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Tag: Department of Veterans Affairs

  • Who sits where at Trump’s State of the Union address: A visual guide

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    President Donald Trump will address a joint session of the 119th Congress on Tuesday, after accepting House Speaker Mike Johnson’s formal invitation in January to speak.It’s an opportunity for the president to outline his administration’s goals and address the nation’s most pressing issues.Related video above: Massachusetts teen once detained by ICE will attend State of the UnionWhen Trump takes the dais Tuesday night, Vice President JD Vance and Johnson are expected to be seated behind him on either side.In front of the president, Cabinet members, Supreme Court justices, Joint Chiefs of Staff, former members of Congress and members of the diplomatic corps will be seated. Seats in the rest of the chamber are not assigned, according to the Congressional Research Service. Senators and House members are seated on a first-come, first-served basis.The president and first lady also typically invite about two dozen guests to sit in the gallery, to help put a human face to the president’s message for both policymakers and viewers at home.One person will be absent during the speech: the designated survivor. The designated survivor is a member of the Cabinet chosen to remain in a secure location during the speech in case of catastrophe, to ensure continuity of government. Doug Collins, the secretary of the Department Veterans Affairs, was assigned the role during the president’s address in 2025.

    President Donald Trump will address a joint session of the 119th Congress on Tuesday, after accepting House Speaker Mike Johnson’s formal invitation in January to speak.

    It’s an opportunity for the president to outline his administration’s goals and address the nation’s most pressing issues.

    Related video above: Massachusetts teen once detained by ICE will attend State of the Union

    When Trump takes the dais Tuesday night, Vice President JD Vance and Johnson are expected to be seated behind him on either side.

    In front of the president, Cabinet members, Supreme Court justices, Joint Chiefs of Staff, former members of Congress and members of the diplomatic corps will be seated. Seats in the rest of the chamber are not assigned, according to the Congressional Research Service. Senators and House members are seated on a first-come, first-served basis.

    The president and first lady also typically invite about two dozen guests to sit in the gallery, to help put a human face to the president’s message for both policymakers and viewers at home.

    One person will be absent during the speech: the designated survivor. The designated survivor is a member of the Cabinet chosen to remain in a secure location during the speech in case of catastrophe, to ensure continuity of government. Doug Collins, the secretary of the Department Veterans Affairs, was assigned the role during the president’s address in 2025.

    CNN, AP, Getty Images, Government Publishing Office, US House of Representatives via CNN Newsource

    When Trump takes the dais Tuesday night, Vice President JD Vance and Johnson are expected to be seated behind him on either side.

    state of the union seating chart

    CNN via CNN Newsource

    Each House member may invite one guest, with seating available on a first-come, first-served basis. The president’s guests sit with the first lady in her box on stage left.

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  • Senators seek to make it easier for VA to exhume ‘disgraced’ veterans

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    A bipartisan group of U.S. senators wants to make it easier to exhume and remove the remains of veterans convicted of serious crimes from national cemeteries.

    “The burial grounds of our national cemeteries should be reserved for the bravest and most honorable among us,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in a statement announcing the bill introduced Tuesday. The legislation would give the Department of Veterans Affairs extended authority to disinter the remains of any “disgraced veteran” who wouldn’t be deemed eligible for burial under the standards and practices of current law, Cornyn said.

    Under current law, the VA can only reconsider a veteran’s eligibility for burial in national cemeteries for cases dating back to 2013. Families and victims’ advocates who want the VA to disinter someone buried before that time who had committed a serious crime must advocate for a law to be passed directing each individual’s exhumation and removal. That is “creating unnecessary delays and inequities,” senators stated.

    The senators’ proposal would give the VA retroactive authority dating back to June 18, 1973, when the National Cemeteries Act was signed into law. A law took effect in 1997 that prohibits the burial of veterans who have committed serious crimes in national cemeteries.

    A subsequent law allows VA to reconsider a veteran’s eligibility retroactively, but limits these reconsiderations to cases dating back to 2013.

    “Rather than setting an arbitrary cutoff for disinterment requests, this legislation will help ensure that the process is available to everyone,” said Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, in the announcement.

    There are at least seven outstanding disinterment petitions across multiple states, including Hawaii, Alaska, Pennsylvania, Florida and California, the senators said. Senators from those states are among those who introduced the bill, including Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; John Fetterman, D-Pennsylvania; Rick Scott, R-Florida; and Adam Schiff, D-Calif.

    Earlier this year, the Senate passed a law introduced by Cornyn to disinter the remains of Fernando V. Cota, a convicted rapist and alleged serial murderer, from the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas, where he was buried in 1984. The bill has not yet been considered in the House.

    Also this year, Rep. Scott Perry, R-Penn., introduced a bill in the House to disinter the remains of George E. Siple, a veteran who was convicted of the 1969 murder of Bertha Smith, and died in prison 30 years later. He was buried in Indiantown Gap National Cemetery, Pennsylvania, in 1999. Similar bills regarding Siple’s exhumation, including one introduced by Perry last year, haven’t been successful.

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  • Looks Like Virginia Is The Newest Marijuana Nanny State

    Looks Like Virginia Is The Newest Marijuana Nanny State

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    Some politicians believe the majority of the public are confused or just smart.  They feel it is important to step in and change things.

    It seems the nanny state is on the rise!  Following Florida and Texas, Virginia seems to think their citizens are “confused” about what they want and their highest elected officials need to take care of a populace unable to care for themselves. Singapore, Korea and China are big examples of nanny states, but the trend is become popular in the United States.

    RELATED: Americans Are Choosing Marijuana Over Alcohol

    A perfect example is around legalized marijuana. According to Pew Research Center, an overwhelming 88% of U.S. adults say either that marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use by adults (59%) or that it should be legal for medical use only (30%). Only one-in-ten (10%) say marijuana use should not be legal.  It has become an almost $30 billion industry and a proven revenue driver for states. Consumer numbers show the stigma is gone. But some states aren’t having it.

    A few states feel they are better run by parental figures who know better.  These include Florida where over 71% of the public voted for marijuana but the current Governor does everything to block it.  Not to be outdone, Texas jumped on the bandwagon.  Meanwhile, in a fact based world, the Department of Veterans Affairs changed policy for veterans so they can use medical marijuana without losing their eligibility for care and services. The change was based on science, data and need.  Despite the step forward for veterans, it seems now it looks like Virginia is the new newest marijuana nanny state.

    Photo by Joe Raedle/Staff/Getty Images

    In a messy fight, the Old Dominion Governor Glenn Youngkin has made it clear he has no intention of allowing legal marijuana. The tourism slogan is Virginia is for Lovers, but the top elected official is showing any for cannabis, even as some of his allies soften their stance.  No doubt there are looking at states like Missouri who are pulling in significant amount of tax revenue.

    RELATED: Maine Is Getting It Right About Legal Weed While California And Others Struggle

    Texas Gov. Greg Abbott doesn’t care polls reveal a majority of Texans support legalizing marijuana for medical and recreational use. Abbott stated his position has not changed beyond what he’s proposed in the past — reducing the criminal penalty for marijuana possession to a Class C misdemeanor, but not legalizing the drug.

    Texas embraces his policies which include going days without power and voters in Houston votes no longer count.

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    Terry Hacienda

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