USA Update News

With the unwavering support of President Obama, VA is transforming to meet its 21st Century responsibilities. Advocacy, on behalf of every generation of Veterans, is central to this transformation.

Agent Orange was a blend of herbicides used by the U.S. military, during the Vietnam conflict, to deny concealment to enemy forces. More than 19 million gallons of herbicides were sprayed to remove foliage and undergrowth. The most common, Agent Orange, was sprayed in all four military zones of South Vietnam.

Heavily sprayed areas included the inland forests near the Demilitarized Zone; inland forests at the junction of the borders of Cambodia, Laos, and South Vietnam; inland forests north and northwest of Saigon; mangrove forests on the southernmost peninsula of Vietnam; and mangrove forests along major shipping channels southeast of Saigon.

The issue of Agent Orange’s toxic effects on Veterans, who served in Vietnam, has simmered for decades. Its insidious impact on those exposed to it has become increasingly apparent. That growing awareness has resulted in the Congress’, this Department’s, and the Institute of Medicine’s previous validations of some 12 diseases, which, to date, have been granted presumption of service connection for those exposed to Agent Orange.

Last October, based on the requirements of the Agent Orange Act of 1991 and the Institute of Medicine’s report, “Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2008,” I determined that the evidence provided was sufficient to support presumptions of service connection for three additional diseases: Parkinson’s Disease, Hairy Cell and other Chronic B-Cell Leukemia, and Ischemic Heart Disease. After a public rulemaking process, we are now issuing a final regulation creating these new presumptions.

This action means that Veterans who were exposed to herbicides in service and who suffer from one of the “presumed” illnesses do not have to prove an association between their medical problems and their military service. This action helps Veterans to overcome the evidentiary requirements that might otherwise make it difficult for them to establish such an association in order to qualify for healthcare and other benefits needed as a result of their diseases. The “Presumption” simplifies and accelerates the application process and ensures that Veterans will receive the benefits they deserve.

As many as 150,000 Veterans may submit Agent Orange claims in the next 12 to 18 months. Additionally, VA will review approximately 90,000 previously denied claims from Vietnam Veterans for service connection for these three new diseases. All those who are awarded service-connection, and who are not currently enrolled in the VA health care system, will become eligible for enrollment.

Veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam, including its inland waterways, between January 9, 1962 and May 7, 1975, are presumed to have been exposed to herbicides. If you know a Veteran who may have been exposed to herbicides in service and who suffers from one of the diseases that may be presumptively service connected, the Veteran or the Veteran's family can visit our website to find out how to file a claim for presumptive conditions related to herbicide exposure, as well as what information is needed by VA to determine disability compensation or survivors’ benefits. Additionally, VA’s Office of Public Health can answer questions about Agent Orange and VA’s services for Veterans exposed to it.

This rule is long overdue. It delivers justice to those who have suffered from Agent Orange’s toxic effects for 40 years. I have been invited to testify before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on 23 September to explain these decisions, and I am happy to do that. It was the right decision, and the President and I are proud to finally provide this group of Veterans the care and benefits they have long deserved.

VA is committed to addressing the health care needs of Veterans from all eras. Forty years from today, a future Secretary of VA should not be adjudicating presumptive disabilities associated with our current conflicts. Change is difficult for any good organization, but we are transforming this Department to advocate for Veterans. We will not let our Veterans languish without hope for service-connected disabilities resulting from their service.

In September 2009, the President announced that – for the first time in history – the White House would routinely release visitor records. Today, the White House releases visitor records that were created in May 2010. Today’s release also includes several visitor records created prior to September 16, 2009 that were requested by members of the public during July 2010 pursuant to the White House voluntary disclosure policy. This release brings the grand total of records that this White House has released to over 600,000 records.

Small Business California is influence Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign two related bills creating a state health insurance exchange, the single most important component of healthcare improvement for small businesses.
The California government this week passed two landmark health insurance exchange bills, SB 900 and AB1602. This legislation will work to lay the base for California's Health Benefit Exchange. One of the bills establishes the governance of the exchange. It consists of an independent agency with a five person board. The second bill creates the policy that apply inside and outside the exchange. In California, 3 million small businesses will be eligible to purchase insurance through the exchange. This will create maximum competition, improve excellence, increase choice and lower costs.
"It will be the main vehicle for making healthcare reasonable and accessible for California's 3 million small businesses and their employees including 2 million self-employed entrepreneurs," said Scott Hauge, president of Small Business California.

One of the United States most discernible Muslim-Americans has taken sides in the debate on whether to build a 13-story community center and mosque near the site of the former World Trade Center in New York City. Lebanese-born, New York-raised Miss USA Rima Fakih said she is beside the plan.
Following President Obama’s remark in favor of the proposed mosque project last week, Fakih was asked her opinion on the hot national debate by a reporter for “Inside Edition.”
“I totally agree with President Obama with the declaration on constitutional rights of freedom of religion,” Fakih, 24, said from Las Vegas, where she is listed to represent the USA at the Miss Universe pageant tonight.
However, she added: “I also agree that it shouldn’t be so close to the World Trade Center. We should be more worried with the tragedy than religion.”
In New York City, sides have been divided — with tempers infrequently flaring — over the future mosque and community center, which would be located just two blocks north of the site of the worst domestic horror attack in the nation’s history.
While New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and a selection of religious organizations have backed the mosque plan, President Obama weighing in on the issue has stirred the debate nationally.
A recent Time magazine poll showed 61 percent of those polled were against a mosque being erected near ground zero. The poll also in particular had 24 percent of respondents believing the president himself is Muslim.
While Miss USA Fakih disagrees with the president on the issue, she’s made it clear she is however a big Obama fan. She showed off a gold lame costume depicting the golden eagle on the presidential fasten that she plans to wear at the Miss Universe competition tonight.
“The imagery of this costume is a tribute to your work to bring peace to the world,” Fakih said in a promotional video for the Miss Universe pageant.
Fakih is believed to be the first Muslim to be crowned Miss USA after winning the pageant in May. She was born in Lebanon and migrated with her family to New York City when she was 8. When she twisted 18, the family relocated to the large Arab-American community in Dearborn, Mich.
Within days of winning Miss USA, Fakih lit a argument of her own when footage showing her claiming first place at a “Stripper 101” pole dancing contest in a Michigan nightclub in 2007 surface. Pageant officials took no corrective action against Fakih, however, and she continues to represent the U.S. as Miss USA.

From the opening, the Obama administration’s highest priority has been to rescue and rebuild the economy. Few areas were hit as hard as developed – not just in this downturn, but going back years. Investing in 21st century built-up has been a cornerstone of the President’s plan to rebuild the economy stronger than before. And in the past seven months, we have seen the strongest manufacturing job growth in more than a decade -- adding 183,000 jobs so far this year.

The trends are talented and the President wants to keep that way. That’s why today, he is signing a bill into law that will make it cheaper and easier for American manufacturers and workers to do what they do best: build great products and sell them around the world. When the mechanized Enhancement Act of 2010 becomes a law today, it will create more jobs, help American companies compete, and strengthen manufacturing as a key driver of our recovery.

Before signing the Manufacturing Enhancement Act, the President took a step back to talk about his vision and commitment to American manufacturing. That commitment has helped manufacturing become one of the surprisingly bright spots of the economic recovery. A sector that lost 3,864,000 between 2000 and 2008 has turned around and gained 183,000 jobs so far this year

White children and those in poor families are more likely to have repeated ear infections than other children, U.S. researchers have found.
Ear infection (also called otitis media) is one of the most common health problems in children. By the age of 3, more than 80 percent of children have had at least one ear infection. The cost of medical and surgical treatment of these infections is $3 billion to $5 billion a year in the United States.
About 4.65 million U.S. children suffer frequent ear infections each year, defined as more than three infections over 12 months, according to background information in the study by University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Harvard University researchers.
The research team analyzed 1997-2006 data from the U.S. National Health Interview Survey and found that the rates of frequent ear infections were 7 percent for white children, 6.2 percent for Hispanic children, 5 percent for black children, and 4.5 percent for children of other racial or ethnic groups. The average age of the children in the study was 8.5 years.
The study authors also found that the rate of frequent ear infections among children in households below the poverty line was higher (8 percent) than that for those in families above the poverty line.
"The racial and ethnic disparity was somewhat surprising," study co-author Dr. Nina Shapiro, director of pediatric otolaryngology at Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA, said in a UCLA news release.
"We are not certain why these gaps exist, but possible explanations could include anatomic differences, cultural factors or disparate access to health care. It could also be that white children are overdiagnosed and non-white children are underdiagnosed," she said.

The President rattled off a couple campaign promises fulfilled -- like ending the War in Iraq and passing health reform – then turned to the economy:

And I said we need an economy that puts Americans back to work, an economy that’s built around three simple words -- Made in America. Because we are not playing for second place. We are the United States of America, and like the Texas Longhorns, you play for first -- we play for first.

From there he honed in even further to his primary focus for the day – education:

I’ve called for doubling our exports within the next five years, so that we're not just buying from other countries, I want us to sell to other countries. We've talked about doubling our nation’s capacity to generate renewable energy by 2012, because I'm actually convinced that if we control the clean energy future, then our economic future will be bright -- building solar panels and wind turbines and biodiesel. And I want us to produce 8 million more college graduates by 2020, because America has to have the highest share of graduates compared to every other nation.

But, Texas, I want you to know we have been slipping. In a single generation, we’ve fallen from first place to 12th place in college graduation rates for young adults. Think about that. In one generation we went from number one to number 12.

Now, that’s unacceptable, but it’s not irreversible. We can retake the lead. If we’re serious about making sure America’s workers -- and America itself -- succeeds in the 21st century, the single most important step we can take is make -- is to make sure that every one of our young people -- here in Austin, here in Texas, here in the United States of America -- has the best education that the world has to offer. That’s the number one thing we can do.

Now, when I talk about education, people say, well, you know what, right now we’re going through this tough time. We’ve emerged from the worst recession since the Great Depression. So, Mr. President, you should only focus on jobs, on economic issues. And what I’ve tried to explain to people -- I said this at the National Urban League the other week -- education is an economic issue. Education is the economic issue of our time.

It’s an economic issue when the unemployment rate for folks who’ve never gone to college is almost double what it is for those who have gone to college. Education is an economic issue when nearly eight in 10 new jobs will require workforce training or a higher education by the end of this decade. Education is an economic issue when we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that countries that out-educate us today, they will out-compete us tomorrow.

He touched on his innovative efforts to challenge states to live up to their potential in K-12 education through Race to the Top, then spoke passionately about higher education:

And this isn’t some abstract policy for me. I understand this personally, because Michelle and I, we had big loans to pay off when we graduated. I remember what that felt like, especially early in your career where you don’t make much money and you’re sending all those checks to all those companies. And that’s why I'm absolutely committed to making sure that here in America, nobody is denied a college education, nobody is denied a chance to pursue their dreams, nobody is denied a chance to make the most of their lives just because they can’t afford it. We are a better country than that, and we need to act like we’re a better country than that.

He spoke about the landmark reforms of student loans passed earlier this year that will cut out big banks as middlemen and redirect those resources to our students:

So as a result, instead of handing over $60 billion in subsidies to big banks and financial institutions over the next decade, we’re redirecting that money to you, to make college more affordable for nearly 8 million students and families across this country. Eight million students will get more help from financial aid because of these changes.

He spoke about Pell Grants, which so many students have come to rely on:

We’re tripling how much we’re investing in the largest college tax credit for our middle-class families. And thanks to Austin’s own Lloyd Doggett that tax credit is now worth $2,500 a year for two years of college. And we want to make it permanent so it’s worth $10,000 over four years of college -- $10,000.

He spoke about community colleges and HBCUs:

So that’s why we’re upgrading our community colleges, by tying the skills taught in our classrooms to the needs of local businesses in the growth sectors of our economy. And we’re giving companies an assurance that the workers they hire will be up to the job. We’re giving students the best chance to succeed. We’re also that way giving America the best chance to thrive and to prosper. And that’s why we’re also reinvesting in our HBCUs and Hispanic Serving Institutions like Huston-Tillotson and St. Edwards.

And finally, he spoke about lifting graduation rates:

Over a third of America’s college students and over half of our minority students don’t earn a degree, even after six years. So we don’t just need to open the doors of college to more Americans; we need to make sure they stick with it through graduation. That is critical.