December 20, 2015 Senate takes first step toward passing military pensions bill The Senate has taken the first step toward approving legislation that restores full cost of living increases to pension benefits for military retirees under age 62, although it's unclear when the measure may pass.
December 20, 2015 Push for new national cemeteries, as veteran deaths bring sites near capacity National cemeteries across the country are starting to reach capacity amid an increase in the number of veterans dying -- fueling a push for the government to approve new sites, particularly in states that don't have any.
December 20, 2015 History suggests military won't be a pressing issue in Obama address In keeping with tradition, first lady Michelle Obama has invited members of the military community to be among her honored guests at tonight’s State of the Union address. But if history is any gauge, the speech won't focus much on issues that matter to them.
December 20, 2015 Special courts serve those who served Brent Helms faces multiple charges stemming from a hit and run accident last year. But the 27-year-old Army veteran’s military service has given him an option to stay out of jail.
December 20, 2015 VA riles veterans with push to change disability claims process The Department of Veterans Affairs wants to change the decades-old way in which veterans file for disability claims -- and it has veterans advocacy groups outraged.
December 20, 2015 VA facing new congressional crackdown after Colorado hospital boondoggle A congressional battle is brewing over the Department of Veterans Affairs' admitted mismanagement of construction projects across the country.
December 20, 2015 Biden: Military veterans are 'spine of the nation' Vice President Joe Biden is saluting military veterans, calling them not only the heart and soul, but the spine of the nation.
December 20, 2015 VA secretary pushes major overhaul, firings at agency Veterans Affairs Secretary Bob McDonald on Monday announced a complete restructuring in the wake of the scandal over excessive wait times and poor care that critics blamed for patient deaths.
December 20, 2015 US troops claimed chemical weapons exposure in Iraq, report says More than 600 U.S. service members told military medical staff that they believe they were exposed to chemical warfare agents in Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, The New York Times reported Thursday. Pentagon officials said the department will now expand its outreach to veterans and establish a toll-free hotline for reporting potential exposures and seeking medical evaluation or care, the newspaper said.
December 20, 2015 Veterans Affairs Department fires Phoenix hospital director The head of the troubled Phoenix veterans' hospital was fired Monday as the Veterans Affairs Department continued its crackdown on wrongdoing in the wake of a nationwide scandal over long wait times for veterans seeking medical care and falsified records covering up the delays.
