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Search resuls for: "Veterans Affairs"


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CNN —A US military veteran who admitted he faked being unable to walk for more than 20 years while claiming several hundred thousand dollars in disability benefits has been sentenced to prison time. Stultz had pleaded guilty to making false statements by faking the impairment that prevented him from walking to obtain veteran’s disability benefits, according to the US attorney’s office. In addition to his prison sentence, Stultz was ordered to pay $662,871.77 in restitution, which is the total amount he is said to have gained from veteran’s disability benefits. “The defendant lied to the VA for 20 years to obtain disability benefits he was not entitled to. According to court documents, Stultz has been in regular counseling since March 2020 along with physical therapy for several physical ailments.
Persons: Christopher Stultz, Stultz, ” Jane Young, , ” Prosecutors, , Dorothy Graham Organizations: CNN, US Navy, US Department of Veterans Affairs, Prosecutors, , Disorders, ” CNN Locations: Antrim , New Hampshire, New Hampshire, , Boston
A new report says China's $229 billion military budget in 2022 was actually equivalent to $711 billion. AdvertisementIn June 2023, Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska warned Congress that China's military was catching up to America's faster than previously imagined. That makes Beijing's spending in 2022 "nearly equal" to the US defense budget of about $740 billion that year, wrote Eaglen, a senior fellow at AEI. Using that factor, Eaglen wrote that it's highly likely China's spending on personnel that year was worth $293 billion of US military spending. US military spending is also often cited as higher than the actual defense budget.
Persons: , Sen, Dan Sullivan, Mackenzie Eaglen, Sullivan, Eaglen, haven't Organizations: AEI, Service, Republican, American Enterprise Institute, Pentagon, Beijing, United Nations, Labor, US Army, People's Armed Police, Liberation Army's, Publishing, Getty, China's, Guard Locations: Alaska, Beijing, Washington, China, Nanning, South, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous, United States
The tech is helping mental-health providers treat conditions such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD. In the face of this staggering prevalence, virtual reality offers transformative solutions in mental-health treatment and care. He uses FireflyVR's platform, The Sanctuary, a clinically designed VR experience that uses cognitive-behavioral therapy to reduce patients' anxiety before they undergo ketamine therapy. VR cue exposure, Siegfried said, helps reduce binge-eating habits by exposing people to triggering stimuli in a controlled environment. Both cue exposure and embodiment aim to address the complex psychological dynamics of eating disorders.
Persons: , Shel Mann, Mann, Dr, Christopher Romig, Stella, It's, Romig, Nicole Siegfried, Siegfried Organizations: Service, Disease Control, VR, Veterans Affairs, Behavioral
A woman in upstate New York was arrested on Wednesday and charged with fraudulently claiming to be a Purple Heart recipient, federal prosecutors said. The woman, Sharon Toney-Finch, 43, of Newburgh, N.Y., defrauded military charities and the Department of Veterans Affairs by lying about having received the Purple Heart, a military award given to those wounded or killed in action, Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement. Ms. Toney-Finch claimed that she had survived a terrorist attack on her convoy in Iraq while serving a tour in March 2010, the statement said. She also claimed to have been wounded in a mortar attack the preceding February. In March 2016, Ms. Toney-Finch began collecting disability benefits from the department after lying about getting injured during her military service, federal prosecutors said.
Persons: Sharon Toney, Finch, Damian Williams, Ms, Toney Organizations: Department of Veterans Affairs, Southern, of Locations: New York, Newburgh, N.Y, U.S, of New York, Iraq
Veteran treatment courts, which prioritize rehabilitation for convicted veterans, provide comprehensive care, but the public version of these courts fail to deliver comparable support. Landing in a treatment courtAs of 2022, there were over 4,153 adult drug courts and 511 veteran treatment courts in the United States. There are numerous ways a person who has been convicted can enter a drug treatment court. Many adult drug treatment courts are unable to admit violent offenders due to the BJA prohibition. He describes his veteran treatment court experience as going through an "intense supervised probation" that gradually lessened.
Persons: , Christopher Deutsch, Deutsch, there's, Christina Lanier, John Pendygraft, Pool Lanier, they're, Lanier, Ed Kubo, Michael Peacock, Kristen Wong Deutsch, Hondo Underwood, Underwood, BI's Ju Shardlow, Jack Milton Organizations: Service, Business, Court, Center, Criminal, AP, UNC Wilmington, Army, Treatment, Supreme Court, Marine Corps, Justice, Harbor, Veterans Affairs, Portland Press, Getty Locations: Clearwater , Florida, Raleigh, North Carolina's, Wilmington, United States, Hawaii, Colorado
CNN —The top two senators on the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs called the Biden administration’s plan to reduce veterans’ health care staffing a “mess” that could undercut the timing and quality of care. Their letter, obtained by CNN, called VA’s apparent “zero growth” policy a “drastic” and “shortsighted” decision. Though the VA told the committee that critical staff and some others would be exempt, Tester and Moran wrote that has not been the case. The VA has long been plagued by delays in health care. A decade ago, the Obama administration’s then-VA secretary, Eric Shinseki, resigned following revelations of sometimes deadly delays for veterans waiting for care at VA facilities.
Persons: Biden, Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough, Sen, Jon Tester, Jerry Moran, Moran, , , Shereef Elnahal, Dr, Jason Crow, Helen H, Richardson, ” Elnahal, , Terrence Hayes, ” Hayes, McDonough, Joe Biden, Obama administration’s, Eric Shinseki Organizations: CNN, Veterans ’ Affairs, Veterans Affairs, Montana Democrat, Kansas Republican, VA, Health, U.S . Department of Veterans Affairs, Wheeling, Denver Post, PACT Locations: Montana, Kansas, , VA, Wheeling St, Aurora , Colorado
Why It MattersThe Department of Veterans Affairs offers the majority of medical procedures known as gender-affirming care, including hormone therapy, prosthetics and hair removal. But veterans must seek surgeries outside of V.A. The National Center for Transgender Equality estimates there are more than 134,000 transgender veterans. survey of transgender and gender-nonconforming veterans conducted in 2022 and 2023, 78 percent of 6,600 respondents said they wanted gender-affirming surgeries. An exception is made when revising or treating complications from surgeries that were done outside the V.A.
Persons: Josie Caballero, Ms, Caballero Organizations: Department of Veterans Affairs, National Center for Transgender Locations: V.A
(She's selling one of them, also with an assumable mortgage.) An assumable mortgage allows qualifying buyers to acquire the interest rate, current principal balance, and other conditions of a seller's existing loan. In 2020, my husband and I bought a home in Beaverton for $650,000 with a 2.5% mortgage interest rate. We purchased another home with an assumable mortgage when rates were higherWe bought another home with an assumable mortgage in 2023. Getting an assumable mortgage isn't easyAssumable mortgages can be super hard to find.
Persons: , Lori Coryell, I've, it's, Banks, It's, We've Organizations: Service, US Air Force, Business, USAF, Veterans Affairs, Gresham Locations: Oregon, Beaverton, Our Beaverton, Gresham, Portland, Gresham , Oregon
Emergency workers and researchers use the term “critical incident” to describe a traumatic event. I’ve been compelled to explore mental health issues — and their potential solutions — ever since. Research has found that throughout a career, an emergency worker may experience over 180 critical incidents. While observing emergency workers in this documentary, I was amazed by their ability to work so calmly through crises and transition quickly in and out of their home lives. I wrote previously that the American West has some of the nation’s worst outcomes for behavioral health issues such as substance abuse and suicide.
Persons: I’ve, psychotherapies Organizations: Research, American Foundation for Suicide, Department of Veterans Affairs Locations: American, Wyoming, psychedelics
The Food and Drug Administration has greenlit a new medicine to protect some of the people most at risk from Covid. The agency granted emergency use authorization for Pemgarda, a monoclonal antibody infusion, in immunocompromised people ages 12 and older. The drug is intended to protect against Covid for people who are not likely to mount an adequate immune response after vaccination. This includes those who have received stem cell or organ transplants and cancer patients taking medications that suppress the immune system. But, he said, it’s a vital group to protect: the people who most feel left behind at this stage in the pandemic.
Persons: It’s, , Michael Mina, Harvard epidemiologist, Ziyad Al, Aly Organizations: Drug Administration, Harvard, Veterans Affairs, Louis Healthcare
Biden signs government funding bill
  + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Clare Foran | ) edition.cnn.com   time to read: +2 min
CNN —President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law the $1.2 trillion legislation that completes the funding of federal agencies through the fiscal year, which ends September 30. The House passed the package on Friday, and the Senate passed it early Saturday morning. The bill addresses a slate of critical government operations, including the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, State and the legislative branch. This legislation is the second part of a two-tiered government funding process. A separate six-bill funding package, which was signed into law earlier this month, included funding for the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Interior, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, as well as the Food and Drug Administration, military construction and other federal programs.
Persons: Joe Biden, Biden —, , ” Biden, Republicans ”, isn’t, , Kevin McCarthy, Samantha Waldenberg Organizations: CNN, Defense, Homeland Security, Labor, Health, Human Services, Education, State, Republicans, Administration, Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Housing, Urban, and Drug Administration Locations: Wilmington , Delaware, , Transportation
Lawmakers are scrambling to avert a partial shutdown ahead of a federal government funding deadline at the end of the week. The Department of Homeland Security has proven to be a particularly thorny issue in the funding fight amid partisan disagreements over border policy. Since then, lawmakers have faced a series of fiscal cliffs as a result of funding deadlines created by short-term extensions. In the Senate, lawmakers will need to reach a time agreement to pass the legislation before Friday’s shutdown deadline. The objection of any one senator could slow the process down and threaten to take lawmakers right up to, or past, the deadline.
Persons: Mike Johnson, , Joe Biden, Johnson, Kevin McCarthy Organizations: Defense, Homeland Security, Labor, Health, Human Services, Education, State, Department of Homeland Security, Senate, Republican, Democratic, Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Housing, Urban, and Drug Administration, Republicans Locations: Transportation
First-time homebuyer no down payment programsIt's possible to get a mortgage with no down payment. VA mortgage borrowers enjoy the ability to put no money down and interest rates that are typically lower than conventional mortgage rates. Other low down payment mortgage optionsIf you don't qualify for VA or USDA no down payment home loans, there are other strategies you can use to reduce the down payment you're required to pay. Preparing for the application processTo ensure you qualify for a no down payment mortgage, work on getting your credit score in a good place. Forgoing a down payment may mean paying a higher interest rate and higher monthly payment on your mortgage.
Persons: you'll, Here's who's, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Organizations: US Department of Veterans Affairs, US Department of Agriculture, Federal Housing Administration, Federal Housing Finance Agency, USDA, Chevron Locations: homebuyers
President Biden signed a $460 billion spending package on Saturday to avert a shutdown of critical federal departments even as lawmakers continue to wrestle over a financing blueprint for many other agencies more than halfway into the current fiscal year. The president finalized the legislation before leaving his home in Wilmington, Del., to fly to Atlanta for a campaign rally. It will extend funding through the rest of the fiscal year, ending Sept. 30, for about half of the government, including the Departments of Agriculture, Energy, Justice, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Veterans Affairs. In his short tenure, Speaker Mike Johnson has made clear his desire to avoid a shutdown, even to the point of relying on Democratic votes, but the path ahead remains tricky. “Thank you,” he wrote, naming the eight “for their leadership.”
Persons: Biden, Mike Johnson, Organizations: Agriculture, Energy, Justice, Transportation, Housing, Urban Development, Veterans Affairs, Pentagon, Homeland Security Department, Democratic, White Locations: Wilmington, Del, Atlanta
President Joe Biden on Saturday signed a $460 billion spending bill into law, averting a partial government shutdown that would have taken effect this weekend. On Friday evening, the Senate had voted 75 to 22 to approve the package after the House passed it earlier this week. This is the fourth time this fiscal year that Congress has had to pass a short-term spending bill to keep the government funded and avert a shutdown. Democrats have been pushing for the continued full funding of a special food assistance program for women, infants and children. They also secured wins on rent assistance and pay for infrastructure employees like air traffic controllers and railway inspectors.
Persons: Joe Biden, — CNBC's Rebecca Picciotto Organizations: Chamber, U.S, Capitol, Saturday, Republicans, Environmental Protection Agency, FBI, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives Locations: Washington , U.S
CNN —President Joe Biden signed a package of six government funding bills into law Saturday, a day after lawmakers raced to fund critical government departments and agencies through the remainder of the fiscal year. The White House thanked top congressional lawmakers from both parties “for their leadership” in getting the bills to the president’s desk. The Office of Management and Budget said late Friday that agencies would continue their normal operations and had ceased shutdown preparations after Congress finally passed updated funding legislation. But the work isn’t over yet: Lawmakers still need to finalize and pass a second slate of funding bills ahead of a March 22 deadline. The package also includes funding for rental assistance and other child nutrition programs, including the school lunch program.
Persons: Joe Biden, , Biden, Mike Johnson, , Samantha Waldenberg Organizations: CNN, Republicans, Management, Budget, Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Housing, Urban Development, and Drug Administration, House Republicans, WIC, Department of Justice, Biden, ATF, FBI, Biden Administration, Caucus Locations: Transportation, China
The Senate is racing the clock to pass a package of six government funding bills ahead of a shutdown deadline at the end of the day Friday. Once the package of funding bills passes the Senate, it can be sent to President Joe Biden to be signed into law as the House passed the measure on Wednesday. The finalized package of spending bills – backed by the top Democrats and Republicans in both chambers – represents a major breakthrough for lawmakers. But the work isn’t over yet: Lawmakers still need to finalize and pass a second slate of funding bills prior to the March 22 deadline. The package also includes funding for rental assistance and other child nutrition programs, including the school lunch program.
Persons: Joe Biden, Mike Johnson, Biden, Organizations: Lawmakers, Republicans, Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Housing, Urban Development, and Drug Administration, House Republicans, WIC, Department of Justice, Biden, ATF, FBI, Biden Administration, Caucus Locations: Transportation, China
The House voted on Wednesday to pass a package of six government funding bills as lawmakers race the clock to get the legislation through both chambers before an end of the week shutdown deadline. The Senate must next take up the measure as lawmakers face a pair of upcoming shutdown deadlines on Friday and March 22. The finalized package of spending bills – backed by the top Democrats and Republicans in both chambers – represents a major breakthrough for lawmakers. House Republicans, who have an extremely narrow majority, passed the package on a bipartisan basis. “As soon as the House sends the appropriations bills over to the Senate.
Persons: Joe Biden, Chuck Schumer, , ” Schumer, Mike Johnson, Biden, , ” Johnson, Kevin McCarthy, Schumer, It’s, Biden’s, CNN’s Morgan Rimmer Organizations: Republicans, House Republicans, Democrats, Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Housing, Urban Development, and Drug Administration, WIC, , Louisiana Republican, Department of Justice, Biden, ATF, FBI, Biden Administration, Senate, Union Locations: Transportation, China, Louisiana, Biden’s State
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is expected to vote to keep money flowing to scores of federal agencies before a midnight Friday shutdown deadline even as many members of the Republican conference are expected to vote against it. A significant number of House Republicans oppose the measure, forcing House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to use an expedited process to bring the bill up for a vote. That process requires two-thirds of the House to vote for the measure for it to pass. Photos You Should See View All 60 ImagesJohnson countered that House Republicans have just a two-vote majority in the House while Democrats control the Senate and White House. The GOP's effort was unsuccessful for now, but supporters say they'll try again in next year's spending bills.
Persons: Mike Johnson, Johnson, , ” Johnson, staved, they'll, , Rosa DeLauro, Gabrielle Giffords, Vanessa N, Gonzalez, Scott Perry, Lisa Mascaro Organizations: WASHINGTON, Republican, Congress, Republicans, Environmental Protection Agency, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, FBI, Caucus, White, WIC, House Republicans, SNAP, Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Department, Rep, Giffords, House GOP, Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Transportation, Associated Press Locations: China
House lawmakers on Wednesday passed a government funding package ahead of a partial government shutdown slated for Saturday in an attempt to break what has become a pattern of passing stopgap bills ahead of shutdown deadlines. The package, which passed 339-85, includes six funding bills that cover several agencies, including the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Justice and Veterans Affairs. More than 130 Republicans endorsed the legislation, which passed under an expedited process known as suspension of the rules that requires a two-thirds majority. “The watchwords for the Senate will be cooperation and speed.”And at least one Senate Democrat is planning to vote against the package, citing a gun policy rider pushed for by Republicans. "It’s unacceptable this provision was pushed by Republicans.
Persons: Joe Biden’s, Chuck Schumer, Sen, Chris Murphy, Connecticut, " Murphy, Democrats shouldn’t Organizations: Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Veterans Affairs, Republicans, Union, Democrats Locations: , Joe Biden’s State
Congress is expected later this week to take up and approve a package of six spending bills to fund half the government through the fall, after months of bitter negotiations as Republicans pressed for cuts and conservative policies. The $460 billion legislation would fund a slew of government agencies and programs, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Justice Department and veterans affairs. It must pass in order to avert a partial government shutdown at the end of the week. Here is what to know about the 1,050-page bill on track for passage this week. The funding levels adhere to the debt limit and spending deal negotiated last year by President Biden and the speaker at the time, Kevin McCarthy, keeping spending on domestic programs essentially flat — even as funding for veterans’ programs continues to grow — while allowing military spending to increase slightly.
Persons: Biden, Kevin McCarthy Organizations: Environmental Protection Agency, Justice Department, Pentagon, Republicans
It was the fourth such funding extension this fiscal year, as Congress has struggled to settle on a long-term budget plan. This partial budget deal is a step forward in the push to secure a permanent budget plan for the rest of the fiscal year, which started Oct. 1. Still, leaders on both sides of the aisle are touting the first half of funding package as a win, though for different reasons. Meanwhile, Republicans are trumpeting victories on veterans' gun ownership and funding cuts to government agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Between now and the end of the week, the House must quickly pass and send the Senate this bipartisan package," Schumer said Sunday.
Persons: Charles Schumer, Mike Johnson, Chuck Schumer, Biden's, Schumer Organizations: U.S, Capitol, Congressional, Sunday, Congress, Democrats, Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, Republicans, House, Caucus, Republican
October 1 has been the official kickoff date for the federal fiscal year since 1977. Lawmakers have passed at least one continuing resolution in all but three of the years in the nearly half-century since. Instead, they will wrap the spending bills into larger packages – frequently called an “omnibus” that is passed in December or later. In 1997, for instance, there was no CR, but the spending bills were all passed together as an omnibus. Don’t hold your breath for them to get the 2025 spending bills done on time.
Persons: , Joe Biden, haven’t, Maya MacGuineas, CNN’s Tami Luhby, arrearages, Biden, What’s, Mike Johnson Organizations: CNN, CRs, Journalists, Senate, Lawmakers, Congressional Research Service, GAO, Federal, WIC, Budget, Low Income, Energy Assistance, National Energy Assistance, Association, Partnership for Public Service, Democratic, Capitol Hill, Agriculture, FDA, Commerce, Justice, Science, Energy, Water, Veterans Affairs, Transportation, Housing, Urban Development, Defense, Financial Services, General Government, Homeland Security, Labor, Health, Human Services, Foreign Locations: Washington, State
Congress passes stopgap bill to avert government shutdown
  + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Clare Foran | Ted | ) edition.cnn.com   time to read: +5 min
The House and Senate both passed a stopgap bill on Thursday to avert a partial government shutdown at the end of the week. The House vote was 320 to 99 with 113 Republicans voting in favor and 97 Republicans voting against. “The appropriations process is ugly,” Johnson told reporters on Thursday. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who will vote against the stopgap bill, swiped at the speaker over cutting a deal with Democrats on government funding. Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee, who was one of the eight Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy, said he opposed the stopgap bill and broader funding deal but was sympathetic to Johnson’s circumstances.
Persons: Joe Biden, Mike Johnson, ” Johnson, , we’ve, We’re, Johnson, Marjorie Taylor Greene, swiped, CNN’s Manu Raju, Rep, Byron Donalds of, it’s, , Kevin McCarthy, Tim Burchett, McCarthy, CNN’s Lauren Fox, Manu Raju Organizations: GOP, CNN, Louisiana Republican, Agriculture, FDA, Commerce, Justice, Science, Energy, Water, Veterans Affairs and Transportation, Housing, Urban Development, Defense, Financial Services, General Government, Homeland Security, Labor, Health, Human Services, Legislative Branch, State, Foreign Locations: Washington, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Byron Donalds of Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee
Congress sent a short-term funding bill to President Joe Biden's desk Thursday, averting a partial government shutdown this weekend and buying lawmakers more time to fund federal agencies through September. The CR is part of a broader bipartisan spending deal congressional leaders announced Wednesday that includes six of the 12 spending bills that fund federal agencies. The new CR would extend the funding deadline for half of the dozen must-pass spending bills by one week, to March 8. Leaders say that should give Congress enough time to pass all of the spending bills for the fiscal year that ends on Sept. 30. He has indicated that foreign aid will be tackled separately, without committing to allowing a vote on the Ukraine funding.
Persons: Joe Biden's, Jack Teixeira, Chuck Schumer, I've, I'm, Biden, Mike Johnson, Johnson, Veterans Affairs —, Karine Jean, Pierre said, Sen, Rand Paul, Josh Hawley, Bob Good, We've Organizations: U.S . Capitol, Pentagon, Energy, Interior, Justice, Transportation, Veterans Affairs, CR, Caucus, NBC, Republican Locations: Washington , U.S, Agriculture, Commerce, Ky, Israel, Taiwan, Ukraine
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