WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is a release from Veterans for America:

Veterans for America strongly supports Senator Byrd's resolution introduced today, which states that Congress must approve any offensive military action by the United States against another nation.

In recent weeks, the Bush administration has taken steps that hint at the possibility of the war in Iraq being widened to include Iran. Before such action is undertaken, a full congressional debate must occur and legislative approval must be granted.

Beccy Cole sings "Poster Girl" in response to some of her fans who disagree with her supporting the Diggers, the Australian soldiers fighting in The Long War.

DECATUR, MI. - Drag racing philanthropist Evan Knoll will deliver a long overdue salute to America's military veterans during the 2007 NHRA POWERade Series season using an 8,000-horsepower Top Fuel dragster as his billboard. Knoll will honor all Vietnam Veterans with the entry driven by popular Melanie Troxel, which will compete in all 23 NHRA POWERade Series races this season.

Knoll has dedicated this car to the memory of the 58,195 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who gave their lives in the line of duty in the Southeast Asia theatre along with the 304,704 who were wounded in action. All told, almost 1.6 million members of the United States military saw combat action during the conflict. The highest troop concentrations reached 543,482 during April of 1968.

The Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs today said it has started working to implement the new Persian Gulf Conflict Veterans' Compensation Program, which was approved by Pennsylvania voters in the November 2006 general election.

"This new program requires the publication of regulations and the implementation of processes and procedures to handle more than 30,000 potential applications for the bonus," said Major General Jessica L. Wright, the state's adjutant general. "We should be able to begin accepting applications sometime after Oct. 1.  We know that Persian Gulf veterans are anxious to apply for this new benefit, but we must put the regulations and the staff in place first."

The fate of inpatient care at the Veterans Administration Northern Indiana Health Care System, 2121 Lake Ave., still hangs in the balance, but one local woman is fighting to ensure that the local hospital continues to provide inpatient care to the thousands of men and women who served this country.

In May 2004, the VA Office of Public Affairs announced several changes to its health care facilities, including transferring inpatient care from its Fort Wayne facility to the VA hospital in Indianapolis or contract it to other healthcare providers throughout the community. The proposed changes are part of the administration's Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services (CARES) plan.

"These changes will provide greater access to care for veterans," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi in a 2004 press statement. "By strengthening our network of outpatient clinics, we will bring a greater quality of care closer to where most of Indiana's veterans live."

Amid the numerous new laws that take effect today, there's another law in Illinois that takes direct aim at bogus veterans.

If you falsely claim you are a military veteran or that you've received a Purple Heart or some other combat medal, you can be arrested in Illinois.

"Unfortunately, there have been incidents where individuals who were not awarded important medals from our military are pretending to have them and I think that diminishes the medal recipients," said Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn.

Members of the military, veterans and their families now have a quiet, private space set aside for them at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The Military and Veterans Hospitality Lounge is now open inside Sky Harbor's Terminal 2. "We owe it the men and women serving our country and our veterans to provide a space such as this at Sky Harbor," said Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon.

The longer Dr. Elaine Date studied the medical file of Cpl. Frank Sandoval, the more certain she became: In any previous war, he never would have survived.

Shrapnel from a roadside bomb blast in Iraq had broken open his skull and damaged portions of his brain last November.

Yet here he was, alive and struggling to recover from what has been called the signature wound in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts: traumatic brain injury.

Maine received an enormous amount of positive publicity last week. Morrill Worcester of the Worcester Wreath company, and hundreds of volunteers, delivered 5,000 wreaths to Arlington National Cemetery.

It was Worcester's mission to honor and remember our veterans as well as teach about their sacrifice. The ceremony was an unusual enough occurrence that 17 TV cameras including the four major networks were there. It was a way of connecting the symbols of America and Christmas.

Many of the volunteers had family buried in the cemetery.

CANTON - Caroline McGarvey enlisted in the Army, hoping to spare a family man elsewhere from being drafted. Roy Martin dropped out of the Air Force after 10 years because he was missing too many big moments in his daughter's development.

They and about 400 other veterans came to the Memorial Civic Center on Wednesday for the annual veterans Christmas dinner. The event has been sponsored by the Veterans Administration Outpatient Clinic in Canton since 1984.