Vet Benefits Tied to Big Social Security Raise
Veterans are poised to receive the biggest cost of living boost in 40 years with Congress guaranteeing they’ll receive the same cost-of-living boost as Social Security payouts, predicted at about 8.7% for 2023. That would be the highest annual increase since 1981.
Senators Urge DoD to Act on PFAS
Forty-two senators have signed a petition urging DEFSEC Lloyd Austin to treat PFAS chemicals on military installations with greater urgency, and set aside higher funding for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances testing and remediation.
DoD Reviews Its Online Psych-Ops
The Pentagon has instructed the military commands that engage in psychological operations online to provide a full accounting of their activities by next month. Complaints about the US military’s influence operations using Facebook and Twitter have raised concern in the White House and some federal agencies.
DoD Has $1B Catalyst for Bio-Industry
Deputy DEF SEC Kathleen Hicks says the $1 billion is to be invested over five years to work as a “key catalyst for a domestic bio-industrial manufacturing base, and more quickly turn basic and applied research into operational prototypes and reliable, reproducible products that can be made at scale.”
Vet Suicides Could Be Double Earlier Reports
A new analysis of data from 2014 through 2018 has found the federal government is under-counting the number of veterans committing suicide each year the result of under-counting drug overdose deaths and service record errors.
DoD Report: Birth Control Ed – Not Abortion Access
As Democrats and Republicans in Congress begin to battle over the Pentagon’s ability to provide abortion access to troops, a DoD commissioned study concludes there is little recourse to assure abortion access to its female troops and suggests more birth control education.
UPDATE: Railroads & Unions Avoid Shutdown
Fears of economic catastrophe from a railway strike were averted with intense negotiations Wednesday evening and a tentative deal reached. The strike vote is due Friday at midnight.
Danish & Navy Ships Collide in Inner Harbor
At Maryland Fleet Week 2022, in the Baltimore Inner Harbor, a Danish training ship hit the moored USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul on Sunday morning. No injuries were reported and no serious damages to the Navy ship occurred.
MD Offers $1.6M to New Wind Companies
Offshore wind projects got a $1.6 million boost from the Maryland Energy Administration to fund additional projects by emerging companies. Grants will be awarded on a first-come first-serve basis for qualifying proposals until Jan. 1, 2023, or until all funding has been awarded.
No Bay Bridge Expansion Any Time Soon
Don’t expect another span across Chesapeake Bay any time soon. Maryland Transportation Authority officials say they have four or five years to analyze alternatives and assess environmental impacts and only then, if the state gets federal approval and funding can design and construction begin.
