TREA Washington Update for June 15, 2007]

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TREA WASHINGTON UPDATE
June 15, 2007

We hope that all of you had a good Flag Day and that the Army had a very good Birthday Celebration this week! In Washington it was another busy week. The main focus on the Hill was again immigration, as well as the energy bill and gun control. But we are making great progress in Veterans’ funding. (please see below.)
1) Veterans Funding
2) Call-Ups for Reserve Components
3) Blinded American Veterans Foundation (BAVF) Holds Its Congressional Awards Reception
4) New Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Takes Over TMA
5) The Small Business Administration Announces New Loan Program

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1) Veterans Funding-On Wednesday Representative Chet Edwards (D-TX), the Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies, called a press conference to announce that in the next few days the full House would take up the 2008 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill. This bill, HR 2642 includes huge increases in funding in the VA budget, $6.7 billion above last year’s levels. The bill passes out the Committee with unanimous bipartisan support of 56 to 0! The celebratory Press Conference was attended by many representatives of VSOs and MSOs including both TREA’s Executive Director Deirdre Parke Holleman and Legislative Director Larry Madison. Both Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) emphasized that this is the largest increase in the VA’s budget in its 77 year existence. Other VSO’s participating in the Press Conference included the American Legion, the VFW, DAV, AMVETS, FRA, and GSW.
2) Call-Ups for Reserve Components-We just received the latest figures for the cumulative call-ups for the Reserve Components fromSeptember 11, 2001, to April 30, 2007,and they are very interesting.Thetotal number of call ups for the Ready Reserves is 583,579 (567,863 Selected Reserve and 15,716 Inactive Ready Reserve/Inactive National Guard). There have been 132,768 members that have been called up more than once. These numbers would mean that approximately 20% of the forces deployed for OEF/OIF are from the Reserve Components (Active Duty: 198,556; Reserve Components: 51,527) These official numbers are surprising since we have been hearing for the past couple of years that 40% of the boots on the ground were from the Reserve Components. This lower number of Reservists may reflect the increase in the number of active duty personnel sent to Iraq for the recent “surge” of troops.
3) Blinded American Veterans Foundation (BAVF) holds its Congressional Awards Reception-On Thursday the BAVF held its yearly reception at the House Cannon Office Building. BAFV’s President John Shales, is a great friend of TREA and everyone in the Military family. He writes a weekly column in the Washington Times under the nom de plume, Sgt. Shaft, which covers our issues. It was an honor for Deirdre Parke Holleman to attend his event recognizing Representatives Howard Coble (R-NC) and Tim Holden (D-PA); ABC News Producer Gina Sunseri, Country Singer Keni Thomas, Veterans Advocate Michael D. Tomsey, Marine for Life and Semper Fi Fund Programs’s Rene C. Bardorf, and Colonel Lee Van Arsdale, CEO of Triple Canopy Inc.
4) New Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs takes over TMA-The new Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs has hit the ground running. This week he met with leaders from several VSOs and MSOs (including Deirdre Holleman) who are active in DoD health care matters. Dr. S. Ward Casscells is a famous Houston Cardiologist. In 2003 he joined the Army Reserves because he knew that they were short on Doctors. He has served a tour in Iraq. He emphasized to the meeting that his main concern was quality health care rather that cost containment. He emphasized needed improvements in mental health care. (That was particularly on his mind because Admiral Arthur’s Task Force on Military Mental Health Care’s report was released on Wednesday. The report focused on 2 crucial areas ending the stigma in the Military for getting mental health treatment and getting more practitioners in the Military and in the civilian networks.) He also stated that last year health care was 16-1/2% of the Nation’s GNP while it was only 8% of DoD’s budget. He stated cost containment was not his first concern; quality was. In other forums he stated that he is leery of the proposed increases in enrollment fees and deductibles for TRICARE enrolled military retirees under the age of 65. That does not mean he is not looking at increases but he says they should be small and gradual. The Task Force for the Future of Military has also come out in favor of increases in enrollment fees and deductibles for under 65 Military Retirees and increases in co-pays for everyone (except active duty members) in their interim report. There web site can be found at www.dodfuturehealth care.net. Go to the far right and click on Interim Report. Please look it over. I will be working on a response to the recommendations next week and would be grateful for your input.
5) The Small Business Administration announces new loan program:

SBA Announces New Patriot Express Loan Initiative

Program Focuses on Military Community Including Veterans, Service-disabled, Active-duty in transition, Reserve and Guard, Spouses and Related Groups

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The SBA today announced the new Patriot Express Pilot Loan as the latest extension to the financial, procurement, and technical assistance programs the agency provides to the military community. Patriot Express is a streamlined loan product based on SBA’s highly successful SBA Express Program, but with enhanced guarantee and interest rate characteristics.
“With military activations and extensions having a profound impact on entrepreneurs in the military community, SBA is committed to helping America’s service men and women during the continuing War on Terror,” SBA Administrator Steven Preston said. “We believe that Patriot Express, supported by SBA’s other services, goes directly to the needs of these American Patriots who wish to start businesses, and in the process encourages job creation and growth, an essential part of the President’s economic agenda.”
“SBA thanks the Presidential Task Force on Returning Global War on Terror Heroes for its guidance and hard work and Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson for his devoted leadership,” Preston added.
Patriot Express is available to military community members including veterans, service-disabled veterans, active-duty service members participating in the military’s Transition Assistance Program, Reservists and National Guard members, current spouses of any of the above, and the widowed spouse of a service member or veteran who died during service, or of a service-connected disability.
The new Patriot Express Loan is offered by SBA’s network of participating lenders nationwide and features SBA’s fastest turnaround time for loan approvals. Loans are available up to $500,000 and qualify for SBA’s maximum guaranty of up to 85 percent for loans of $150,000 or less and up to 75 percent for loans over $150,000 up to $500,000. For loans above $350,000, lenders are required to take all available collateral.
The Patriot Express Loan can be used for most business purposes, including start-up, expansion, equipment purchases, working capital, inventory or business-occupied real-estate purchases.
Patriot Express Loans feature SBA’s lowest interest rates for business loans, generally 2.25 percent to 4.75 percent over prime depending upon the size and maturity of the loan. Local SBA district offices will have a listing of Patriot Express lenders in their areas. Details on the initiative can be found at www.sba.gov/ patriotexpress
Recently, the SBA has expanded its face to the military community through an expansion of its Veterans Affairs Office, increased local outreach and goaling in its district offices and participation in Department of Labor job seminars.
SBA provides programs and services for veterans and members of the military community wanting to establish or expand small businesses.
SBA has veterans’ business development officers in district offices in every state and territory able to provide military community members full access to the SBA’s range of programs and services. There are also five Veterans Business Outreach Centers located in: Albany, N.Y; Pittsburgh, PA; Lynn Haven, Fla.; Edinburg, Texas; and Sacramento, Calif.
In addition to district offices, SBA’s resource partners SCORE, Counselors to America’s Small Business; Small Business Development Centers; and Women’s Business Centers provide local and online assistance with: writing a business plan, financing options to start or grow your business, managing the business, expanding the business and selling goods and services to the government.
For those who are already small business owners and who expect call-up, the SBA and its resource partners have expertise to assist with preparing their businesses before deployment, managing their businesses, selling goods and services to the government, obtaining other SBA financing and financial assistance, and obtaining loans for economic injury – Military Reserve Economic Injury Disaster Loans (MREIDL) – Loans of up to $1.5 million are available for small businesses sustaining economic injury because an owner or essential employee has been called to active duty as a military reservist.
“More than 14 percent of businesses in America are owned by veterans, and SBA is proud that we guarantee more than $1 billion annually in loans for veteran-owned businesses,” Administrator Preston said. “Veteran-owned businesses make significant contributions to the economy and because of the unique technical and leadership skills they acquire through military service, they can become successful entrepreneurs. As we celebrate Flag Day we remember our military community and their patriotism on behalf of our grateful nation.”
The SBA and its Office of Veterans Business Development (OVBD) provides comprehensive assistance, outreach and support to veterans. Each year the SBA assists more than 100,000 veterans, service-disabled veterans and Reserve Component members.
Editor please note: A Web-based press kit on the Patriot Express Initiative can be found at:
http://www.sba. gov/patriotexpre ss/SBA_PATRIOT_ PRESS_KIT. html
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