Good News from the Capitol our House Joint Memorial Passes the Senate all Yes votes

[Guest guest]

Dear colleagues,

Good news our "House Joint Memorial 201" was passed on the Senate floor today without a single no vote all yes votes! I memorial instructs the Portland VA Medical Director to perform what Congress instructed the VA to do 10 years ago by law, provide full chiropractic benefits to all Oregon veterans.

We will hand deliver this memorial which represents the wishes of 90 elected officials representing 3.8 million Oregonians and thousands of Oregon veterans to the Portland VA Medical Director. We have committements from our two Senators to be at this high level meeting or on the phone and they have committed their in-district staff to being at this meeting. Congressman Kurt Schrader and Earl Blumenhauer the same, representative from the Governor's office, Chairs and members of the State House and Senate Military and Veterans Affairs Committees, veterans group representatives, officials from the University of Western States and OCA Board members.

Funny thing while in Washington DC at the UWS dinner with students and faculty retired faculty member Dr. Lester Lamm and I spoke about his contacting Portland VA Medical Center officials about providing a full time faculty member at no charge to the VA and having 4th year interns from the university rotate and serve in the teaching hospital to the benefit of the veterans and their continued learning in the hospital setting. Lester told me the VA namely Dr. Jack Dryden were upset that officials at the school wrote a letter to Senator Ron Wyden and their response was that they don't answer to Congress! Well if writing one letter upset the VA officials they haven't seen anything yet and as you all know I don't go quietly into that good night I/we will keep the pressure on after this high level meeting...I will be their "fly in the ointment" "bug in the rug" and their "squeaky wheel"....we will not just go away our veterans deserve the best and we are it.....Vern PS: During the ACA Insurance Commission meeting in Washington, DC the next morning I mentioned this and the head of the ACA's governmental affairs dept said, "Well Vern I assure you Senator Wyden will be most interested to know that Portland VA officials believe they don't have to answer to Congress!" You can bet your bottom dollar that is the message I will deliver directly to Sen. Wyden.....