Package Of Bills To Support Veterans After Suicide

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Van Drew introduced three pieces of legislation - the Andrew Thomas McCaffrey Green Star Veterans Service Act, the Green Star Families Act, and the Veterans’ Telecommunications Protection Act - aimed to bring awareness of veteran suicide and to ease the burden of costs for veterans’ organizations.

“Andrew Thomas McCaffrey was a brave and fearless man who served his country in Afghanistan. Far too often, our veterans do not receive the care they need when they return from service, and tragically lose their lives to suicide,” said Congressman Van

Drew. “The Andrew Thomas McCaffrey Green Stars Veterans Service Act is a tribute to veterans like Andrew McCaffrey and provides a symbol of recognition and support for family members affected by veteran suicide. Each year, we lose thousands of veterans to suicide - we must allocate necessary funding and resources to fight for our veterans when they leave service, just as they have fought for all of us.

“This package of bills recognizes all of the dedicated and selfless veterans across our nation and will bring awareness to the terrible tragedy of suicide. In Congress, we must invest in our veterans’ mental health and provide support to those who have lost their loved ones,” added Congressman Van Drew.

“Recognizing the existence of a problem is the first step towards finding a solution. By acknowledging the importance of the Green Star Service Flag, we take the first official step towards addressing the issue of veteran suicide,” said Matt Cahill, founder of Green Star Families of America.

The Andrew Thomas McCaffrey Green Star Veterans Service Act is named in memory of Andrew Thomas McCaffrey, who served in Afghanistan, to bring awareness and support for those who have lost loved ones to suicide. It directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to designate a Green Star Flag for next of kin of veterans who die by suicide.

The Green Star Families Act establishes a counseling program through the Veterans Affairs Department for families and caregivers of veterans deceased as the result of suicide, at no cost to them.

The Veterans’ Telecommunications Protection Act requires providers of cable services and telephone services to charge veterans’ organizations residential rates for such services.

Federal Oversight Could Have Prevented Bank Failures

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), a senior member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, pressed federal financial regulators during an oversight hearing on their efforts to ensure greater executive accountability and effective supervision in the wake of recent bank failures.

The Senator noted that Michael Barr, the Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision, identified in his recent report major weaknesses in Silicon Valley Bank’s incentive compensation program, noting that it encouraged excessive risk taking to maximize short-term financial metrics and did not adequately reflect longer-term performance, nonfinancial risks, or unaddressed audit or supervisory issues.

“As I noted in our hearing with the executives...the incentive structure SVB put in place rewarded breakneck growth and profitability, while kneecapping efforts to manage growing risks to the firm,” said Sen. Menendez.

The Senator pointed out that financial regulators have been slow to develop and swiftly implement a strong incentive-based compensation rule – a rule that is required under Dodd-Frank and is now more than 10 years overdue – that could have helped in preventing the situation we saw at SVB.

“I have a sense, having sat through the Great Recession, almost the financial collapse, listening to all we were asked to do as members of the Banking Committee back then. When we pass things, we seem to get it vetoed by omission,” added Sen. Menendez. “Which means maybe the regulators don’t like what we say, but it’s the law. And then nothing happens. A decade – a decade! At some point, gentlemen, you have responsibility. So, I hope you’ll get to that quickly.”

The Senator also highlighted how Vice Chair Barr’s report on the supervision of SVB revealed that Fed examiners gave the bank’s management satisfactory ratings even after supervisors began identifying and communicating issues with governance and risk management in 2018. The Federal Reserve continued awarding management satisfactory ratings despite identifying significant concerns year after year. He questioned why regulators appear reluctant to downgrade bank ratings to reflect their performance.

“To me, this shows that Fed examiners fundamentally misunderstood their role in enforcing a safe and sound banking system,” concluded Sen. Menendez. “Your job is to identify risks proactively and ensure they are fixed before they impact performance, since we’ve seen time and again that the banks themselves do a poor job of it.”

At the end of his line of questioning, Sen. Menendez secured commitments from Vice Chair Barr to sharpen the focus of the Federal Reserve’s supervisory efforts in order to proactively identify and ensure banks fix vulnerabilities.

In late March, Sen. Menendez led a bipartisan group of Senate Banking colleagues in press- ing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on the agency’s use of enhanced supervision and prudential standards for SVB. He also signed a letter led by Chair Sherrod Brown to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gensler requesting prompt examinations of Silicon Valley Bank’s purportedly selling millions of dollars’ worth of company stock in the days and months leading up to SVB’s failure.

In response to the recent bank failures, Sen. Menendez joined dozens of Senate and House colleagues to introduce the Secure Viable Banking Act, legislation that would repeal Title IV of S.2155, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act of 2018, and increase prudential standards for banks similar to Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Sen. Menendez is a longtime advocate for prudent financial regulation, and was outspoken about the dangers of passing S.2155 five years ago, which reduced critical oversight and capital requirements for large banks.

All About Sunglasses

Sunglasses have a difficult job protecting our eyes from the damaging UV rays of the sun in every season, and for some, every day. When purchasing sunglasses, make sure they have 100 percent UV protection, which will also filter out UVB rays. Wraparound lenses will provide the most protection from both sunshine and sun glare. They also have the added benefit of protecting the soft tissue around eyes, which may help avoid fine lines and wrinkles. Many people have more than one pair of sunglasses and/or a favorite pair, but sunglasses don’t last forever. According to recent studies, even in the most well-made pair of lenses, the UV protection will likely degrade over time.

In addition to the UV-blocking properties, anti-reflective and anti-scratch coatings wear down, and the frame material may become brittle over the years, too. Even if you have the most durable sunglasses available, regular lens-replacement is the best way to ensure that your vision is maximally protected from the harmful effects of ultraviolet light. SIGHTMD NEW JERSEY SUSSKIND & ALMALLAH EYE ASSOCIATES offers a full range of care for your eyes, from yearly vision exams to the treatment of medical eye conditions. To make an appointment, please call 732-349-5622.

P.S. Surprisingly, the darkness of sunglasses lenses does not have anything to do with the amount of protection they provide from sun damage.

MARLBORO (732) 972-1015

TOMS RIVER (732) 349-5622

BRICK (732) 477-6981 www.oceancountyeye.com

BARNEGAT (609) 698-2020

Local Pets Available For Adoption

─Photo courtesy Toms River Animal Shelter

TOMS RIVER – Pets like this one is available at the Toms River Animal Shelter.

Bentley is a very smart boy who knows who to sit, paw, and are working on lay down. He’s a super sweet boy who just loves love. He was surrendered to the shelter with his three siblings when their owner was no longer to take care of them.

For more information, call 732341-1000 or visit tomsrivertownship.com/155/Animal-Control-Services