Rep. Hank Johnson's Memorial Weekend E-Newsletter for May 23, 2013

Dear friends,

While Memorial Day is a chance for all of us to spend time with family and friends, please take some time this holiday to honor our veterans and military families. Remember what our soldiers and their families are doing for us – sacrificing so much to defend our freedoms, our happiness and our way of life. I’m proud of the positive steps we’ve taken in Congress to improve health care, pay, and facilities for veterans and their families, but there’s so much more work to do. To see how you can help veterans in a meaningful way, visit the Veterans Empowerment Organization of Georgia today.

HONORING LOCAL VETERANS – I am looking forward to taking part in Gwinnett County’s Memorial Day program on Monday at 1 p.m. in Lawrenceville. Rockdale County’s Memorial Day observance is on Monday, May 27, at 11 a.m. at the WALK OF HEROES Memorial. American Legion Post 32 in Covington will host their annual observation at 10 a.m. Monday at the Legion’s monument on the Square in downtown Covington. DeKalb County held their celebration on Thursday with my friend – Doraville Police Chief and Director Joint Staff Georgia National Guard at Georgia Army National Guard Col. John King – as the featured speaker.

I also want to welcome Leslie Wiggins as the new Director of the Atlanta VA Medical Center. I have high hopes that Director Wiggins can right the ship. To read her letter to the VA Medical Center staff, visit their Facebook page.

Thank you Veterans and your families! To read my Memorial Day op-ed, click HERE. To visit my Veterans Resources Page, click HERE.

SERVING OUR VETERANS: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Disabled American Veterans (DAV), and The American Legion announced a new partnership to help reduce the compensation claims backlog for Veterans. The effort—the Fully Developed Claims (FDC) Community of Practice—is a key part of VA’s overall transformation plan to end the backlog in 2015 and process claims within 125 days at 98% accuracy. VA can process FDCs in half the time it takes for a traditionally filed claim. For more, click HERE.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: It was an honor and privilege to ride down to Atlanta with President Barack Obama on Sunday aboard Air Force One to attend the Morehouse College 2013 Commencement Address. It was the first time since 1938 – when President Roosevelt spoke at the University of Georgia – that a sitting U.S. president addressed graduating seniors in our great state. It was stormy on Sunday, but the atmosphere at Morehouse was electric. Congratulations to all our 2013 college and high school graduates in the Fourth District as well. For more, click HERE.

SENIORS MEET & GREET: My office is holding a seniors Meet & Greet on Friday, May 31 at the Newton County Senior Center on Turner Lake Road. The event will help seniors navigate through the often confusing and complicated process of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, IRS and the Veterans Administration. Officials from each department will be on hand to assist seniors. Helping constituents, especially our seniors, solve seemingly intractable problems is what my district office does every day. For more information, e-mail Peter Butts peter.butts@mail.house.gov or call him at 770-987-2291.

ASIAN-AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH: May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, and I want take this opportunity to honor all my friends and brothers and sisters of Asian-American heritage. The history of the Asian Pacific American community is interwoven into the fabric of our collective American history. From overcoming bitter challenges to achieving great accomplishments, the Asian Pacific American community has left an indelible mark on our nation’s great story. To see my video tribute, click HERE.

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT-AP PHONE RECORDS: The public outcry in response to the AP investigation raises several important questions involving privacy, the First Amendment, and investigating leaks of national security information when the safety of American lives is at stake. I strongly believe that Congress must protect the free flow of information and ideas under the First Amendment. This is why I voted for the Free Flow of information Act, a federal shield law that would have required judicial oversight over media subpoenas. This vital legislation, which was blocked by Republicans in the Senate and opposed by some of the same members of the committee who are shocked by the AP investigation, would likely have avoided much of the alarm caused by this investigation. For more information, click HERE.

SUMMER MEALS FOR KIDS: The U.S. Department of Agriculture is gearing up its Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), which was established to ensure that low-income children continue to receive nutritious meals when school is not in session. Free meals, that meet Federal nutrition guidelines, are provided to all children 18 years old and under at approved SFSP sites in areas with significant concentrations of low-income children. For more information, Call 1-866-3-HUNGRY or 1-877-8-HAMBRE (for Spanish speakers) and a live operator will tell you where the closest sites serving free, nutritious summer meals are located. Or visit www.whyhunger.org/findfood to locate sites using an online map.

ROCKDALE SCHOOLS EXCEL: Congratulations to Rockdale County Public Schools for excelling in their rankings based on Georgia’s College and Career Ready Performance Index that shows their elementary and middle schools are ahead of their peers statewide. I know they want to improve their high school rankings – especially in mathematics – but I want Rockdale and all our public schools systems in the Fourth District to know they have my full support. For more, click HERE.

HEPATITIS TESTING DAY: This week, I joined my colleagues Rep. Bill Cassidy (LA-6), Rep. Charlie Dent (PA-15) and Rep. Mike Honda (CA-17) of the Congressional Viral Hepatitis Caucus to attend a free hepatitis testing event in honor of National Viral Hepatitis Testing Day. More than 5.3 million people in the U.S. are living with hepatitis B and/or hepatitis C and 65 to 75 percent are not aware they are infected. Viral hepatitis is the leading cause of liver cancer – one of the fastest growing, deadly and most expensive cancers to treat in America. Did you know hepatitis C is curable and hepatitis B is treatable? We can reduce costs and fatalities, and that starts with getting tested. For more, click HERE.

Photo above: Congressman Johnson greets fellow Hepatitis Caucus members from left: Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA), Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA).

As always, I appreciate your time and feedback. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to represent you in Congress.