VVA CA State Council

DISTRIBUTE TO ALL LISTS

FLASH UPDATE
http://agentorangezone.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

CALL IN DAY ON THE HILL

NOVEMBER 4, 2015
Call 202-224-3121, give the operator your state and ZIP Code and you will be connected with your elected representatives office. Ask to speak with the Legislative Aide for Veterans Affairs.

Be clear that you are calling as a constituent, asking for their support of H.R. 1769 and S. 901, the Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2015.
Do it for your children and their children.
Transgenerational epigenetic programming via sperm microRNA recapitulates effects of paternal stress

http://www.pnas.org/content/112/44/13699.abstract
Studies examining paternal exposure to diverse environmental stimuli propose that epigenetic marks in germ cells, including small noncoding RNAs such as microRNA (miR), transmit experience-dependent information from parent to offspring. However, these nongenetic mechanisms of transgenerational inheritance are poorly understood, specifically how these germ-cell marks may act postfertilization to enact long-term changes in offspring behavior or physiology. In this study, through zygote microinjection of nine specific sperm miRs previously identified in our paternal stress mouse model, we demonstrate that sperm miRs function to reduce maternal mRNA stores in early zygotes, ultimately reprogramming gene expression in the offspring hypothalamus and recapitulating the offspring stress dysregulation phenotype.
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Friday, October 30, 2015

The Time Is NOW!

WEDNESDAY November 4, 2015 has been designated as TELEPHONE CALL IN DAY for you to contact your senators and urge them to co-sponsor S.901 - Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2015 and TELEPHONE CALL IN DAY for you to contact your representatives and urge them to co-sponsor H.R.1769 - Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2015.



Please spread the word to veterans, families, friends, and neighbors to help us with this important legislation. Hopefully if we clog the telephone lines with these calls the legislators will know just how important these bills are to us and our children. Also we need to add to our calls the Blue Water Navy bills which are senate bill S.681 - Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2015 and house bill H.R.969 - Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2015.

Call your House member on November 4th ask them to please co-sponsor H.R. 1769 the Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2015
Take Action!

Hello, my name is (identify yourself) and I am a constituent in your congressional district.

I am calling today to urge you to co-sponsor and support H.R. 1769 the Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2015 introduced by Representatives Benishek and Honda. This legislation would establish within the Department of Veterans Affairs a national center for the research on the diagnosis and treatment of the health conditions of the descendants of veterans exposed to toxic substances during service in the Armed Forces.

Thank you for your attention to my request and please co-sponsor and support H.R. 1769 the Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2015.

(Leave your name, home address and phone number so the office can follow up with you at a later time)

Second Call in Day on the Hill scheduled for December 9 in support of H.R. 1769/S.901 the Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2015

Vietnam Veterans of America – Legislative Update
November 20, 2015

The House and Senate are now in recess for the Thanksgiving Holidays and will reconvene on November 30, 2015.

Bill passed by the House on November 18, 2015

H.R. 1338, the Dignified Interment of Our Veterans Act of 2015, would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to conduct a study and report to Congress on the problem of unclaimed remains of deceased veterans and place a $2 million cap on Fiscal Year 2016 bonuses for VA senior executives. H.R. 1384, the Honor America’s Guard-Reserve Retirees Act, would honor as veterans retired National Guard and Reserve personnel who have served 20 years and do not meet the full requirements for veteran status under title 38, United States Code. The bills now await consideration by the Senate. Following House passage of the bills, Chairman Miller released the below statement.

Bill passed by the Senate on November 10, 2015

The Senate by a vote of 93 to 0, approved the Senate’s FY2016 MilCon-VA measure provides a total of $79.7 billion in discretionary funding, a more than $2.1 billion increase over the committee-reported bill. This amount is $7.9 billion above the FY2015 funding level and $1.0 billion over the President’s FY2016 budget request.

Mark your calendars second Call In Day on the Hill – December 9

The November 4th Call in Day on the Hill was quite a success more co-sponsors signed on to H.R. 1769 and S.901. We want to keep the momentum going and have scheduled a second Call in Day on the Hill for December 9, 2015 at 9:00 am. More info to follow.

For an up-to-date list of co-sponsors, please go to http://capwiz.com/vva/issues/ if your member of Congress is not listed as a co-sponsor. Go to http://capwiz.com/vva/home/, enter your Zip Code, and send the prepared letters to your Representatives and Senators, asking them to join their colleagues and cosponsor H.R. 1769 and S.901, the Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2015.

Please follow-up your letter with a call or pay a visit to their district office.