washingtonscene


an updated regulation, and the new rule will be applied to new disability claims. Meanwhile, the VA will put any pend- ing Lejeune-related claims on hold until the new regulation is issued. People who have submitted potentially eligible claims that previously were denied can resubmit claims under the new rules. This is good and important news for


many MOAA members and others. If you know of anyone who potentially is affected, please share this information. MOAA will keep you posted when the VA publishes updated regulations.


Stolen Valor News Again It’s not the lies; it’s the money.


I


n January, a federal appeals court overturned the 2007 conviction of a vet- eran found guilty of violating the Stolen


Valor Act for wearing several unearned military medals. The individual’s original conviction


was based on a 2006 law, which since has been repealed and modified, so the federal court had no choice but to over- turn the conviction. MOAA worked with Congress in 2006 to pass the original Stolen Valor Act, which made it a federal misdemeanor to lie about receiving military awards and decorations. In 2012, the Supreme Court heard a case to determine whether the law violated the First Amendment. MOAA, along with over 20 other military and veterans service or- ganizations, filed a petition with the court on the constitutionality of the law. MOAA believed this was “a case about theft, not freedom of expression.” Despite efforts by MOAA and others,


the Supreme Court struck down the law as unconstitutional in a 6-3 decision, rul-


36 MILITARY OFFICER MARCH 2016


ing such lies are protected speech under the Constitution. In response to the decision, MOAA


worked with Rep. Joe Heck (R-Nev.), now chair of the House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee, to sponsor an up- dated version of the Stolen Valor Act. Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Dean Heller (R- Nev.) led the effort in the Senate. The revised and more narrowly con-


structed legislation made it a crime to gain money, property, or other tangible benefits by fraudulently claiming to have received military awards or decorations. MOAA felt the updated legislative lan-


guage struck the proper balance between preventing unscrupulous gain from false statements while protecting the individual freedoms that generations of uniformed servicemembers have fought to preserve. “By barring any profit from such misrep-


resentation, rather than criminalizing the false statement itself, the new legislation avoided the First Amendment problems cited in the Supreme Court’s decision,” says Col. Steve Strobridge, USAF (Ret), MOAA’s director of Government Relations. Congress quickly passed the legislation,


and President Barack Obama signed it into law in 2013. This version of the Stolen Valor Act still is valid.


Special Needs T


Trust Update Permanently disabled children get relief.


he FY 2015 National Defense Authorization Act gave military members and retirees the op-


tion to direct Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) payments to a special needs trust (SNT) for permanently disabled children. An SNT is a legal instrument, governed by state and


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124