The Senate has passed the Fiscal 2007 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriation Act, providing nearly $9 billion above the amount allocated to VA last year, said Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho), head of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee. Of the $78 billion for the VA, $38 billion would go to compensation and pensions, an increase of $4.11 billion over the 2006 enacted amount. VA’s medical services stands to receive $28.69 billion, up $4.51 billion from 2006. Craig noted, “These large increases cannot continue forever, but we have made a large improvement for veterans in the past few years.”
Members of the Air Force Reserve’s 920th Rescue Wing helped save 11 airplane crash survivors off the coast of Florida on May 12. The Reserve Airmen were flying an HC-130J Combat King II and an HH-60W Jolly Green II on a routine training flight when a Coast Guard call diverted…