Deadline for Stop Loss Claims, Small Business Lending--Big Win for Indiana and Breast Cancer Awareness Month -- October 8, 2010

The veterans of our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq risked their lives for our country, often facing deployments on multiple combat tours. While most of these brave men and women volunteered to continue their service, many retiring veterans were compelled to continue serving in active combat duty through a program known as stop loss. While the situation on the ground often made stop loss unavoidable, these veterans clearly deserve to be compensated for their continued sacrifice.

Under the Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay (RSLSP) program, which I voted to pass last year, veterans will receive $500 for each month served in stop loss status. All service members, veterans and beneficiaries of service members who served under Stop Loss between Sept. 11, 2001 and Sept. 30, 2009 are eligible for RSLSP. But to do so, veterans must submit their RSLSP claims on or before December 3, 2010.

For more information about Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay and the claims process, please visit my website here.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury recently announced that Indiana will receive $343 million in allocations for the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI). This aid is an important component of the Small Business Jobs Act President Obama signed into law. It will go a long way toward helping local programs that help entrepreneurs expand their businesses and create new jobs. Access to credit for our small businesses is vital to help them expand and put more Hoosiers back to work.

For more information, please visit my website here.

Breast cancer tragically claims far too many mothers, daughters, sisters and friends each year. During this Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I encourage all of my constituents to familiarize themselves with life-saving detection and prevention techniques and to support those working to develop new diagnoses, treatments and cures.

To read more, click here.

Thank you for reading the Carson Courier. Please do not hesitate to contact me with your thoughts and concerns. For more information, please visit my website at https://www.carson.house.gov and my new Congressional Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CongressmanAndreCarson. I value your views and your input which help me to better represent the people of Indiana's 7th District in Congress.