If the two new chairmen of the Veterans’ Affairs Committees have their way, VA will get more money—and perhaps a completed spending bill. Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) plans to justify a funding level increase as “a cost of war.” In a joint statement, Akaka explained that he doesn’t want Congressional VA committees to have to “stand in line with other committees for whatever is there in the treasury.” The statement notes that VA was in store for a $3 billion plus up for Fiscal 2007, but Congress failed to finalize the agency’s spending bill.
Air Force Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost—a trailblazer and one of the first 10 women to reach a four-star rank across the U.S. military—retired and passed control of U.S. Transportation Command to Air Force Gen. Randall Reed on Oct. 4, finishing an eventful tenure at TRANSCOM.