Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee, praised fellow Senators, who voted 96 to 1 in favor of the Veterans Benefits Enhancement Act of 2007 (S. 1315), which had been held up over whether to include a pension for Filipino World War II veterans. Akaka’s committee approved the measure last summer, moving it to the full Senate in August 2007. In addition to the pension for Filipino veterans, the act would establish a new insurance program for veterans with a service-connected disability and provide vets with severe burn injuries with benefits for specially adapted housing. In an April 24 statement, Akaka called on the House “to act swiftly on this much needed bill.”
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…