FederalDaily.com > Bill Would Change Benefits for Disabled Servicemembers

FederalDaily - November 16, 2006

Bill Would Change Benefits for Disabled Servicemembers

The House passed a bill that would accelerate access to educational benefits for families of servicemembers who have been permanently disabled during their military service. HR 6314, passed on Nov. 14, would change current policy which does not allow spouses and dependent children of those in the military to access the benefits until the servicemembers have been discharged. The bill also extends for one year a range of programs for homeless veterans, including a grant program for community care providers, as well as Department of Veterans Affairs treatment and rehabilitation services for homeless veterans who are seriously mentally ill. “The legislation also allows dependents of injured servicemembers to access their Dependents’ Education Assistance while the service member is still on active duty,” said Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., who supported the bill. “This avoids forcing them to wait until the servicemember is discharged before they receive the benefit.” The Senate passed a similar provision as part of an omnibus veterans benefits bill (S 2694). To see more, go to: http://murphy.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?
DocumentID=52795

Senate OKs Extending SIGIR Office

In an abrupt turnaround, the Senate approved a measure Nov. 14 that will extend until at least 2008 the office of the Special Inspector General for Iraqi Reconstruction (SIGIR), which was scheduled to be abolished next year. SIGIR focused on contractor abuses in Iraq and by all accounts has been quite successful. The SIGIR office has issued 73 audit reports and 65 project assessments. The office’s work has resulted in the arrest of five people, and the convictions of four, with more than $17 million in assets seized. It was something of a surprise when a recently enacted defense authorization bill included a provision that would end the SIGIR’s oversight responsibilities next year. This measure undoes that, said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who sponsored the measure along with Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis. “This office has proven to be a much-needed watchdog, auditing reconstruction contracts in Iraq and spotlighting numerous cases of waste, fraud and abuse, and we must keep the watchdog on the job,” Collins said. To see more, go to: http://hsgac.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Press
Releases.Detail&Affiliation=C&PressRelease_id=1365&Month=11&Year=2006

Guard Members Plead Guilty to Conspiracy

Four members of the California Army National Guard (ANG) pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges in connection with a scheme to embezzle at least $340,000 through the ANG’s personnel pay system. Jennifer Anjakos of Chula Vista, Calif., Lomeli Chavez of Oceanside, Calif., and Derryl Hollier and Luis Lopez of Los Angeles, each pleaded guilty Nov. 13 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Each faces up to five years in prison, a fine of $250,000 and supervised release following their incarceration. Sentencing has been set for Jan. 29. The defendants were members of the 223rd Finance Detachment, a unit of the California National Guard that processes pay for ANG members. After returning to California from Iraq in March 2005, a co-conspirator accessed a Department of Defense pay-processing computer system and input over $340,000 in unauthorized pay and entitlements for himself and the defendants, the government said. In return, the four kicked back at least $150,000 of the money they received to an unnamed co-conspirator, the government said. The investigation continues. To see more, go to: www.usdoj.gov/criminal/press_room/press_releases/2006_4847_11-13-064armypleas.pdf