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The Associated Press WASHINGTON With Con- gress scheduled to recess in a week, the chairmen of the House and Senate Vet- erans Affairs committees offered competing new proposals Thursday to fix a veterans health care pro- gram scandalized by long waits and falsified records covering up the delays. Both proposals would scale back separate House and Senate-passed bills after lawmakers in both parties expressed shock at price tags totaling more than $35 billion. Both new proposals would still allow veterans to go to private doctors if they face long waits for appointments at VA hospitals and clinics. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., chairman of the Sen- ate panel, went public first on Thursday, announc- ing a proposal that would cost about $25 billion over three years. That is $10 bil- lion less than a bill passed by the Senate last month and nearly $20 billion less than a House-backed mea- sure. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chairman of the House veterans panel, countered hours later with a proposal that would require only $10 billion in emergency spending, with a promise of more spending in fu- ture years under the nor- mal congressional budget process. Miller announced his plan at a hastily scheduled meeting of House and Sen- ate negotiators who have been working on the vet- erans bill for more than a month. Sanders skipped the meeting, as did all Democrats on the negotiat- ing committee except one, Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D- Ariz. House Speaker John Boehner called Demo- crats' nonappearance at the meeting "shameful" and said that if President Barack Obama cares about America's veterans, "he needs to pick up his phone out in California and tell Senate Democrats to get to work." Despite the partisan di- vide, Miller said talks on the veterans had not col- lapsed and that he remains optimistic a deal can be reached before Congress adjourns next week until September. The Obama adminis- tration says it needs about $17.6 billion to hire thou- sands of doctors, nurses and other health profes- sionals, lease new facilities and upgrade its computers to reduce a backlog of vet- erans awaiting care at VA hospitals and clinics. The administration's request for turning more VA health care over to private doc- tors, however, was the big- gest cost in Congress's bills. VETERANS House,Senatechairs offer competing VA bills The Associated Press WASHINGTON Rep. Paul Ryan proposed a new plan Thursday to merge up to 11 anti-poverty programs into a single grant pro- gram for states that he said would allow more flexibil- ity to help lift people out of poverty. Programs that would be mergedincludefoodstamps, cash welfare, housing subsi- dies, and heating aid for the poor, among others. The Wisconsin Republi- can and 2012 vice presiden- tial nominee is a respected voice within his party. His new "Opportunity Grant" plan would impose work or job training requirements on aid recipients and re- quire states that choose to participate to set up at least two service providers, a move he says would en- courage partnerships with locally-based nonprofits and community groups that may better know the needs of their communities. Ryan, who has traveled the country in the past year visiting with the poor and with those who help them, said current anti-poverty programs are "fragmented and formulaic" and that his new grant program would allow greater collabora- tion within communities to help lift people out of poverty. "The idea would be to let states try different ways of providing aid and then to test the results — in short, more flexibility in exchange for more ac- countability," Ryan said in a speech to the Amer- ican Enterprise Institute, a Washington think tank. "Get rid of these bureau- cratic formulas. Put the emphasis on results." In the speech, Ryan said his plan would per- mit greater innovation to help people find opportu- nities to get jobs. A sin- gle mother who wants to be a teacher, for exam- ple, might focus on get- ting help with transporta- tion and child care to take night classes rather than on getting other forms of aid like food assistance. "Right now, you have to go to a bunch of dif- ferent offices to enroll in a bunch of different pro- grams." Ryan said. "Under the Opportunity Grant, you could go to one office and work with one person for all your needs." Third-party monitors would judge the effective- ness of programs and pro- viders. WASHINGTON Ryan proposes overhaul of anti-poverty programs The Associated Press LOS ANGELES Many immi- grants flooding across the southern border of the U.S. say they're fleeing violent gangs in Central America. Experts, however, say those gangs are actually a byproduct of U.S. poli- cies in the 1990s that sent many immigrants back to Central America after they had been indoctrinated into gang culture in this coun- try. The violence they took with them easily took hold and flourished in El Sal- vador, Honduras and Gua- temala — countries with weak, dysfunctional gov- ernments. A few things to know: WheredoCentral American gangs come from? One study estimated some 350,000 Salvadoran immigrants illegally came to Southern California from 1980 to 1985 while trying to escape civil war and corrup- tion in their home country. They arrived with few English skills and many set- tled in poor neighborhoods with strong Mexican- and African-American gangs. To survive and avoid bul- lying, they formed gangs such as Mara Salvatrucha or joined others such as the 18th Street gang. They com- mitted serious crimes and were sent to prison, where they were further exposed to violent gang culture. In the 1990s, the U.S. in- creased deportations of immigrants facing crim- inal charges, particularly gang members. As many as 1,500 Salvadoran, Gua- temalan and Honduran youths were sent back each month to Central America. They arrived with the noto- riety of being a Los Angeles gangster. "There's this huge explo- sion in all three of these countries of the gangs and the number of gang mem- bers, partially because it's the way of street kids get- ting status and reputation, and partially because it's a way of surviving," said Tom Ward, a University of Southern California associ- ate professor who has stud- ied the issue. What is the relation between the gangs and the influx of immigrants at the US border? Many people fleeing Cen- tral America say they are running from violence per- petrated by the gangs. But the migration is also an ef- fort to reunify families. At least 80 percent of youths stopped at the bor- der have one parent or a close relative already in the United States, said Do- ris Meissner, former com- missioner of the U.S. Immi- gration and Naturalization Service and senior fellow for the Migration Policy In- stitute, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington. Family members already in the U.S. have saved enough money to pay a smuggler to bring their children across the border so boys won't be forcibly recruited into gangs and daughters won't be sub- jected to sexual violence. Why are we seeing this influx of immigrants, especially children, now? Word of mouth in Cen- tral American is strong and there is a pervasive be- lief that the U.S. has been relaxing its immigration stance toward minors. The belief was spurred by recent discussions about possibly changing U.S. immigration policy and by a change in U.S. law in 2008 that pro- vided more rights to minors at the border that included a hearing before a judge. At the same time, a crack- down on cartels caused those criminal organiza- tions and their trafficking operations to spread from Mexico to Central America. More people decided it was time to leave for the U.S. where they believed they would be allowed to stay. Migrants were told to have their children turn themselves into the Border Patrol and they would be given a permit to enter the U.S., said Eric Olson, asso- ciate director of the Latin American Program for the Woodrow Wilson Interna- tional Center for Scholars. The permit, however, was really an order to appear for a deportation hearing. Even so, with court backlogs and a shortage of judges, it can take as long as three years to get a hearing. In the meantime, children are reunited with family in the U.S. and live far away from the violence at home. What have the Central American and US governments done and what are they doing now? Since 2008, the U.S. has approved $803 million for the Central American Re- gional Security Initiative, which includes efforts to disrupt narcotics traffick- ing, support development of strong police and jus- tice institutions, and pre- vent crime and violence. The efforts have gener- ally focused on preventing youths from joining gangs — not trying to get gang members out of the life. And the impacts of these programs have not been ef- fectively measured. The Obama administra- tion is now requesting that Congress approve $3.7 bil- lion in emergency funding to deal with the border cri- sis. The proposal includes $300 million to address re- patriation and reintegra- tion efforts among other is- sues. Funding would also pay for a media campaign to get the word out about the dangers of the journey to the U.S. and the lack of potential immigration sta- tus when people arrive. It would also go to gang in- tervention and prison re- form. IMMIGRATION Ga ng v io le nc e, f ea rs f or children fuel rush to US EDUARDOVERDUGO—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Immigrants run to jump on a train during their journey toward the U.S.-Mexico border, in Ixtepec, Mexico, on July 12. The Associated Press NEW YORK More teen girls are getting a controversial cervical cancer vaccine but the increase isn't much of a bump, the government re- ported Thursday. Last year's rise follows a couple of years when the girls' HPV vaccination rate was flat and health officials worried that it wouldn't budge. For girls ages 13 to 17, the rate is now up to about 38 percent of girls, from 33 percent. "It was better than noth- ing. But we really need to do better moving forward," said Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Con- trol and Prevention. The vaccine protects against human papilloma- virus, or HPV. The sexually transmitted bug can cause cervical cancer, genital warts and other illnesses. A three-dose series of HPV shots was introduced in 2006. The government recommends the vaccine for girls ages 11 and 12 because it works best if given before a teen starts to have sex. Some have worried that taking a child for the vac- cination implied green- lighting sexual activity. But health officials have tried to push doctors and parents to see it as just another disease- prevention measure for pre- adolescents, like the recom- mended shots against men- ingitis and whooping cough. It takes time for new vac- cines to become widely used, but the HPV vaccine has lagged behind other shots. There's some good news: Campaigns in Illinois, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Mexico and South Car- olina paid off with increases last year of at least 12 per- centage points for girls who got at least one dose, the CDC reported. Nationally, vaccination rate increases were larger for boys. About 35 percent got at least one dose last year, up from 21 percent in 2012. The three-dose num- ber doubled to 14 percent, from 7 percent. HEALTH Mo re U S gi rl s no w ge tt in g ce rv ic al c an ce r va cc in e JOHN AMIS — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Lauren Fant, le , winces as she has her third and final application of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine administered by nurse Stephanie Pearson at a doctor's office in Marietta, Ga., in 2007. www.rollinghillscasino.com (530)528-3500 DrawingsEveryFridayinJuly! Simply visit and play using your Shasta Club Card. Drawings begin in July to win $1,000 a week for one year in Cash and Free Slot Play. RUNNINGS ROOFING SheetMetalRoofing ResidentialCommercial • Composition • Shingle • Single Ply Membrane Ownerisonsiteoneveryjob ServingTehamaCounty 530-527-5789 530-209-5367 NoMoney Down! "NoJobTooSteep" " No Job Too Flat" FREE ESTIMATES CA. 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