Your morning veterans news update for Thursday, 7/31:
House passes Veterans Affairs overhaul, Senate poised for approval (Fox News)
The House approved a $17 billion package aimed at fixing the scandal-scarred Department of Veterans Affairs, boosting the chances that Congress can finalize the bipartisan legislation before lawmakers leave for the August recess.
Some veterans paying too much for prescriptions (WTAE Pittsburgh)
The VA is charging twice as much for some prescription drugs as Walmart. That came as a surprise to some veterans who could save thousands in copays.
San Diego veterans advocates demand answers from University of Phoenix (KPBS)
California says the University of Phoenix must stop enrolling veterans in seven of its local programs, including its MBA program, unless it can get a waiver from the federal Department of Veterans Affairs. The move stems from a state audit of the for-profit university, which shows the school violated a rule meant to keep for-profit institutions from cobbling together programs and aggressively recruiting veterans for them so they can cash in on the G.I. Bill.
More job scams targeting military veterans (NBC Washington)
The Federal Trade Commission logged a 4 percent jump in business and job opportunity complaints from military members between 2012 and 2013, and the number of impostor scams — where scammers falsely represent a company or other entity in order to get money from their victim — jumped a whopping 180 percent in the same time period.
Why is there no national memorial for World War I? (CBS News)
A hundred years ago Wednesday, Austrian warships bombarded Belgrade. It was day three of what would be known as The Great War, The World War, and eventually World War I. Nearly five million Americans would serve. A century later, there is no national memorial in the nation’s capital to honor their sacrifice.
Montel Williams challenges Obama on Veterans Affairs crisis (U.S. News & World Report)
Montel Williams — the enlisted Marine, turned Navy officer, turned talk show host, turned veterans advocate — issued a stark challenge to President Barack Obama on Wednesday amid a crippling and deadly Veterans Affairs scandal: “Surge.”
First Lady on homeless veterans: 58,000 is a moral outrage (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
First Lady Michelle Obama — who has made veterans issues a hallmark of her tenure — will take the administration’s efforts at ending homelessness among veterans to the 2014 National Conference on Ending Homelessness on Thursday.