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Veterans Outreach Staff Tour

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar Invites you to attend the Veterans Outreach Staff Tour. Klobuchar's office will hold open forums to highlight resources available to veterans and their families

On Tuesday, May 21st through Wednesday, May 22nd, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar's office will be holding the Veterans Outreach Staff Tour. These forums will be open to the public and provide attendees the opportunity to learn about local, state, and federal resources currently available to assist veterans and their families. The discussion will also highlight Senator Klobuchar's efforts to improve the health care services, educational benefits, and job opportunities available to our veterans.

Senator Klobuchar's office will be joined by the County Veterans Service Officers, the MN Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

Tuesday, May 21st
Cloquet
9:00am-10:00am
National Guard Armory
801 MN Hwy 33
Cloquet, MN

Virginia
12:00pm-1:30pm
Servicemen's Club
227 Chestnut Street
Virginia, MN

Grand Rapids
3:30pm-4:30pm
Grand Rapids Armory
930 NE 1st Avenue
Grand Rapids, MN

Wednesday, May 22nd
Bemidji
8:30am-9:30am
County Commissioners
Room
701 Minnesota Ave. NW
Bemidji, MN

Wadena
12:00pm-1:00pm
VFW Post 3922
213 SE 1st Street
Wadena, MN

Little Falls
3:00pm-4:00pm
County Board Room
213 1st Avenue SE
Little Falls, MN

For more information, please contact Ben Hill, 612-727-5224
This event is free and open to the public.

Klobuchar Statement on Defense Department Recommending Legislation to Help Support Victims of Sexual Assault in the Military

Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar today made the following statement after Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced the Defense Department is recommending legislation that would help support victims of sexual assault in the military. The proposed changes would amend “convening authority” provisions in the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) law that allow senior officers to change the findings of a court-martial for serious offenses like sexual assault and would require convening authorities to explain in writing their changes to court-martial sentences.

“No brave American in uniform out on the front lines serving our country who is the victim of sexual assault should have to fight to pursue justice,” Klobuchar said. “Secretary Hagel's action today is an important first step, but there is more to be done to build a more fair and transparent military judicial system. I will continue to work to ensure that victims get the support they need and deserve.”

Last month Klobuchar introduced bipartisan legislation to help fight sexual assault in the military. The Military Sexual Assault Prevention Act of 2013 would prevent sexual offenders from serving in the military, improve tracking and review of sexual assault claims in the military, and help ensure victims can get the justice they deserve.

In recent years there has been an increase in reports of sexual assaults in the military. According to the Department of Defense, there were 3,192 official reports of sexual assaults in the military in 2011. Because most incidents are not reported to a military authority, the Pentagon estimates this number represents only 13 to 14 percent of total assaults – making the total estimated number of sexual assaults in the military over 19,000 in 2011. A recent study found that 53% of homeless female veterans had experienced sexual trauma while in the military.

Research has shown that sexual trauma not only hurts the victims, but can also take a toll on their fellow service members by severely undermining unit cohesion, morale, and overall force effectiveness.

Contact:

Brigit Helgen, 202-224-2159

Congratulations !!

The DFL Veteran Caucus would like to congratulate the following on their recent election to public office! We are excited to work with them this biennium on improving the quality of life for veterans in the State of Minnesota. We hope they look to the Veteran Caucus as a knowledge bank on veteran issues, as a pool of excited and motivated volunteers to testify on veterans concerns, and as group of citizens united and excited to work with them on behalf of the common good.

Minnesota State Senate

Jim Carlson
Greg Clausen
Richard Cohen
Kari Dziedzic
John Hoffman
Alice Johnson
Roger Reinert

Minnesota House of Representatives

David Bly
Connie Bernardy
Phyllis Kahn
Ren Moran
Sandra Masin
Jerry Newton
Michael Paymar
Shannon Savik
Yvonne Selcer
John Ward

Hennepin County Commissioner

Linda Higgins

Minneapolis School Board

Josh Reimnitz

Republicans vs. Veterans' Jobs

Published: September 16, 2012

NY Times Opinion Page

If you made a list of things lawmakers of both parties profess to value at all times — like “jobs,” “opportunity,” “veterans,” “law enforcement,” “firefighters,” “safe streets,” “small business” — and plugged them into a Congressional bill-writing app, you would probably end up with something like the Veterans Job Corps Act of 2012.

Click here to see more ...

The VA is Looking for Feedback Regarding Issues that Face Women Veterans

Please help with your input, and participate in the drafting stage of a strategic plan that is being developed by the Women Veterans Task Force of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The task force, which was called for by Secretary Shinseki in July 2011, is chaired by the VA Chief of Staff with the three Under Secretaries serving as a governing board. For additional information and to participate, go to http://vawomenvetstratplan.uservoice.com/forums/159415-general

Veterans Face Job Discrimination; Feds are Biggest Offender

By msnbc.com staff

It has become a mainstream story – a soldier is unable to find work because of military obligations.
Many of those stories are about small, private companies. But according to The Washington Post, the biggest offender is the federal government.

Click here to see more ...