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Here are some of today's top stories and happenings at IAVA. Prefer to receive real-time updates about major stories and legislation that IAVA is tracking? Follow us on Twitter @IAVAPressRoom or subscribe to receive the brief in your inbox each morning at www.iava.org/dailynewsbrief.

MUST READS

1) Senate votes to protect Tricare beneficiaries

Although military and congressional leaders insisted it wasn’t necessary, the Senate gave final approval Monday to a bill intended to reassure Tricare beneficiaries that national health care reform won’t require them to buy additional health insurance or to pay a penalty if they do not.

2) Military sources: New US commander for Iraq

The senior U.S. general in Iraq since 2008, Gen. Ray Odierno, will be succeeded by a leading Pentagon general at the end of the summer, military officials said Monday. His replacement is Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin, the staff director for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the officials said.

3) Deployed servicemembers have options as tax deadline approaches

With the April 15 tax deadline three days away, deployed servicemembers still have options if they can't meet the filing deadline. Military members who are deployed in a combat zone have an automatic 180-day extension from the time they return from their deployment.

AFGHANISTAN

Once fully operational, the Afghan National Army Air Corps will be a crucial force in a war that depends heavily on planes and helicopters to ferry troops and supplies to distant battlefields.

NATO troops opened fire on a passenger bus in Kandahar, killing at least four civilians, Afghan and coalition officials said. Hours later, Taliban militants took over a school and attacked the main office of Afghanistan's intelligence service in Kandahar city, wounding at least five people.

A group of three suicide bombers attempted to seize the main intelligence building in Afghanistan's southern city of Kandahar on Monday in a brazen daylight raid, officials said.

IRAQ

Iraq's prime minister accused neighboring states Monday of meddling in his country's internal affairs to try to influence the formation of the government after elections produced no clear winner and left his party in second place.

The Army Reserve unit tarnished by the Abu Ghraib detainee-abuse scandal has been mobilized to return to Iraq in its first deployment since photographs surfaced more than six years ago, the Army said Friday.

A car bomb targeted an Iraqi army patrol in Abu Ghraib on the western outskirts of Baghdad, killing two soldiers and wounding 15 people including three soldiers, police said.

MILITARY AFFAIRS

The days of the old-fashioned sit-up could be numbered in the U.S. Navy, as leaders consider changes to the service’s annual indicator of a sailor’s physical fitness.

The U.S. military says its investments to conserve energy and water are beginning to pay off, with benefits for cost, national security and troop safety — and could save up to $1.6 billion over time.

A number of newspapers were honored with a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the military, including the Washington Post for a series on the impact of the U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq and the Denver Post for a portrait of a teenager who joined the Army.

INSIDE WASHINGTON

A survey of active-duty troops shows the percentage of self-identified Republicans has decreased by one-third since 2004, from 60 percent to 41 percent, while the percentage of self-identified independents has nearly doubled to 32 percent.

CONGRESSIONAL SCHEDULE

THE SENATE

The Senate will convene at 10:00 a.m.

SENATE FLOOR ACTIVITY of INTEREST

No issues today

COMMITTEE HEARINGS of INTEREST

 No issues

FUTURE COMMITTEE HEARINGS of INTEREST

April 14, 2010: Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Hearing: Quality of Life- Senior Enlisted 10:00 a.m.; H-143 Capitol

April 15, 2010: Senate Appropriations MilCon-VA Subcommittee Hearing: FY 2011 Budget. Witnesses from VA: The Honorable Eric K. Shinseki 2:00 p.m.; Location TBD

April 21, 2010: Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Hearing: Oversight Hearing: Implementation of the New Post-9/11 GI Bill – Looking Back and Moving Forward 9:30 a.m.; 418 Russell

May 5, 2010: Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Hearing: VA Disability

THE HOUSE of REPRESENTATIVES 



The House will convene at 2 p.m.

HOUSE FLOOR ACTIVITY of INTEREST

No issues today

HOUSE COMMITTEE HEARINGS of INTEREST 



No issues today

FUTURE HOUSE COMMITTEE HEARINGS of INTEREST 



April 14, 2010 Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Hearing: Quality of Life- Senior Enlisted 10:00 a.m.; H-143 Capitol

April 15, 2010 House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity Hearing: Status of Veterans Employment 1:00 p.m.; 334 Cannon HOB

April 22, 2010 House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Hearing: Examining VA’s Fiduciary Program: How Can VA Better Protect Vulnerable Veterans and Their Families? 2:00 p.m.; 334 Cannon HOB

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