KEVIN FREKING

13 - 8:29am

WASHINGTON — More than 85,000 veterans were treated last year for injuries or illness stemming from sexual abuse in the military, and 4,000 sought disability benefits, underscoring the staggering long-term impact of a crisis that has roiled the Pentagon and been condemned by President Barack Obama as "''shameful and disgraceful."

Budget calls for 4 percent spending increase at VA 04/05/13 - 5:55pm

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama’s budget proposal will include nearly a 14 percent spending increase for the section of the Department of Veterans Affairs responsible for attacking a growing backlog of disability claims — a problem that officials warned is likely to worsen in coming months. All told, the VA would see a 4 percent increase, to $63.5 billion, for such items as veterans’ medical care and research, technology and new construction. That does not include disability, pension and education benefits.

Veterans fight changes to disability payments 03/31/13 - 12:40am

WASHINGTON — Veterans groups are rallying to fight any proposal to change disability payments as the federal government attempts to address its long-term debt problem. They say they’ve sacrificed already. Government benefits are adjusted according to inflation, and President Barack Obama has endorsed using a slightly different measure of inflation to calculate Social Security benefits. Benefits would still grow but at a slower rate.

NRA likens universal checks to gun registry 02/04/13 - 1:28am

NRA likens universal checks to gun registry

NRA likens universal checks to gun registry WASHINGTON — The National Rifle Association’s executive vice president continued to oppose background checks for all gun purchases despite polls indicating that most NRA members don’t share his position. The NRA’s Wayne LaPierre said on “Fox News Sunday” that background checks for all gun purchases would lead to a national registry of gun owners. Critics say such a registry could lead to taxes on guns or to confiscation.

EPA Administrator Jackson announces resignation 12/28/12 - 1:32am

WASHINGTON — EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, the Obama administration’s chief environmental watchdog, is stepping down after nearly four years marked by high-profile brawls over global warming pollution, the Keystone XL oil pipeline, new controls on coal-fired plants and several other hot-button issues that affect the nation’s economy and people’s health.

Veterans' gun rights for those unable to handle finances becomes sticky issue in defense bill 12/03/12 - 8:01am

Sen. Tom Coburn sought to amend bill to stop Veterans Affairs Department from putting names of veterans deemed too mentally incompetent to handle their finances into National Instant Criminal Background Check System

WASHINGTON — Should veterans deemed too mentally incompetent to handle their own financial affairs be prevented from buying a gun? The issue, for a time last week, threatened to become the biggest sticking point in a $631 billion defense bill for reshaping a military that is disengaging from a decade of warfare.

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Congress looks at doing away with the $1 bill — could save taxpayers $4.4 billion 12/01/12 - 12:48am

WASHINGTON — American consumers have shown about as much appetite for the $1 coin as kids do their spinach. They may not know what's best for them either. Congressional auditors say doing away with dollar bills entirely and replacing them with dollar coins could save taxpayers some $4.4 billion over the next 30 years.

9 more veterans of Iraq, Afghanistan wars joining 2013's freshman class in Congress 11/25/12 - 12:37am

WASHINGTON — As Tammy Duckworth sees it, her path to Congress began when she awoke in the fall of 2004 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. She was missing both of her legs and faced the prospect of losing her right arm. Months of agonizing therapy lay ahead. As the highest-ranking double amputee in the ward, Maj. Duckworth became the go-to person for soldiers complaining of substandard care and bureaucratic ambivalence.

Special election in Arizona to replace Giffords 06/13/12 - 11:43am

PHOENIX — Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ hand-picked Democratic candidate squared off Tuesday in a special House election in Arizona against the Republican she narrowly beat just months before she was shot. It was a hard-fought preview of the broader fall campaign to come. Both the GOP and the Democrats were using the race to hone and test their political arguments for the November elections, when everything from the White House on down will be on the ballot.

Advisers in presidential campaign talk taxes 04/16/12 - 12:10am

WASHINGTON — Campaign advisers to President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney say the general election will offer competing visions of how to help the middle class. Romney adviser Ed Gillespie says the most important thing to do is to foster job creation, and the best way to do that is through policies that promote free enterprise. Romney is calling for continuing tax cuts enacted under President George. W. Bush and for lowering individual and corporate tax rates.