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ST. LOUIS, Missouri (KMOV) -- A retired Metro East Army veteran is grateful for a $280 billion measure passed by Congress this week aimed at expanding healthcare and benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances on deployment.

The Senate voted Tuesday night to pass the bipartisan legislation. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill within the next week.

The final vote was 86-11. Missouri Senators Josh Hawley and Roy Blunt initially voted no, then reversed course this week.

A spokesperson for Senator Hawley released the following statement:

Senator Hawley supports the PACT Act and voted for final passage of the legislation both times it came before the Senate, first in June and again this past week. Senator Hawley supported additional time for bipartisan negotiations, and is pleased that a strong bill to deliver health care for veterans ultimately got across the finish line. He will continue to advocate for our nations veterans in the Senate.

The bill is officially referred to as the Honoring our PACT Act, and was approved by the House in July. It could impact coverage of nearly 3.5 million veterans exposed to toxic substances.

(Ret.) SSG. Dale Francis lives in Troy, Illinois, and spent 20 years in the Army. His career was coming to an end shortly before September 11, 2001, when he decided he wasnt done serving.

Im glad I went, I really am, it was a good mission, at least to begin with, he said.

He deployed to Kuwait in early 2003, before entering into Iraq about a month later. He and his soldiers headed for what would become Camp Victory in south Baghdad.

It was on the grounds of one of Saddam Husseins palaces surrounded by water, he said. We brought tents with us, set up a mess hall but there were no bathrooms.

As a result, makeshift outhouses were created consisting of wooden stalls. Underneath sat a oil barrel that had been cut in half. Francis said every morning, he oversaw a group of soldiers responsible for removing the barrels and burning the contents with diesel or gasoline.

They had to stand there and stir that horrible mix until it all burned down, he said.

Francis said classified documents, plastic bottles and medical waste was all burned across camps. When he returned home a year later, it wasnt long before he developed a nagging cough.

I went to a civilian ear, nose and throat specialist and he took one look up in my sinuses and said, oh my, where did all of this come from?

He then went to the VA, where a chest x-ray was clear. Francis said that didnt surprise him, as the majority of damage was done to his sinuses. He was prescribed anti-histamines and a rescue inhaler.

Theyre trying to do something about this, but this is something new for them, he said.

Hes hopeful the passage of the PACT Act will help fellow veterans get the healthcare and benefits they deserve, years after being exposed to toxic fumes.

We didnt have any masks or anything to protect us, so, we burned it and breathed it, he said.

Before the legislation, veterans were forced to prove their illnesses were connected to the exposure on deployment. Francis said it can be difficult to establish a paper trail early on.

When youre in Iraq somewhere or out in the desert in Kuwait theres no army clinic, theres no where to go on sick call so theres nothing in your medical records that says you had this problem over there, he said.

Illinois Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth voted in favor of the legislation.

A spokesperson for Senator Durbin sent News 4 a statement that reads in part:

When Americans sign up to serve our country in the military, we promise that we will not leave them behind. The Senate honored our veterans service today with the passage of the PACT Act, which will give new hope to veterans suffering from the effects of toxic exposure during their time on the battlefield. For more than 3.5 million veterans, this vote will mean a chance at a healthier life. I look forward to seeing President Biden swiftly sign the PACT Act into law.

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Metro East veteran exposed to burn pits in Iraq grateful for passage of PACT Act - WSIL TV

Reston, Va., Aug. 24, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Acuity International, a leading provider of process and technology-based medical, engineering, and mission services and solutions to government and commercial clients, today announced it will provide base operations support, base life support, and security services in the support of the Iraq F-16 program. The work will be performed under a $127M contract action awarded by the U.S. Air Force.

Formally awarded to Sallyport Global Holdings, an Acuity company, the contract work will be carried out through Jan. 30, 2023, at the Martyr Brigadier General Ali Flaih Air Base in Iraq. "Acuity has a long history of supporting our armed forces, including the U.S. Air Force, overseas and we look forward to continuing our important work providing essential services and support to the Iraqi Air Force F-16 program," said Tony Corbi, CEO of Acuity International.

This contract resulted from a sole-source acquisition and involves Foreign Military Sales to Iraq. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting Activity (FA8630-22-C-6006).

About Acuity International

Acuity International is a leading provider of process and technology-based medical, engineering, and mission services and solutions to government and commercial clients. As experts in engineering and consulting, software solutions, medical care, occupational health, global mission, environmental remediation, secure and complex construction management services, all augmented by deep expertise in cybersecurity and cloud solutions, Acuity International enables critical missions for its global customers with the latest technology and repeatable processes. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, the company has 3,300+ employees in more than 30 countries. For more information, visit:https://acuityinternational.com/.

Contact:

Lisa Throckmorton

703-287-7803

acuity@req.co

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Acuity International Awarded U.S. Air Force Contract to Support Iraq F-16 Base Operations - Benzinga

It's tough for Republicans to win elections and enact their policies in this largely Democratic state except on suburban and rural school boards

New to podcasts? Here's how to listen.

California is a deep-blue state, with slim hope for conservatives to win statewide office or hold majorities in the Legislature.

Among the few places Republicans can win elections and change policies in California are suburban and rural school boards.

On this episode of the Fifth & Mission podcast, reporter Ryan Kost talks to host Demian Bulwa about the efforts of conservatives to push issues that energize their voters, such as loosening COVID rules, banning discussion of systemic racism and questioning LGBTQ rights on California campuses.

Photo above: Students demonstrate against a proposed ban on the academic concept of critical race theory at a meeting of the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School Board in Orange County on March 3.

More Fifth & Mission podcast

More here:
Listen: How conservatives are fighting the culture wars in California - San Francisco Chronicle

Two incumbents on the Mountain Brook City Council, including President Billy Pritchard, defeated their challengers Tuesday in races focused on the education culture wars that have gripped the affluent Birmingham suburb for nearly two years.

Pritchard defeated challenger Kent Osband, who was running on a platform of keeping the culture war from consuming Mountain Brook, 71 percent to 29 percent, according to unofficial results tallied by the city.

Osband said he was inspired to run for the Place 2 seat when Mountain Brook Schools cut ties with the Anti-Defamation Leagues anti-bias curriculum over what a group of parents claimed was ties to critical race theory.

Osband said the ADLs program, which came to Mountain Brook amid an anti-Semitic incident at Mountain Brook High School in 2020, was highly partisan ... under the guise of hating hate.

As I abhor both anti-Semitism and mind-numbing indoctrination, wherever it comes from, I investigated both sides and chose to publicly defend [Mountain Brook Schools] in an opinion piece in Southern Jewish Life. However, we need to do much more to keep the culture war from consuming Mountain Brook, Osband told Village Life. On the one hand, lets push harder for higher standards at MBS in both academics and behavior and insist that students meet them. On the other hand, lets extend our hard-won culture of tolerance and respect for religious differences to include political differences, too.

Pritchard, whose council duties included being a liaison to the Mountain Brooks Board of Education, did not list the issue as a top priority

Councilor Lloyd Shelton withstood a challenge from Tate Davis in Place 3, 67 percent to 33 percent.

Shelton, the chairman of the councils Finance Committee, viewed taxes and infrastructure as the major issues facing Mountain Brook.

Davis, who is in the construction and real estate industry, it is the utmost importance that the most qualified and skilled individuals sit on our Board of Education.

The council appoints members to the board.

In an open seat to replace the retiring Alice Womack in Place 1, Graham Smith, a former legislative director to Sen. Richard Shelby and member of the Mountain Brook Planning Commission, defeated sales manager Christopher Powanda, 73 percent to 27 percent.

In that race, Powanda campaigned on keeping all political groups and politically motivated curriculum out of our schools while Smith focused on infrastructure improvements and city services.

Continue reading here:
Mountain Brook council incumbents win in election focused on education culture war - AL.com

Hours after passing controversial book policies, top elected leaders in Keller, Grapevine-Colleyville ISDs take our questions in their first interviews

KELLER, Texas The frontlines of the culture wars are being fought in North Texas school boards. It's been that way for a while at this point.

But, just this week, it came to a head as the neighboring independent school districts of Keller and Grapevine-Colleyville each hosted contentious Monday night meetings to determine what children are being taught in their schools.

In Keller, the debate mostly centered around books -- the culmination of a battle started earlier in the month when it was announced that the district had yanked 41 books off of its library's shelves, including the Bible and "Anne Franks Diary: The Graphic Adaptation," for further review after their presences were challenged by parents. More than 45 people showed up to Monday night's Keller Independent School District meeting to speak on both sides of the matter, with the board eventually voting 4-2 in favor of instituting a broad and conservative new content policy about what books can and cannot exist in their schools' library collections.

Around the same time and just a few miles to the east, the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District hosted almost 200 public speakers -- into a room that only seats 55 -- who showed up to share their thoughts onthat board's far more expansive plans surrounding what is and isn't acceptable in their schools. Six hours after the board's meeting began that night, its members eventually voted 4-3 in favor of instituting a new 36-page policy that, among other things, a) bans the teaching of critical race theory, b) implements a strict review process for library books, c) actively works not to promote, require or encourage the use of pronouns that are not aligned with the gender people are assigned at birth, and d) require people to use the bathrooms designated for the genders they were assigned at birth.

Heading into this week's meetings in both districts, it was clear that parties on each side of these school-focused issues were gearing up for a fight.

On an episode of our Y'allitics podcast released on Sunday, State Representative Matt Krause -- the state lawmaker who started his own book inquiry last fall when he asked schools across the state if they had some 850 titles on their campuses -- said he doesnt view the issue of book-banning as subjective censorship, but rather as finding the right balance for our kids.

It's always a good idea to ensure that the books that are in the library's bookshelves in your schools are appropriate, age-appropriate, the Fort Worth Republican said on Yall-itics. "What's appropriate in a Keller ISD high school may not be appropriate in a Keller ISD middle school. So, I think you always have those conversations. I think they're constructive.

Keller ISD mom Laney Hawes, meanwhile, told Y'allitics she saw things much differently. With four kids in the district, Hawes argues that major decisions affecting the lives of thousands are being made by less than a handful of people.

Its dangerous for a number of reasons because it sets a precedent that the values and the opinions of the current school board are going to dictate every bit of access the kids in our school district have -- and that's scary, she told the Jasons on Sunday's episode of Yall-itics. "We have so many different kids in our district, different races, different backgrounds, different family histories, different stories, different everything. And these kids need to see themselves represented in literature."

In the wake of Monday night's meetings, however, it appears Krause's camp has come out victorious -- their efforts spurred on by recently elected board members whose campaigns were backed by a conservative, Christian PAC.

Which is how we ended up this week with twoY'all-itics episodes, including a new one that dropped on Tuesday evening. After speaking with vocal proponents on each side of the debate, the Jasons on Tuesday hosted the people who actually voted on approving these motions on Monday. In this second straight episode on this contentious issue, the podcast was joined by Shannon Braun, GCISD Board Vice President, and Dr. Charles Randklev, Keller ISD Board President, to learn more about how their boards came to their decisions.

Perhaps most notably, Y'all-itics wanted answers as to how this process moved more quickly, how there wasn't more debate involved in a matter where 200 people show up to a school board meeting on a Monday night to talk out the merits on both sides of the issue.

"What we just passed was the law," Braun said in Tuesday's special episode of Y'all-itics. "It's already the law. Anybody who just voted against that, just voted against the law -- thats actually the problem... because were not following it, thats why. When you have teachers that decide... youve got people that teach what they want to teach, do what they want to do, promote what they want to promote."

And, to hear Braun tell it, that's not OK. There's a reason, she said, governing bodies over educational systems exist -- and, in her first on-record interview ever, she argue that it's the role of boards like hers to enforce those notions.

Dr. Randklev argued a similar point when asked about the fact that parents in Keller could already choose to opt out of reading material that they deemed inappropriate for their children.

"What do you do when you have a student in a classroom or a student that goes to a library?" Dr. Randklev asked Y'all-itics. "How are they going to opt out?"

Now, even with Keller's new policy creating a path for some removed books to eventually make their way back on to school library shelves, those are questions KISD and GCISD will no longer ask.

Not for the time being anyway.

But the fight, all parties concede, will continue raging on.

"Its a battle," Braun said. "This is a war for ideas right now.

What Braun brushed off in her first-ever on-record interview, however, was that there's any support from outside influences on either side of the debate, outright denying that any conservative groups helped draft GCISD's wide-ranging new policies.

As for Hawes? She doesn't buy that. Instead, she said she and other parents know full well theyre facing a David vs. Goliath situation. Their ultimate goal in this back-and-forth? Making school board meetings boring again.

This is something a lot of us parents -- and there are a group of us that is growing, growing even more over the last few weeks -- that have been talking about this, Hawes said. One of our big concerns is that we don't have millions of dollars. We don't have a giant PAC behind us. We also don't have the powerful motivator that fear is, right? Thats part of why this was so successful -- it was so fear based.

Excerpt from:
The culture war is being fought in school board meetings and North Texas is the frontline - WFAA.com