WILKES-BARRE — Over the last year, the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) has handled more than 1,000 veteran queries a month and helped to connect veterans to nearly $1 billion in compensation and pension benefits earned through their service.
“DMVA is proud to serve our veterans by connecting them to the programs and services they earned while serving our nation,” said Maj. Gen. Mark Schindler, Pennsylvania’s Adjutant General and head of the DMVA. “As we observe Veterans Day, we want Pennsylvania veterans and their families to know that their needs are our priority, and we take that seriously every-day, all year long.”
Joel Mutschler, director, Bureau of Veterans Programs, Initiatives, Reintegration, and Outreach. said reaching the $971,000 mark in Fiscal Year 2022 is an 18% increase for DMVA from the previous year.
“Considering that Pennsylvania’s more than 700,000 veteran population is the fourth largest in the country, this has been a tremendous undertaking by DMVA staff and county veterans affairs partners,” Mutschler said.
DMVA also handles queries from veterans or family members looking for lost or misplaced military paperwork, often needed to begin the process to file claims or receive benefits. The DMVA has averaged more than 700 such requests each of the past three years.
Contributing to DMVA’s recent increased queries and claims work has been the new federal Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act. The Act expands VA health care and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances.
“We have worked to submit all benefit applications to include PACT Act related claims to the federal VA expeditiously because we know how important it is to veterans and their families to get answers and receive benefits quickly,” said Mutschler. “We credit our success to having a knowledgeable staff and extensive outreach that includes hosting five veteran discussions throughout the commonwealth this year.”
Mutschler said the agency’s success can also be attributed to PA VETConnect, an outreach program that enables the DMVA to concentrate services from within communities where veterans live.
Greedflation: Sen. Casey releases report
exposing big corporations for price-gouging
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee on Children & Families, this week released a report detailing how big corporations are using inflation as cover to raise prices and rake in record profits at the expense of middle-class American families.
The report follows a day in the life of a typical Pennsylvania mom to demonstrate how her daily routine has gotten more expensive as a result of greedflation.
From toothpaste and toilet paper to Ben & Jerry’s and Diet Coke, Pennsylvanians are spending more on everyday items while corporate executives brag about raising costs.
The report also lays out Sen. Casey’s vision to hold greedy corporations accountable and to put money back in the pockets of American families.
“Corporations are raising prices at the expense of Pennsylvania families because they think they can get away with it,” said Sen. Casey. “From diapers to groceries, greedflation is making everyday household items more expensive and squeezing families. I’m taking steps to fight back so we can make corporations pay their fair share and put more money in the pockets of working families.”
From July 2020 through July 2022, inflation rose by 14%, while corporate profits rose by more than 74% during the same period.
Research by the Federal Reserve found that corporate profits contributed a large percentage to inflation in the first year of the pandemic, including accounting for all the inflation from July 2020 through July 2021 and 41% of all inflation from July 2020 through July 2022.
Sen. Casey has a plan to lower costs for working families by following four overall goals:
• Put more money in the pockets of working families.
• Make big corporations pay their fair share.
• Fight unfair corporate price gouging.
• Take on corporate monopolies to increase competition and lower costs.
Meuser’s amendment protects loan
program benefiting small businesses
U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Dallas, this week introduced an amendment to H.R. 4664 — the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Appropriations Act, 2024 — that would preserve the soundness and integrity of the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) flagship 7(a) Loan Program, which provides entrepreneurs with affordable and reliable capital.
The amendment was adopted unanimously on the House Floor and will be included in the final version of H.R. 4664.
The amendment came in response to the SBA’s implementation of a new rule on Affiliation and Lending Criteria, which removed long-standing guardrails and prudent lending standards for the 7(a) Loan Program.
Notably, the SBA eliminated prescriptive lending criteria that had ensured the program’s integrity for decades.
The 7(a) Loan Program, which offers government-backed loans to small businesses guaranteed by taxpayers up to 85%, was facing the potential of increased fraud and losses due to the elimination of the original lending criteria.
If a substantial number of these loans defaulted as a result of the lack of guardrails, Congress would likely need to intervene and provide a bailout for the 7(a) program to maintain functionality.
“Given our country experienced the largest bank failures since the 2008 financial crisis this year, the SBA should not have moved forward with their plan to reduce underwriting standards in the 7(a) Loan Program during these uncertain economic times,” Meuser said. “It was irresponsible for the Biden Administration to implement a rule that increases risk on government-backed loans, especially considering taxpayers are on the hook should they default. I appreciate my colleagues’ unanimous support of this important amendment to reimpose guardrails on the 7(a) Loan Program in an effort to ensure it can continue serving as a valuable resource for America’s small businesses.”
In 2022, the SBA’s 7(a) Loan Program provided nearly 50,000 loans to small businesses totaling $25.7 billion. Currently, the program runs at no subsidy to the taxpayer.
Shapiro Administration announces
results of Operation Safe Stop 2023
The Shapiro Administration this week released the results of “Operation Safe Stop” — an annual school bus enforcement and education initiative aimed at enhancing school bus safety for students across the Commonwealth.
Held on Oct. 18, this year, Operation Safe Stop is a one-day targeted enforcement and education event during which law enforcement agencies and participating school districts document occurrences of drivers violating Pennsylvania’s School Bus Stopping Law and emphasize the importance of school transportation safety.
This year’s Operation Safe Stop data revealed that participating school districts and law enforcement agencies reported witnessing 176 violations of the law, (down/up) from the 252 reported last year.
“While we’re certainly glad that violations decreased this year, one incident of passing a school bus is one too many,” said PennDOT Deputy Secretary for Driver and Vehicle Services Kara Templeton. “If we saw this many violations in just one day, it’s clear that safety for our students traveling to and from school needs to be a continued focus for our communities and that motorists remain vigilant while sharing the road with school buses and students.”
The School Bus Stopping Law requires motorists approaching a school bus with its red lights flashing and stop arm extended, to stop at least 10 feet from the bus. Motorists approaching from all directions are required to stop.
However, motorists who encounter a school bus stopping on the opposite side of a divided highway are not required to stop when lanes of the highway are clearly separated by a divider, such as a concrete barrier or grassy median.
“Drivers might consider the steep penalties if convicted of disobeying Pennsylvania’s School Bus Stopping Law — a $250 fine, five points on your driving record and a 60-day license suspension,” said Corporal Zeina Black, Permits and Bus Safety Unit Supervisor with the Pennsylvania State Police. “The fine increases to $300 if someone is caught by a stop arm camera. But even worse than these penalties, a tragedy could occur if either a driver or a student is not paying attention to their surroundings.”
Some safety tips for students to remember while waiting for or loading and unloading the bus include:
• Get to the school bus stop at least five minutes early, so you won´t have to run across the road to catch the bus.
• When waiting for the bus, stay away from traffic.
• Line up at least five giant steps away from the curb or the roadway to wait for the bus.
• Never run after the school bus if it has already left the bus stop.
• Never push when getting on or off the school bus.
“Student safety at school bus stops and in school zones is of the utmost importance and requires the undivided attention of all motorists,” said Department of Education Secretary Khalid N. Mumin.