Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission
visits St. Petersburg, Florida.

The Veteran Disability Benefits Commission is hosting a town hall meeting for Feb. 15, 2006, at the Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront, 333 First Street South, St. Petersburg, Florida. The town hall meeting will begin at 7 p.m. and end at 9 p.m. Another half-day business session of the Commission is scheduled for Feb. 16, 2006, at the same location. The half-day meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 11:30 a.m. Both meetings are open to the public.

We encourage all Gold Star Wives (GSWs) in the area to attend either or both meetings and present oral statements to the Commission. Oral presentations will be limited to five minutes or less, depending on the number of participants. You may also provide written comments for review by the Commission via e-mail to veterans@vetscommission.intranets.com or by mail to Mr. Ray Wilburn, Executive Director, Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission, 1101 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20004.

This is the first of eight fact-finding, data-gathering site visits throughout the United States. The locations of the other site visits include: Atlanta, Ga.; Boston, Mass.; Chicago, Ill.; Seattle, Wash.; San Antonio, Texas; San Diego, Calif.; and St. Louis, Mo. Specific dates have yet to be determined. The sites were selected based on criteria that included the concentration of veterans, active-duty service members and National Guard and Reserves, and the co-location of VBA, Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and Department of Defense (DoD) facilities, with particular interest in transition activities. The goals of these visits are to allow the commissioners the opportunity to tour local and state facilities; examine the processes in place, which assist veterans in their efforts to obtain their benefits and to present veterans, survivors and the general public with an opportunity to learn about the work of the Commission and to offer comments in face-to-face forum.

The Veteran Disability Benefits Commission, an independent, bipartisan body created by Public Law 108-136 and appointed by the President and leaders of Congress, is mandated to study the benefits and services intended to compensate and assist veterans and their survivors for disabilities and deaths attributable to military service. The Commission is dedicated to conducting a thorough, objective, and impartial analysis of the full range of programs that are intended to meet the needs of disabled veterans and survivors.

We will continue to update you on the dates and locations of future site visits, as well as other public meetings held by the Commission. This is an important forum for GSWs to express their concerns; share their experiences; and help improve the benefits for all survivors.

Gold Star Wives of America, Inc. is a nonprofit national military widows service organization chartered by the United States Congress.