FW: All Politics Is Local!

  

Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible;

 and suddenly you are doing the impossible.

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From: vva106@live.com
Subject: FW: All Politics Is Local!
Date: Sat, 18 Apr 2015 11:02:07 -0600

This from Mokie at National.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone

-------- Original message --------

From: Mokie Porter

Date:04/15/2015 11:04 (GMT-07:00)

To: dsaintg ,Tucson Chapter 106 Vietnam Veterans of America

Subject: All Politics Is Local!

To Echo Dennis, You did GREAT!! And it is because of your efforts to convene these AZ town hall meetings that we have these two bills… And now if your AZ representatives in D.C. agree to cosponsor the bills, they will be committed to voting for them when the time comes… Our goal is to get these bills passed and signed by the President by Memorial Day 2015… a tall order, but why not aim high? Go VVA Chapter 106!

From: dsaintg [mailto:dsaintg@aol.com]
Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2015 1:44 PM
To: Tucson Chapter 106 Vietnam Veterans of America; Mokie Porter
Subject: Fwd: For Immediate Release: Senators Moran and Blumenthal, Representatives Benishek and Honda Introduce Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2015

We did good, as did all the chapters who have sponsored AO Townhall across Arizona and the nation.

This is just the first step in Congress. Let's let our own elected senators and representatives how we insist that they vote.

(Thanks Mokie)

Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone

-------- Original message --------

From: Dick Southern

Date:04/15/2015 00:05 (GMT-07:00)

To: Dick Southern

Subject: For Immediate Release: Senators Moran and Blumenthal, Representatives Benishek and Honda Introduce Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2015

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 14, 2015

                  No. 15-4
Contact: Mokie Porter
                301-996-0901

Senators Moran and Blumenthal,
Representatives Benishek and Honda Introduce
New Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2015

(Washington, DC) – "It's bad enough that veterans have had to bear the cross of exposure to toxic agents during our military service," said Vietnam Veterans of America National President John Rowan. "It is worse to see our children and grandchildren afflicted with health conditions we suspect have derived from our exposure, and to think we are the cause of their hurt and pain. Today, however, we see real light at the end of a long, grim tunnel with the introduction of the 'Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2015.' This legislation, when enacted, will establish within the Department of Veterans Affairs a national center for research on the diagnosis and treatment of health conditions of the descendants of veterans exposed to toxic substances during their service," Rowan said

"VVA is gratified that this is a bipartisan effort in both houses of Congress," Rowan emphasized.  "We applaud Senators Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Dick Blumenthal (D-CT), and Representatives Dan Benishek (R-MI) and Mike Honda (D-CA) – and their energetic and committed staffs – for introducing S. 901 and H.R. 1769.  We will pull out all the stops to work with them in seeking additional co-sponsors for this very necessary legislation. And we will work with our fellow veterans service organizations, military organizations and associations, and others to move these bills through the legislative process and into black-letter law."         

"This bill isn't only about the herbicide Agent Orange and other chemicals used in South Vietnam," Rowan pointed out, "It's about exposures to chemical agents for all who have served in our Armed Forces, including those exposed to the toxic fumes released by the U.S. Demolition Operations at the Khamisiyah Pit and those exposed to the toxic fires from burn pits across Afghanistan and Iraq during Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn."

Rowan noted that a key part of this legislation is the establishment of an advisory board that will oversee and assess the work of the center, to determine health conditions in a veteran's offspring that likely result from the veteran's exposure, and to study and evaluate cases of exposure.

Vietnam Veterans of America (www.vva.org) is the nation's only congressionally chartered veterans service organization dedicated to the needs of Vietnam-era veterans and their families. VVA's founding principle is "Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another."