \n4th District Representative – Betty McCollum – Connie Haddeland Reporting\n*We are focusing on hurricane relief at the moment\, but will be seeing more action on veterans issues soon. \n*Speaking for Margret Cavanaugh from Paulsen’s office\, who is not in attendance: they will be hosting an Academy evening on September 19th from 5 to 9 PM at Oak Grove Middle School in Bloomington. \n*Information about upcoming bills will be forthcoming at the next meeting. \n5th District Representative – Keith Ellison – Mike Siebenaler\n*Not present. \n6th District Representative – Tom Emmer – Abby Rime Reporting\n*In September\, congress will be taking up the eight remaining omnibus bills. This will be joined by the four omnibus bills that were passed in July. \n*In August\, Emmer was attending the Veterans Lake event and could not attend the UVLC meeting. \n*Emmer had a tour of the Minneapolis VA in August. \n*Our Academy info night is September 26th at Ramsey City Hall from 6 to 8 PM. We currently have 15 applicants. Our interviews will be in November. \n7th District Representative – Collin Peterson – Meg Louwagie Reporting\n*Peterson was on break in August and focused on farm bill hearings. He is looking at the following bills to consider co-sponsoring: The Active Duty Guard Reserve Issues HR 2099 the GI Bill Fairness Act\, HR 1317 the Service Member Retirement Improvement Act\, HR 2850 the Military Patron Protection Act\, HR 1796 the Lift and Relocation Burden for Military Spouses\, and HR 92 Support of Champ VA Children Protection Act. \n*Peterson will be meeting with the VFW later in September. \n*A special Thank You to Congressman Nolan and Congressman Waltz for the roundtable discussion in Duluth last month. \n8th District Representative – Rick Nolan – Rick Olseen Reporting\n*We want to thank Congressman Waltz for attending the Duluth roundtable. \n*We are looking into different contractors to handle Choice issues. \n*We attended the MACV Stand Down in International Falls. Later we will be attending the Mental Health summit at the VA in September and are committed to working with our community partners and fellow veteran organizations on this issue. \n*Our upcoming legislative session begins February 20\, 2018. All constituencies are advised to put together their “Ask” as early as possible. \n*There was a discussion about the charge of $750 for spousal burial at MNDVA cemeteries\, but there was no conclusion to that discussion. \n*About MNDVA veterans homes: Noted was a 6-9 month waiting list for rural homes and a year’s wait for the Minneapolis home. \n3. State Agencies and MN Veteran Assistance Organizations\nMN Department of Veteran Affairs – Commissioner Larry Shellito – Ben Johnson Reporting\n*The funding for the bridge is in place and we have a contractor. They will begin the rehab project in September and plan to finish up before the end of the year. \n*The Building 22 project is scheduled to be substantially completed by December and open in March for a move-in and grand opening. \nMN Military Affairs – Major Scott Ingalsbe – Annette Kuyper Reporting\n* Major General Nash is retiring and the Commanding General of the 34th Red Bull Infantry Division\, MG Jon Jensen is the the state’s new Adjutant General\, The change of command will take place on November 1st. \n*MG Jensen has three priorities: \nDiversify the force.\nA ready force.\nThe Beyond The Yellow Ribbon Program. \n*A new commanding general of the 34th will be announced. \n*MNG will be severely affected if congress does not fund the continuation of government functions. \n*500 soldiers of the 34th Infantry Division will be deployed to Southwest Asia for one year in the fall of 2018. \n*200 members of the 133rd Airlift Wing will be deployed to Kuwait in November. \n*At the recent State Fair 243 Beyond the Yellow Ribbon volunteers assisted the Red Bull Division at its 100th Anniversary Exhibition. \nMN Assistance Council For Veterans (MACV) – John Lovald Reporting\n*We had fewer veterans attending the Metro Stand Down but we were able to provide extensive benefits and medical services. \n*We have built a new residence for homeless and disabled veterans. It is at 1564 Minnehaha Avenue East in St Paul\, and we have an open house on Monday\, September 18. To attend RSVP to rrudisill@mac-v.org or 651b291 8756. \n*We have extensive social media on our facebook page. \nMilitary Action Group (MAG) – Jerry Kyser- Ralph Donais Reporting\n*The next MAG meeting will be on Monday\, October 2nd at 1000\, 4th Floor\, State Office Building. \nMN Paralyzed Veterans Of America – Todd Kemery Reporting\n*We are continuing to work on the “Drive By” lawsuits\, and have come up with recommendations. \n*For us\, a big issue is that airlines are not following existing regulations about tracking and accountability for our manual and motorized wheel chairs. Even though this is a federal issue\, we’ll need some help getting action. \nWomen Veterans Initiative – Edna Mackenzie Reporting\n*Nothing to report. \n4. Announcements\n5. Meeting in Recess for five minutes\nNext meeting October 4\, 2017. Building 9\, VAMC \nTreasurer’s Report as of 1 Aug \n[print-me target=”.report” title=”Print Report”]
URL:https://mnuvlc.org/event/september-2017-meeting-2/
LOCATION:Mpls VAHC Building 9 Auditorium\, 1 Veterans Drive\, Minneapolis\, MN\, 55417\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mnuvlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1920-1080-UVLC-images-for-website-10.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20170802T043000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20170802T063000
DTSTAMP:20260524T213734
CREATED:20210421T090404Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210427T022515Z
UID:1611-1501648200-1501655400@mnuvlc.org
SUMMARY:August 2017 Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Report\nMeeting at Building 9\, VAMC Campus \nCall to order – 9:30\, Invocation – Pledge of Allegiance \nGreetings: Recognition of visitors and guests \nAnnouncements – Ralph Donais\, Chairman – Jerry Kyser\, Vice Chairman. \n1. State Agencies and MN Veteran Assistance Organizations\nMN Department of Veteran Affairs – Commissioner Larry Shellito – Ben Johnson Reporting\n*Several initiatives that were passed last year went into effect on August 1st. We would like to highlight the one concerning veterans disclosure statements. This initiative would help veterans recognize that the VA and Veteran Service Officers offer help with receiving and filing benefits for free and veterans do not need to spend money working on this. This particular initiative ensures that for-profit veteran services will now be required to inform veterans that they can receive this service from the VA for no cost. \n*August 7th is Purple Heart Day. There will be an event at the Minneapolis veterans home at 11 AM. \n*August 29th is Military Appreciation Day at the State Fair. This is the seventh annual Military Appreciation Day. The theme this year will be the 100 year anniversary of the founding of the 34th Infantry Division. \nQ. What is the Minneapolis campus’s take on medical cannabis?\nA. The same that the federal VA has taken. It is a schedule one drug and more research is required. Our issue is that veterans’ homes are drug-free. The presence of cannabis\, medical or otherwise\, presents a challenge to the sobriety of veterans there who are dealing with chemical addiction. We will defer to the federal VA on this matter. \nQ. What is going on with the bridge contract?\nA. We are working with the Park Board to develop a timeline and other concerns moving forward. It should be completed in 2018. \nMN Military Affairs – Major Scott Ingalsbe and Annette Kuyper Reporting\n*We are keeping a close eye on the National Defense Authorization Act as it moves through the House and Senate. We are hearing good things so far\, especially concerning the 12304 B Mobilization Authority\, which involved getting TriCare for the 12304 B and their families and hopefully in the future will include getting them post 9/11 GI Benefits. We are waiting for the final version of the NDAA before releasing an official comment. \n*General Jensen will be promoted on August 13th\, where he will receive his second star. \n*The National Guard Association is proud to announce Connie Haddeland as the 2017 recipient of the Patrick Henry Award. \n*Military Appreciation Day at the State Fair will be held at Carousal Park by the Grandstand. There will be a full day of children’s birthday party activities on the stage at Carousal Park. \n*Two additional Yellow Ribbon Companies have been approved\, Great River Energy in Maple Grove and Excel Energy. Minnesota West Community and Technical College has also been approved as a Yellow Ribbon Company. \n*The city of Proctor\, MN will be added as a Yellow Ribbon city on August 19th at 1 PM. They will be our 221st Yellow Ribbon city. \n*September 12th is our first Joining Community Forces event at Albert Lee. November 2nd at Metro State. Please send representation or attend in person. \nMN Assistance Council For Veterans (MACV) – John Lovald Reporting\n*Introducing John Lovald\, Senior Operations Manager. \n*Our Metro Stand Down was incredibly successful and we thank all of our partners who contributed. \n*August 15th is the Fargo legal clinic. August 24th in International Falls is a Stand Down. August 25th is the Duluth Stand Down. The Minneapolis legal clinic is on August 12th. \n*Our offices have moved to 2700 Lake Street in Hiawatha. \nVets Employment & Training Services [VETS] – David Seay Reporting\n*The national veteran unemployment rate has dropped to 3.7%\, down from 4.2% in June 2017. \n*The solicitation for the MN Assistance Council for Homeless Veterans Reintegration Act have closed and though we do not have any new grantees\, we are still serving the MN population of homeless veterans. \n*Concerning the Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Act\, we have had a downward trend in investigations but an uptick in technical assistance. Between our efforts and outreach\, we believe we have been resolving cases in an informal basis. \n*The Hire Vets Medallion Program will recognize employers who recruit\, retain\, and employ veterans\, and who offer charitable services in support of the veteran community. This is a Department of Labor program. There will be two levels of awards\, gold and platinum. More information will be forthcoming. \nMilitary Action Group (MAG) – Jerry Kyser Reporting\n*The next MAG meeting is August 14th at 10:00 on the fourth floor. \n*Concerning the tax bill\, we did not receive a tax deduction for companies hiring MN veterans. This will be a priority for the coming year. \n*There will be two flyovers in conjunction with Military Appreciation Day at the State Fair at 10:30 AM. The Minnesota Vietnam Veterans Charity\, along with the Department of Military Affairs\, will host another flyover with 12-14 aircraft. \nMN Paralyzed Veterans Of America – Todd Kemery Reporting\n*With the current news concerning airlines\, the MN Paralyzed Veterans Of America and other veterans’ organizations have partnered to revisit the Air Care Access Act (airaccess30.org). There needs to be more oversight and enforcement of laws. \n*We thank Mike Rivard for his efforts in partnering MN PVA and Veterans City Farm on the Lake Hiawatha golf course program to turn the golf course into a veterans’ farm. \nNightWare – Patrick Skulzacek Reporting\n*Tyler Skulzacek developed a watch app to help with sleeping and PTSD. The app uses a formula to predict heart-rate and other bodily movements\, and vibrates whenever a wearer is having a night terror\, thus waking them up. \nProject Got Your Back – Allison Alstrin Reporting\n*Nothing to report. \nWomen Veterans Initiative – Edna Mackenzie Reporting\n*Nothing to report. \nNational Association of Atomic Veterans – Keith Kiefer\n*Not present. \n2. Federal Agencies\nVA Regional Office – Kim Graves – Ron Woolery Reporting\n*We continue to promote the Decision-Ready claims program as a means to expedite the claims process. Veterans contact VSRs\, who help gather information\, arrange exams\, and submit claims information. The average response time for the Decision-Ready claims program is 7.9 days. \n*The new accountability rules concerning Dependent Indemnity Claims are incredibly stringent. Some employees have not been working to their full potential and we have introduced measures to ensure that everyone works hard for the veterans. Such measures include the addition of keystroke loggers to work computers to ensure that the work is being done in a timely manner. \nVISN 23 – Director – Janet Murphy – Andre Kok Reporting.\n*We have a centralized Accountability office and we are seeing a focus on accountability on all aspects\, both personal and leadership. \n*There are five current priorities for the VA. One: greater choice. This is not meant to privatize the VA but to provide veterans more choices with where to receive their care. Two: modernize the systems. We are in the process of switching over to a new\, more effective medical records system\, but understand this will take time to implement. Three: suicide prevention. Four: efficiency. Five: improving timeliness. \n*Please help spread the word about the Department of Defense (DoD) Self-Service Logon (or DS Logon) to help veterans and their caregivers access multiple resources from a single portal. \n*There are upcoming town hall meetings on August 10th in Aberdeen\, South Dakota\, September 19th in Montevideo\, Minnesota\, and September 28th in Hibbing\, Minnesota. \nVAHCS Minneapolis – Director Patrick J. Kelly – Ralph Heussner Reporting\n*The canopy connector between the ramp and the hospital opens on August 7th. This is later than expected and there will be some cosmetic work to be done\, but it will be operational. \n*There have been several requests to bring the Bob Hope statue back and we are looking for a place to put it. \n*Veterans East will open in September. It will provide affordable housing to 100 individuals. By contract\, 51% will be veterans. There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony at 10 AM on September 21st. \n*We are building two new outpatient clinics on the fourth floor. Those units will be completed by the end of 2017. \n*The Minneapolis VA has a Tele-ICU\, started in 2011. It connects with hospitals in remote areas. Five Air Force hospitals will soon be attached to our Tele-ICU. This will increase the number of intensive care trauma doctors and nurses available to hospitals in rural areas. \nSt. Cloud VA HCS – Director Stephen D. Black – Dave Hintgren Reporting\n*The ribbon cutting for our new food services building will take place in September. \n*The senate passed the funding bill for the VA\, which included funding for expanding the Choice program. Due to funding uncertainties\, a lot of those programs were not going to be expanded past September. We are hopeful for a quick signature from the president so we can continue to provide care to veterans. \n*We are including mandatory training in suicide awareness for all VA employees\, not just the clinical workers. \nQ. What is going on with the wind turbine?\nA. We are nine months into a twelve-month feasibility study. We will decide whether to replace or tear it down by then. \nFt. Snelling Cemetery – Bob Razor\n*Not present. \nVets Employment and Training Services [VETS] – David Seay\n*Veterans official unemployment rate is down to 3.7% from 4.2%. \n3. Federal Congressional Representatives\nSenator Amy Klobuchar – Greg Swanholm\n*Not present. \nSenator Al Franken – Alex Schueller\n*Not present. \n1st District Representative – Tim Walz – Shawn Schoesser\n*Not present. \n2nd District Representative – Jason Lewis – Mathew Pagano\n*Not present. \n3rd District Representative – Erik Paulsen – Margret Cavanaugh Reporting\n*Our Academy information night will be September 19th at the Oak Grove Middle School in Bloomington. Interviews for the 2018 entrance will be on December 2nd. \n4th District Representative – Betty McCollum – Connie Haddeland Reporting\n*We thank MACV for a very well organized Stand Down in Minneapolis. \n*Regions hospital is now a Beyond the Yellow Ribbon company. As part of their Hero Care program\, they identify veterans in the mental health clinic who are being served\, to the point of bringing a veteran services officer into the hospital to help with whatever the veteran needs to resolve their issues. Since joining Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Program\, they have added a feature where they ask every patient who comes in if they are a veteran\, to better connect them to available services. We are very pleased with this progress. \n*The House has passed an extension of Veterans Choice. \n*The War Veterans help-line number is:1877-927-8387\, staffed entirely by combat veterans for combat veterans and their families. The care is free. Please spread the word. \n5th District Representative – Keith Ellison – Mike Siebenaler\n*Not present. \n6th District Representative – Tom Emmer – Abby Rime\n*Not present. \n7th District Representative – Collin Peterson – Meg Louwagie\n*Not present. \n8th District Representative – Rick Nolan – Rick Olseen Reporting\n*We are hoping that these proposed changes to the Choice program do come into effect\, as we are having problems retaining providers with the current system. \n*The entire House Veteran Affairs Committee will be coming to Duluth on August 10th at the Duluth Law Enforcement Center. There will be a focus on rural healthcare. \n*Nolan has gotten some amendments on the Defense Appropriations bill\, including recognizing America’s iron ore and steel industry as a national asset\, and adding $2 billion to cancer research. There will also be a 2.4% increase in military pay. TARDEC (Tank Automotive Research\, Development and Engineering Center) has received $6 million in funding to develop unmanned combat vehicles. \n4. Announcements\n5. Meeting in Recess for five minutes\nNext meeting September 6\, 2017. \nTreasurer’s Report as of 1 August 2017 \nBalance as of 1 July 2017 $4\,111.45 \nDeposits for July 2017 $0.00 \nExpenses for April 2017\nTranscription Expense ($120.00) \nBalance as of 1 August\, 2017 $3991.45 \nSubmitted by Donald Rask\, Treasurer UVLC \nAn AF veterans post lost $8\,000 due to a failure to understand current tax exemptions. This should not happen again. \n[print-me target=”.report” title=”Print Report”]
URL:https://mnuvlc.org/event/august-2017-meeting/
LOCATION:Mpls VAHC Building 9 Auditorium\, 1 Veterans Drive\, Minneapolis\, MN\, 55417\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mnuvlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1920-1080-UVLC-images-for-website-10.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20170802T043000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20170802T063000
DTSTAMP:20260524T213734
CREATED:20210421T090404Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210421T090404Z
UID:2878-1501648200-1501655400@mnuvlc.org
SUMMARY:August 2017 Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Report\nMeeting at Building 9\, VAMC Campus \nCall to order – 9:30\, Invocation – Pledge of Allegiance \nGreetings: Recognition of visitors and guests \nAnnouncements – Ralph Donais\, Chairman – Jerry Kyser\, Vice Chairman. \n1. State Agencies and MN Veteran Assistance Organizations\nMN Department of Veteran Affairs – Commissioner Larry Shellito – Ben Johnson Reporting\n*Several initiatives that were passed last year went into effect on August 1st. We would like to highlight the one concerning veterans disclosure statements. This initiative would help veterans recognize that the VA and Veteran Service Officers offer help with receiving and filing benefits for free and veterans do not need to spend money working on this. This particular initiative ensures that for-profit veteran services will now be required to inform veterans that they can receive this service from the VA for no cost. \n*August 7th is Purple Heart Day. There will be an event at the Minneapolis veterans home at 11 AM. \n*August 29th is Military Appreciation Day at the State Fair. This is the seventh annual Military Appreciation Day. The theme this year will be the 100 year anniversary of the founding of the 34th Infantry Division. \nQ. What is the Minneapolis campus’s take on medical cannabis?\nA. The same that the federal VA has taken. It is a schedule one drug and more research is required. Our issue is that veterans’ homes are drug-free. The presence of cannabis\, medical or otherwise\, presents a challenge to the sobriety of veterans there who are dealing with chemical addiction. We will defer to the federal VA on this matter. \nQ. What is going on with the bridge contract?\nA. We are working with the Park Board to develop a timeline and other concerns moving forward. It should be completed in 2018. \nMN Military Affairs – Major Scott Ingalsbe and Annette Kuyper Reporting\n*We are keeping a close eye on the National Defense Authorization Act as it moves through the House and Senate. We are hearing good things so far\, especially concerning the 12304 B Mobilization Authority\, which involved getting TriCare for the 12304 B and their families and hopefully in the future will include getting them post 9/11 GI Benefits. We are waiting for the final version of the NDAA before releasing an official comment. \n*General Jensen will be promoted on August 13th\, where he will receive his second star. \n*The National Guard Association is proud to announce Connie Haddeland as the 2017 recipient of the Patrick Henry Award. \n*Military Appreciation Day at the State Fair will be held at Carousal Park by the Grandstand. There will be a full day of children’s birthday party activities on the stage at Carousal Park. \n*Two additional Yellow Ribbon Companies have been approved\, Great River Energy in Maple Grove and Excel Energy. Minnesota West Community and Technical College has also been approved as a Yellow Ribbon Company. \n*The city of Proctor\, MN will be added as a Yellow Ribbon city on August 19th at 1 PM. They will be our 221st Yellow Ribbon city. \n*September 12th is our first Joining Community Forces event at Albert Lee. November 2nd at Metro State. Please send representation or attend in person. \nMN Assistance Council For Veterans (MACV) – John Lovald Reporting\n*Introducing John Lovald\, Senior Operations Manager. \n*Our Metro Stand Down was incredibly successful and we thank all of our partners who contributed. \n*August 15th is the Fargo legal clinic. August 24th in International Falls is a Stand Down. August 25th is the Duluth Stand Down. The Minneapolis legal clinic is on August 12th. \n*Our offices have moved to 2700 Lake Street in Hiawatha. \nVets Employment & Training Services [VETS] – David Seay Reporting\n*The national veteran unemployment rate has dropped to 3.7%\, down from 4.2% in June 2017. \n*The solicitation for the MN Assistance Council for Homeless Veterans Reintegration Act have closed and though we do not have any new grantees\, we are still serving the MN population of homeless veterans. \n*Concerning the Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Act\, we have had a downward trend in investigations but an uptick in technical assistance. Between our efforts and outreach\, we believe we have been resolving cases in an informal basis. \n*The Hire Vets Medallion Program will recognize employers who recruit\, retain\, and employ veterans\, and who offer charitable services in support of the veteran community. This is a Department of Labor program. There will be two levels of awards\, gold and platinum. More information will be forthcoming. \nMilitary Action Group (MAG) – Jerry Kyser Reporting\n*The next MAG meeting is August 14th at 10:00 on the fourth floor. \n*Concerning the tax bill\, we did not receive a tax deduction for companies hiring MN veterans. This will be a priority for the coming year. \n*There will be two flyovers in conjunction with Military Appreciation Day at the State Fair at 10:30 AM. The Minnesota Vietnam Veterans Charity\, along with the Department of Military Affairs\, will host another flyover with 12-14 aircraft. \nMN Paralyzed Veterans Of America – Todd Kemery Reporting\n*With the current news concerning airlines\, the MN Paralyzed Veterans Of America and other veterans’ organizations have partnered to revisit the Air Care Access Act (airaccess30.org). There needs to be more oversight and enforcement of laws. \n*We thank Mike Rivard for his efforts in partnering MN PVA and Veterans City Farm on the Lake Hiawatha golf course program to turn the golf course into a veterans’ farm. \nNightWare – Patrick Skulzacek Reporting\n*Tyler Skulzacek developed a watch app to help with sleeping and PTSD. The app uses a formula to predict heart-rate and other bodily movements\, and vibrates whenever a wearer is having a night terror\, thus waking them up. \nProject Got Your Back – Allison Alstrin Reporting\n*Nothing to report. \nWomen Veterans Initiative – Edna Mackenzie Reporting\n*Nothing to report. \nNational Association of Atomic Veterans – Keith Kiefer\n*Not present. \n2. Federal Agencies\nVA Regional Office – Kim Graves – Ron Woolery Reporting\n*We continue to promote the Decision-Ready claims program as a means to expedite the claims process. Veterans contact VSRs\, who help gather information\, arrange exams\, and submit claims information. The average response time for the Decision-Ready claims program is 7.9 days. \n*The new accountability rules concerning Dependent Indemnity Claims are incredibly stringent. Some employees have not been working to their full potential and we have introduced measures to ensure that everyone works hard for the veterans. Such measures include the addition of keystroke loggers to work computers to ensure that the work is being done in a timely manner. \nVISN 23 – Director – Janet Murphy – Andre Kok Reporting.\n*We have a centralized Accountability office and we are seeing a focus on accountability on all aspects\, both personal and leadership. \n*There are five current priorities for the VA. One: greater choice. This is not meant to privatize the VA but to provide veterans more choices with where to receive their care. Two: modernize the systems. We are in the process of switching over to a new\, more effective medical records system\, but understand this will take time to implement. Three: suicide prevention. Four: efficiency. Five: improving timeliness. \n*Please help spread the word about the Department of Defense (DoD) Self-Service Logon (or DS Logon) to help veterans and their caregivers access multiple resources from a single portal. \n*There are upcoming town hall meetings on August 10th in Aberdeen\, South Dakota\, September 19th in Montevideo\, Minnesota\, and September 28th in Hibbing\, Minnesota. \nVAHCS Minneapolis – Director Patrick J. Kelly – Ralph Heussner Reporting\n*The canopy connector between the ramp and the hospital opens on August 7th. This is later than expected and there will be some cosmetic work to be done\, but it will be operational. \n*There have been several requests to bring the Bob Hope statue back and we are looking for a place to put it. \n*Veterans East will open in September. It will provide affordable housing to 100 individuals. By contract\, 51% will be veterans. There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony at 10 AM on September 21st. \n*We are building two new outpatient clinics on the fourth floor. Those units will be completed by the end of 2017. \n*The Minneapolis VA has a Tele-ICU\, started in 2011. It connects with hospitals in remote areas. Five Air Force hospitals will soon be attached to our Tele-ICU. This will increase the number of intensive care trauma doctors and nurses available to hospitals in rural areas. \nSt. Cloud VA HCS – Director Stephen D. Black – Dave Hintgren Reporting\n*The ribbon cutting for our new food services building will take place in September. \n*The senate passed the funding bill for the VA\, which included funding for expanding the Choice program. Due to funding uncertainties\, a lot of those programs were not going to be expanded past September. We are hopeful for a quick signature from the president so we can continue to provide care to veterans. \n*We are including mandatory training in suicide awareness for all VA employees\, not just the clinical workers. \nQ. What is going on with the wind turbine?\nA. We are nine months into a twelve-month feasibility study. We will decide whether to replace or tear it down by then. \nFt. Snelling Cemetery – Bob Razor\n*Not present. \nVets Employment and Training Services [VETS] – David Seay\n*Veterans official unemployment rate is down to 3.7% from 4.2%. \n3. Federal Congressional Representatives\nSenator Amy Klobuchar – Greg Swanholm\n*Not present. \nSenator Al Franken – Alex Schueller\n*Not present. \n1st District Representative – Tim Walz – Shawn Schoesser\n*Not present. \n2nd District Representative – Jason Lewis – Mathew Pagano\n*Not present. \n3rd District Representative – Erik Paulsen – Margret Cavanaugh Reporting\n*Our Academy information night will be September 19th at the Oak Grove Middle School in Bloomington. Interviews for the 2018 entrance will be on December 2nd. \n4th District Representative – Betty McCollum – Connie Haddeland Reporting\n*We thank MACV for a very well organized Stand Down in Minneapolis. \n*Regions hospital is now a Beyond the Yellow Ribbon company. As part of their Hero Care program\, they identify veterans in the mental health clinic who are being served\, to the point of bringing a veteran services officer into the hospital to help with whatever the veteran needs to resolve their issues. Since joining Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Program\, they have added a feature where they ask every patient who comes in if they are a veteran\, to better connect them to available services. We are very pleased with this progress. \n*The House has passed an extension of Veterans Choice. \n*The War Veterans help-line number is:1877-927-8387\, staffed entirely by combat veterans for combat veterans and their families. The care is free. Please spread the word. \n5th District Representative – Keith Ellison – Mike Siebenaler\n*Not present. \n6th District Representative – Tom Emmer – Abby Rime\n*Not present. \n7th District Representative – Collin Peterson – Meg Louwagie\n*Not present. \n8th District Representative – Rick Nolan – Rick Olseen Reporting\n*We are hoping that these proposed changes to the Choice program do come into effect\, as we are having problems retaining providers with the current system. \n*The entire House Veteran Affairs Committee will be coming to Duluth on August 10th at the Duluth Law Enforcement Center. There will be a focus on rural healthcare. \n*Nolan has gotten some amendments on the Defense Appropriations bill\, including recognizing America’s iron ore and steel industry as a national asset\, and adding $2 billion to cancer research. There will also be a 2.4% increase in military pay. TARDEC (Tank Automotive Research\, Development and Engineering Center) has received $6 million in funding to develop unmanned combat vehicles. \n4. Announcements\n5. Meeting in Recess for five minutes\nNext meeting September 6\, 2017. \nTreasurer’s Report as of 1 August 2017 \nBalance as of 1 July 2017 $4\,111.45 \nDeposits for July 2017 $0.00 \nExpenses for April 2017\nTranscription Expense ($120.00) \nBalance as of 1 August\, 2017 $3991.45 \nSubmitted by Donald Rask\, Treasurer UVLC \nAn AF veterans post lost $8\,000 due to a failure to understand current tax exemptions. This should not happen again. \n[print-me target=”.report” title=”Print Report”]
URL:https://mnuvlc.org/event/august-2017-meeting-2/
LOCATION:Mpls VAHC Building 9 Auditorium\, 1 Veterans Drive\, Minneapolis\, MN\, 55417\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mnuvlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1920-1080-UVLC-images-for-website-10.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20170712T043000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20170712T063000
DTSTAMP:20260524T213734
CREATED:20210421T090559Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211110T060301Z
UID:1613-1499833800-1499841000@mnuvlc.org
SUMMARY:July 2017 Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Report\nMeeting at St. Cloud HCS Building 96 \nCall to order – 9:30\, Invocation – Pledge of Allegiance \nGreetings: Recognition of visitors and guests \nAnnouncements – Ralph Donais\, Chairman – Jerry Kyser\, Vice Chairman. \n1. Federal Congressional Representatives\nSenator Amy Klobuchar – Kurt Johnson Reporting\n*Klobuchar’s office worked to push the exhumation and identification of the remains of WWII veteran Jerry Jacobsen. \n*Klobuchar will be sponsoring the Ghost Army bill to honor the 31 33rd Signal Service Company for their service in WWII. \n*Klobuchar is co-sponsoring the American Legion Centennial Coin Bill\, which will be available in 2019. \nSenator Al Franken – Alex Schueller Reporting\n*Not present. \n1st District Representative – Tim Walz – Shawn Schoesser Reporting\n*Not present. \n2nd District Representative – Jason Lewis – Mathew Pagano Reporting\n*Not present. \n3rd District Representative – Erik Paulsen – Margret Cavanaugh Reporting\n*Not present. \n4th District Representative – Betty McCollum – Connie Haddeland Reporting\n*Not present. \n5th District Representative – Keith Ellison – Mike Siebenaler Reporting\n*Not present. \n6th District Representative – Tom Emmer – Abby Rime Reporting\n*Congress is set to debate and pass the National Defense Authorization Act. The Military Construction Bill has been passed out of the Appropriations Committee\, allocated $88.8 billion. An update will be forthcoming next month. \n*Our office did a joint meeting with the Office of the Inspector General to discuss our letter to them concerning the doctor’s website that the VA had issues with. We are working with them on legislature to try and clear this up. \n*Our focus is currently on appropriations and the budget. \n7th District Representative – Collin Peterson – Meg Louwagie Reporting\n*Peterson would like to thank the St. Cloud VA for hosting the mental health summit on July 11th. \n*Peterson signed onto the GI bill that will be introduced on July 13th. \n*A staffer met with a VA vendor who will be spearheading the new pilot program in Minneapolis VA MC where veteran schedule and cancel is owned. \n*Peterson was added to the Family of Fallen Service Members First Act\, HR 19 28. This bill secures the death gratuity payment to the next of kin of the service member. \n*Peterson was added to HR 3 33\, House Resolution 2 19\, the Disabled Veterans Tax Termination Act\, as well as the POW/MIA legislation. He is a co-chair of the military veterans caucus that is hosting a suicide briefing. \nQ. Concerning the military bill\, what is the probability we could get rid of the sequester?\nA. I do not know. I will find out. \n8th District Representative – Rick Nolan – Rick Olseen Reporting\n*Nolan has signed onto the letter about the family advocates. We are not certain what our action will be moving forward but this is of grave concern to Nolan and others on his staff. \n*We still have veterans that are receiving bills from Choice. Issues are ongoing. However\, setting up appointments seems to be getting better. \n2. State Agencies and MN Veteran Assistance Organizations\nMN Department of Veteran Affairs – Ben Johnson reporting\n* We saw many positive outcomes this legislative session for veterans. \n*Clarification: veterans with any level of disability now have access to free annual passes to state parks. \n*The Duluth cemetery is scheduled to open in 2018. Another cemetery in SW Minnesota is also on the agenda. We wish to give veterans and their families a way to mourn and make peace without driving great distances across the state. \n*The new changes to the GI bill include funding for testing\, licensure\, and certification. \n*Funding was allocated from the bonding bill for the bridge at the Veterans Home. Construction is scheduled to begin in September. \n*Funding was received for asset preservation of our cemeteries and veterans homes\, though not as much as we would have liked. We have returned to the drawing board and will be submitting new proposals on February 20th. \n*July is Hire A Veteran Month. \nQ. Where will the new cemetery be located?\nA. Redwood Falls. \nMN Military Affairs – Major Scott Ingalsbe Reporting\n*Not present. \nMN Assistance Council For Veterans (MACV) – Neal Loidolt – Brad Legard Reporting\n*Not present. \nVets Employment & Training Services [VETS] – David Seay Reporting\n*Not present. \nMilitary Action Group (MAG) – Jerry Kyser Reporting\n*Our last meeting was well attended. \n*The Helmets to Hardhats bill got $400\,000. \n*The Environmental and Resources Bill is now giving out free park passes to veterans with 75 to 100% disability. \n*$250\,000 was awarded to Veterans to Agriculture\, a new pilot program. \n*The tax bill still includes the Homestead Value Exclusion\, but the surviving spouse exclusion runs out in eight years. \n*The Department of Veteran Affairs received the funding they needed for the bridge repairs. The bridge is $7.815 million. \n*The next MAG meeting will be August 14th. \n*TPT is beginning to fund its legacy effort for Vietnam veterans. \n*The Medal of Honor Memorial in front of the veteran services building received funding for repairs and maintenance. \n*The American Legion received $200\,00 for Legionville camp. \n*The GI bill added an opportunity to include post-secondary training and on the job apprenticeships. We are attempting to make Minnesota more veteran and veteran-business friendly. \n*The Duluth cemetery received $1 million in funding. \nMN Paralyzed Veterans Of America – Todd Kemery Reporting\n*We are preparing for the State Fair Military Appreciation Day. This is our fifth year doing this. \n*We were in Marshall recently doing a talk concerning the ADA so that rural America and small businesses understand the current legal landscape. We are interested in helping small businesses from preventing nuisance lawsuits\, which do not help us. \nProject Got Your Back – Allison Alstrin Reporting\n*Not present. \nWomen Veterans Initiative – Edna Mackenzie Reporting\n*Not present. \nNational Association of Atomic Veterans – Keith Kiefer Reporting\n*Not present. \n3. Federal Agencies\nVA Regional Office – Kim Graves – Director Gray Reporting\n*Secretary Shulkin is working with us to drive down the claims backlog. There are around 93\,000 veterans who have been waiting an excess of 125 days for resolution on their claim. This is about 25% of our rating inventory. However\, the average rate for completing a claim is 115 days. Currently our rate is 97 days. We are making progress. \n*We were asked to pilot a new program\, the Decision Ready Claims. For particular claims\, a veteran can work with their service officer to prepare that claim up to and including getting in for a CMP exam. Once that information is gathered\, the full claim is gathered. We are committed to getting those claims resolved in 30 days. Since this program started in May\, we have completed 51 claims in an average of just under 8 days. The program has been expanded to our offices in Texas and will be rolling out to the rest of the country soon. \n*In partnership with the St. Cloud VA Medical Center and Minneapolis VA Medical Center\, we are working to address an issue of compensation. Veterans are entitled to higher rate of compensation if they have been hospitalized in excess of 21 days or have a period of convalescence after a surgical procedure for a service-connected disability. We have found that those claims were not seen in a timely manner and thus veterans were not getting the funding they needed during the hospitalization or convalescence period. We have worked out a program\, sanctioned by our national headquarters\, to help identify those veterans who may be entitled to those additional benefits. We have worked out a process where we receive those claims right up front and as soon as a veteran meets the time requirement for the 21 days or period of convalescence\, the money is paid. We are hoping to expand this program. Since July 3rd\, we have completed 8 veterans claims in about 18 days and currently have 3 more claims pending. \nQ. What is the difference between what you do and what VISN does?\nA. The VA benefits is responsible for monetary compensation\, loan guarantee\, vocation and rehabilitation\, and insurance. We do non-medical benefits. VISN is an organizational structure responsible for veteran’s healthcare. \nVISN 23 – Director – Janet Murphy – Jason Petti Reporting\n*Not present. \nVAHCS Minneapolis – Director Patrick J. Kelly – Ralph Houston Reporting\n*Not present. \nSt. Cloud VA HCS – Director Stephen D. Black Reporting\n*In absence of VISN representatives\, we will speak to their role. Each VISNs role is different. VISN 23 has a focus on the idea that the VISN should be there to serve the facilities that serve the frontline staff that in turn serve the veterans. Their role is to monitor data and statistics and step in when they see a problem. They help run operations consistently. They help to standardize\, lend support\, and develop best practices. \n*There is a great deal of construction happening right now\, specifically with IT\, that will help core operations. We are also working on building the new kitchen. Phase 1 of the catena is done. There will be an optometry expansion soon. The work is ongoing and advantageous to the veterans. \n*The Access to Care website (www.accesstocare.va.gov) continues to have good numbers. We can offer same day services for primary and mental health care services. \n*We continue to be a 5 Star Facility\, #2 in the nation. \n*We received the Practice Greenhealth Award\, one of 25 hospitals in the USA. \n*We were recently recognized for our Federal Health Innovation with HealthHub. \n*Our mental health team received the 2016 Network Star Award. \n*We have received many exceptional survey team reviews. \n*We are continuing to work on Choice to include access and quality. \n*Modernization efforts are continuing. More information will be forthcoming. \n*Continuing to work to provide mental health care to veterans regardless of discharge status. This has always been the case but it has now been codified. \n*Our number one clinical goal is to get our suicide numbers down to zero. \n*The accountability website lists all individuals by occupation code who have had disciplinary issues across our system. Along with that\, the accountability legislation speeds up timeframes of reaction. \n*Introducing Sheryl Thieschafer\, Acting Chief of Staff Scott Bartley\, and Mark Aberle\, Associate Director of Patient Care Services. \n1–Medical Cannabis \nMillions of Americans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Minnesota is the latest state to offer medical marijuana as a possible treatment option. The Minnesota Health Department’s Office of Medical Cannabis opened enrollment to people diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder on July 1\, and the state’s eight clinics will open their doors to those new patients in August. This will create questions in the Veteran population. VA policy remains unchanged. Key points for Veterans include: \n* Federal Law prohibits VA physicians from prescribing medical marijuana and from completing forms/paperwork necessary for patients to enroll in State marijuana programs. Federal Law classifies marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance and Federal employees must comply with Federal law\, despite State law allowing marijuana use. \n* VA is aware that some Veterans who reside in States with marijuana programs and who receive care in VA\, do indeed participate in marijuana programs. Given the differences between State and Federal laws regarding marijuana\, a Veteran’s decision to participate in a State marijuana program is a personal one and not one dictated administratively by VA. \n* VA does not administratively prohibit VA services to those Veterans who participate in State marijuana programs. However\, in some cases\, participation in State marijuana programs may be inconsistent with treatment goals; therefore\, VA clinicians may modify treatment plans for the health of the patient. In these cases\, VA promotes shared decision making between provider and patient. \n* It is illegal to possess marijuana for any purpose on VA property. \n2–Lodging at St. Cloud VA \nThe St. Cloud VAMC is primarily an outpatient facility with large residential populations in the Community Living Center and Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment program (RRTP). There is not a lodging facility on campus. Veterans traveling long distances or with early morning appointments may elect to seek lodging in the community at their own expense. Additionally\, via a partnership with St. Cloud Hospital\, Veterans may take advantage of the Gorecki House. In limited cases\, in-house lodging in the CLC can be provided upon request and as space and resources allow. \nGorecki House\nThe St. Cloud Hospital Gorecki (Go-ret’-ski) Guest House welcomes Veterans and family members of patients who are receiving medical care in the St. Cloud community. The house offers a comfortable\, homelike atmosphere that allows families the opportunity to stay close to their loved ones. Veterans traveling to St. Cloud for medical appointments or procedures may find the house a comfortable alternative to early morning commutes. The Gorecki Guest House is conveniently located across the street from the St. Cloud Hospital\, at 1309 Sixth Avenue North\, in St. Cloud. The Gorecki Guest House does not provide medical care or assistance on site. For more information\, call 320-251-2700\, ext. 51774\, or visit www.centracare.com/patients-visitors/gorecki-guest-house/. \nIn-House Lodging\nTemporary in-house lodging (overnight sleeping accommodations) may be provided in the Community Living Center (CLC) as space and resources allow on a first-come\, first-served basis for Veterans who meet criteria outlined below. Lodging includes a bed\, linens\, shared room and bathroom facilities\, evening meal and breakfast. Lodging is for one night only from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. In-house lodging does not include caregivers\, companions or service animals. \nVeterans may qualify for lodging if space is available and: \nThe Veteran has a scheduled clinic appointment or test before noon and travels 100 miles or more than 2 hours to the St. Cloud VAHCS or has transportation difficulties. \nThe Veteran must be able to stay in an unsupervised setting and capable of self-care and administration of his/her medication\, as directed by the medical provider. \nA Veteran must call or present to the MAA after 4:00 p.m. in Building 111\, or call 320-252-1670 and press 0 to determine if lodging is available. \n3–Veteran’s Golf Course\nIn order to continue its operation\, in 1990 the City of St. Cloud agreed to manage and operate the VA-owned golf course. The city then made significant course investment and improvements. In 1997 an Enhanced Use Lease agreement was reached whereby the city leased the property for a period of 35 years. This arrangement allowed the City of St. Cloud to renovate the course to its current state and to add a baseball stadium. The property remains U.S. Government Property. The lease agreement includes direct benefits to Veterans\, including several thousand therapeutic rounds of golf for VA resident patients per year; monetary consideration provided to the VAMC in the form of credits for water and sewer services\, direct revenue sharing\, and availability of high quality recreational opportunities for the community and the Veteran population\, at no additional cost to the U.S. Government. This agreement has positive benefits for Veterans\, the U.S. Government\, and the City of St. Cloud\, whose residents have been staunch supporters of the VAMC mission for over 94 years. Notably\, the lease also provides an effective encroachment barrier in an ever-growing urban environment. \n4–Therapeutic Pool\nBuilt in 1936\, the Therapeutic Pool is heated. Average temperature is appx. 98 degrees\, and the pool is used to provide therapy for Veterans via clinical referral. It is not a recreational pool. The St. Cloud VA has an agreement with the YMCA of St. Cloud that waives enrollment fees for any Veteran desiring membership. The YMCA operates two heated pools and a variety of other programs where Veterans\, family members and members of the community may pursue their wellness and recreational opportunities. \nVeteran’s Lake – John Enstrom Reporting\n*Veteran’s Lake is a private park that has been hosting veterans events since 2005. (http://www.veteranslake.com) There are 14 monuments\, flags for all branches of services\, and the first state monument to all veterans killed in Iraq since 9/11. \n*August 2nd is Handicapped/Disabled Veterans Fishing Day. We welcome all handicapped veterans across the state to enjoy our facilities. \n*We are run on donations and private funds. \nQ. Do you coordinate with Veterans on the Lake?\nA. No\, we do not. \nFt. Snelling Cemetery – Bob Razor Reporting\n*Not present \nVets Employment and Training Services [VETS] – David Seay Reporting\n*Nothing to report. \nMinnesota District of SCORE – Bill Lion Reporting\n*SCORE provides free basics business mentoring. We have been in MN for 53 years. We are mid-pilot with a vet program and will be launching a women-veterans only curriculum in late September. We will also be doing a parallel with ongoing veteran businesses. We are having trouble recruiting Iraq and Afghanistan veterans to our organizations and would appreciate your help in spreading the word about our services. \n4. Announcements\n*The State Fair Veterans Appreciation Day is August 29th. \n*The Honor Flight is looking for St. Cloud veterans to participate. \n*The Veterans Voices event will be held on September 11th. Michael Rivard\, the UVLC Secretary\, is one of the recipients. \n*The James Valentine VFW Post endorsed a project with the help of the Paralyzed Veterans of America to convert a golf course in Minneapolis into a food farm. \n5. Meeting in Recess for five minutes\nNext meeting August 2\, 2017.\nTreasurer’s Report as of 12 July 2017 \nBalance as of 12 June 2017 $3891.00 \nDeposits for June 2017 \nExpenses for June 2017\nTranscription Expense $120.00\nPostage $9.80\n($129.80) \nBalance as of 12 July\, 2017 $4111.45 \nSubmitted by Donald Rask\, Treasurer UVLC \n[print-me target=”.report” title=”Print Report”]
URL:https://mnuvlc.org/event/july-2017-meeting/
LOCATION:St. Cloud VA Health Care System – Building 96\, 4801 Veterans Dr.\, St Cloud\, MN\, 56303\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mnuvlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1920-1080-UVLC-images-for-website-10.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20170712T043000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20170712T063000
DTSTAMP:20260524T213734
CREATED:20210421T090559Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210421T090559Z
UID:2879-1499833800-1499841000@mnuvlc.org
SUMMARY:July 2017 Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Report\nMeeting at St. Cloud HCS Building 96 \nCall to order – 9:30\, Invocation – Pledge of Allegiance \nGreetings: Recognition of visitors and guests \nAnnouncements – Ralph Donais\, Chairman – Jerry Kyser\, Vice Chairman. \n1. Federal Congressional Representatives\nSenator Amy Klobuchar – Kurt Johnson Reporting\n*Klobuchar’s office worked to push the exhumation and identification of the remains of WWII veteran Jerry Jacobsen. \n*Klobuchar will be sponsoring the Ghost Army bill to honor the 31 33rd Signal Service Company for their service in WWII. \n*Klobuchar is co-sponsoring the American Legion Centennial Coin Bill\, which will be available in 2019. \nSenator Al Franken – Alex Schueller Reporting\n*Not present. \n1st District Representative – Tim Walz – Shawn Schoesser Reporting\n*Not present. \n2nd District Representative – Jason Lewis – Mathew Pagano Reporting\n*Not present. \n3rd District Representative – Erik Paulsen – Margret Cavanaugh Reporting\n*Not present. \n4th District Representative – Betty McCollum – Connie Haddeland Reporting\n*Not present. \n5th District Representative – Keith Ellison – Mike Siebenaler Reporting\n*Not present. \n6th District Representative – Tom Emmer – Abby Rime Reporting\n*Congress is set to debate and pass the National Defense Authorization Act. The Military Construction Bill has been passed out of the Appropriations Committee\, allocated $88.8 billion. An update will be forthcoming next month. \n*Our office did a joint meeting with the Office of the Inspector General to discuss our letter to them concerning the doctor’s website that the VA had issues with. We are working with them on legislature to try and clear this up. \n*Our focus is currently on appropriations and the budget. \n7th District Representative – Collin Peterson – Meg Louwagie Reporting\n*Peterson would like to thank the St. Cloud VA for hosting the mental health summit on July 11th. \n*Peterson signed onto the GI bill that will be introduced on July 13th. \n*A staffer met with a VA vendor who will be spearheading the new pilot program in Minneapolis VA MC where veteran schedule and cancel is owned. \n*Peterson was added to the Family of Fallen Service Members First Act\, HR 19 28. This bill secures the death gratuity payment to the next of kin of the service member. \n*Peterson was added to HR 3 33\, House Resolution 2 19\, the Disabled Veterans Tax Termination Act\, as well as the POW/MIA legislation. He is a co-chair of the military veterans caucus that is hosting a suicide briefing. \nQ. Concerning the military bill\, what is the probability we could get rid of the sequester?\nA. I do not know. I will find out. \n8th District Representative – Rick Nolan – Rick Olseen Reporting\n*Nolan has signed onto the letter about the family advocates. We are not certain what our action will be moving forward but this is of grave concern to Nolan and others on his staff. \n*We still have veterans that are receiving bills from Choice. Issues are ongoing. However\, setting up appointments seems to be getting better. \n2. State Agencies and MN Veteran Assistance Organizations\nMN Department of Veteran Affairs – Ben Johnson reporting\n* We saw many positive outcomes this legislative session for veterans. \n*Clarification: veterans with any level of disability now have access to free annual passes to state parks. \n*The Duluth cemetery is scheduled to open in 2018. Another cemetery in SW Minnesota is also on the agenda. We wish to give veterans and their families a way to mourn and make peace without driving great distances across the state. \n*The new changes to the GI bill include funding for testing\, licensure\, and certification. \n*Funding was allocated from the bonding bill for the bridge at the Veterans Home. Construction is scheduled to begin in September. \n*Funding was received for asset preservation of our cemeteries and veterans homes\, though not as much as we would have liked. We have returned to the drawing board and will be submitting new proposals on February 20th. \n*July is Hire A Veteran Month. \nQ. Where will the new cemetery be located?\nA. Redwood Falls. \nMN Military Affairs – Major Scott Ingalsbe Reporting\n*Not present. \nMN Assistance Council For Veterans (MACV) – Neal Loidolt – Brad Legard Reporting\n*Not present. \nVets Employment & Training Services [VETS] – David Seay Reporting\n*Not present. \nMilitary Action Group (MAG) – Jerry Kyser Reporting\n*Our last meeting was well attended. \n*The Helmets to Hardhats bill got $400\,000. \n*The Environmental and Resources Bill is now giving out free park passes to veterans with 75 to 100% disability. \n*$250\,000 was awarded to Veterans to Agriculture\, a new pilot program. \n*The tax bill still includes the Homestead Value Exclusion\, but the surviving spouse exclusion runs out in eight years. \n*The Department of Veteran Affairs received the funding they needed for the bridge repairs. The bridge is $7.815 million. \n*The next MAG meeting will be August 14th. \n*TPT is beginning to fund its legacy effort for Vietnam veterans. \n*The Medal of Honor Memorial in front of the veteran services building received funding for repairs and maintenance. \n*The American Legion received $200\,00 for Legionville camp. \n*The GI bill added an opportunity to include post-secondary training and on the job apprenticeships. We are attempting to make Minnesota more veteran and veteran-business friendly. \n*The Duluth cemetery received $1 million in funding. \nMN Paralyzed Veterans Of America – Todd Kemery Reporting\n*We are preparing for the State Fair Military Appreciation Day. This is our fifth year doing this. \n*We were in Marshall recently doing a talk concerning the ADA so that rural America and small businesses understand the current legal landscape. We are interested in helping small businesses from preventing nuisance lawsuits\, which do not help us. \nProject Got Your Back – Allison Alstrin Reporting\n*Not present. \nWomen Veterans Initiative – Edna Mackenzie Reporting\n*Not present. \nNational Association of Atomic Veterans – Keith Kiefer Reporting\n*Not present. \n3. Federal Agencies\nVA Regional Office – Kim Graves – Director Gray Reporting\n*Secretary Shulkin is working with us to drive down the claims backlog. There are around 93\,000 veterans who have been waiting an excess of 125 days for resolution on their claim. This is about 25% of our rating inventory. However\, the average rate for completing a claim is 115 days. Currently our rate is 97 days. We are making progress. \n*We were asked to pilot a new program\, the Decision Ready Claims. For particular claims\, a veteran can work with their service officer to prepare that claim up to and including getting in for a CMP exam. Once that information is gathered\, the full claim is gathered. We are committed to getting those claims resolved in 30 days. Since this program started in May\, we have completed 51 claims in an average of just under 8 days. The program has been expanded to our offices in Texas and will be rolling out to the rest of the country soon. \n*In partnership with the St. Cloud VA Medical Center and Minneapolis VA Medical Center\, we are working to address an issue of compensation. Veterans are entitled to higher rate of compensation if they have been hospitalized in excess of 21 days or have a period of convalescence after a surgical procedure for a service-connected disability. We have found that those claims were not seen in a timely manner and thus veterans were not getting the funding they needed during the hospitalization or convalescence period. We have worked out a program\, sanctioned by our national headquarters\, to help identify those veterans who may be entitled to those additional benefits. We have worked out a process where we receive those claims right up front and as soon as a veteran meets the time requirement for the 21 days or period of convalescence\, the money is paid. We are hoping to expand this program. Since July 3rd\, we have completed 8 veterans claims in about 18 days and currently have 3 more claims pending. \nQ. What is the difference between what you do and what VISN does?\nA. The VA benefits is responsible for monetary compensation\, loan guarantee\, vocation and rehabilitation\, and insurance. We do non-medical benefits. VISN is an organizational structure responsible for veteran’s healthcare. \nVISN 23 – Director – Janet Murphy – Jason Petti Reporting\n*Not present. \nVAHCS Minneapolis – Director Patrick J. Kelly – Ralph Houston Reporting\n*Not present. \nSt. Cloud VA HCS – Director Stephen D. Black Reporting\n*In absence of VISN representatives\, we will speak to their role. Each VISNs role is different. VISN 23 has a focus on the idea that the VISN should be there to serve the facilities that serve the frontline staff that in turn serve the veterans. Their role is to monitor data and statistics and step in when they see a problem. They help run operations consistently. They help to standardize\, lend support\, and develop best practices. \n*There is a great deal of construction happening right now\, specifically with IT\, that will help core operations. We are also working on building the new kitchen. Phase 1 of the catena is done. There will be an optometry expansion soon. The work is ongoing and advantageous to the veterans. \n*The Access to Care website (www.accesstocare.va.gov) continues to have good numbers. We can offer same day services for primary and mental health care services. \n*We continue to be a 5 Star Facility\, #2 in the nation. \n*We received the Practice Greenhealth Award\, one of 25 hospitals in the USA. \n*We were recently recognized for our Federal Health Innovation with HealthHub. \n*Our mental health team received the 2016 Network Star Award. \n*We have received many exceptional survey team reviews. \n*We are continuing to work on Choice to include access and quality. \n*Modernization efforts are continuing. More information will be forthcoming. \n*Continuing to work to provide mental health care to veterans regardless of discharge status. This has always been the case but it has now been codified. \n*Our number one clinical goal is to get our suicide numbers down to zero. \n*The accountability website lists all individuals by occupation code who have had disciplinary issues across our system. Along with that\, the accountability legislation speeds up timeframes of reaction. \n*Introducing Sheryl Thieschafer\, Acting Chief of Staff Scott Bartley\, and Mark Aberle\, Associate Director of Patient Care Services. \n1–Medical Cannabis \nMillions of Americans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Minnesota is the latest state to offer medical marijuana as a possible treatment option. The Minnesota Health Department’s Office of Medical Cannabis opened enrollment to people diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder on July 1\, and the state’s eight clinics will open their doors to those new patients in August. This will create questions in the Veteran population. VA policy remains unchanged. Key points for Veterans include: \n* Federal Law prohibits VA physicians from prescribing medical marijuana and from completing forms/paperwork necessary for patients to enroll in State marijuana programs. Federal Law classifies marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance and Federal employees must comply with Federal law\, despite State law allowing marijuana use. \n* VA is aware that some Veterans who reside in States with marijuana programs and who receive care in VA\, do indeed participate in marijuana programs. Given the differences between State and Federal laws regarding marijuana\, a Veteran’s decision to participate in a State marijuana program is a personal one and not one dictated administratively by VA. \n* VA does not administratively prohibit VA services to those Veterans who participate in State marijuana programs. However\, in some cases\, participation in State marijuana programs may be inconsistent with treatment goals; therefore\, VA clinicians may modify treatment plans for the health of the patient. In these cases\, VA promotes shared decision making between provider and patient. \n* It is illegal to possess marijuana for any purpose on VA property. \n2–Lodging at St. Cloud VA \nThe St. Cloud VAMC is primarily an outpatient facility with large residential populations in the Community Living Center and Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment program (RRTP). There is not a lodging facility on campus. Veterans traveling long distances or with early morning appointments may elect to seek lodging in the community at their own expense. Additionally\, via a partnership with St. Cloud Hospital\, Veterans may take advantage of the Gorecki House. In limited cases\, in-house lodging in the CLC can be provided upon request and as space and resources allow. \nGorecki House\nThe St. Cloud Hospital Gorecki (Go-ret’-ski) Guest House welcomes Veterans and family members of patients who are receiving medical care in the St. Cloud community. The house offers a comfortable\, homelike atmosphere that allows families the opportunity to stay close to their loved ones. Veterans traveling to St. Cloud for medical appointments or procedures may find the house a comfortable alternative to early morning commutes. The Gorecki Guest House is conveniently located across the street from the St. Cloud Hospital\, at 1309 Sixth Avenue North\, in St. Cloud. The Gorecki Guest House does not provide medical care or assistance on site. For more information\, call 320-251-2700\, ext. 51774\, or visit www.centracare.com/patients-visitors/gorecki-guest-house/. \nIn-House Lodging\nTemporary in-house lodging (overnight sleeping accommodations) may be provided in the Community Living Center (CLC) as space and resources allow on a first-come\, first-served basis for Veterans who meet criteria outlined below. Lodging includes a bed\, linens\, shared room and bathroom facilities\, evening meal and breakfast. Lodging is for one night only from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. In-house lodging does not include caregivers\, companions or service animals. \nVeterans may qualify for lodging if space is available and: \nThe Veteran has a scheduled clinic appointment or test before noon and travels 100 miles or more than 2 hours to the St. Cloud VAHCS or has transportation difficulties. \nThe Veteran must be able to stay in an unsupervised setting and capable of self-care and administration of his/her medication\, as directed by the medical provider. \nA Veteran must call or present to the MAA after 4:00 p.m. in Building 111\, or call 320-252-1670 and press 0 to determine if lodging is available. \n3–Veteran’s Golf Course\nIn order to continue its operation\, in 1990 the City of St. Cloud agreed to manage and operate the VA-owned golf course. The city then made significant course investment and improvements. In 1997 an Enhanced Use Lease agreement was reached whereby the city leased the property for a period of 35 years. This arrangement allowed the City of St. Cloud to renovate the course to its current state and to add a baseball stadium. The property remains U.S. Government Property. The lease agreement includes direct benefits to Veterans\, including several thousand therapeutic rounds of golf for VA resident patients per year; monetary consideration provided to the VAMC in the form of credits for water and sewer services\, direct revenue sharing\, and availability of high quality recreational opportunities for the community and the Veteran population\, at no additional cost to the U.S. Government. This agreement has positive benefits for Veterans\, the U.S. Government\, and the City of St. Cloud\, whose residents have been staunch supporters of the VAMC mission for over 94 years. Notably\, the lease also provides an effective encroachment barrier in an ever-growing urban environment. \n4–Therapeutic Pool\nBuilt in 1936\, the Therapeutic Pool is heated. Average temperature is appx. 98 degrees\, and the pool is used to provide therapy for Veterans via clinical referral. It is not a recreational pool. The St. Cloud VA has an agreement with the YMCA of St. Cloud that waives enrollment fees for any Veteran desiring membership. The YMCA operates two heated pools and a variety of other programs where Veterans\, family members and members of the community may pursue their wellness and recreational opportunities. \nVeteran’s Lake – John Enstrom Reporting\n*Veteran’s Lake is a private park that has been hosting veterans events since 2005. (http://www.veteranslake.com) There are 14 monuments\, flags for all branches of services\, and the first state monument to all veterans killed in Iraq since 9/11. \n*August 2nd is Handicapped/Disabled Veterans Fishing Day. We welcome all handicapped veterans across the state to enjoy our facilities. \n*We are run on donations and private funds. \nQ. Do you coordinate with Veterans on the Lake?\nA. No\, we do not. \nFt. Snelling Cemetery – Bob Razor Reporting\n*Not present \nVets Employment and Training Services [VETS] – David Seay Reporting\n*Nothing to report. \nMinnesota District of SCORE – Bill Lion Reporting\n*SCORE provides free basics business mentoring. We have been in MN for 53 years. We are mid-pilot with a vet program and will be launching a women-veterans only curriculum in late September. We will also be doing a parallel with ongoing veteran businesses. We are having trouble recruiting Iraq and Afghanistan veterans to our organizations and would appreciate your help in spreading the word about our services. \n4. Announcements\n*The State Fair Veterans Appreciation Day is August 29th. \n*The Honor Flight is looking for St. Cloud veterans to participate. \n*The Veterans Voices event will be held on September 11th. Michael Rivard\, the UVLC Secretary\, is one of the recipients. \n*The James Valentine VFW Post endorsed a project with the help of the Paralyzed Veterans of America to convert a golf course in Minneapolis into a food farm. \n5. Meeting in Recess for five minutes\nNext meeting August 2\, 2017.\nTreasurer’s Report as of 12 July 2017 \nBalance as of 12 June 2017 $3891.00 \nDeposits for June 2017 \nExpenses for June 2017\nTranscription Expense $120.00\nPostage $9.80\n($129.80) \nBalance as of 12 July\, 2017 $4111.45 \nSubmitted by Donald Rask\, Treasurer UVLC \n[print-me target=”.report” title=”Print Report”]
URL:https://mnuvlc.org/event/july-2017-meeting-2/
LOCATION:St. Cloud VA Health Care System – Building 96\, 4801 Veterans Dr.\, St Cloud\, MN\, 56303\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mnuvlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1920-1080-UVLC-images-for-website-10.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20170607T043000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20170607T063000
DTSTAMP:20260524T213734
CREATED:20210421T090947Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210427T022642Z
UID:1616-1496809800-1496817000@mnuvlc.org
SUMMARY:June 2017 Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Report\nMeeting at Building 9\, VAMC Campus \nCall to order – 9:30\, Invocation – Pledge of Allegiance \nGreetings: Recognition of visitors and guests \nAnnouncements – Ralph Donais\, Chairman – Jerry Kyser\, Vice Chairman. \nIntroducing Michael lacsamana with MACV \nIntroducing Danelle Bybee and Lynn Brannon with Building Healthy Military\nCommunities. \nIntroducing Doctor Alvaro Sanchez. \nIntroducing Luiz Campero with the American Legion. \n1. Federal Agencies\nVA Regional Office – Kim Graves Reporting:\n*We have been asked to bring on additional staff to help process claims for MN veterans and veterans across the nation. Thus far\, all the new staff are coming into our veteran service center and restricted access area. Our allowable ceiling has grown to 895 FTE. We are hoping to hit 900. This does make us the 4th largest office in the VA system. We have brought on 142 new employees since October 1st. \n*Concerning claims processing on the compensation side\, we have done just short of 53\,000 rating claims since October. This only includes ratings\, not the other types of claims. \n*For rating claims with a MN address\, our average days to complete is 109 days. The national average is 123 days. \n*The pending work for veterans with MN addresses is 85.5 days. The national average is 98 days. \n*We are the sole processing center in the nation for the c123 claims. We continue to get those cases. We have done over 700 decisions since August 2015. \n*We are Phase 1 of a new program in VBA called the Decision-Ready Claims Program. It only works through a VSO or CVSO. The veteran works with the service representative to file the claim but also to request medical information to include a medical exam for the condition being claimed. When that comes in\, they file the claim and our commitment is to resolve those within 30 days. Right now we are only doing claims for increase. We have only been implementing these in the past 30 days. We have completed about 10 cases. Our average time from submission to completion is less than 5 days There are plans to roll this out in Waco\, Texas in June. \n*We had a Veterans Town Hall a few months ago in North St. Paul where a veteran raised a question of how do I\, as a veteran\, get in touch with the office? The phone number used to go to a call center. There is now a direct email link on the website\, so veterans have the opportunity to contact us directly. \nQ. Are you and the Department of Defense able to interact?\nA. We do have access when a service member separates and becomes a veteran. Their records are sent to us. We also have connections to the DOD’s electronic system. \nVISN 23 – Director – Janet Murphy – Jason Petti Reporting\n*The hiring freeze is still impacting the VA. Though it is not impacting direct patient care\, it is impacting some of the services we contract. \n*We are shifting to the same electronic platform that the DOD uses. The change should take a year to a year in a half to finalize. \n*We have two pilot sites where we will be doing everything from. \n*The new Office of Inspector General visits are taking place. The focus has shifted to look at leadership\, to make sure the leadership teams are accountable to the medical staff and tax payers\, as well as to the needs of the veterans. We are still focusing on primary care\, access to care\, and mental health. \n*Access to care also includes suicide prevention. This is a strong priority for us. We are aiming for zero suicides. We need to focus on veterans who were discharged with an other than honorable discharge. We suspect that veterans with TBI are more likely to have an other than honorable discharge and have trouble accessing the care they need after leaving the military. This is a population that we are currently not reaching. We need to rework the concept of eligibility. \n*VISN 23 is the top performing network across the country. We have two areas in the yellow that we are working on: mortality and avoidable adverse events. \n*Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sanchez reporting: Suicide prevention is my number one priority. \nQ. Is it a VA or DOD regulation that excludes veterans with an other than honorable discharge?\nA. It is a VA regulation. Which is a problem. \nVAHCS Minneapolis – Director Patrick J. Kelly – Ralph Huessner Reporting\n*To address high risk veterans we have outreach mental health and a suicide prevention team \n*The secretary of the VA announced that more mental health staff will be in the pipeline\, but we are not waiting. We interviewed two candidates on June 6th for our second Suicide Prevention Coordinator. More information will be forthcoming. \n*Another of the secretary’s priorities is timeliness of services. We announced the new www.accesstocare.va.gov website several months ago. You can go on the website and see the current wait-times. For Minneapolis\, our numbers are good\, especially in mental health. In primary care\, we are averaging three days. One challenge area is new patients and primary care. Our wait time for new patients was 40 days after the website was announced and has since shifted to 38 days. There is no wait time for returning patients looking for mental health care. For new patients\, the wait is 6 days unless it is an emergency. \n*Updates on the Minneapolis VA. The canopy was damaged and the repairs have delayed the opening. The original opening was scheduled for June 21st. The new opening will occur this winter. We are ensuring that there will be no further damage or potential risk to patients. Because of this\, we will have to relocate the summer farmer’s market to a new location. \n*Building 222 has been under construction for renovations for several months. We are planning on opening it in the fall. We are hoping to then move our administrative offices out of the hall and increase space for patient care. \n*Veterans East housing project will be opening in the fall with 100 units. \n*The next town hall will be June 21st in the Whipple building from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. \n*There is an effort underway to change the Minneapolis VA to all single rooms. Single rooms are healthier\, more efficient\, and afford privacy for the patients. This will be a major challenge moving forward. The planning effort is currently underway. We have a goal of completion in 2025. \nSt. Cloud VA HCS – Director Stephen D. Black – Tyler Bieneck reporting\n*We will be hosting the next UVLC meeting on July 12th in Building 96. \n*Our chief of staff\, Dr. Markstrom\, will be retiring after 25 years. We are in the process of selecting a new candidate and hope to have someone later this summer. \n*The Practice Green Health system declared that the St. Cloud VA had Environmental Excellence. We are recognized as one of the top 25 hospitals in the nation. \n*We have been successful with our provider agreements\, with 132 provider agreements with our community stakeholders. This is helping veterans get to their appointments more efficiently. \n*We are in the process of designing a new optometry clinic in Building 29. \n*We are starting design on a patient parking ramp. \n*We are starting construction later this year on our community living cottage and Adult Day Healthcare building. \n*There is a new app called the Veteran Appointment Request Portal. This allows veterans to either request or directly schedule their appointments through the app. \nFt. Snelling Cemetery – Bob Razor\n*We had approximately 50\,000 vehicles inside our gates during the Memorial Day events. \n*On July 14th\, Sgt. James Joseph Hubert\, a repatriated Marine\, will be laid to rest. We will be hosting a repose for him at Ft. Snelling. \n*We are going under a slight restructure. There will be a new director. John Knapp will be the deputy-director. The big five cemeteries are all getting SESs. The new SES that has been selected is Amy Callahan. We are planning to introduce her at the August meeting. \nVets Employment and Training Services [VETS] – David Seay\n*Nothing to report. \n2. Federal Congressional Representatives\nSenator Amy Klobuchar – Greg Swanholm reporting\n*Klobuchar attended and spoke at the Ft. Snelling Memorial Day ceremony\, as well as the Chanhassen Memorial Day program. \n*Klobuchar held a press conference on May 31st about the Supporting the Children of the National Guard and Reserve Act. \n*The American Law Enforcement Heroes Act\, which encourages state and local law enforcement to hire veterans\, has passed congress and is looking to be signed into law in the next few days. \n*Klobuchar and Tillis sent a letter to the administration asking for robust funding for fiscal year 2018. \nSenator Al Franken – Alex Schueller\n*Not present. \n1st District Representative – Tim Walz – Shawn Schoesser\n*Walz attended the burial and memorial service for Glaydon Iverson\, a naval veteran whose body was recently recovered. \n*Walz appreciates the support of the Ft. Snelling employees to help create another memorial ceremony befitting of the sacrifices made by our veterans. \n*Walz wishes to show his appreciate to Secretary Shulkin for the other than honorable discharges and encouraging the ability of those veterans to have access to mental health services. We applaud this move. We also applaud the move toward one electronic health record. \n*We are interesting in feedback from anyone who is using the White House VA Healthline. The number is 855 948 2311 \n*Walz has been busy with his role on the VA Committee. We are continuing to pursue the Fairness For Deployed National Guard Reserve (HR 1384). We are looking at this in a two-phase plan. The first phase is to stop the inequality. The second phase is to go back and retroactively make whole the individuals who were negatively impacted by the 2012 NDAA \n*The National Guard And Reserve Fairness act has not passed yet. What has passed is reducing VA claims backlogs by finding workable solutions. Walz has reintroduced a Quicker Benefits Delivery Act. \n*Another piece of legislation that recently passed the house allows the VA to modernize the appeals process. It addresses legacy claims and modernizing the appeals process moving forward. \n2nd District Representative – Jason Lewis – Mathew Pagano\n* Not present. \n3rd District Representative – Erik Paulsen – Margret Cavanaugh\n*Not present. \n4th District Representative – Betty McCollum – Connie Haddeland reporting\n* On Memorial Day\, McCollum attended a ceremony in Woodbury and went to White Bear Lake to observe the flyover and commemorative ceremony. \n*McCollum is supporting the Reserve Components Parity Act. She is one of the original co-sponsors. \n*McCollum supports HR 1681\, the Women Veterans And Families Health Service Act. This bill provides assistance for family planning. \n*HR 2519 the American Legion 100th University Commemorative Coin Act. McCollum is one of the original co-sponsors. \n*We held our Academy Recognition evening on June 5th with the 10 students in our district that will be attending the service academies. \n5th District Representative – Keith Ellison – Mike Siebenaler\n*Not present. \n6th District Representative – Tom Emmer – Abby Rime reporting\n*Emmer reintroduced the Atomic Veterans Service Medal Act\, HR 2754. \n*Emmer signed onto HR 2519\, the American Legion 100th University Commemorative Coin Act. \n*Emmer voted in favor of HR 467\, the VA Scheduling And Accountability Act. This will improve compliance measurements related to scheduling and medical appointments. \n*Emmer voted in favor of HR 2288\, the Veteran Appeals and Improvement\nModernization Act of 2017. \n*Emmer spoke at the Sartell Veterans Park Memorial Day ceremony and the St. Cloud Memorial Day program. \n*The US Small Business Administration is hosting a free class for veterans and spouses on entrepreneurship on July 26th in Eden Prairie. It also enrolls participants in a free 8 week online class. \n*Emmer signed onto HR 1384\, the Reserve Components Parity Act. \n7th District Representative – Collin Peterson – Meg Louwagie\n*Peterson spent Memorial Day in Pelican Rapids at the service there. \n*Peterson has signed onto the letter to the secretary about the proposed cuts in the fiscal year 2018. \n*He cosigned on three bills: HR 1212 the Brave Act\, HR 632 the Atomic Veterans Healthcare Bill\, and HR 1928 Families of Fallen Service Members First Act. \n8th District Representative – Rick Nolan – Rick Olseen\n*Not present. \n3. State Agencies and MN Veteran Assistance Organizations\nMN Department of Veteran Affairs – Commissioner Larry Shellito – Ben Johnson reporting\n*The regular session ended on May 22nd. They immediately went into a special session. We were supportive of the governor’s veto – these bills can do more for veterans. \n*The session analysis will be forthcoming. \n*The governor wished to express his sincere gratitude for the veteran service organizations and their efforts. \n*The repairs of the Trust Bridge have been funded. It has been signed. \n*The Preemption Bill was vetoed. That included a lot of things that the governor wanted but also included material that would have prevented cities and municipalities from incorporating their own labor standards. Everything else was signed. This was a result of a lot of work and compromise between legislature and various leaders. \n*MDVA received our base funding from the state bonding bill. We also received additional funding for ongoing increases. We also received funding for the Duluth cemetery\, scheduled to open in July 2018. There have been some added provisions to the MN GI bill concerning testing and licensure. There have also been some changes to create more parity with on the job training and post-secondary portions of the GI bill. \n*Veterans Journey Home – development of new or rehabbed housing. This is one-time funding to support the construction or rehabilitation of housing for low to moderate-income veterans and their families. \n*The Veterans Defense Grant provides funding and outreach education to folks who interact with veterans in the criminal justice system. This is supported by the MN Humanities Center. This is funding for a nonprofit organization and not paying for court fees or lawyers. \n*The Legacy Bill is the constitutionally mandated increase in sales tax that goes to environment\, water\, and arts. Within that context\, there are several line items for veterans\, including the Medal of Honor memorial at the MN capital\, the Veterans Voices initiative\, Vietnam: Minnesota Remembers grant\, funding for Legionville\, funding for Big Marines Veterans Rest Camp\, and several memorials. \n*The Helmets to Hardhats Initiative is a development grant to help with construction careers. \n*The Bear Hunt raffle has given preference to one veteran’s home resident. \n*There was a push to reduce the threshold of disability to 50% to give access to free hunting and fishing licenses. The governor supported it. Unfortunately\, the legislature was looking to maintain baseline funding. We will continue to push this in the following session. \n*The tax bill includes a reduction in class rate for nonprofit organizations or charities to 1%. \n*There have been changes made to the disabled veterans home real tax exclusion. It benefits veterans and surviving spouses\, and expands availability to more veterans. \n*The bonding bill funded the Truss Bridge repairs. The timeline for construction has not been finalized yet. Asset Preservation appropriated $5 million\, less than half of what we requested\, but this is a good start. We will be working on critical issues first. Rice Country Veterans Memorial received an additional $30\,000 to finish construction. \nMN Military Affairs – Major Scott Ingalsbe and Annette Kuyper reporting\n*The selection process for our next adjutant general is underway for when General Nash retires in early September. \n*The 2nd Battalion 135th Infantry Regiment is returning from their deployment. They were mobilized under the 12304B Mobilization Authority. There is increased funding for mobilization from the DOD\, though not for benefits. We appreciate the support of our congressional delegation in trying to correct this. \n*August 29th is Military Appreciation Day at the State Fairgrounds. \n*We will publish our new dates for Stand Downs soon. \n*We now have 55 companies as members of Beyond The Yellow Ribbon: McGladry and Regions Hospital are new. \n*We want to get all 17 of Minnesota’s Fortune 500 companies\, there are 17 of them and we already have 11. That’s ambitious\, but we can do it. We have 220 communities and 90 networks. \n*Our largest Stand Down\, the metro\, will be again at the Boy Scouts Site at Fort Snelling on August 1-2. \nMN Assistance Council For Veterans (MACV) – Neal Loidolt – Michael Lacsamana reporting\n*Our CEO\, Neal Loidal\, is on 30 days military duty. He has installed a more strategic approach and we are benefiting from that. \nVets Employment & Training Services [VETS] – David Seay\n*Not present. \nMilitary Action Group (MAG) and Honor Flights- Jerry Kyser reporting\n*MAG will have a meeting at 1000 on Monday\, June 19th. \n*Our next Honor Flight is September 30th. One attendee is 101 years old. There are only 5 thousand WWII vets and 22 thousand Korea vets left. \nNot reporting:\nMN Paralyzed Veterans Of America – Todd Kemery\nProject Got Your Back – Allison Alstrin\nWomen Veterans Initiative – Edna Mackenzie\nNational Association of Atomic Veterans – Keith Kiefe \nNext meeting July 12\, 2017\, St Cloud VAMC \n[print-me target=”.report” title=”Print Report”]
URL:https://mnuvlc.org/event/june-2017-meeting/
LOCATION:Mpls VAHC Building 9 Auditorium\, 1 Veterans Drive\, Minneapolis\, MN\, 55417\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mnuvlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1920-1080-UVLC-images-for-website-10.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20170607T043000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20170607T063000
DTSTAMP:20260524T213734
CREATED:20210421T090947Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210421T090947Z
UID:2880-1496809800-1496817000@mnuvlc.org
SUMMARY:June 2017 Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Report\nMeeting at Building 9\, VAMC Campus \nCall to order – 9:30\, Invocation – Pledge of Allegiance \nGreetings: Recognition of visitors and guests \nAnnouncements – Ralph Donais\, Chairman – Jerry Kyser\, Vice Chairman. \nIntroducing Michael lacsamana with MACV \nIntroducing Danelle Bybee and Lynn Brannon with Building Healthy Military\nCommunities. \nIntroducing Doctor Alvaro Sanchez. \nIntroducing Luiz Campero with the American Legion. \n1. Federal Agencies\nVA Regional Office – Kim Graves Reporting:\n*We have been asked to bring on additional staff to help process claims for MN veterans and veterans across the nation. Thus far\, all the new staff are coming into our veteran service center and restricted access area. Our allowable ceiling has grown to 895 FTE. We are hoping to hit 900. This does make us the 4th largest office in the VA system. We have brought on 142 new employees since October 1st. \n*Concerning claims processing on the compensation side\, we have done just short of 53\,000 rating claims since October. This only includes ratings\, not the other types of claims. \n*For rating claims with a MN address\, our average days to complete is 109 days. The national average is 123 days. \n*The pending work for veterans with MN addresses is 85.5 days. The national average is 98 days. \n*We are the sole processing center in the nation for the c123 claims. We continue to get those cases. We have done over 700 decisions since August 2015. \n*We are Phase 1 of a new program in VBA called the Decision-Ready Claims Program. It only works through a VSO or CVSO. The veteran works with the service representative to file the claim but also to request medical information to include a medical exam for the condition being claimed. When that comes in\, they file the claim and our commitment is to resolve those within 30 days. Right now we are only doing claims for increase. We have only been implementing these in the past 30 days. We have completed about 10 cases. Our average time from submission to completion is less than 5 days There are plans to roll this out in Waco\, Texas in June. \n*We had a Veterans Town Hall a few months ago in North St. Paul where a veteran raised a question of how do I\, as a veteran\, get in touch with the office? The phone number used to go to a call center. There is now a direct email link on the website\, so veterans have the opportunity to contact us directly. \nQ. Are you and the Department of Defense able to interact?\nA. We do have access when a service member separates and becomes a veteran. Their records are sent to us. We also have connections to the DOD’s electronic system. \nVISN 23 – Director – Janet Murphy – Jason Petti Reporting\n*The hiring freeze is still impacting the VA. Though it is not impacting direct patient care\, it is impacting some of the services we contract. \n*We are shifting to the same electronic platform that the DOD uses. The change should take a year to a year in a half to finalize. \n*We have two pilot sites where we will be doing everything from. \n*The new Office of Inspector General visits are taking place. The focus has shifted to look at leadership\, to make sure the leadership teams are accountable to the medical staff and tax payers\, as well as to the needs of the veterans. We are still focusing on primary care\, access to care\, and mental health. \n*Access to care also includes suicide prevention. This is a strong priority for us. We are aiming for zero suicides. We need to focus on veterans who were discharged with an other than honorable discharge. We suspect that veterans with TBI are more likely to have an other than honorable discharge and have trouble accessing the care they need after leaving the military. This is a population that we are currently not reaching. We need to rework the concept of eligibility. \n*VISN 23 is the top performing network across the country. We have two areas in the yellow that we are working on: mortality and avoidable adverse events. \n*Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sanchez reporting: Suicide prevention is my number one priority. \nQ. Is it a VA or DOD regulation that excludes veterans with an other than honorable discharge?\nA. It is a VA regulation. Which is a problem. \nVAHCS Minneapolis – Director Patrick J. Kelly – Ralph Huessner Reporting\n*To address high risk veterans we have outreach mental health and a suicide prevention team \n*The secretary of the VA announced that more mental health staff will be in the pipeline\, but we are not waiting. We interviewed two candidates on June 6th for our second Suicide Prevention Coordinator. More information will be forthcoming. \n*Another of the secretary’s priorities is timeliness of services. We announced the new www.accesstocare.va.gov website several months ago. You can go on the website and see the current wait-times. For Minneapolis\, our numbers are good\, especially in mental health. In primary care\, we are averaging three days. One challenge area is new patients and primary care. Our wait time for new patients was 40 days after the website was announced and has since shifted to 38 days. There is no wait time for returning patients looking for mental health care. For new patients\, the wait is 6 days unless it is an emergency. \n*Updates on the Minneapolis VA. The canopy was damaged and the repairs have delayed the opening. The original opening was scheduled for June 21st. The new opening will occur this winter. We are ensuring that there will be no further damage or potential risk to patients. Because of this\, we will have to relocate the summer farmer’s market to a new location. \n*Building 222 has been under construction for renovations for several months. We are planning on opening it in the fall. We are hoping to then move our administrative offices out of the hall and increase space for patient care. \n*Veterans East housing project will be opening in the fall with 100 units. \n*The next town hall will be June 21st in the Whipple building from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. \n*There is an effort underway to change the Minneapolis VA to all single rooms. Single rooms are healthier\, more efficient\, and afford privacy for the patients. This will be a major challenge moving forward. The planning effort is currently underway. We have a goal of completion in 2025. \nSt. Cloud VA HCS – Director Stephen D. Black – Tyler Bieneck reporting\n*We will be hosting the next UVLC meeting on July 12th in Building 96. \n*Our chief of staff\, Dr. Markstrom\, will be retiring after 25 years. We are in the process of selecting a new candidate and hope to have someone later this summer. \n*The Practice Green Health system declared that the St. Cloud VA had Environmental Excellence. We are recognized as one of the top 25 hospitals in the nation. \n*We have been successful with our provider agreements\, with 132 provider agreements with our community stakeholders. This is helping veterans get to their appointments more efficiently. \n*We are in the process of designing a new optometry clinic in Building 29. \n*We are starting design on a patient parking ramp. \n*We are starting construction later this year on our community living cottage and Adult Day Healthcare building. \n*There is a new app called the Veteran Appointment Request Portal. This allows veterans to either request or directly schedule their appointments through the app. \nFt. Snelling Cemetery – Bob Razor\n*We had approximately 50\,000 vehicles inside our gates during the Memorial Day events. \n*On July 14th\, Sgt. James Joseph Hubert\, a repatriated Marine\, will be laid to rest. We will be hosting a repose for him at Ft. Snelling. \n*We are going under a slight restructure. There will be a new director. John Knapp will be the deputy-director. The big five cemeteries are all getting SESs. The new SES that has been selected is Amy Callahan. We are planning to introduce her at the August meeting. \nVets Employment and Training Services [VETS] – David Seay\n*Nothing to report. \n2. Federal Congressional Representatives\nSenator Amy Klobuchar – Greg Swanholm reporting\n*Klobuchar attended and spoke at the Ft. Snelling Memorial Day ceremony\, as well as the Chanhassen Memorial Day program. \n*Klobuchar held a press conference on May 31st about the Supporting the Children of the National Guard and Reserve Act. \n*The American Law Enforcement Heroes Act\, which encourages state and local law enforcement to hire veterans\, has passed congress and is looking to be signed into law in the next few days. \n*Klobuchar and Tillis sent a letter to the administration asking for robust funding for fiscal year 2018. \nSenator Al Franken – Alex Schueller\n*Not present. \n1st District Representative – Tim Walz – Shawn Schoesser\n*Walz attended the burial and memorial service for Glaydon Iverson\, a naval veteran whose body was recently recovered. \n*Walz appreciates the support of the Ft. Snelling employees to help create another memorial ceremony befitting of the sacrifices made by our veterans. \n*Walz wishes to show his appreciate to Secretary Shulkin for the other than honorable discharges and encouraging the ability of those veterans to have access to mental health services. We applaud this move. We also applaud the move toward one electronic health record. \n*We are interesting in feedback from anyone who is using the White House VA Healthline. The number is 855 948 2311 \n*Walz has been busy with his role on the VA Committee. We are continuing to pursue the Fairness For Deployed National Guard Reserve (HR 1384). We are looking at this in a two-phase plan. The first phase is to stop the inequality. The second phase is to go back and retroactively make whole the individuals who were negatively impacted by the 2012 NDAA \n*The National Guard And Reserve Fairness act has not passed yet. What has passed is reducing VA claims backlogs by finding workable solutions. Walz has reintroduced a Quicker Benefits Delivery Act. \n*Another piece of legislation that recently passed the house allows the VA to modernize the appeals process. It addresses legacy claims and modernizing the appeals process moving forward. \n2nd District Representative – Jason Lewis – Mathew Pagano\n* Not present. \n3rd District Representative – Erik Paulsen – Margret Cavanaugh\n*Not present. \n4th District Representative – Betty McCollum – Connie Haddeland reporting\n* On Memorial Day\, McCollum attended a ceremony in Woodbury and went to White Bear Lake to observe the flyover and commemorative ceremony. \n*McCollum is supporting the Reserve Components Parity Act. She is one of the original co-sponsors. \n*McCollum supports HR 1681\, the Women Veterans And Families Health Service Act. This bill provides assistance for family planning. \n*HR 2519 the American Legion 100th University Commemorative Coin Act. McCollum is one of the original co-sponsors. \n*We held our Academy Recognition evening on June 5th with the 10 students in our district that will be attending the service academies. \n5th District Representative – Keith Ellison – Mike Siebenaler\n*Not present. \n6th District Representative – Tom Emmer – Abby Rime reporting\n*Emmer reintroduced the Atomic Veterans Service Medal Act\, HR 2754. \n*Emmer signed onto HR 2519\, the American Legion 100th University Commemorative Coin Act. \n*Emmer voted in favor of HR 467\, the VA Scheduling And Accountability Act. This will improve compliance measurements related to scheduling and medical appointments. \n*Emmer voted in favor of HR 2288\, the Veteran Appeals and Improvement\nModernization Act of 2017. \n*Emmer spoke at the Sartell Veterans Park Memorial Day ceremony and the St. Cloud Memorial Day program. \n*The US Small Business Administration is hosting a free class for veterans and spouses on entrepreneurship on July 26th in Eden Prairie. It also enrolls participants in a free 8 week online class. \n*Emmer signed onto HR 1384\, the Reserve Components Parity Act. \n7th District Representative – Collin Peterson – Meg Louwagie\n*Peterson spent Memorial Day in Pelican Rapids at the service there. \n*Peterson has signed onto the letter to the secretary about the proposed cuts in the fiscal year 2018. \n*He cosigned on three bills: HR 1212 the Brave Act\, HR 632 the Atomic Veterans Healthcare Bill\, and HR 1928 Families of Fallen Service Members First Act. \n8th District Representative – Rick Nolan – Rick Olseen\n*Not present. \n3. State Agencies and MN Veteran Assistance Organizations\nMN Department of Veteran Affairs – Commissioner Larry Shellito – Ben Johnson reporting\n*The regular session ended on May 22nd. They immediately went into a special session. We were supportive of the governor’s veto – these bills can do more for veterans. \n*The session analysis will be forthcoming. \n*The governor wished to express his sincere gratitude for the veteran service organizations and their efforts. \n*The repairs of the Trust Bridge have been funded. It has been signed. \n*The Preemption Bill was vetoed. That included a lot of things that the governor wanted but also included material that would have prevented cities and municipalities from incorporating their own labor standards. Everything else was signed. This was a result of a lot of work and compromise between legislature and various leaders. \n*MDVA received our base funding from the state bonding bill. We also received additional funding for ongoing increases. We also received funding for the Duluth cemetery\, scheduled to open in July 2018. There have been some added provisions to the MN GI bill concerning testing and licensure. There have also been some changes to create more parity with on the job training and post-secondary portions of the GI bill. \n*Veterans Journey Home – development of new or rehabbed housing. This is one-time funding to support the construction or rehabilitation of housing for low to moderate-income veterans and their families. \n*The Veterans Defense Grant provides funding and outreach education to folks who interact with veterans in the criminal justice system. This is supported by the MN Humanities Center. This is funding for a nonprofit organization and not paying for court fees or lawyers. \n*The Legacy Bill is the constitutionally mandated increase in sales tax that goes to environment\, water\, and arts. Within that context\, there are several line items for veterans\, including the Medal of Honor memorial at the MN capital\, the Veterans Voices initiative\, Vietnam: Minnesota Remembers grant\, funding for Legionville\, funding for Big Marines Veterans Rest Camp\, and several memorials. \n*The Helmets to Hardhats Initiative is a development grant to help with construction careers. \n*The Bear Hunt raffle has given preference to one veteran’s home resident. \n*There was a push to reduce the threshold of disability to 50% to give access to free hunting and fishing licenses. The governor supported it. Unfortunately\, the legislature was looking to maintain baseline funding. We will continue to push this in the following session. \n*The tax bill includes a reduction in class rate for nonprofit organizations or charities to 1%. \n*There have been changes made to the disabled veterans home real tax exclusion. It benefits veterans and surviving spouses\, and expands availability to more veterans. \n*The bonding bill funded the Truss Bridge repairs. The timeline for construction has not been finalized yet. Asset Preservation appropriated $5 million\, less than half of what we requested\, but this is a good start. We will be working on critical issues first. Rice Country Veterans Memorial received an additional $30\,000 to finish construction. \nMN Military Affairs – Major Scott Ingalsbe and Annette Kuyper reporting\n*The selection process for our next adjutant general is underway for when General Nash retires in early September. \n*The 2nd Battalion 135th Infantry Regiment is returning from their deployment. They were mobilized under the 12304B Mobilization Authority. There is increased funding for mobilization from the DOD\, though not for benefits. We appreciate the support of our congressional delegation in trying to correct this. \n*August 29th is Military Appreciation Day at the State Fairgrounds. \n*We will publish our new dates for Stand Downs soon. \n*We now have 55 companies as members of Beyond The Yellow Ribbon: McGladry and Regions Hospital are new. \n*We want to get all 17 of Minnesota’s Fortune 500 companies\, there are 17 of them and we already have 11. That’s ambitious\, but we can do it. We have 220 communities and 90 networks. \n*Our largest Stand Down\, the metro\, will be again at the Boy Scouts Site at Fort Snelling on August 1-2. \nMN Assistance Council For Veterans (MACV) – Neal Loidolt – Michael Lacsamana reporting\n*Our CEO\, Neal Loidal\, is on 30 days military duty. He has installed a more strategic approach and we are benefiting from that. \nVets Employment & Training Services [VETS] – David Seay\n*Not present. \nMilitary Action Group (MAG) and Honor Flights- Jerry Kyser reporting\n*MAG will have a meeting at 1000 on Monday\, June 19th. \n*Our next Honor Flight is September 30th. One attendee is 101 years old. There are only 5 thousand WWII vets and 22 thousand Korea vets left. \nNot reporting:\nMN Paralyzed Veterans Of America – Todd Kemery\nProject Got Your Back – Allison Alstrin\nWomen Veterans Initiative – Edna Mackenzie\nNational Association of Atomic Veterans – Keith Kiefe \nNext meeting July 12\, 2017\, St Cloud VAMC \n[print-me target=”.report” title=”Print Report”]
URL:https://mnuvlc.org/event/june-2017-meeting-2/
LOCATION:Mpls VAHC Building 9 Auditorium\, 1 Veterans Drive\, Minneapolis\, MN\, 55417\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mnuvlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1920-1080-UVLC-images-for-website-10.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20170503T043000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20170503T063000
DTSTAMP:20260524T213734
CREATED:20210421T091103Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210427T022657Z
UID:1620-1493785800-1493793000@mnuvlc.org
SUMMARY:May 2017 Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Report\nMeeting at Building 9\, VAMC Campus \nCall to order – 9:30\, Invocation – Pledge of Allegiance \nGreetings: Recognition of visitors and guests \nAnnouncements – Ralph Donais\, Chairman – Jerry Kyser\, Vice Chairman. \nIntroducing Director Stephen D. Black from the St. Cloud VA \nIntroducing Edna Mackenzie from the Women Veterans Initiative. \n1. State Agencies and MN Veteran Assistance Organizations\nMN Department of Veteran Affairs – Commissioner Larry Shellito Legislative Info – Ben Johnson reporting\n*On May 2nd\, the State Government Finance Committee got together and released their agreed upon language for the final budget for the MN Department of Veteran Affairs. They funded an expansion of the MN GI Bill\, included the Disclosure Statement (which states that veterans can receive certain benefits for free from veteran service organizations). Unexpectedly\, $10 million was included toward the design\, construction\, and operation of a new state veterans home. The location is yet to be determined. They did not fund some of the key initiatives we requested. They did not include funds for the operations of the state cemetery in Duluth\, our operating adjustment request\, or the repair and betterment request. They did include $5 million in asset preservation for the veteran’s homes. Funding for the Minneapolis Trust Bridge repair was not included. \n*The Legacy Bill includes funding for Minnesota Remembers\, Camp Legionville\, the Medal of Honor memorial\, Veterans Voices\, and Veterans Memorial Grants. This is still being debated. A lot of work needs to be done. \nMN Military Affairs – Major Scott Ingalsbe – Annette Kyper\n*We will be going to Capital Hill to meet with our congressional delegates in the week of May 8th to discuss cyber legislative priorities. \n*Units in our 1st Armored Combat Brigade team will be heading to Latvia and Lithuania this summer as part of Operation Saber Strike. This is part of the European Reassurance Initiative. \n*We have recently completed an audit of our Yellow Ribbon networks. 80% are strong and sustaining\, meaning that they are able to meet all the objectives placed on them. We are also working with our Yellow Ribbon companies (currently we have 54) to ensure they have an understanding of the rigor and up-tempo of training that the National Guard is experiencing\, as well as listening to their feedback. \n*The Building Healthy Military Communities is an initiative to synchronize support services for military service members. In Minnesota\, this is called the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Program. We are one of three states that have been given a seven-year contract. \n*There will be a visit from a national team from the DOD who will merge onto our state program. They will be assessing our state for service members currently serving looking at needs and gaps in needs. \nQ. There was concern about a program that was defunded\, the Family Assistance Center. What is the story there?\nA. We have nine Family Assistance Centers. Their contract was cut drastically [by the administration] and their pay was halved. They are key to the sustainment of our Beyond The Yellow Ribbon program and key to support for our service members. Of the nine\, three returned and one left. We have seven open positions. All but one have been rehired. The new hires will be starting in two-three weeks. \nQ. Is this back to full funding?\nA. No. This is the contract we have for the year. We will have to work with this. \nQ. Is there anything we can do about this?\nA. Our legislators are aware of the issue and it is at the level of the National Guard Bureau. For the time being\, we are doing the best we can. The contract has been awarded and will not be changed for a while. \nMN Assistance Council For Veterans (MACV) – Neal Loidolt – Brad Legard\n*Here are the dates for the May legal clinics. The first is May 9th at the Minneapolis VA from 9 AM to 2 PM. There is one in Virginia\, Minnesota on May 16th from 9 AM to 4 PM. May 17th at the American Legion West in Duluth from 9 AM to 3 PM. May 25th at the VFW post in Fergus Falls\, Minnesota from 11 AM to 4 PM. May 26th in Alexandria\, Minnesota from 9 AM to 2 PM. \n*The Minneapolis Stand Down will be August 1st and 2nd at the Boy Scout Basecamp. It starts at 8 AM. \nVets Employment & Training Services [VETS] – David Seay \n*We are reviewing submissions for the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Project grants nationwide. \nMilitary Action Group (MAG) – Jerry Kyser\n*The House heard 42 bills in Representative Dettmer’s committee. We have to be active in speaking with our representatives on our issues. \n*We still need to get the bridge fixed. Currently it is stuck. It is vitally important that we get this done. There is only one exit and in case an emergency such as a tornado happens\, ambulances and other emergency personnel will be unable to reach the center. \n*The next MAG meeting is May 15h at 9 AM at 400 North state office building. \nMN Paralyzed Veterans Of America – Todd Kemery\n*On May 3rd at 3 PM at the House\, MN Paralyzed Vets will be attending the House Bonding Bill meeting and ask that any other organizations that have the time do so as well. \n*There will be a veteran affairs Senate Capital investment meeting on Monday May 8th. We will be a presence there. \n*We are in a unique position with the Americans With Disabilities Act. We can advocate for disabled veterans and the larger disabled community. On the federal level\, HR 620 has been brought to our attention. There has been an issue of drive-by lawsuits concerning disability accesses in rural America. HR 620 is a bill that would restrict the ADA in response to this. It would allow a business owner who is not in compliance with the ADA a grace period to make the changes to come into compliance. We are not in support of HR 620 but we are in support of the grace period. If you are having problems in your area\, there are ways we can have discussions and provide support in your communities. \n*PVA is part of the city committee on the City of Orono concerning the Big Island project. There will be a meeting on May 9th. The project is just getting off the ground. This is an ongoing process. \nProject Got Your Back – Allison Alstrin\n*Project Got Your Back is a group of veterans who want to do more for other veterans in their community\, including helping find access to services and support. It was started in Minnesota and has since linked up with America’s Warrior Partnership. Allison Alstrin was hired to reinvigorate the project. \n*We want to help the support organizations in Minnesota to work more collaboratively together across the sectors in order to maximize their impact. We are focused on collaboration and collective impact. \n*Currently we are raising awareness among various local veteran groups. Feel free to reach out. \nQ. How is your organization different from what MACV or others are doing?\nA. Our organization doesn’t do service. We help service providers like MACV and Yellow Ribbon to work together across their disciplines. \nQ. How do you service active duty people\, since we can’t hand out information about active duty service members?\nA. The goal is that if all these organizations are actively looking to find the veteran\, they will be finding the veteran and providing the information. We are trying to connect all service organizations\, both veteran specific and not\, in order to give veterans the best possible care and support. That outreach and word of mouth will hopefully allow active duty service members to find us\, or for veteran service groups to connect them to us directly. \nWomen Veterans Initiative – Edna Mackenzie\n*We are in the midst of redeveloping our strategic plan\, as well as discussing our plans moving forward concerning community integration. \nNational Association of Atomic Veterans – Keith Kiefer\n*On the state level\, we have HF 2276\, which would designate July 16th as Atomic Veteran’s Day in Minnesota. It has cleared committee and had a second reading. \n*On the national level\, we have the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act amendments of 2017. Currently we have no Minnesota congressmen or senators supporting it. There is also the Mark Takai Atomic Veterans Parity Act. We also have the Atomic Veterans Service Medal Act\, though this has yet to be introduced at this time. \n*May 20th is Armed Services Day in DC. There will be a rally for veterans who have been exposed to toxins covering all eras of service. The rally is called Operation Stand Together. (www.operationstandtogether.org). \n2. Federal Agencies\nVA Regional Office – Kim Graves – Ron Woolery\n*St. Paul was selected for a new pilot program\, the DRC (decision ready claim). It doesn’t go into the national work queue\, the claim stays in Minnesota\, and the claim will be adjudicated in 30 days or less. The program began on May 2nd. It only includes claims for increase at this point. The hope is for it to be all claims by September. \n*Ron Woolery is now the Public Affairs officer for the regional office. \nVISN 23 – Director – Janet Murphy – Andre Kok\n*The VA launched a new access and quality website in April (www.accesstocare.va.gov). This site allows veterans and others to find VA facilities and look at the wait times and quality of care scores for the various facilities. It is an effort to make the information more readily available to the public. \n*In April\, the hiring freeze was lifted for the medical centers. \n*The president visited the VA in DC last week and signed an executive order. Another thing that was announced there was the regulations for new construction and design of new state-owned veterans homes. In the past they had to meet federal standards and now as long as the facility meets state standards\, the project can be done in conjunction with the VA. \nVAHCS Minneapolis – Director Patrick J. Kelly – Bryan Taylor\n*There will be a keynote speech at 12:30 PM in the auditorium by Director Erin Krebs on chronic pain concerning opioid vs. non-opioid treatments\, followed by poster sessions from 1:30 to 3:30 PM. \n*The VA Annual 2K Walk will be on May 17th around the VA hospital. \n*The annual volunteer banquet will be on June 14. \n*The next town hall will be June 21st at the Wipple Building from 5 to 7 PM. \n*June 21st is the anticipated end-date for the canopy covering the parking garage. \n*We have a veteran’s fast house projected planned for fall of 2017. It would be 100 units. \nSt. Cloud VA HCS – Director Stephen D. Black – Barry Venable\n*Introducing Director Stephen Black. \n*Our chief of staff\, Sue Markstrom\, will be retiring. She will be missed. \n*St. Cloud was ranked #2 for quality of care and timely access. \n*There is a great deal of construction going on. We have a new cafeteria and kitchen opening this summer. We will be adding additional living facilities over the next two years. \n*There will be a Choice revision coming soon. The money that was set aside for Choice will continue onto the fiscal year 2018 until the money runs out. The VA is set to become primary payer soon\, which will allow us to speed up. \n*Our modernization efforts continue. \n*We are focusing heavily on suicide prevention. \n*We recently secured an affiliation with the University of Minnesota for surgical residency. \n*We also held our annual volunteer banquet. Volunteers have given the equivalent of 33 full time staff this year. \nQ. What about the windmill?\nA. We have an ongoing wind study that is due to finish up in October or November. At that point\, we will know whether the windmill will pay for itself. Decisions will be made at that point. Currently we are in a holding pattern. \nQ. We need to emphasize that National Guard members are counted as veterans and will receive the same care if they come in for suicide prevention or other mental health treatment.\nA. That’s correct. We are emphasizing that. Any veteran\, regardless of status\, will be treated for an acute medical health issue. The details are still being worked out. \nFt. Snelling Cemetery – Bob Razor\n*We are getting ready for Memorial Day. Our keynote speaker will be Retired Command Sergeant-Major Doug Maddi. The event starts at 10 AM. \n*The mow-trim contract was awarded. \n*In April we had 122 internments. Our total internments for the year so far is 2\,321. Our rate of internments has increased steadily\, though we are currently only doing 12 to 15% of all veteran burials in Minnesota. We interned 8 female veterans\, 89 WWII\, 59 Korea\, 58 Vietnam\, 12 Persian Gulf\, 17 peacetime\, 0 active duty\, and 215 dependents in April. The rifle squad did 90 Army\, 40 Navy\, 23 Air Force\, 14 Marine\, 1 Coast Guard\, and 1 Merchant Marine. \nVets Employment and Training Services [VETS] – David Seay\n3. Federal Congressional Representatives\nSenator Amy Klobuchar – Greg Swanholm\n*The senator introduced the Veterans Access to Care Act\, which would designate VA medical facilities and state veterans homes as health professional shortage areas\, which would allow them to compete for jobs through the national health service corps. \n* The senator introduced the Newborn Care Improvement Act\, which would mandate the VA extend the coverage for newborns from 7 days to 14 days. \n*The senator introduced the Supporting the Children of the National Guard and Reserve Act\, which would require states to identify students in military families from their school records to make sure those families are aware of all the resources available to them. Previously the bill did not include the Guard and Reserve components. \nSenator Al Franken – Alex Schueller\n*Franken is cosponsoring senate bill 833\, the Service Member and Veterans Empowerment Act of 2017. This is an expansion of care and claims processing methods for trauma victims. \n*Franken cosponsored senate resolution 38\, honoring National POW Recognition Day on April 9th. \n*Franken cosponsored senate resolution 12\, creating a sense of congress for favoring the Blue Water veterans. This is to push the VA to agree with the Blue Water veterans bill. \n*Franken signed onto a letter about the DAV stamps to be enacted\, as well as for the state veterans nursing home construction grant letter. He signed onto Walz’s letter to data accessibility for MN state. This would help to allow more military transfer credit. \n*He signed onto a National Defense letter calling for National Guard armory upgrades as well as a defense appropriations letter for funding Beyond The Yellow Ribbon programs. \n1st District Representative – Tim Walz – Shawn Schoesser\n*Not present. \n2nd District Representative – Jason Lewis – Mathew Pagano\n*We cosponsored HR 1384\, the Reserve Components Parity Act. We signed onto two delegation wide letters\, the Minnesota delegation supporting Family Assistance centers in MN\, and the MN delegation letter regarding the MN state veterans education transfer system. \n3rd District Representative – Erik Paulsen – Margret Cavanaugh\n*Paulsen went to the Naval Academy in April and met with several of our academy nominees who are now students. \n*Currently we have 13 appointments to the service academies. There will be a reception on June 5th at the Star Bank building. \n4th District Representative – Betty McCollum – Connie Haddeland\n*The omnibus bill contains $15 billion more for defense readiness and maintenance issues. \n*Our office has 11 service academy nominees who have received appointments. \n*We have moved to a new location in St. Paul. The new address is 61 Lasalle Street St. Paul 55114. \n5th District Representative – Keith Ellison – Mike Siebenaler\n*Not present. \n6th District Representative – Tom Emmer – Abby Rime\n*Emmer has introduced HR 1372\, a bill that would require the VA to send a bill to a veteran within 120 days if they were seen within a VA facility. If they were seen by an outside provider\, the deadline is 18 months. It also allows the Secretary of the VA to forgive bills. It also requires the VA to notify veterans of waivers and payment options before billing them. \n*We signed onto the delegation-wide letter to the director of the Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Students. \n*We also signed onto a letter for Veterans Treatment Courts urging appropriators to fully fund those. \n*We are reintroducing the Atomic Veterans Service Members Act. \n*The president signed an executive order for the VA accountability office looking for waste and fraud abuse. \n7th District Representative – Collin Peterson – Meg Louwagie\n*Peterson supported several bills. HR 299\, the Blue Water Navy Veterans Act for 2017\, HR 696 to prohibit any hiring freezes impacting the Department of Veteran Affairs\, HR 1007 the Vietnam Veterans Agent Orange Fairness Act\, HR 1384 the Reserve Components Parity Act\, and 1972 billing accountability. \n*Peterson will be meeting with VISN 23 Director Murphy on May 3rd in Washington. \n8th District Representative – Rick Nolan – Rick Olseen\n*We are still seeing a lot of issues with billing for the Choice program. \n*The Let’s Go Fishing program is available to veterans without charge. The program is wheelchair accessible. Spread the word. (http://lgfws.com) \n4. Announcements\n5. Meeting in Recess for five minutes\nNext meeting June 7\, 2017. \nTreasurer’s Report as of 1 April 2017 \nBalance as of 1 April 2017 $4\,581.25 \nDeposits for April 2017 $100.00 \nExpenses for April 2017\nTranscription Expense $150.00\nDVA Rotunda Expense $170.00\nWebsite Administrator $400.00 ($720.00) \nBalance as of 1 May\, 2017 $3\,961.25 \nSubmitted by Donald Rask\, Treasurer UVLC \n[print-me target=”.report” title=”Print Report”]
URL:https://mnuvlc.org/event/may-2017-meeting/
LOCATION:Mpls VAHC Building 9 Auditorium\, 1 Veterans Drive\, Minneapolis\, MN\, 55417\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mnuvlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1920-1080-UVLC-images-for-website-10.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20170503T043000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20170503T063000
DTSTAMP:20260524T213734
CREATED:20210421T091103Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210421T091103Z
UID:2881-1493785800-1493793000@mnuvlc.org
SUMMARY:May 2017 Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Report\nMeeting at Building 9\, VAMC Campus \nCall to order – 9:30\, Invocation – Pledge of Allegiance \nGreetings: Recognition of visitors and guests \nAnnouncements – Ralph Donais\, Chairman – Jerry Kyser\, Vice Chairman. \nIntroducing Director Stephen D. Black from the St. Cloud VA \nIntroducing Edna Mackenzie from the Women Veterans Initiative. \n1. State Agencies and MN Veteran Assistance Organizations\nMN Department of Veteran Affairs – Commissioner Larry Shellito Legislative Info – Ben Johnson reporting\n*On May 2nd\, the State Government Finance Committee got together and released their agreed upon language for the final budget for the MN Department of Veteran Affairs. They funded an expansion of the MN GI Bill\, included the Disclosure Statement (which states that veterans can receive certain benefits for free from veteran service organizations). Unexpectedly\, $10 million was included toward the design\, construction\, and operation of a new state veterans home. The location is yet to be determined. They did not fund some of the key initiatives we requested. They did not include funds for the operations of the state cemetery in Duluth\, our operating adjustment request\, or the repair and betterment request. They did include $5 million in asset preservation for the veteran’s homes. Funding for the Minneapolis Trust Bridge repair was not included. \n*The Legacy Bill includes funding for Minnesota Remembers\, Camp Legionville\, the Medal of Honor memorial\, Veterans Voices\, and Veterans Memorial Grants. This is still being debated. A lot of work needs to be done. \nMN Military Affairs – Major Scott Ingalsbe – Annette Kyper\n*We will be going to Capital Hill to meet with our congressional delegates in the week of May 8th to discuss cyber legislative priorities. \n*Units in our 1st Armored Combat Brigade team will be heading to Latvia and Lithuania this summer as part of Operation Saber Strike. This is part of the European Reassurance Initiative. \n*We have recently completed an audit of our Yellow Ribbon networks. 80% are strong and sustaining\, meaning that they are able to meet all the objectives placed on them. We are also working with our Yellow Ribbon companies (currently we have 54) to ensure they have an understanding of the rigor and up-tempo of training that the National Guard is experiencing\, as well as listening to their feedback. \n*The Building Healthy Military Communities is an initiative to synchronize support services for military service members. In Minnesota\, this is called the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Program. We are one of three states that have been given a seven-year contract. \n*There will be a visit from a national team from the DOD who will merge onto our state program. They will be assessing our state for service members currently serving looking at needs and gaps in needs. \nQ. There was concern about a program that was defunded\, the Family Assistance Center. What is the story there?\nA. We have nine Family Assistance Centers. Their contract was cut drastically [by the administration] and their pay was halved. They are key to the sustainment of our Beyond The Yellow Ribbon program and key to support for our service members. Of the nine\, three returned and one left. We have seven open positions. All but one have been rehired. The new hires will be starting in two-three weeks. \nQ. Is this back to full funding?\nA. No. This is the contract we have for the year. We will have to work with this. \nQ. Is there anything we can do about this?\nA. Our legislators are aware of the issue and it is at the level of the National Guard Bureau. For the time being\, we are doing the best we can. The contract has been awarded and will not be changed for a while. \nMN Assistance Council For Veterans (MACV) – Neal Loidolt – Brad Legard\n*Here are the dates for the May legal clinics. The first is May 9th at the Minneapolis VA from 9 AM to 2 PM. There is one in Virginia\, Minnesota on May 16th from 9 AM to 4 PM. May 17th at the American Legion West in Duluth from 9 AM to 3 PM. May 25th at the VFW post in Fergus Falls\, Minnesota from 11 AM to 4 PM. May 26th in Alexandria\, Minnesota from 9 AM to 2 PM. \n*The Minneapolis Stand Down will be August 1st and 2nd at the Boy Scout Basecamp. It starts at 8 AM. \nVets Employment & Training Services [VETS] – David Seay \n*We are reviewing submissions for the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Project grants nationwide. \nMilitary Action Group (MAG) – Jerry Kyser\n*The House heard 42 bills in Representative Dettmer’s committee. We have to be active in speaking with our representatives on our issues. \n*We still need to get the bridge fixed. Currently it is stuck. It is vitally important that we get this done. There is only one exit and in case an emergency such as a tornado happens\, ambulances and other emergency personnel will be unable to reach the center. \n*The next MAG meeting is May 15h at 9 AM at 400 North state office building. \nMN Paralyzed Veterans Of America – Todd Kemery\n*On May 3rd at 3 PM at the House\, MN Paralyzed Vets will be attending the House Bonding Bill meeting and ask that any other organizations that have the time do so as well. \n*There will be a veteran affairs Senate Capital investment meeting on Monday May 8th. We will be a presence there. \n*We are in a unique position with the Americans With Disabilities Act. We can advocate for disabled veterans and the larger disabled community. On the federal level\, HR 620 has been brought to our attention. There has been an issue of drive-by lawsuits concerning disability accesses in rural America. HR 620 is a bill that would restrict the ADA in response to this. It would allow a business owner who is not in compliance with the ADA a grace period to make the changes to come into compliance. We are not in support of HR 620 but we are in support of the grace period. If you are having problems in your area\, there are ways we can have discussions and provide support in your communities. \n*PVA is part of the city committee on the City of Orono concerning the Big Island project. There will be a meeting on May 9th. The project is just getting off the ground. This is an ongoing process. \nProject Got Your Back – Allison Alstrin\n*Project Got Your Back is a group of veterans who want to do more for other veterans in their community\, including helping find access to services and support. It was started in Minnesota and has since linked up with America’s Warrior Partnership. Allison Alstrin was hired to reinvigorate the project. \n*We want to help the support organizations in Minnesota to work more collaboratively together across the sectors in order to maximize their impact. We are focused on collaboration and collective impact. \n*Currently we are raising awareness among various local veteran groups. Feel free to reach out. \nQ. How is your organization different from what MACV or others are doing?\nA. Our organization doesn’t do service. We help service providers like MACV and Yellow Ribbon to work together across their disciplines. \nQ. How do you service active duty people\, since we can’t hand out information about active duty service members?\nA. The goal is that if all these organizations are actively looking to find the veteran\, they will be finding the veteran and providing the information. We are trying to connect all service organizations\, both veteran specific and not\, in order to give veterans the best possible care and support. That outreach and word of mouth will hopefully allow active duty service members to find us\, or for veteran service groups to connect them to us directly. \nWomen Veterans Initiative – Edna Mackenzie\n*We are in the midst of redeveloping our strategic plan\, as well as discussing our plans moving forward concerning community integration. \nNational Association of Atomic Veterans – Keith Kiefer\n*On the state level\, we have HF 2276\, which would designate July 16th as Atomic Veteran’s Day in Minnesota. It has cleared committee and had a second reading. \n*On the national level\, we have the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act amendments of 2017. Currently we have no Minnesota congressmen or senators supporting it. There is also the Mark Takai Atomic Veterans Parity Act. We also have the Atomic Veterans Service Medal Act\, though this has yet to be introduced at this time. \n*May 20th is Armed Services Day in DC. There will be a rally for veterans who have been exposed to toxins covering all eras of service. The rally is called Operation Stand Together. (www.operationstandtogether.org). \n2. Federal Agencies\nVA Regional Office – Kim Graves – Ron Woolery\n*St. Paul was selected for a new pilot program\, the DRC (decision ready claim). It doesn’t go into the national work queue\, the claim stays in Minnesota\, and the claim will be adjudicated in 30 days or less. The program began on May 2nd. It only includes claims for increase at this point. The hope is for it to be all claims by September. \n*Ron Woolery is now the Public Affairs officer for the regional office. \nVISN 23 – Director – Janet Murphy – Andre Kok\n*The VA launched a new access and quality website in April (www.accesstocare.va.gov). This site allows veterans and others to find VA facilities and look at the wait times and quality of care scores for the various facilities. It is an effort to make the information more readily available to the public. \n*In April\, the hiring freeze was lifted for the medical centers. \n*The president visited the VA in DC last week and signed an executive order. Another thing that was announced there was the regulations for new construction and design of new state-owned veterans homes. In the past they had to meet federal standards and now as long as the facility meets state standards\, the project can be done in conjunction with the VA. \nVAHCS Minneapolis – Director Patrick J. Kelly – Bryan Taylor\n*There will be a keynote speech at 12:30 PM in the auditorium by Director Erin Krebs on chronic pain concerning opioid vs. non-opioid treatments\, followed by poster sessions from 1:30 to 3:30 PM. \n*The VA Annual 2K Walk will be on May 17th around the VA hospital. \n*The annual volunteer banquet will be on June 14. \n*The next town hall will be June 21st at the Wipple Building from 5 to 7 PM. \n*June 21st is the anticipated end-date for the canopy covering the parking garage. \n*We have a veteran’s fast house projected planned for fall of 2017. It would be 100 units. \nSt. Cloud VA HCS – Director Stephen D. Black – Barry Venable\n*Introducing Director Stephen Black. \n*Our chief of staff\, Sue Markstrom\, will be retiring. She will be missed. \n*St. Cloud was ranked #2 for quality of care and timely access. \n*There is a great deal of construction going on. We have a new cafeteria and kitchen opening this summer. We will be adding additional living facilities over the next two years. \n*There will be a Choice revision coming soon. The money that was set aside for Choice will continue onto the fiscal year 2018 until the money runs out. The VA is set to become primary payer soon\, which will allow us to speed up. \n*Our modernization efforts continue. \n*We are focusing heavily on suicide prevention. \n*We recently secured an affiliation with the University of Minnesota for surgical residency. \n*We also held our annual volunteer banquet. Volunteers have given the equivalent of 33 full time staff this year. \nQ. What about the windmill?\nA. We have an ongoing wind study that is due to finish up in October or November. At that point\, we will know whether the windmill will pay for itself. Decisions will be made at that point. Currently we are in a holding pattern. \nQ. We need to emphasize that National Guard members are counted as veterans and will receive the same care if they come in for suicide prevention or other mental health treatment.\nA. That’s correct. We are emphasizing that. Any veteran\, regardless of status\, will be treated for an acute medical health issue. The details are still being worked out. \nFt. Snelling Cemetery – Bob Razor\n*We are getting ready for Memorial Day. Our keynote speaker will be Retired Command Sergeant-Major Doug Maddi. The event starts at 10 AM. \n*The mow-trim contract was awarded. \n*In April we had 122 internments. Our total internments for the year so far is 2\,321. Our rate of internments has increased steadily\, though we are currently only doing 12 to 15% of all veteran burials in Minnesota. We interned 8 female veterans\, 89 WWII\, 59 Korea\, 58 Vietnam\, 12 Persian Gulf\, 17 peacetime\, 0 active duty\, and 215 dependents in April. The rifle squad did 90 Army\, 40 Navy\, 23 Air Force\, 14 Marine\, 1 Coast Guard\, and 1 Merchant Marine. \nVets Employment and Training Services [VETS] – David Seay\n3. Federal Congressional Representatives\nSenator Amy Klobuchar – Greg Swanholm\n*The senator introduced the Veterans Access to Care Act\, which would designate VA medical facilities and state veterans homes as health professional shortage areas\, which would allow them to compete for jobs through the national health service corps. \n* The senator introduced the Newborn Care Improvement Act\, which would mandate the VA extend the coverage for newborns from 7 days to 14 days. \n*The senator introduced the Supporting the Children of the National Guard and Reserve Act\, which would require states to identify students in military families from their school records to make sure those families are aware of all the resources available to them. Previously the bill did not include the Guard and Reserve components. \nSenator Al Franken – Alex Schueller\n*Franken is cosponsoring senate bill 833\, the Service Member and Veterans Empowerment Act of 2017. This is an expansion of care and claims processing methods for trauma victims. \n*Franken cosponsored senate resolution 38\, honoring National POW Recognition Day on April 9th. \n*Franken cosponsored senate resolution 12\, creating a sense of congress for favoring the Blue Water veterans. This is to push the VA to agree with the Blue Water veterans bill. \n*Franken signed onto a letter about the DAV stamps to be enacted\, as well as for the state veterans nursing home construction grant letter. He signed onto Walz’s letter to data accessibility for MN state. This would help to allow more military transfer credit. \n*He signed onto a National Defense letter calling for National Guard armory upgrades as well as a defense appropriations letter for funding Beyond The Yellow Ribbon programs. \n1st District Representative – Tim Walz – Shawn Schoesser\n*Not present. \n2nd District Representative – Jason Lewis – Mathew Pagano\n*We cosponsored HR 1384\, the Reserve Components Parity Act. We signed onto two delegation wide letters\, the Minnesota delegation supporting Family Assistance centers in MN\, and the MN delegation letter regarding the MN state veterans education transfer system. \n3rd District Representative – Erik Paulsen – Margret Cavanaugh\n*Paulsen went to the Naval Academy in April and met with several of our academy nominees who are now students. \n*Currently we have 13 appointments to the service academies. There will be a reception on June 5th at the Star Bank building. \n4th District Representative – Betty McCollum – Connie Haddeland\n*The omnibus bill contains $15 billion more for defense readiness and maintenance issues. \n*Our office has 11 service academy nominees who have received appointments. \n*We have moved to a new location in St. Paul. The new address is 61 Lasalle Street St. Paul 55114. \n5th District Representative – Keith Ellison – Mike Siebenaler\n*Not present. \n6th District Representative – Tom Emmer – Abby Rime\n*Emmer has introduced HR 1372\, a bill that would require the VA to send a bill to a veteran within 120 days if they were seen within a VA facility. If they were seen by an outside provider\, the deadline is 18 months. It also allows the Secretary of the VA to forgive bills. It also requires the VA to notify veterans of waivers and payment options before billing them. \n*We signed onto the delegation-wide letter to the director of the Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Students. \n*We also signed onto a letter for Veterans Treatment Courts urging appropriators to fully fund those. \n*We are reintroducing the Atomic Veterans Service Members Act. \n*The president signed an executive order for the VA accountability office looking for waste and fraud abuse. \n7th District Representative – Collin Peterson – Meg Louwagie\n*Peterson supported several bills. HR 299\, the Blue Water Navy Veterans Act for 2017\, HR 696 to prohibit any hiring freezes impacting the Department of Veteran Affairs\, HR 1007 the Vietnam Veterans Agent Orange Fairness Act\, HR 1384 the Reserve Components Parity Act\, and 1972 billing accountability. \n*Peterson will be meeting with VISN 23 Director Murphy on May 3rd in Washington. \n8th District Representative – Rick Nolan – Rick Olseen\n*We are still seeing a lot of issues with billing for the Choice program. \n*The Let’s Go Fishing program is available to veterans without charge. The program is wheelchair accessible. Spread the word. (http://lgfws.com) \n4. Announcements\n5. Meeting in Recess for five minutes\nNext meeting June 7\, 2017. \nTreasurer’s Report as of 1 April 2017 \nBalance as of 1 April 2017 $4\,581.25 \nDeposits for April 2017 $100.00 \nExpenses for April 2017\nTranscription Expense $150.00\nDVA Rotunda Expense $170.00\nWebsite Administrator $400.00 ($720.00) \nBalance as of 1 May\, 2017 $3\,961.25 \nSubmitted by Donald Rask\, Treasurer UVLC \n[print-me target=”.report” title=”Print Report”]
URL:https://mnuvlc.org/event/may-2017-meeting-2/
LOCATION:Mpls VAHC Building 9 Auditorium\, 1 Veterans Drive\, Minneapolis\, MN\, 55417\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mnuvlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1920-1080-UVLC-images-for-website-10.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20170405T043000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20170405T063000
DTSTAMP:20260524T213734
CREATED:20210421T091238Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210427T022711Z
UID:1623-1491366600-1491373800@mnuvlc.org
SUMMARY:April 2017 Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Report\nMeeting at Building 9\, VAMC Campus \nCall to order – 9:30\, Invocation – Pledge of Allegiance \nGreetings: Recognition of visitors and guests \nAnnouncements – Ralph Donais\, Chairman – Jerry Kyser\, Vice Chairman. \nMay 20th in DC is Operation Stand Together to recognize all the people who have been exposed to radiation while serving in the military over the years. \n1. Federal Congressional Representatives\nSenator Amy Klobuchar – Kurt Johnson\nSenator Klobuchar introduced the Savings for Serviceman Act alongside Senator Thom Tillis. The bill will amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to decrease the distance away from home required for a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces to be eligible for the above-the-line deduction for travel expenses from 100 miles to 50 miles. This will allow service members to receive travel credits similar to what Federal employees are already receiving. (Wording corrected after the meeting.) \n*The senator is also working on the Sinai Service Recognition Act. This act would recognize that conflict as an active combat zone and would allow those service members to get tax-free benefits. \n*We attended the undersecretary for the VHA’s Care and Community to hear their proposals for fixing the Choice program. \nSenator Al Franken – Alex Schueller\n*The senator sponsored S706\, the Quicker Benefits Act of 2017. \n*The senator co-sponsored S699\, the Honor Our Commitment Act of 2017. This is in regards to the recent changes that the secretary of the VA made to allow for mental health care for bad paper discharge veterans. This is to expand on those services. \n*The senator co-sponsored S681\, the Deborah Samson Act. This is an expansion of services for female veterans. \n*The senator sponsored S667\, The Reserve Components Benefits Parity Act. This creates parity for Reserve and Guard members who are deployed under 12-304-Bravo to regions that are not considered for retirement or education benefits. \n*The senator co-sponsored S646\, the Justice for Service Members and Veterans of 2017. This is an amendment to the Civil Relief Act\, which expands on protections for service members who are deployed in their current employment. \n*The senator co-sponsored S591\, the Military Service Improvement Act of 2017. \n*He was a co-sponsor for S473\, the Educational Development for Troops and Veterans Act of 2017. \n*He sponsored S434\, Housing for Homeless Students Act of 2017\, which closes a loophole that denies veteran students the ability to access or qualify for low income housing. \n*He was a co-sponsor for S422\, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2017. This allows Agent Orange presumptive conditions for Blue Water veterans. \n*The senator co-sponsored for S319\, the Veterans Exposed to Burn Pits Act. \n*The senator sponsored S283\, The Mark Takai Atomic Veterans Parity Act. This is connected to veterans exposed to nuclear cleanup. \n*The senator co-sponsored S324\, the State Veterans Home Day Care Improvement Act. \n*The senator signed onto a letter to the secretary of the VA and the Commandant of the Marine Corps regarding the scandal through social media concerning military sexual trauma. \nQ. How many of those bills are actually getting in front of congress and being discussed? What has been passed? \nA. Nothing that I am aware of. The majority of these had to be reintroduced to the new congress. \n1st District Representative – Tim Walz – Shawn Schoesser\n*Not present. \n2nd District Representative – Jason Lewis – Matthew Pagano\n*Lewis supported HR 1367\, which improves the authority of the secretary of the VA to hire and retain physicians. It received overwhelming bipartisan support and passed the House. \n*He also supported HR 1181\, the Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act. It states that veterans must receive due process if their Second Amendment rights are going to be denied. It passed the House. \n*Lewis\, along with the entire delegation\, signed onto the National Guard Bureau concerning Minnesota Family Assistance Centers. \nQ. How are you planning to handle the claims backload?\nA. I will bring it up with the congressman. \n3rd District Representative – Erik Paulsen – Margret Cavanaugh\n*Nothing to report. \n4th District Representative – Betty McCollum – Connie Haddeland\n*Our Service Academy information night will be on April 11th. \n*Congresswoman is an original co-sponsor on HR 1384. \n5th District Representative – Keith Ellison – Mike Siebenaler\n*Not present. \n6th District Representative – Tom Emmer – Abby Rime\n*Emmer signed onto two letters in the past week to the secretary of the VA. One requested that the secretary disclose his plans to adequately staff the veteran’s crisis line. The second was sent in response to the KARE-11 segment on veteran service on the BBA line. \n*Emmer voted in favor of HR 1367 and HR 1181. \n*He co-sponsored the Retired Pay Restoration Act that would allow veterans to receive both military and retired pay\, as well as veteran’s disability compensation regardless of their service-connected status. \n*Emmer co-sponsored the Sgt. Brandon Ketchum Never Again Act\, which would ensure a veteran who was entitled to psychiatric care can get that in a timely manner. \n*He also supported the Reserve Components Parity Act. \n*Our Service Academy information night will be in the last week of May. Currently we have three students who have already been accepted and are waiting on one more. \n7th District Representative – Collin Peterson – Meg Louwagie\n*Not present. \n8th District Representative – Rick Nolan – Rick Olseen\n*April 15 is Major-General Nash’s meeting with the congressional staff\, which we will be attending. The general is in support of protecting the families of service members. \n*We are continuing to have problems with the Choice program. \n2. State Agencies and MN Veteran Assistance Organizations\nMN Department of Veteran Affairs – Commissioner Larry Shellito 2017 Legislative Info – Ben Johnson\n*The legislative session is about halfway done and the house and senate have put together their Omnibus bills for various areas of interest. We are seeing Omnibus bills more often now than standalone legislation. We are especially concerned with the State government finance bills. The senate passed their version last week and the house version will be up for debate on April 6th. \n*Though our agency is looking for additional funding for Repair and Betterment\, there has not been any bonding from the legislature. We have switched to ask for additional funds in our General Appropriations bill. That was not included in either the House or Senate versions of the state government finance bill. It was a request for $2 million to fix veterans homes and cemeteries. We also asked approximately $2.6 million for increased operating costs. \n*Concerning the House version of the State Government Finance bill (HR 691)\, both versions include operations cost at base and both bodies included base funding for MDVA. The House did not include funding for operating costs at the new cemetery. This is not sustainable right now and we will need to divert funds from other programs in order to fund the cemeteries. We need support on this. Please ask your groups to support this measure and adopt the senate language on this bill. \n*Funding for projects such as the Veterans Defense Project is also included\, as well as Veterans Journey Home\, which we support. The senate version of the bill takes funding for these initiatives out of the Support Our Troops fund rather than having the grants come through the competitive process and be vetted. The senate is directing us to use special revenue to pay for things they think cannot be paid for out of the general fund. We cannot support this. We don’t oppose the projects themselves\, but the process is a huge concern. \n*In regards to the Bonding project\, we need the agency. This is a budget year. The bonding bills have not come up yet. There are other concerns that must be addressed first. The bridge is currently the capstone project for the Minneapolis VA. \nQ. A lot of people here have been working on legislature and we’ve seen some sincere bipartisan support for the bills. Then the budget targets were released and everything has changed across the board. There is support for veterans among legislators but when push comes to shove\, if the money is not there when the bills come around\, then that talk is meaningless.\nA. I want to thank everyone who came to Veteran’s Day on the Hill\, it was a great turnout. It is a challenge to get funding\, but we must continue campaigning to make these bills happen. \nMN Military Affairs – Annette Kyper – Major Scott Ingalsbe\n*A letter regarding the Family Assistance Center contracts issue was sent and we have 100% support on it. \n*All 10 of our Congressional Delegation (CODEL) are signed on as co-sponsors to the Veterans Parity Act. \n*The ribbon cutting for the Readiness Center in Stillwater will be on April 7th. The National Guard headquarters for the 343rd Air Battalion. General Nash will also be in attendance. \n*We will have a dedication ceremony for the solar field project at Camp Ripley on April 13th in cooperation with Minnesota Power. Lt. Governor Smith will be speaking. \n*This is the centennial year for the 34th Infantry Division. \n*Due to the lapse in the Family Services contract\, we have had to cancel our Joining Forces community conferences. We need these people to stay on board. We will be rescheduling for the fall and will get those dates out as soon as possible. \n*Our Yellow Ribbon Company seminar at Blue Cross/Blue Shield was held in March. 85% of 54 companies attended. It was a great success. \n*Minnesota is part of the Department of Defense’s Building Healthy Communities Initiative. We are one of seven states that are part of the three-year grant. We have been given a state coordinator who will be starting work on April 10th. The initiative is encouraging each state to create a synchronization of effort in support of service members\, veterans\, and military families. They took the state with the most effective program (Minnesota) and the one that had the least (Mississippi) to help figure out the best way to synchronize efforts. \n*May 6th will be the next Employment Mentor program working with a National Guard unit in Mankato. We partner with the Department of Economic and Employment Development and our Yellow Ribbon companies to match employment mentors per industry to service members and their spouses during drill weekend. \nMN Assistance Council for Veterans (MACV) – Bradley Legrid\n*We will host a legal clinic at the Minneapolis VA on April 11th from 9 until 2 PM. There will be another in St. Cloud on April 18th from 10 to 3 PM at the St. Cloud VA. \n*We will have a Stand Down event in Brainerd on April 25th at the armory. There will be another in Detroit Lakes on April 26th at the Becker County Fairgrounds. \n*We are working with MDVA housing in the city of Minneapolis on landlord engagement. We are trying to come up with a “cheat sheet” that explains tools and tips for supporting homeless veterans\, as well as resources available to both landlords and veterans. \nMilitary Action Group (MAG) – Jerry Kyser\n*We need your groups to be proactive in getting legislation passed. \n*Currently it does not look like the DNR is going to go through with passing free hunting and fishing licenses for veterans. \n*We were working on legislature to get businesses tax deductions if they hired a disabled or unemployed veteran\, but I do not know where that legislation is at right now on the state-side. This is already in practice on the federal level. \n*The other issue was exempting disabled veterans from the motor vehicle tax is also unknown at this point. \n*Commissioner Shellito was awarded Ellis Island’s Medal of Honor. \n*The next MAG meeting will be April 17th at 9 AM at 400 North\, State Office Bldg. \nProject Got Your Back – Allison Alstrin\n*Not present. \nThe Mission Continues – Lee Freeman\n*The philosophy of The Mission Continues is to get veterans out volunteering in their communities in order to foster a sense of purpose and get them involved. Currently we have two core programs. One is the Fellowship Program\, which is geared toward post-9/11 veterans if they served honorably and had at least 24 months cumulative time active duty\, and have at least 20 hours a week for six months that they would like to volunteer at a nonprofit. If all these criteria are met\, then the veteran is eligible for the Fellowship program. They are also connected with a Life Coach and given a monthly living stipend. The other program is the Service Platoon Concept\, which began in 2013. This provides monthly events for veterans to get together and participate with. Currently we have 66 Service Platoons across the country. \nContact info: lfreeman@missioncontinues.org \n3. Federal Agencies\nVA Regional Office – Kim Graves – Pete Philippe\n*We have been exempt from the hiring freeze in two specific positions: rating veteran services representatives and veteran service representatives. The regional office has grown by around 100 people since last September. Currently we have a ceiling of 368 people\, which makes us one of the biggest divisions in the USA. \n*There are several Special Missions being taken on in St. Paul. One of them is concerning a law that was changed to allow us to grant disability to reservists and other military personnel that were exposed to Agent Orange while serving on C123 aircraft. As of today we have processed 347 of those claims. \n*On March 14th\, a final law was passed adding to the provisions of 3.309\, which are disabilities that are presumptive to veterans. This is related specifically to veterans who served in Camp Lejeune and were exposed to contaminated water. Initially all these claims were being adjudicated in Kentucky. Now they are being adjudicated across the country. \n*We have a Restricted Access Claim Center\, which means that all sensitive claims come through us. We have 68 people dedicated to that mission. Though this was difficult initially\, we are making good progress and are pleased with the work we are doing. \nQ. With all the claims that are done\, you have a difficult job. What are you doing about potential scammers?\nA. Our philosophy is to grant every benefit that we can and deny benefits when we must. Cases of fraud are rare\, way less than a tenth of 1%. \nVISN 23 – Janet Murphy – Director VISN 23 – Andre Kok\n*We have undertaken an initiative called VA Reach Vet\, which looks at existing health records and tries to identify veterans who are at risk for suicide from a data-analysis point of view. \n*The 24th Annual Tee-Tournament will be held in Iowa City (www.tee.va.gov). \nMPLS VA HCS – Director Patrick J. Kelly – Ralph Huessner – Brian Taylor\n*Introducing Brian Taylor. \nSt. Cloud VA HCS – Director Stephen D. Black – David Hintgen\n*The hiring freeze continues\, though there are exemptions for direct care personnel. \n*The Deputy Undersecretary for Health and Care in the Community was in Minneapolis. He met with congressional delegates and vendors to discuss issues with the Choice program\, as well as what the future of the program might look like. The current extension bill is working its way through congress. The proposal is that the choice program will continue as it is in its current form until the funding runs out. This is estimated to be a billion dollars to $1.3 billion remaining in the original 10 billion. This is likely to continue through August. The new program is expected to roll out around October 1st. It would reflect more of the Fargo model. \n*Our Buffalo Town Hall was on March 8th. It was the largest Town Hall we have held to date. \nFt. Snelling Cemetery – John Knapp\n*The cemetery is in good shape from the mild winter. We are preparing for Memorial Day\, though we don’t have a keynote speaker yet. \n*There were 394 internments in March. Of those\, 6 were female veterans. The breakdown is 71 for WWII\, 59 for Korea\, 77 for Vietnam\, 5 for the Persian Gulf\, 18 for peacetime\, and 1 active duty. There were 163 dependents. The rifle squad did around 200 services for the month of March. \nVets Employment & Training Services [VETS] – Director Scott Mills – David Seay\n*We attended the ESGR meeting this past weekend. We spoke about the Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. It protects military members from discrimination\, retaliation for pursuing a right under the act\, or for improper reinstatement issues. Nationwide\, ESGR mediated approximately 1800 cases. Our agency investigated approximately 1300. There were 27 investigations in Minnesota in 2015. There were approximately 30 cases in Minnesota in 2016. \n*Concerning the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Project\, we are reviewing the projects and individuals that applied for grants. More information will be available in mid-May or early June. \nWomen Veteran’s Initiative – Jill Trotner\n*Not present. \nMN Paralyzed Veterans of America – Todd Kemery\n*Concerning the Vets on the Hill event: we were able to get seven wheelchairs and consider the event to be a success. We have been on the Hill before the event and will continue advocating for veterans there in the future. \n*PVA was part of the roundtable discussion on the Choice program. We were impressed by the undersecretary and the enthusiasm we observed. We discussed the possibility of combining a number of community based veteran groups into one larger group. A new name needs to be picked instead of Choice 2.0. We were encouraged by the language that was used and the general meeting. \n4. Announcements\nIn the future\, we should push for a Veterans Omnibus bill. \n5. Meeting in Recess for five minutes\nNext meeting Wednesday 3 May\, 2017 at 9:30 AM \nTreasurer’s Report as of 1 April\, 2017 \nBalance as of 1 March\, 2017 $4\,501.25 \nDeposits for March\, 2017 $200.00 \nExpenses for March\, 2017\nTranscription Expenses: $120.00\n($134.70)\nBalance as of 1 April\, 2017: $4581.25 \nMotion to pay MDVA for Rotunda use $170.00 passed.\nMotion to pay webmaster for services $400.00 passed. \nSubmitted by Donald Rask\, Treasurer UVLC \n[print-me target=”.report” title=”Print Report”]
URL:https://mnuvlc.org/event/april-2017-meeting/
LOCATION:Mpls VAHC Building 9 Auditorium\, 1 Veterans Drive\, Minneapolis\, MN\, 55417\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mnuvlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1920-1080-UVLC-images-for-website-10.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20170405T043000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20170405T063000
DTSTAMP:20260524T213734
CREATED:20210421T091238Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210421T091238Z
UID:2882-1491366600-1491373800@mnuvlc.org
SUMMARY:April 2017 Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Report\nMeeting at Building 9\, VAMC Campus \nCall to order – 9:30\, Invocation – Pledge of Allegiance \nGreetings: Recognition of visitors and guests \nAnnouncements – Ralph Donais\, Chairman – Jerry Kyser\, Vice Chairman. \nMay 20th in DC is Operation Stand Together to recognize all the people who have been exposed to radiation while serving in the military over the years. \n1. Federal Congressional Representatives\nSenator Amy Klobuchar – Kurt Johnson\nSenator Klobuchar introduced the Savings for Serviceman Act alongside Senator Thom Tillis. The bill will amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to decrease the distance away from home required for a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces to be eligible for the above-the-line deduction for travel expenses from 100 miles to 50 miles. This will allow service members to receive travel credits similar to what Federal employees are already receiving. (Wording corrected after the meeting.) \n*The senator is also working on the Sinai Service Recognition Act. This act would recognize that conflict as an active combat zone and would allow those service members to get tax-free benefits. \n*We attended the undersecretary for the VHA’s Care and Community to hear their proposals for fixing the Choice program. \nSenator Al Franken – Alex Schueller\n*The senator sponsored S706\, the Quicker Benefits Act of 2017. \n*The senator co-sponsored S699\, the Honor Our Commitment Act of 2017. This is in regards to the recent changes that the secretary of the VA made to allow for mental health care for bad paper discharge veterans. This is to expand on those services. \n*The senator co-sponsored S681\, the Deborah Samson Act. This is an expansion of services for female veterans. \n*The senator sponsored S667\, The Reserve Components Benefits Parity Act. This creates parity for Reserve and Guard members who are deployed under 12-304-Bravo to regions that are not considered for retirement or education benefits. \n*The senator co-sponsored S646\, the Justice for Service Members and Veterans of 2017. This is an amendment to the Civil Relief Act\, which expands on protections for service members who are deployed in their current employment. \n*The senator co-sponsored S591\, the Military Service Improvement Act of 2017. \n*He was a co-sponsor for S473\, the Educational Development for Troops and Veterans Act of 2017. \n*He sponsored S434\, Housing for Homeless Students Act of 2017\, which closes a loophole that denies veteran students the ability to access or qualify for low income housing. \n*He was a co-sponsor for S422\, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2017. This allows Agent Orange presumptive conditions for Blue Water veterans. \n*The senator co-sponsored for S319\, the Veterans Exposed to Burn Pits Act. \n*The senator sponsored S283\, The Mark Takai Atomic Veterans Parity Act. This is connected to veterans exposed to nuclear cleanup. \n*The senator co-sponsored S324\, the State Veterans Home Day Care Improvement Act. \n*The senator signed onto a letter to the secretary of the VA and the Commandant of the Marine Corps regarding the scandal through social media concerning military sexual trauma. \nQ. How many of those bills are actually getting in front of congress and being discussed? What has been passed? \nA. Nothing that I am aware of. The majority of these had to be reintroduced to the new congress. \n1st District Representative – Tim Walz – Shawn Schoesser\n*Not present. \n2nd District Representative – Jason Lewis – Matthew Pagano\n*Lewis supported HR 1367\, which improves the authority of the secretary of the VA to hire and retain physicians. It received overwhelming bipartisan support and passed the House. \n*He also supported HR 1181\, the Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act. It states that veterans must receive due process if their Second Amendment rights are going to be denied. It passed the House. \n*Lewis\, along with the entire delegation\, signed onto the National Guard Bureau concerning Minnesota Family Assistance Centers. \nQ. How are you planning to handle the claims backload?\nA. I will bring it up with the congressman. \n3rd District Representative – Erik Paulsen – Margret Cavanaugh\n*Nothing to report. \n4th District Representative – Betty McCollum – Connie Haddeland\n*Our Service Academy information night will be on April 11th. \n*Congresswoman is an original co-sponsor on HR 1384. \n5th District Representative – Keith Ellison – Mike Siebenaler\n*Not present. \n6th District Representative – Tom Emmer – Abby Rime\n*Emmer signed onto two letters in the past week to the secretary of the VA. One requested that the secretary disclose his plans to adequately staff the veteran’s crisis line. The second was sent in response to the KARE-11 segment on veteran service on the BBA line. \n*Emmer voted in favor of HR 1367 and HR 1181. \n*He co-sponsored the Retired Pay Restoration Act that would allow veterans to receive both military and retired pay\, as well as veteran’s disability compensation regardless of their service-connected status. \n*Emmer co-sponsored the Sgt. Brandon Ketchum Never Again Act\, which would ensure a veteran who was entitled to psychiatric care can get that in a timely manner. \n*He also supported the Reserve Components Parity Act. \n*Our Service Academy information night will be in the last week of May. Currently we have three students who have already been accepted and are waiting on one more. \n7th District Representative – Collin Peterson – Meg Louwagie\n*Not present. \n8th District Representative – Rick Nolan – Rick Olseen\n*April 15 is Major-General Nash’s meeting with the congressional staff\, which we will be attending. The general is in support of protecting the families of service members. \n*We are continuing to have problems with the Choice program. \n2. State Agencies and MN Veteran Assistance Organizations\nMN Department of Veteran Affairs – Commissioner Larry Shellito 2017 Legislative Info – Ben Johnson\n*The legislative session is about halfway done and the house and senate have put together their Omnibus bills for various areas of interest. We are seeing Omnibus bills more often now than standalone legislation. We are especially concerned with the State government finance bills. The senate passed their version last week and the house version will be up for debate on April 6th. \n*Though our agency is looking for additional funding for Repair and Betterment\, there has not been any bonding from the legislature. We have switched to ask for additional funds in our General Appropriations bill. That was not included in either the House or Senate versions of the state government finance bill. It was a request for $2 million to fix veterans homes and cemeteries. We also asked approximately $2.6 million for increased operating costs. \n*Concerning the House version of the State Government Finance bill (HR 691)\, both versions include operations cost at base and both bodies included base funding for MDVA. The House did not include funding for operating costs at the new cemetery. This is not sustainable right now and we will need to divert funds from other programs in order to fund the cemeteries. We need support on this. Please ask your groups to support this measure and adopt the senate language on this bill. \n*Funding for projects such as the Veterans Defense Project is also included\, as well as Veterans Journey Home\, which we support. The senate version of the bill takes funding for these initiatives out of the Support Our Troops fund rather than having the grants come through the competitive process and be vetted. The senate is directing us to use special revenue to pay for things they think cannot be paid for out of the general fund. We cannot support this. We don’t oppose the projects themselves\, but the process is a huge concern. \n*In regards to the Bonding project\, we need the agency. This is a budget year. The bonding bills have not come up yet. There are other concerns that must be addressed first. The bridge is currently the capstone project for the Minneapolis VA. \nQ. A lot of people here have been working on legislature and we’ve seen some sincere bipartisan support for the bills. Then the budget targets were released and everything has changed across the board. There is support for veterans among legislators but when push comes to shove\, if the money is not there when the bills come around\, then that talk is meaningless.\nA. I want to thank everyone who came to Veteran’s Day on the Hill\, it was a great turnout. It is a challenge to get funding\, but we must continue campaigning to make these bills happen. \nMN Military Affairs – Annette Kyper – Major Scott Ingalsbe\n*A letter regarding the Family Assistance Center contracts issue was sent and we have 100% support on it. \n*All 10 of our Congressional Delegation (CODEL) are signed on as co-sponsors to the Veterans Parity Act. \n*The ribbon cutting for the Readiness Center in Stillwater will be on April 7th. The National Guard headquarters for the 343rd Air Battalion. General Nash will also be in attendance. \n*We will have a dedication ceremony for the solar field project at Camp Ripley on April 13th in cooperation with Minnesota Power. Lt. Governor Smith will be speaking. \n*This is the centennial year for the 34th Infantry Division. \n*Due to the lapse in the Family Services contract\, we have had to cancel our Joining Forces community conferences. We need these people to stay on board. We will be rescheduling for the fall and will get those dates out as soon as possible. \n*Our Yellow Ribbon Company seminar at Blue Cross/Blue Shield was held in March. 85% of 54 companies attended. It was a great success. \n*Minnesota is part of the Department of Defense’s Building Healthy Communities Initiative. We are one of seven states that are part of the three-year grant. We have been given a state coordinator who will be starting work on April 10th. The initiative is encouraging each state to create a synchronization of effort in support of service members\, veterans\, and military families. They took the state with the most effective program (Minnesota) and the one that had the least (Mississippi) to help figure out the best way to synchronize efforts. \n*May 6th will be the next Employment Mentor program working with a National Guard unit in Mankato. We partner with the Department of Economic and Employment Development and our Yellow Ribbon companies to match employment mentors per industry to service members and their spouses during drill weekend. \nMN Assistance Council for Veterans (MACV) – Bradley Legrid\n*We will host a legal clinic at the Minneapolis VA on April 11th from 9 until 2 PM. There will be another in St. Cloud on April 18th from 10 to 3 PM at the St. Cloud VA. \n*We will have a Stand Down event in Brainerd on April 25th at the armory. There will be another in Detroit Lakes on April 26th at the Becker County Fairgrounds. \n*We are working with MDVA housing in the city of Minneapolis on landlord engagement. We are trying to come up with a “cheat sheet” that explains tools and tips for supporting homeless veterans\, as well as resources available to both landlords and veterans. \nMilitary Action Group (MAG) – Jerry Kyser\n*We need your groups to be proactive in getting legislation passed. \n*Currently it does not look like the DNR is going to go through with passing free hunting and fishing licenses for veterans. \n*We were working on legislature to get businesses tax deductions if they hired a disabled or unemployed veteran\, but I do not know where that legislation is at right now on the state-side. This is already in practice on the federal level. \n*The other issue was exempting disabled veterans from the motor vehicle tax is also unknown at this point. \n*Commissioner Shellito was awarded Ellis Island’s Medal of Honor. \n*The next MAG meeting will be April 17th at 9 AM at 400 North\, State Office Bldg. \nProject Got Your Back – Allison Alstrin\n*Not present. \nThe Mission Continues – Lee Freeman\n*The philosophy of The Mission Continues is to get veterans out volunteering in their communities in order to foster a sense of purpose and get them involved. Currently we have two core programs. One is the Fellowship Program\, which is geared toward post-9/11 veterans if they served honorably and had at least 24 months cumulative time active duty\, and have at least 20 hours a week for six months that they would like to volunteer at a nonprofit. If all these criteria are met\, then the veteran is eligible for the Fellowship program. They are also connected with a Life Coach and given a monthly living stipend. The other program is the Service Platoon Concept\, which began in 2013. This provides monthly events for veterans to get together and participate with. Currently we have 66 Service Platoons across the country. \nContact info: lfreeman@missioncontinues.org \n3. Federal Agencies\nVA Regional Office – Kim Graves – Pete Philippe\n*We have been exempt from the hiring freeze in two specific positions: rating veteran services representatives and veteran service representatives. The regional office has grown by around 100 people since last September. Currently we have a ceiling of 368 people\, which makes us one of the biggest divisions in the USA. \n*There are several Special Missions being taken on in St. Paul. One of them is concerning a law that was changed to allow us to grant disability to reservists and other military personnel that were exposed to Agent Orange while serving on C123 aircraft. As of today we have processed 347 of those claims. \n*On March 14th\, a final law was passed adding to the provisions of 3.309\, which are disabilities that are presumptive to veterans. This is related specifically to veterans who served in Camp Lejeune and were exposed to contaminated water. Initially all these claims were being adjudicated in Kentucky. Now they are being adjudicated across the country. \n*We have a Restricted Access Claim Center\, which means that all sensitive claims come through us. We have 68 people dedicated to that mission. Though this was difficult initially\, we are making good progress and are pleased with the work we are doing. \nQ. With all the claims that are done\, you have a difficult job. What are you doing about potential scammers?\nA. Our philosophy is to grant every benefit that we can and deny benefits when we must. Cases of fraud are rare\, way less than a tenth of 1%. \nVISN 23 – Janet Murphy – Director VISN 23 – Andre Kok\n*We have undertaken an initiative called VA Reach Vet\, which looks at existing health records and tries to identify veterans who are at risk for suicide from a data-analysis point of view. \n*The 24th Annual Tee-Tournament will be held in Iowa City (www.tee.va.gov). \nMPLS VA HCS – Director Patrick J. Kelly – Ralph Huessner – Brian Taylor\n*Introducing Brian Taylor. \nSt. Cloud VA HCS – Director Stephen D. Black – David Hintgen\n*The hiring freeze continues\, though there are exemptions for direct care personnel. \n*The Deputy Undersecretary for Health and Care in the Community was in Minneapolis. He met with congressional delegates and vendors to discuss issues with the Choice program\, as well as what the future of the program might look like. The current extension bill is working its way through congress. The proposal is that the choice program will continue as it is in its current form until the funding runs out. This is estimated to be a billion dollars to $1.3 billion remaining in the original 10 billion. This is likely to continue through August. The new program is expected to roll out around October 1st. It would reflect more of the Fargo model. \n*Our Buffalo Town Hall was on March 8th. It was the largest Town Hall we have held to date. \nFt. Snelling Cemetery – John Knapp\n*The cemetery is in good shape from the mild winter. We are preparing for Memorial Day\, though we don’t have a keynote speaker yet. \n*There were 394 internments in March. Of those\, 6 were female veterans. The breakdown is 71 for WWII\, 59 for Korea\, 77 for Vietnam\, 5 for the Persian Gulf\, 18 for peacetime\, and 1 active duty. There were 163 dependents. The rifle squad did around 200 services for the month of March. \nVets Employment & Training Services [VETS] – Director Scott Mills – David Seay\n*We attended the ESGR meeting this past weekend. We spoke about the Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. It protects military members from discrimination\, retaliation for pursuing a right under the act\, or for improper reinstatement issues. Nationwide\, ESGR mediated approximately 1800 cases. Our agency investigated approximately 1300. There were 27 investigations in Minnesota in 2015. There were approximately 30 cases in Minnesota in 2016. \n*Concerning the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Project\, we are reviewing the projects and individuals that applied for grants. More information will be available in mid-May or early June. \nWomen Veteran’s Initiative – Jill Trotner\n*Not present. \nMN Paralyzed Veterans of America – Todd Kemery\n*Concerning the Vets on the Hill event: we were able to get seven wheelchairs and consider the event to be a success. We have been on the Hill before the event and will continue advocating for veterans there in the future. \n*PVA was part of the roundtable discussion on the Choice program. We were impressed by the undersecretary and the enthusiasm we observed. We discussed the possibility of combining a number of community based veteran groups into one larger group. A new name needs to be picked instead of Choice 2.0. We were encouraged by the language that was used and the general meeting. \n4. Announcements\nIn the future\, we should push for a Veterans Omnibus bill. \n5. Meeting in Recess for five minutes\nNext meeting Wednesday 3 May\, 2017 at 9:30 AM \nTreasurer’s Report as of 1 April\, 2017 \nBalance as of 1 March\, 2017 $4\,501.25 \nDeposits for March\, 2017 $200.00 \nExpenses for March\, 2017\nTranscription Expenses: $120.00\n($134.70)\nBalance as of 1 April\, 2017: $4581.25 \nMotion to pay MDVA for Rotunda use $170.00 passed.\nMotion to pay webmaster for services $400.00 passed. \nSubmitted by Donald Rask\, Treasurer UVLC \n[print-me target=”.report” title=”Print Report”]
URL:https://mnuvlc.org/event/april-2017-meeting-2/
LOCATION:Mpls VAHC Building 9 Auditorium\, 1 Veterans Drive\, Minneapolis\, MN\, 55417\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mnuvlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1920-1080-UVLC-images-for-website-10.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20170301T033000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20170301T053000
DTSTAMP:20260524T213734
CREATED:20210421T091422Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210427T022848Z
UID:1625-1488339000-1488346200@mnuvlc.org
SUMMARY:March 2017 Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Report\nMeeting at Building 9\, VAMC Campus \nCall to order – 9:30\, Invocation – Pledge of Allegiance\nGreetings: Recognition of visitors and guests\nAnnouncements – Ralph Donais\, Chairman – Jerry Kyser\, Vice Chairman. \n1. Federal Agencies\nVA Regional Office – Kim Graves – Ron Woolery Reporting\n*To answer a question asked last month\, there are currently 120 C 123 claims pending at St. Paul in the service center. To date\, St. Paul has granted 180 and denied 451 C 123 claims. The pension center also has three C 123 claims that deal with veterans claiming pensions. Additionally\, despite the hiring freeze\, the St. Paul regional office has a ceiling of 864 and right now we are at 861 full time employees. Of those\, 54% are veterans. The last question concerned Camp Lejeune marines and the contaminated water issue. Nationwide\, we are showing 5\,050 Camp Lejeune claims. Of those claims\, currently 972 are actionable. Currently there are no plans to distribute them through the National Work Que. \n*There is discussion about changing the appeals process\, but nothing concrete to report just yet. \nVISN 23 – Janet Murphy – Reporting\n*We are in transition with the new administration. The president campaigned on several veterans platforms\, as well as an accountability platform\, and we are waiting to see how this will play out. President Trump claimed he would create a White House veterans hotline and we support this initiative. Additional access for veterans is a positive. He has also promised to increase the number of mental health practitioners\, as well as outreach for veterans who are not currently enrolled. The new secretary is especially focused on combating veteran suicide. We stand with the secretary in his opinion that VA care should not be privatized\, but also need to look at what practices could be improved and use the private sector to optimize the care for our veterans. \n*We have been reviewing our service to women veterans and are approaching half a million veterans enrolled and receiving care. One goal is to ensure that every female veteran who wants a designated women’s health provider has access to one. Our goal is 55% in 2017. VISN 23 has already met that goal. \nQ. What can we do to help veterans dealing with pain\, specifically connected to Camp Lejeune?\nA. We are seeing a lot of back injuries and are looking into several avenues. Currently we are looking for the best ways to help veterans live with the pain. \nQ. Is the twenty point program still in effect?\nA. There is a five point program currently in use. \nQ. I worked for Congressman Kline and our constituents have been reporting numerous problems with the Choice program. They have indicated they would prefer to go back to the fee system. What is your response?\nA. There is legislature being put into place to combine all the fee-based systems back into our old-fashioned fee program\, which would be managed by us. In this network\, we are asking to take back management of the Choice program. Currently\, only Fargo has been approved. \nQ. In conversation with the secretary\, was there any discussion of veteran homelessness initiatives?\nA. Not specifically\, though the secretary is supportive of that issue. \nMinneapolis VA HCS – Director Patrick J. Kelly Reporting\n*Dr. Shulkin has been very clear about his commitment to access and is most concerned about making sure that veterans who need same-day care can get it\, especially with primary care and mental health services. This is something we are committed to as well. \n*Concerning the hiring freeze\, the VA has waved around 80% of the restrictions around clinical staff – doctors\, nurses\, etc. Around 100 positions are impacted by the hiring freeze. Short-term\, we don’t anticipate our veterans being impacted by this. Long term this could be a concern. \n*There has been some discussion about increasing the VA’s budget. We are encouraging outreach efforts in order to both help the community and increase our budget. \n*Senator Klobuchar visited recently. Her specific interest was in VA research into Persian Gulf illness\, and whether there were any pre-existing conditions that need to be taken into consideration. She and her staff spoke with several researchers. It was an encouraging visit. \n*A canopy is under contruction in the parking garage that will take veterans into the facilities. Unfortunately it will not be finished until June\, but the hope is that this will make dealing with extreme weather easier on our patients. \n*The new Veterans East Housing has been constructed on Minnehaha. This is veteran’s preferential housing for veterans at risk of homelessness. It will house 100 veterans. It is scheduled to open in the fall. \n*We are moving several of our administrative services in the hospital over to Ft. Snelling\, including administration officers and other support services that do not need to be in the hospital. This will give us more room in the hospital for medical services. \nQ. Do you have enough volunteers?\nA. We have 1\,700 volunteers\, it’s going well. \nQ. Concerning what the secretary has said about improving access\, is there going to be any team put into these hospitals that don’t want to use Choice fee basis?\nA. We have struggled to get hospitals to sign up for Choice. There’s nothing we can do but encourage them to participate. We have tried to work with them. \nST. Cloud VA HCS – David Hintgen\, Tyler Bieniek Reporting\n*The director search continues. Mark Aberle is now our acting director. \n*We will have a town hall meeting in Wright County at American Legion Post 270 on March 8th. \n*The Choice program continues to be an issue. The future of the Choice program is unclear at the moment. \nFt. Snelling Cemetery – Bob Razor Reporting\n*In December\, we had 335 services. There were 67 WWII\, 44 Korea\, 60 Vietnam\, 5 Persian Gulf\, 16 peacetime\, and 143 dependents. The rifle Honor Squad did 163 services. \n*In January\, we performed 341 services. There were 66 WWII\, 45 Korea\, 48 Vietnam\, 4 Persian Gulf\, 18 peacetime\, and 162 dependents. The rifle Honor Squad did 146 services. \n*We are preparing for our Memorial Day services and will soon have the announcement ready for our keynote speaker. \n*We performed a clean sweep of the cemetery in the second week of February. \nVets Employment And Training Service [VETS] – David Seay Reporting\n*As of February 28th\, the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program solicitation for grant application was announced. \n2. Federal Congressional Representatives and Senators\nSenator Amy Klobuchar- Kurt Johnson Reporting\n*The senator was able to tour the Minneapolis VA research center concerning Gulf War illness and was pleased with the results. Two months ago\, the senator introduced the Helping Veterans Exposed to Burn Pits act and found it helpful to explore how the burn pit issues are different from the Gulf War illnesses seen previously. The senator is moving on the issue and will continue to support it. \n*On February 28th\, the senator introduced the Education for Troops Veterans Act\, cosponsored with Senator Franken and several others. This is meant to address some of the education benefits that are not being given equally to National Guard and Reserve forces. \n*The senator attended the address on February 28th\, accompanied by Maj-General Nash. \nQ. Concerning the 21st Century Map 21 Act\, which includes a set-aside for veteran owned small businesses\, what is the senator planning to do?\nA. We are keeping an eye on this. \nSenator Al Franken- Alex Schueller\n*Not present. \n1st District Representative – Tim Walz – Shawn Schloesser\n*Not present. \n2nd District Representative – Jason Lewis – Matt Pagano Reporting\n*On March 1\, Lewis met with Disabled Veterans of America in DC. \n*Lewis supported the Hire Vets Act and the Boosting Rates of Veteran Employment Act. Both have passed the house with bipartisan support. \n*As we are new to the district\, please let us know if there are any issues you would like our help on. \n*It is not finalized\, but we are tentatively planning our Academy night in May in our Burnsville district office. \n3rd District Representative -Erik Paulsen – Margaret Cavanaugh Reporting\n*Paulsen also met with the American Legion\, the VFW\, and the DAV over the past week. All three organizations left positive feedback for the Minnesota VA medical system. They support the reauthorization of the Choice program\, modernizing appeals\, and improving care for female veterans. \n4th District Representative – Betty McCollum – Connie Haddeland Reporting\n*McCollum is currently the ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee interior and is once again on the House Defense Appropriations Committee. \n*McCollum has had a number of meetings with the VFW\, American Legion\, and DAV. Discussion of the Choice program came up a great deal. \n*HR 6-96\, which would end the VA hiring freeze\, is moving forward. \n*An additional young man got into West Point\, so we currently have 4 for that Academy. We also have a young woman who received a full ride to the Naval Academy Prep School. \n*April 11th will be our Academy information night at Mounds View High School. \n5th District Representative – Keith Ellison – Mike Siebenaler\n*Not present. \n6th District Representation – Tom Emmer — Zack Freimark – Abby Rime Reporting\n*Emmer is working on The Brave Act and the Hire Our Vets Act. He is pleased with the president’s promise to increase the budget for the VA. \n*We have 2 students going to West Point\, 1 to the Air Force Academy\, and 1 for the Naval Academy. \n*We are planning on having an upcoming town hall about the Choice program. \n7th District Representative – Collin Peterson – Meg Louwagie\n*Not present. \n8th District Representative – Rick Nolan- Rick Olseen\n*We are having problems with the Choice program. \n3. State Agencies and MN Veteran Assistance Organizations\nMN Department of Veteran Affairs\, MN Veterans 2017 Legislative Info – Ben Johnson\n*See handouts for more detail. \n*Currently we are looking at eight separate bills that address the Homestead Market Exclusion. \n*Several bills of interest: Senate File 76\, a tax credit for past military service\, and Senate File 568\, which concerns veteran service organizations getting reduced class for property taxes\, and Senate File 1130\, veteran preference for hiring in the legislature and courts. \n*The first committee deadline is February 10th. The 16th is expected to be the final committee meeting for the State Veteran and Military Affairs Committee. This will be when the budget for MDVA and Military Affairs will be decided. The 17th is the second deadline. \n*On March 28th\, the budget forecast for the state was released. There is a positive economic outlook. Both the bonding and the budget can be supported. \n*Veterans Day on the Hill will be February 20th. \n*We would appreciate support on the Bridge and Asset Preservation Funding bill. (House File 892 and Senate File 640). \nMN Military Affairs – LCT Joe Sharkey – Major Ingaelsbe Reporting\n*The National Guard Bureau exempted military technicians from the hiring freeze. \n*LTC Sharkey and Don Kerr attended a quarterly visit to Capital Hill to meet with the congressional staff concerning federal tuition assistance for veterans. In 2014\, a year-long wait was included for veterans after completing training before they could access tuition assistance. We felt this disproportionality impacted members of the National Guard and Reserve. Support is being gathered to change this policy. \n*General Nash attended the president’s address to congress. He gave a statement of support to Senator Klobuchar relating to educational benefits. \n*The Yellow Ribbon Company Seminar will be on March 15th. It will be hosted in Eagan by Blue Cross Blue Shield. \n*Joining Community Forces events will be held throughout the state. Two had to be postponed to June. \nMN Assistance Council for Veterans (MACV) – Neal Loidolt Reporting\n*We will have legal clinics on March 2nd in Anoka\, March 7th in Mankato\, March 14th in Minneapolis\, and March 30th in Rochester. \n????- Doug – Deputy Commissioner of Health\n*We are proud of the five homes we have around the state. We are working with Fillmore County to provide more information about the different sites around the state. \n*Our state veterans homes are some of the best in the country. \nMilitary Action Group (MAG) – Jerry Kyser Reporting\n*Be prepared for Veterans Day on the Hill March 20th. \n*Concerning the Charitable Gambling fiasco: this was set up to give back to the community. It is not working. \n*Ramsey County now has a Veterans Preference program. The state legislature did not have a Veterans Preference Program in place for hiring their employees. This needs to change. \n*February is Vietnam Veterans Month. \nWomen Veterans Initiative – Trista Matascastillo Reporting\n*We are working again to sponsor the Women Veterans of the Year award. The deadline is April 30th. This is an ongoing award in partnership with the MN Department of Veteran Affairs. It will be presented on May 25th on the MDVA Salute to Women Veterans Event. Nominations are currently open. \n*March 8th is Women’s Equality Day. We will be gathering at the Capital to support equality in our constitution. \nArmed Forces Service Center – John Kingrey Reporting\n*We wanted to thank all the organizations present for your past support. \n*In the past\, congress has introduced the Loose Change Act\, though it has not gone anywhere. That bill would distribute the money that is left at TSA to USOs around the country. It is being introduced again this session as HR 96. It would distribute about $800\,000\, though only to USOs. We need to get the bill amended to include Armed Forces Service Centers. \n*We are still trying to move the Armed Forces Service Center to the other side of the TSA. It is anticipated to be done sometime between 2018 and 2020. \n*The major goal for 2016-17 was increasing the number of volunteers. We have added around 35 additional volunteers at the center. Our greatest need is from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM. \n4. Announcements\n5. Meeting in Recess for ten minutes\nBusiness Meeting: Legislative Issues \n*Tax Credit to Businesses that Hire Disabled Veterans. There was some pushback and a desire to put a two-year limit on it. We attempted to take that out of the bill. \n*Our constituency wants to change the Property Tax Exclusion Act Exemption. They want to include it all the way down to 10%\, which would kill the bill. \n*The bonding bills are still moving forward. \n*The DAV will pay for a bus from Roseville down to the capital and back on Veterans Day on the Hill. \n*We should push the University of Minnesota to recognize credits for veterans. Mike Rivard is willing to take point on this. \n*Discuss compensation – either monetary or a certificate – for the man who maintains the UVLC website. \n*Lack of accountability for the Medal of Honor group. We need to know where the money went. \nNext meeting will be April 5\, 2017. \nUVLC Treasurer’s Report as of 1 March 2017 \nBalance as of 1 February\, 2017 $3\,925.52 \nDeposits for February\, 2017 $700.00 \nExpenses for December\, 2016: \nTranscription Expense $120.00\nEnvelope Expense $4.27\n($124.27) \nBalance as of March 1\, 2017 $4\,501.25 \nCurrently we have 38 individuals and organizations that are paying dues. Of those\, 17 have paid already. There is some money that cannot be recognized yet because several people have paid their dues in advance. \nSubmitted by Donald Rask\, Treasurer UVLC \n[print-me target=”.report” title=”Print Report”]
URL:https://mnuvlc.org/event/march-2017-meeting/
LOCATION:Mpls VAHC Building 9 Auditorium\, 1 Veterans Drive\, Minneapolis\, MN\, 55417\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mnuvlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1920-1080-UVLC-images-for-website-10.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20170301T033000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20170301T053000
DTSTAMP:20260524T213734
CREATED:20210421T091422Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210421T091422Z
UID:2883-1488339000-1488346200@mnuvlc.org
SUMMARY:March 2017 Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Report\nMeeting at Building 9\, VAMC Campus \nCall to order – 9:30\, Invocation – Pledge of Allegiance\nGreetings: Recognition of visitors and guests\nAnnouncements – Ralph Donais\, Chairman – Jerry Kyser\, Vice Chairman. \n1. Federal Agencies\nVA Regional Office – Kim Graves – Ron Woolery Reporting\n*To answer a question asked last month\, there are currently 120 C 123 claims pending at St. Paul in the service center. To date\, St. Paul has granted 180 and denied 451 C 123 claims. The pension center also has three C 123 claims that deal with veterans claiming pensions. Additionally\, despite the hiring freeze\, the St. Paul regional office has a ceiling of 864 and right now we are at 861 full time employees. Of those\, 54% are veterans. The last question concerned Camp Lejeune marines and the contaminated water issue. Nationwide\, we are showing 5\,050 Camp Lejeune claims. Of those claims\, currently 972 are actionable. Currently there are no plans to distribute them through the National Work Que. \n*There is discussion about changing the appeals process\, but nothing concrete to report just yet. \nVISN 23 – Janet Murphy – Reporting\n*We are in transition with the new administration. The president campaigned on several veterans platforms\, as well as an accountability platform\, and we are waiting to see how this will play out. President Trump claimed he would create a White House veterans hotline and we support this initiative. Additional access for veterans is a positive. He has also promised to increase the number of mental health practitioners\, as well as outreach for veterans who are not currently enrolled. The new secretary is especially focused on combating veteran suicide. We stand with the secretary in his opinion that VA care should not be privatized\, but also need to look at what practices could be improved and use the private sector to optimize the care for our veterans. \n*We have been reviewing our service to women veterans and are approaching half a million veterans enrolled and receiving care. One goal is to ensure that every female veteran who wants a designated women’s health provider has access to one. Our goal is 55% in 2017. VISN 23 has already met that goal. \nQ. What can we do to help veterans dealing with pain\, specifically connected to Camp Lejeune?\nA. We are seeing a lot of back injuries and are looking into several avenues. Currently we are looking for the best ways to help veterans live with the pain. \nQ. Is the twenty point program still in effect?\nA. There is a five point program currently in use. \nQ. I worked for Congressman Kline and our constituents have been reporting numerous problems with the Choice program. They have indicated they would prefer to go back to the fee system. What is your response?\nA. There is legislature being put into place to combine all the fee-based systems back into our old-fashioned fee program\, which would be managed by us. In this network\, we are asking to take back management of the Choice program. Currently\, only Fargo has been approved. \nQ. In conversation with the secretary\, was there any discussion of veteran homelessness initiatives?\nA. Not specifically\, though the secretary is supportive of that issue. \nMinneapolis VA HCS – Director Patrick J. Kelly Reporting\n*Dr. Shulkin has been very clear about his commitment to access and is most concerned about making sure that veterans who need same-day care can get it\, especially with primary care and mental health services. This is something we are committed to as well. \n*Concerning the hiring freeze\, the VA has waved around 80% of the restrictions around clinical staff – doctors\, nurses\, etc. Around 100 positions are impacted by the hiring freeze. Short-term\, we don’t anticipate our veterans being impacted by this. Long term this could be a concern. \n*There has been some discussion about increasing the VA’s budget. We are encouraging outreach efforts in order to both help the community and increase our budget. \n*Senator Klobuchar visited recently. Her specific interest was in VA research into Persian Gulf illness\, and whether there were any pre-existing conditions that need to be taken into consideration. She and her staff spoke with several researchers. It was an encouraging visit. \n*A canopy is under contruction in the parking garage that will take veterans into the facilities. Unfortunately it will not be finished until June\, but the hope is that this will make dealing with extreme weather easier on our patients. \n*The new Veterans East Housing has been constructed on Minnehaha. This is veteran’s preferential housing for veterans at risk of homelessness. It will house 100 veterans. It is scheduled to open in the fall. \n*We are moving several of our administrative services in the hospital over to Ft. Snelling\, including administration officers and other support services that do not need to be in the hospital. This will give us more room in the hospital for medical services. \nQ. Do you have enough volunteers?\nA. We have 1\,700 volunteers\, it’s going well. \nQ. Concerning what the secretary has said about improving access\, is there going to be any team put into these hospitals that don’t want to use Choice fee basis?\nA. We have struggled to get hospitals to sign up for Choice. There’s nothing we can do but encourage them to participate. We have tried to work with them. \nST. Cloud VA HCS – David Hintgen\, Tyler Bieniek Reporting\n*The director search continues. Mark Aberle is now our acting director. \n*We will have a town hall meeting in Wright County at American Legion Post 270 on March 8th. \n*The Choice program continues to be an issue. The future of the Choice program is unclear at the moment. \nFt. Snelling Cemetery – Bob Razor Reporting\n*In December\, we had 335 services. There were 67 WWII\, 44 Korea\, 60 Vietnam\, 5 Persian Gulf\, 16 peacetime\, and 143 dependents. The rifle Honor Squad did 163 services. \n*In January\, we performed 341 services. There were 66 WWII\, 45 Korea\, 48 Vietnam\, 4 Persian Gulf\, 18 peacetime\, and 162 dependents. The rifle Honor Squad did 146 services. \n*We are preparing for our Memorial Day services and will soon have the announcement ready for our keynote speaker. \n*We performed a clean sweep of the cemetery in the second week of February. \nVets Employment And Training Service [VETS] – David Seay Reporting\n*As of February 28th\, the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program solicitation for grant application was announced. \n2. Federal Congressional Representatives and Senators\nSenator Amy Klobuchar- Kurt Johnson Reporting\n*The senator was able to tour the Minneapolis VA research center concerning Gulf War illness and was pleased with the results. Two months ago\, the senator introduced the Helping Veterans Exposed to Burn Pits act and found it helpful to explore how the burn pit issues are different from the Gulf War illnesses seen previously. The senator is moving on the issue and will continue to support it. \n*On February 28th\, the senator introduced the Education for Troops Veterans Act\, cosponsored with Senator Franken and several others. This is meant to address some of the education benefits that are not being given equally to National Guard and Reserve forces. \n*The senator attended the address on February 28th\, accompanied by Maj-General Nash. \nQ. Concerning the 21st Century Map 21 Act\, which includes a set-aside for veteran owned small businesses\, what is the senator planning to do?\nA. We are keeping an eye on this. \nSenator Al Franken- Alex Schueller\n*Not present. \n1st District Representative – Tim Walz – Shawn Schloesser\n*Not present. \n2nd District Representative – Jason Lewis – Matt Pagano Reporting\n*On March 1\, Lewis met with Disabled Veterans of America in DC. \n*Lewis supported the Hire Vets Act and the Boosting Rates of Veteran Employment Act. Both have passed the house with bipartisan support. \n*As we are new to the district\, please let us know if there are any issues you would like our help on. \n*It is not finalized\, but we are tentatively planning our Academy night in May in our Burnsville district office. \n3rd District Representative -Erik Paulsen – Margaret Cavanaugh Reporting\n*Paulsen also met with the American Legion\, the VFW\, and the DAV over the past week. All three organizations left positive feedback for the Minnesota VA medical system. They support the reauthorization of the Choice program\, modernizing appeals\, and improving care for female veterans. \n4th District Representative – Betty McCollum – Connie Haddeland Reporting\n*McCollum is currently the ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee interior and is once again on the House Defense Appropriations Committee. \n*McCollum has had a number of meetings with the VFW\, American Legion\, and DAV. Discussion of the Choice program came up a great deal. \n*HR 6-96\, which would end the VA hiring freeze\, is moving forward. \n*An additional young man got into West Point\, so we currently have 4 for that Academy. We also have a young woman who received a full ride to the Naval Academy Prep School. \n*April 11th will be our Academy information night at Mounds View High School. \n5th District Representative – Keith Ellison – Mike Siebenaler\n*Not present. \n6th District Representation – Tom Emmer — Zack Freimark – Abby Rime Reporting\n*Emmer is working on The Brave Act and the Hire Our Vets Act. He is pleased with the president’s promise to increase the budget for the VA. \n*We have 2 students going to West Point\, 1 to the Air Force Academy\, and 1 for the Naval Academy. \n*We are planning on having an upcoming town hall about the Choice program. \n7th District Representative – Collin Peterson – Meg Louwagie\n*Not present. \n8th District Representative – Rick Nolan- Rick Olseen\n*We are having problems with the Choice program. \n3. State Agencies and MN Veteran Assistance Organizations\nMN Department of Veteran Affairs\, MN Veterans 2017 Legislative Info – Ben Johnson\n*See handouts for more detail. \n*Currently we are looking at eight separate bills that address the Homestead Market Exclusion. \n*Several bills of interest: Senate File 76\, a tax credit for past military service\, and Senate File 568\, which concerns veteran service organizations getting reduced class for property taxes\, and Senate File 1130\, veteran preference for hiring in the legislature and courts. \n*The first committee deadline is February 10th. The 16th is expected to be the final committee meeting for the State Veteran and Military Affairs Committee. This will be when the budget for MDVA and Military Affairs will be decided. The 17th is the second deadline. \n*On March 28th\, the budget forecast for the state was released. There is a positive economic outlook. Both the bonding and the budget can be supported. \n*Veterans Day on the Hill will be February 20th. \n*We would appreciate support on the Bridge and Asset Preservation Funding bill. (House File 892 and Senate File 640). \nMN Military Affairs – LCT Joe Sharkey – Major Ingaelsbe Reporting\n*The National Guard Bureau exempted military technicians from the hiring freeze. \n*LTC Sharkey and Don Kerr attended a quarterly visit to Capital Hill to meet with the congressional staff concerning federal tuition assistance for veterans. In 2014\, a year-long wait was included for veterans after completing training before they could access tuition assistance. We felt this disproportionality impacted members of the National Guard and Reserve. Support is being gathered to change this policy. \n*General Nash attended the president’s address to congress. He gave a statement of support to Senator Klobuchar relating to educational benefits. \n*The Yellow Ribbon Company Seminar will be on March 15th. It will be hosted in Eagan by Blue Cross Blue Shield. \n*Joining Community Forces events will be held throughout the state. Two had to be postponed to June. \nMN Assistance Council for Veterans (MACV) – Neal Loidolt Reporting\n*We will have legal clinics on March 2nd in Anoka\, March 7th in Mankato\, March 14th in Minneapolis\, and March 30th in Rochester. \n????- Doug – Deputy Commissioner of Health\n*We are proud of the five homes we have around the state. We are working with Fillmore County to provide more information about the different sites around the state. \n*Our state veterans homes are some of the best in the country. \nMilitary Action Group (MAG) – Jerry Kyser Reporting\n*Be prepared for Veterans Day on the Hill March 20th. \n*Concerning the Charitable Gambling fiasco: this was set up to give back to the community. It is not working. \n*Ramsey County now has a Veterans Preference program. The state legislature did not have a Veterans Preference Program in place for hiring their employees. This needs to change. \n*February is Vietnam Veterans Month. \nWomen Veterans Initiative – Trista Matascastillo Reporting\n*We are working again to sponsor the Women Veterans of the Year award. The deadline is April 30th. This is an ongoing award in partnership with the MN Department of Veteran Affairs. It will be presented on May 25th on the MDVA Salute to Women Veterans Event. Nominations are currently open. \n*March 8th is Women’s Equality Day. We will be gathering at the Capital to support equality in our constitution. \nArmed Forces Service Center – John Kingrey Reporting\n*We wanted to thank all the organizations present for your past support. \n*In the past\, congress has introduced the Loose Change Act\, though it has not gone anywhere. That bill would distribute the money that is left at TSA to USOs around the country. It is being introduced again this session as HR 96. It would distribute about $800\,000\, though only to USOs. We need to get the bill amended to include Armed Forces Service Centers. \n*We are still trying to move the Armed Forces Service Center to the other side of the TSA. It is anticipated to be done sometime between 2018 and 2020. \n*The major goal for 2016-17 was increasing the number of volunteers. We have added around 35 additional volunteers at the center. Our greatest need is from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM. \n4. Announcements\n5. Meeting in Recess for ten minutes\nBusiness Meeting: Legislative Issues \n*Tax Credit to Businesses that Hire Disabled Veterans. There was some pushback and a desire to put a two-year limit on it. We attempted to take that out of the bill. \n*Our constituency wants to change the Property Tax Exclusion Act Exemption. They want to include it all the way down to 10%\, which would kill the bill. \n*The bonding bills are still moving forward. \n*The DAV will pay for a bus from Roseville down to the capital and back on Veterans Day on the Hill. \n*We should push the University of Minnesota to recognize credits for veterans. Mike Rivard is willing to take point on this. \n*Discuss compensation – either monetary or a certificate – for the man who maintains the UVLC website. \n*Lack of accountability for the Medal of Honor group. We need to know where the money went. \nNext meeting will be April 5\, 2017. \nUVLC Treasurer’s Report as of 1 March 2017 \nBalance as of 1 February\, 2017 $3\,925.52 \nDeposits for February\, 2017 $700.00 \nExpenses for December\, 2016: \nTranscription Expense $120.00\nEnvelope Expense $4.27\n($124.27) \nBalance as of March 1\, 2017 $4\,501.25 \nCurrently we have 38 individuals and organizations that are paying dues. Of those\, 17 have paid already. There is some money that cannot be recognized yet because several people have paid their dues in advance. \nSubmitted by Donald Rask\, Treasurer UVLC \n[print-me target=”.report” title=”Print Report”]
URL:https://mnuvlc.org/event/march-2017-meeting-2/
LOCATION:Mpls VAHC Building 9 Auditorium\, 1 Veterans Drive\, Minneapolis\, MN\, 55417\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mnuvlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1920-1080-UVLC-images-for-website-10.jpg
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR