Huffman’s Flag Ban Rises from the Ashes

The Department of Veterans' Affairs announced yesterday that it will ban the flying of Confederate flags in national cemeteries. The announcement comes exactly two months after House Republicans voted to remove legislation sponsored by Representative Jared Huffman that would accomplish similar a similar end from a VA appropriations bill.

FBI whistleblower who made sex claims against colleagues headed back to court

A former Sacramento-based FBI special agent who turned whistleblower and successfully challenged his subsequent firing now must take his case to court again. In at least a temporary reversal of fortune for ex-agent John C. Parkinson, the Justice Department this week persuaded a full federal appeals court to reconsider an earlier decision that the FBI wrongly fired the Iraq War veteran.

Obama pointing to strides in veterans’ health care

President Barack Obama is touting strides in reducing homelessness among military veterans as his administration reaches the halfway point in building a massive database on veterans' health. Overall veteran homelessness has been cut nearly in half, by 47 percent, although that's still short of Obama's long-held goal of getting it to zero by 2015.

Congressional Committee Seeks Cop Killers’ VA Medical Records

The head of a House committee wants the medical and benefits records of veterans Marine Gavin Eugene Long and Micah Xavier Johnson, who shot and killed police officers in Louisiana and Texas earlier this month. House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller, R-Fla., has asked the Veterans Affairs Department to brief the panel's staff and bring an unredacted copies of the full medical records and any benefits claims that Long and Johnson filed with the VA.

Hillary Clinton to speak in Charlotte today

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is scheduled to speak to thousands of members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Charlotte Monday, as the Democratic National Convention begins in Philadelphia. Clinton will speak at the 117th VFW National Convention at the Charlotte Convention Center in uptown, located at 501 S. College Street.

VA advisory group: Critics wrong to ignore ‘MyVA’ reforms

A veterans medical center is seen in San Diego on May 2, 2016. A proposal that a Washington lawmaker made on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday, June 7, 2016, is calling for the nation's veterans hospitals to be transferred from the Department of Veterans Affairs to a charitable nonprofit corporation.

Trump Releases 10 Step Plan to Reform the VA

Speaking from Virginia Beach, Virginia on Monday afternoon, presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump released a ten point plan to reform the Department of Veterans Affairs . "Veterans should come first in the country they fought to protect, and under a Trump administration, they will," the billionaire declared during his speech at the Westin Virginia Beach Town Center.

Trump’s focuses on changes in programs for military veterans

Republican Donald Trump will deliver a speech on veterans' issues Monday, his latest in a series of prepared remarks aimed at articulating his policy agenda and convincing still-reticent Republicans that he has the discipline and control to mount a credible general election bid against likely rival Hillary Clinton. Trump's 10-point plan, aimed at improving veterans' care, will include allowing veterans to seek government-funded private medical care.

Trump’s Speech to Spell out Veteran Health Care Proposal

Republican Donald Trump will deliver a speech on veterans' health care reform Monday, his latest in a series of prepared remarks aimed at articulating his policy agenda and convincing still-reticent Republicans that he has the discipline and control to mount a credible general election bid against likely rival Hillary Clinton . Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee, will be speaking in Virginia Beach, Virginia, not far from the USS Wisconsin in Norfolk, where he first unveiled his plan to reform the Department of Veterans Affairs last October, promising to modernize the system, while minimizing wait times for patients and improving care.

VA puts latest estimate of veteran suicides at 20 per day

On average, 20 veterans a day committed suicide in 2014, a slight decrease from the previous government estimate, but federal health officials are cautious about concluding the suicide problem is getting better. Rather, they say the Department of Veterans Affairs is relying on a more comprehensive database than ever before, making comparisons to prior studies difficult and possibly offering a truer snapshot than what was captured in the past.

Washington flummoxed over federal displays of Confederate flags

A year after South Carolina removed the Confederate flag from its capitol grounds, official Washington is struggling with further restrictions on the flag's display on federal property, including in the U.S. Capitol complex. The National Park Service, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Army have longstanding guidelines for its cemeteries that permit display of the Confederate flag one or two days a year.

Washington flummoxed over federal Confederate flag displays

A year after South Carolina removed the Confederate flag from its capitol grounds, official Washington is struggling with further restrictions on the flag's display on federal property, including in the U.S. Capitol complex.