purpleheartoklahoma
Home
Hello! Whether you are a Purple Heart Medal recipient, spouse or family member, or merely just interested, this Oklahoma site's for you.
The National web site is: http://www.purpleheart.org/Membership/default.aspx
My name is Bruce Dwyer. I am a member of the (non-profit/tax-deductible) Military Order of the Purple Heart (aka "MOPH").
We are a tax-exempt 501(c)(3)(19) organization and our OK Dept. FEIN # is 20-3098859.
We support Combat Wounded Veterans, promote Patriotism, observe Patriotic events and enjoy camaraderie. We also have fun together :-).
Please sign our Guestbook under the "Contact Us" tab above.
The primary purpose here is to tell you what the Military Order of the Purple Heart is about/up to, especially in the Department (state) of Oklahoma.
Secondly, we support ALL VETERANS /Patriotic Activities and will try to be a lightning rod for veterans communications and support. We stand together or are diminished. All advice/comments considered...:-)
Please see Noteworthy Articles, lower left of this Home page.
Use this email below if you want to ask a question or have a comment about this website or the MOPH:
Last updated: 22JUNE09
By KIMBERLY HEFLING and BEN EVANS – 17 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer than half of Veterans Affairs centers given a surprise inspection last month had proper training and guidelines in place for common endoscopic procedures such as colonoscopies — even after the agency learned that mistakes may have exposed thousands of veterans to HIV and other diseases.
The findings, from the VA's inspector general and obtained by The Associated Press, suggest that errors in colonoscopies and other minimally invasive procedures performed at VA facilities may be more widespread than initially believed.
The report is slated to be released Tuesday at a hearing before a House Veterans Affairs subcommittee, in which VA officials are scheduled to take questions. Rep. Harry Mitchell, D-Ariz., who will chair the hearing, on Monday called the situation a "damaging blow to the trust veterans place in the VA."
Mitchell said in a statement he wants to learn what changes have been put in place to prevent similar mistakes.
Howard McIntyre, commander at one of two Disabled American Veterans chapters in Augusta, Ga., called the findings "disturbing" and said "there shouldn't have been any low level of training at all."
"As soon as it was caught, the training should have been stepped up instantly," the 67-year-old Navy veteran said. Medical care for veterans, he said, "shouldn't be any less than perfect, because these are lives we're talking about."
The random inspections were conducted May 13-14 at 42 VA medical centers around the country. They found that just 43 percent of the centers have standard operating procedures in place and have properly trained their staffs for using endoscopic equipment.
The investigation comes months after the discovery of a mistake at Murfreesboro, Tenn., led to a nationwide safety campaign at the VA's 153 medical centers calling attention to potential infection risks from improperly operating and sterilizing the equipment.
Along with Murfreesboro, the agency has said mistakes were identified at a Miami center and at an ear, nose and throat clinic in Augusta. In February the agency started warning about 10,000 former patients at those facilities, some who had colonoscopies as far back as 2003, to get blood tests for HIV and hepatitis.
As of Friday, the VA reported that six veterans taking the follow-up blood checks tested positive for HIV, 34 tested positive for hepatitis C and 13 tested positive for hepatitis B. But there is no way to prove whether the infections came from VA procedures, and some experts say most or all of the infections probably already existed. The VA says the chance of infection was remote.
Agency spokeswoman Katie Roberts did not respond to a request for comment on the report.
Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, the lead Republican on the Senate Veterans Affairs committee, said "too many questions surrounding the VA's handling of this issue remain unanswered."
The VA has acknowledged that the mistakes were caused by human error.
In Murfreesboro, officials believe use of an incorrect valve may have allowed body fluid residue to transfer from patient to patient, possibly for more than five years since the equipment was installed in 2003.
In Miami, a tube that was supposed to be cleaned after each colonoscopy was instead cleaned at the end of each day, affecting patients between May 2004 and March 2009. And in Augusta, the ENT scopes used for looking into the nose and throat weren't properly cleaned, affecting patients between January 2008 and November 2008.
Since VA reported those mistakes, a key question has been whether they might have been repeated at other facilities using similar equipment.
Associated Press writer Russ Bynum in Savannah, Ga., contributed to this report.
for more veterans to enroll in VA's health care system. VA will now
enroll some veterans who had previously been denied health care
eligibility because of incomes exceeding VA's national means test or
geographic means test financial thresholds. The new provision allows
veterans who have incomes above these thresholds by 10 percent or less
to receive VA health care, increasing eligibility for over 270,000
veterans. Incrementally expanding eligibility to more veterans will
allow VA to do so without compromising either the quality of an
award-winning health care system or the ability of already-enrolled
Veterans to access that care. Any veteran who applied for enrollment
after January 1, 2009 and was denied due to income will automatically
have that application reconsidered. Veterans who applied before January
1, 2009 will need to reapply to take advantage of the relaxed income
restrictions. A Web-based calculator at www.va.gov/healtheligibility for
enables veterans to enter their income information, dependents, and zip
code to assess if their income would fall within the proposed income
threshold adjustments. Veterans are encouraged to contact VA's Health
Resource Center at 1-877-222 VETS (8387) or visit the VA health
eligibility Web site at www.va.gov/healtheligibility for more
information.
ORD Security Manager
ORD VSO Liaison
Community Outreach Coordinator
Office of Research and Development (12)
Department of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20420
202.461.1710 (o)
202.281.9374 (c)
202.254.0460 (f)
reuben.wright@va.gov
<http://us.mc841.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=reuben.wright@va.gov> (e)
Washington, D.C. – On Thursday, May 14, 2009, the House Veterans’ Affairs Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee, led by Chairman John Hall (D-NY), conducted a hearing to continue its oversight of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA), the Appeals Management Center (AMC), and the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC). The hearing focused on the efficiency and effectiveness of the agencies tasked with handling appeals filed by veterans pertaining to claims for benefits initiated at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
“The process a veteran goes through when filing an appeal is a never ending story that this Subcommittee has heard many times before,” said Chairman Hall. “A new claim is more like a short story. Upon submission, it can be developed and rated in about six months. However, if a veteran disagrees with the VA decision and files an appeal, then it becomes an epic tale that can go on for years or even decades. Our goal today is to learn more about the causes of delays in order to improve the administrative and judicial appeals processes to more efficiently serve veterans.”
At the hearing, Members heard the frustrations that veterans and survivors encounter waiting months and years on an appeal decision. Veterans who are denied or have benefits delayed as a result often face socioeconomic hardships, lack access to medical care, and miss opportunities to take advantage of other benefits that would come with service connection, such as vocational rehabilitation, life insurance or housing allowances. Veterans also find traveling to Washington, DC or even a Regional Office (RO) for a personal hearing with the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) to be cost prohibitive and travel boards often are difficult to schedule.
Witnesses offered testimony detailing the complex appellate process, which involves multiple layers and jurisdictions, lengthy waiting times, and stressful and confusing choices for veterans and their families. Specifically, witnesses discussed the longstanding delay in forwarding appeals to the BVA from VA regional offices, the high error rate at the BVA with no accompanying remedial action, and the misapplication of the clearly erroneous standard by the CAVC. In fiscal year 2008, it took an average of 563 days for the BVA to process an appeal, 567 days for the AMC and 446 days for the CAVC. Both the BVA and the CAVC have high remands rates, around 37% and 70% respectively (sending the appeal back to the originating agency/entity usually for further procedural development without making a decision), a process many veterans and their advocates have dubbed the “Hamster Wheel”. Recommendations to eliminate this phenomenon included, dissolving the Appeals Management Center, changing VA policy that requires claims be returned to the RO if a veteran submits additional evidence after requesting the claim be sent to BVA, reducing the appellate period from one year to six months, and addressing the inefficiency of federal courts not having authority to certify a veteran’s lawsuit as a class action.
Chairman Hall summarized the hearing and said, “I am committed to working to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the appellate processes that produce better outcomes than the current maze of appeals, remands, re-remands, and undue delays to the benefit of our veterans, their families, and survivors. I look forward to working with all of the stakeholders as there remains much work to be done.”
“It is clear that VA needs to reform the claims processing system by greatly improving the accuracy and quality of its decisions,” said Bob Filner, Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. “The VA continues to see the number of pending cases and appeals rise. This trend is expected to continue due to the current conflicts. The VA, the BVA, and the CAVC must work cooperatively to address lengthy delays and ensure veterans get the timely justice that they deserve and Congress envisions.”
Witnesses:
Panel 1
· Judge Bruce E. Kasold, U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
Panel 2
· William Angulo Preston, Acting President, American Federation of Government Employees Local 17, Associate Counsel, Board of Veterans Appeals
· Kerry Baker, Assistant National Legislative Director, Disabled American Veterans
· Barton F. Stichman, Joint Executive Director, National Veterans Legal Services Program
· Richard Paul Cohen, Executive Director, National Organization of Veterans’ Advocates
Panel 3
· The Honorable James P. Terry, Chairman, Board of Veterans' Appeals, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
· Ronald S. Burke, Director, Appeals Management Center, Veterans Benefits Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Prepared testimony for the hearing and a link to the webcast from the hearing is available on the internet at this link: http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/hearing.aspx?newsid=388.
###
The Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs held a series of oversight hearings in the 110th Congress focused on the disability claims processing system and the appellate process. You can access statements and transcripts on the Committee website:
· February 26, 2008: The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Schedule for Rating Disabilities http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/hearing.aspx?NewsID=197
· February 14, 2008: Examining the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Claims Processing System http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/hearing.aspx?NewsID=189
· January 29, 2008: The Use of Artificial Intelligence to Improve the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Claims Processing System http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/hearing.aspx?NewsID=179
· September 25, 2007: Board of Veterans’ Appeals Adjudication Process and the Appeals Management Center http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/hearing.aspx?NewsID=115
· May 22, 2007: The Challenges Facing the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/hearing.aspx?NewsID=31
Blinded Veterans Association will continue to closely follow this issue and any further hearings or legislation that might emerge as a result of this.
Tom Zampieri
Blinded Veterans Association
Director Government Relations
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
BVA's Legislative Alerts Group
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
May 7, 2009 – 12:07 p.m.
Obama Budget Fiscal 2010: Veterans Affairs
By Matthew M. Johnson, CQ Staff
In line with President Obama’s pledge to boost spending for veterans, the fiscal 2010 budget request includes a nearly 16 percent increase for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Bills in this Story
- S 423
- Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act of 2009
- HR 1016
- Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act of 2009
Also in this Issue
Members in this Story
- Sen. Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii)
- Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Texas)
- Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.)
- Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas)
- Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.)
- Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.)
The White House is requesting $55.9 billion in discretionary spending for the VA, up from the $50.4 billion appropriated for fiscal 2009. Mandatory funding would make up $56.9 billion in the proposed budget, up from $47.3 billion provided for fiscal 2009.
A total of $47.4 billion in discretionary funding would be allocated in fiscal 2010 to medical care for veterans.
Of that amount, about $34.7 billion in discretionary funds would be set aside for medical services accounts, compared with $31 billion in fiscal 2009 appropriations; about $4.7 billion in discretionary funds would go to medical facilities accounts, down from roughly $5 billion in fiscal 2009; and roughly $5.1 billion in discretionary spending would go to medical support and compliance accounts, up from $4.5 billion appropriated for fiscal 2009.
VA benefit programs would receive $47.2 billion in mandatory funding, up nearly 10 percent from the $43.1 billion appropriated for fiscal 2009. As much as $29.3 billion from these funds would be reimbursed to the general operating expenses, medical support and compliance and information technology systems accounts.
Key Democratic appropriators gave an early thumbs-up to the request.
“President Obama is keeping his promise to those who have kept their promise to defend our nation by requesting the largest VA budget increase ever requested,” said Texas Rep. Chet Edwards, chairman of the House Appropriations Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Subcommittee.
Zach Wamp of Tennessee, ranking Republican on that panel, was also pleased by the proposed increases.
“This budget goes a long way in keeping the bipartisan commitment to honor every man and woman in uniform, those serving now and those that have served in the past,” he said.
Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., chairman of the Senate Appropriations Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Subcommittee, said he was “extremely pleased with the robust funding the president has requested for the VA.”
Some Republican appropriators in the Senate were not as keen on aspects of the budget not related to veterans.
Kay Bailey Hutchison, ranking Republican on the VA subcommittee, believes that the president is not allocating enough for military construction, said Jeff Sadosky, a spokesman for the Texas lawmaker.
The budget request contains about $21 billion in discretionary funding for military construction in fiscal 2010, down from $21.9 billion in fiscal 2009.
Obama’s budget did not include a request for the VA’s fiscal 2011 budget. The chairmen of the Senate and House Veterans’ Affairs committees, Sen. Daniel K. Akaka, D-Hawaii, and Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., have introduced bills (S 423, HR 1016) that would mandate advance funding for the VA.
Budget documents say the administration will work with Congress to develop an advance appropriation proposal for the VA’s medical care program.
Source: CQ Today Print Edition
Boston University experts evaluate the science for landmark federal report.
Gulf War veterans suffering a host of neurological problems have scored a victory in their struggle to legitimize their medical claims – thanks in part to public health experts at BU, whose research effectively debunks years of government denials.
Source : Bostonia: The Alumni Magazine of Boston University
Veterans Council Up – Dates April 2009
Obama's Agenda For Vets Posted At White House Website. President Barack Obama "promises to deliver the care and benefits that the nation's military veterans deserve while transforming the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to an administration agenda posted recently on the White House" website "devoted exclusively to veterans -- www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/veterans." Obama, "who served on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, plans to reverse the 2003 ban on enrolling modest-income veterans into the VA system. The administration also wants to end employment discrimination for Guardsmen and Reservists and improve the process of transitioning from active duty to civilian life."
Obama Budgets For Competing Medical Treatment Studies. President Barack Obama "has dedicated $1.1 billion in the economic stimulus package for federal agencies to oversee studies on the merits of competing medical treatments." The "idea of determining which treatment works best -- and steering patients toward it -- has been employed for years by...the Veterans Health Administration and many private health plans." Industry officials "say they welcome the scientific reviews, but they are less enthusiastic about programs in Europe " and at the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) "that link quality and cost. 'Used incorrectly, it allows government payers to literally ban and keep medicines from patients who need them,'" said "W. J. 'Billy' Tauzin, president of the trade group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America," who "noted that many veterans have purchased Medicare drug coverage because of the restrictions in the VHA plan."
VA Anticipating Hiring Surge Under Obama's Budget PlanPresident Barack Obama's proposed budget, which was released last week, "is so ambitious, with vast new spending" on healthcare, "energy independence, education and services for veterans, that experts say he probably will need to hire tens of thousands of new federal government workers to realize his goals." Several "major agencies said they are already making plans to grow their workforces, some significantly. Officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs, for instance, said they expect to hire more than 17,000 new employees by the end of the year, many at hospitals and other facilities to fulfill Obama's pledge to expand veterans' access" to healthcare. The "agency -- whose budget will grow by 11 percent, to $56 billion, under Obama's plan -- will add about 7,900 nurses, 3,300 doctors, 3,800 clerks and 2,400 practical nurses, spokeswoman Josephine Schuda said."
VA Funding Would Increase By $25 billion Over Next Five Years. President Barack Obama's "first federal budget," notes that the 2010 budget proposal would increase "Veterans Affairs Department funding by $25 billion over the next five years. The budget would restore eligibility" for VA healthcare "to veterans who have at least modest incomes and do not have service-connected conditions. These 'Category 8' veterans have been barred from enrolling in VA's" healthcare system "since 2003." The Times says the budget would also fund "expanded VA mental health screening and treatment services" and expand "Pentagon and VA pilot programs to expedite the processing of injured troops through the Disability Evaluation System."
Shinseki Concerned About Last-Minute Changes To New GI Bill. Of the many challenges facing Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, one of the most urgent may be stopping Congress from engaging in last-minute tinkering with the Post-9/11 GI Bill in a way that could scuttle the Aug. 1 launch of the sweeping new benefit. Powerful lawmakers, including" US Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA), chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, "are being pressed by state education officials to revise the plan to reimburse full tuition plus fees at public colleges and universities." But any "changes along the lines of what Filner is talking about, Shinseki said, would put current plans for launching the program at risk." Filner, however, "said he recognizes that any change would have to be made quickly if it is to take effect this year."
Questions Remain About New GI Bill. "Colleges and universities nationwide are preparing to roll out their welcome mats for veterans who will be eligible for the new Post-9/11 GI Bill," which "goes into effect Aug. 1. Now, if only the schools knew exactly what they were getting themselves into." Higher-education associations have "peppered officials" at the US Department of Veterans Affairs "with requests for clarification and suggested improvements in proposed regulations on how the GI Bill will work. And some preliminary data posted" on the VA "website has created confusion about what the maximum benefit will be in each state" Federal "lawmakers...question whether the federal government will be able to resolve all of its concerns in time to meet the Aug. 1 deadline." But Keith Wilson, director of the VA's education service division, "said his staff is on schedule," although he "acknowledged being on a 'very aggressive timetable for implementation.'"
VA Offering Funding To Agencies Assisting Homeless Vets. The Department of Veterans Affairs is offering Homeless Providers Grants and Per Diem money to fund community agencies providing services to homeless veterans." The purpose of the funding "is to promote the development and provision of supportive housing and/or supportive services with the goal of helping homeless veterans achieve residential stability, increase their skill levels and/or income, and obtain greater self-determination. Three types of funding are being offered, all with" a March 25th deadline. State "and local governments, tribes, and faith- and community-based organizations can apply for these funds to expand or develop transitional housing projects."
Nonprofit Planning To Set Up Center For Homeless Vets.that by next January, Camp Washington , a neighborhood in Cincinnati , "could be home to a 50-bed center that helps homeless veterans. That's the goal of the nonprofit" Volunteers of America (VOA), "a national organization that sponsors affordable housing." On Wednesday, the VOA "entered into a purchase option with Hamilton County for 2.6 acres of county-owned land." The "project is expected to cost roughly $2 million. VOA, which runs similar shelters elsewhere in the state, secured a $1 million grant" from the US Department of Veterans Affairs. VOA "will provide the matching money for that grant" while the VA "will pay for ongoing operations, said Scott Gehring, vice president of program development" for VOA's Ohio River Valley chapter
VA Increases Caregiver Program's Payment Benefit. If you're struggling with an elderly loved one, who also happens to be one of America 's veterans, relief is around the corner." The Department of Veterans Affairs "has increased its payment in the 'Veterans Aid and Attendance Pension Benefit' Program
Lawmakers Praised For Introducing Veterans-Related Legislation. US Rep. John Boozman (R-AR), the "ranking minority member of the Veterans Affairs economic opportunity subcommittee, who recently introduced legislation aimed at expanding assistance to veterans for job training, housing accommodations and education opportunities." The column adds, "Aloha to Sen. Daniel K. Akaka, Hawaii Democrat and chairman" of the Veterans Affairs Committee, "who introduced the Veterans Rehabilitation and Training Improvements Act of 2009."
VHA Directive 1162, Mental health Homeless and Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Programs, has been released for publication; it can be found on the following websites within 48 hours:
Internet http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/
Intranet http://vaww1.va.gov/vhapublications/
The VA’s National Center for PTSD wants to make sure you are aware we now have new revisions of our Returning from the War Zone Guides available. One version is for Service Members and the other is for Family. They include narratives, color photos and live links to materials on our Web site. These publications can currently be located at: http://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/ptsd/index.asp
Returning from the War Zone: A Guide for Families of Military Members (PDF)
Information to help military family members understand what to expect during the reintegration following time in a war zone, and to help them adapt back to home life with their loved one.
Returning from the War Zone: A Guide for Military Personnel (PDF)
Information to help military personnel understand what to expect when returning from a war zone, and to help them to better adapt back to home life.
An online interactive version of the Family Guide will also be available soon.
VA CLAIMS PROCESSING: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is piloting two new programs for Claims Processing. The first involves a comprehensive checklist that lays out information and evidence veterans and families need to support their disability compensation and pension benefits claims. Four regional offices were selected for the pilot. They are: Cleveland , OH ; Boise , ID ; Waco , TX ; and Louisville , KY. The second pilot is designed to help reduce the claims processing time. The VA will accept certified, fully developed claims and place them into a separate process. This alternative process is expected to provide results within 90 days after the claim was submitted. According to the VA, the definition of “fully developed” is when the veteran submits a certified statement that he or she does not intend to submit any additional information or evidence in support of their claim, and it will not require any assistance. The 10 regional offices selected for the one-year pilot are: Montgomery , AL ; Columbia , SC ; Boston , MA ; Manchester , NH ; Providence , RI ; Chicago , IL ; Milwaukee , WI ; Boise , ID ; Denver CO ; and Portland , OR
Akaka's Committee To Focus On Disability Compensation System. USSen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI), who chairs the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, wrote, "Today's veteran disability compensation system is complicated and burdensome for both veterans and the government," so much Senate Veterans Affairs Committee's "attention this Congress will be dedicated to determining how veterans should be compensated and improving the compensation process." President Obama and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki "have both expressed the desire for change at VA. I look forward to working with them to improve the system."
Buyer Says VA Is Facing "Critical Challenges." In a related op-ed also appearing in US Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN) said the VA "faces a number of critical challenges made even more imposing by the thousands of combat veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan . Among these are the disability claims backlog, treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), suicide among veterans, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and implementation of the new GI Bill." Buyer added, "Bold action will be required to ensure" that the VA's "health and disability systems are effective in delivering timely and quality services to our veterans, and I look forward to working with Secretary Shinseki on modernization and reform" at the agency.
VietnamVeterans Of America Begins Online Health Council Program. "Vietnam Veterans of America last Wednesday launched an online program, dubbed Veterans Health Council, which offers information on the health risks encountered by the military and the resources and benefits available to them; develops educational materials for medical schools, nursing schools and teaching hospitals and advocates for new health care initiatives." The program, located at "www.veteranshealth.org, also aims to be the forum for an ongoing forum for health professionals, employee representatives, advocacy organizations, and health care firms. Vietnam Veterans of America says 80 percent of veterans do not use Department of Veterans Affairs" hospitals. Most "veterans, the group suggested, are unaware they may have service-linked health problems for which they are entitled to VA compensation and medical care."
Research Indicates Link Between Diabetes, Increased Alzheimer's Risk. new research published last month in the journal Diabetes Care indicates that diabetes "increases the risk of getting Alzheimer's disease and may speed dementia once it strikes." The AP adds, "Type 2 diabetes occurs as a result of insulin resistance, as the body gradually loses sensitivity" to a hormone "that's essential for turning blood sugar into energy. A similar effect in the brain helps explain the dementia link, Dr. Suzanne Craft of the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System concludes in a research review also published in that journal. Insulin influences memory in a variety of ways, and an insulin-resistant body in turn affects brain cells' insulin-related activity."
ADNI Initiative More Than 95% Complete. Researchers have announced that a high-density genome wide analysis of participants" in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) "is more than 95% complete and that data will be shared with scientists around the world for further analysis. The ADNI data will be used by researchers to search for genes that contribute to the development of Alzheimer's disease." ADNI Principal Investigator Michael Weiner, M.D., "director of the Center for the Imaging of Neurodegenerative Diseases" at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, "said, 'The release of this genetics data, in combination with the clinical, cognitive, MRI, PET, and blood/cerebrospinal fluid data already in the ADNI database, will now allow investigators to explore genetic factors related to the rate of progression of Alzheimer's disease. Access to this huge amount of data on a public website, from an ongoing clinical study, is unprecedented.'"
Estimate Puts Possible Number Of Brain Injured US Troops At 360,000. the number of US troops "who have suffered wartime brain injuries may be as high as 360,000 and could cast more attention on such injuries among civilians, Defense Department doctors said Wednesday. The estimate of the number injured - the vast majority of them suffering concussions - represents 20 percent" of the approximately "1.8 million men and women who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, where blast injuries are common from roadside bombs and other explosives, the doctors said. The estimate came in a Pentagon news conference on activities planned this month to bring attention to brain injuries." The "previous high estimate offered publicly was 320,000 in a study released a year ago by the private Rand Corp."
FDA Study: Link Is Likely Between Suicide, Smoking-Cessation Drug. A new study" from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) "appears to back up claims that a smoking-cessation drug used by service members and veterans may put them at risk for suicidal thoughts. In fiscal 2007, some 67,580 service members had prescriptions for the medication, according to the Defense Department." The FDA study, "published recently in the Journal of the American Medical Association, linked varenicline with 19 deaths and 112 serious incidents involving injury, hospitalization or emergency intervention after people took the drug to help them stop smoking. The FDA called a link between suicidal ideation and the drug 'likely' - even for those with no prior history of mental health issues - and said it's important for physicians to monitor patients who take the drug." The drug "first made headlines when the Washington Times newspaper reported" that the VA gave it to veterans with PTSD "to help them stop smoking, leading two lawmakers to ask for an investigation."
Supreme Court Turns Down Agent Orange Appeals. The Supreme Court has turned down pleas from American and Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange who wanted to pursue lawsuits against companies that made the toxic chemical defoliant used in the Vietnam War." The justices rejected "appeals in three separate cases, involving Dow Chemical, Monsanto and other companies that made Agent Orange and other herbicides used by the military in Vietnam . Agent Orange has been linked to cancer, diabetes and birth defects."
New Agent Orange Subject Guide To assist researchers studying the topic of agent orange during and after the Vietnam War, the Vietnam Center and Archive has produced a new subject guide highlighting agent orange related resources I... http://www.Vietnam.ttu.edu/vietnamarchive/resources/agentorange/index.php
VA Criticized For Destroying Legionnaires' Disease Research Material Dr. Janet Stout, Dr. Victor Yu, and other former employees of the Special Pathogens Laboratory at the Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System "have been recognized as worldwide leaders in Legionnaires' disease research, diagnosis and treatment therapies since the 1980s." But their work for the VA "came to an abrupt end in late 2006," when the department "fired Yu, forced Stout to reign, and shut down the lab. VA officials padlocked the lab and destroyed, without warning, more than 11,000 unique microbes – including specimens of bacteria that caused the original outbreak of Legionellosis." A congressional subcommittee staff report later condemned the VA's actions, but Pittsburgh VA spokesman David Cowgill confirmed in a statement to the magazine that those thought to be responsible for the actions have been promoted. Stout, on the other hand, continues to express anger about what was done, calling the destruction of the research material "an unconscionable act."
Link Indicated Between Chemical Exposure,Gulf War SyndromeExposure to certain chemicals during the 1991 Gulf War appears to have triggered abnormal responses in the brains of some" US veterans, "researchers have found. They say the discovery could lead to new diagnostic tests and treatments for veterans with so-called Gulf War syndrome." The study "is published in the March issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
Study Suggests Link Between Gulf War Exposures, Brain Changes. A new study of veterans of the 1991 Gulf War suggests that exposure to neurotoxins such as anti-nerve agent pills, insect repellent and Sarin caused neurological changes to the brain. However, brain imaging shows those changes appear to differ depending on what and how much each person was exposed to." Moreover, the changes "also correspond to different sets of symptoms." The study, "published in Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging Journal," conducted by researchers "at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Southern Methodist University, and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Dallas ."
Early Shut Down A Concern For Gulf War Vets Advisory Committee Member. One Crawford man worries that the national Veteran Affairs advisory committee he fought to establish is being hastily shut down." Gulf War veteran Kirt Love "was appointed to the Gulf War Veterans Advisory Committee last year after several years of pushing the VA and local legislators to create it." Originally, the committee "received an 18-month charter to explore medical and administrative issues plaguing Gulf War Veterans." Now, however, the "committee chairman is hoping to end the committee's work in the coming months, ahead of the committee's dissolution date in December. Love, who "said he suspects that VA officials may be pressuring for a quick end to the...committee's work to take focus off the plight of Gulf War" vets, "said he will continue fighting for focus on Gulf War issues after the committee's work ends, whether that is sooner or later."
Study Explores Brains Of Vets Suffering From Gulf War Syndrome. a new study by researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center "is the first to pinpoint damage inside the brains of veterans suffering from Gulf War syndrome – a finding that links the illness to chemical exposures and may lead to diagnostic tests and treatments." The research is "published in the March issue of the journal Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging." The study "was funded, in part, by the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command."
Report Criticizes Gulf War Vaccine Tests Conducted By Israel. "Israeli soldiers subjected to 'unnecessary' testing as part of the army's bid to find an anthrax vaccine around the 1991 Gulf war were not adequately warned of the risks, a declassified report said on Wednesday. The state was forced to release the findings...following an order from the high court." The "findings of the medical commission of inquiry released" by the court "also sharply criticised the secrecy that had surrounded the entire operation. Public radio said several dozen soldiers were believed to have fallen ill after the tests, some of them developing epilepsy."
Gulf War Pilot's Status Changed To MIA.notes that on Tuesday, the status of US Navy Capt. Michael Scott Speicher, the "first American casualty of Operation Desert Storm in 1991," was changed from "missing/captured" to "missing in action" by Navy Secretary Donald Winter. Winter, whose decision countered a "recent recommendation by a status review board that the pilot still could be held by enemy forces," has "ordered another review of the situation within the next year."
SBP DIC OFFSETA bipartisan group of more than 160 lawmakers has promised to increase government benefits for about 57,000 survivors of service members who died while on active duty. But the lawmakers did not explain where they will find the estimated $480 million that would be needed to cover the cost. With the Obama administration talking about trying to hold down the costs of government entitlements, and defense officials worried about not having enough money in future budgets for modernizing weapons and other priorities, it is hard to see how the outcome for survivors will be different from what has happened over the past five years when Congress has dangled the promise of better benefits before widows, only to disappoint them in the end. Edie Smith, a member of Gold Star Wives who has been working for more than 20 years to get the offset eliminated, said money has been the main obstacle, and Pentagon opposition to changing the rules hasn’t helped.
More Movement in Survivor Issues- Senator Bill Nelson (D-Florida) introduced his bill to end the SBP/DIC offset. Senator Nelson has been our long time champion on this issue in the Senate. His bill for this session of Congress S535 starts out with 9 influential original co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle. They are: Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Senator Jim Inofe (R-OK), Senator John Kerry (D-MA), Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Senator David Vitter (R-LA). This is a very good beginning. It joins HR775on the House side. Representative Solomon Ortiz’s (D-TX) companion bill has already reached 147 co-sponsors! This in only 5 weeks! We believe that this is the session where we can finally get this bill passed. Finally things seem to be breaking our way. However, if we do not succeed now I don’t know if we ever will. It is crucial that you contact your Senators and Representatives and urge them to support the end to this unfair offset. (Or thank them if they have already signed up). There has also been movement forward for Representative Walter Jones’ (R-NC) bill, HR613,to allow survivors of uniformed services retirees to keep the full retiree check of the last month the retiree lived. It now has 27 co-sponsors. This simple change (which would make it the same VA disabled pay) would make life much easier for families when they are going through the trauma of losing their loved one. This is an important issue for you to contact your representative about this.
House Subcommittee Reviews Three VA-Related Bills. House Veterans Affairs Health Subcommittee "held a hearing" Tuesday "to review legislation to improve and expand the health care delivery and services for veterans provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs." The hearing "reviewed...three bills," one of which would direct the VA secretary "to submit to Congress quarterly reports on vacancies in mental health professional positions" at VA medical facilities. A second bill reviewed would direct the VA secretary "to carry out a pilot program to provide outreach and training to certain college and university mental health centers relating to the mental health of veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom." The third bill reviewed would direct "the VA to conduct a study on the barriers faced by women veterans in accessing" VA care "and to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the women's health care programs at each" VA hospital
Subcommittees Expected To Mark Up Several Veterans-Related Bills. House Veterans Affairs subcommittees "are expected to mark up several veterans' health care and welfare bills Thursday. The Veterans Affairs Health Subcommittee will mark up a bill (HR 1377) that would expand veterans' eligibility to be reimbursed for care they receive in non-Veterans Affairs Department emergency rooms." The Veterans Affairs Economic Opportunity Subcommittee "will meet later to mark up five additional measures," including a "bill (HR 1171)that would reauthorize the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program." Another of the bills, HR 228,"would establish a scholarship" aimed at increasing "the number of blind rehabilitation specialists who serve at VA hospitals."
House Veterans Affairs Economic Opportunity Subcommittee is scheduled to mark up "legislation on job security (HR 466), job training (HR 1088), employment rights (HR 1089)," HR 1171, and scholarships HR 228. Meanwhile, at 10 a.m. in 332 Cannon, the House Veterans Affairs Health Subcommittee is scheduled to mark up HR 1377.
House Committee To Mark Up Three Veterans-Related Bills. the House Veterans Affairs Committee "will meet Wednesday to mark up a trio of measures that aim to insure, house and make payments to qualified" veterans. One bill, HR 1377, "would provide auxiliary health insurance to veterans who received coverage from a private insurance company for non-service-related wounds but who still have unpaid expenses for emergency treatment." The legislation "was amended last week in the Health Subcommittee to make the bill effective on the date of enactment, while allowing the VA secretary to provide reimbursement for emergency treatment provided at a non-department facility at any time before the date of enactment. A second bill (HR 1171) slated for a vote would reauthorize the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program for fiscal 2010 through 2014." The committee "will also consider the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) bill (HR 1513)for veterans and their family members who receive disability, dependency and indemnity compensation payments
House To Consider Three Veterans-Related Bills. USHouse of Representatives "will consider three bills...that would increase health care and other benefits for military veterans." One bill, HR 1377, "would allow reimbursements to veterans who receive emergency treatment at a facility outside the Department of Veterans Affairs." Also "on tap is a measure (HR 1171)that would authorize $300 million over five years for the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program." That bill would "also...establish a grant program for homeless women veterans and homeless veterans with children that would fund programs providing job training, counseling, placement services and child care services." A "third measure (HR 1513) would provide a cost-of-living increase in disability compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities."
Three Bills Passed By House Would Increase Healthcare, Other Benefits For Vets. "Three bills that would boost" healthcare services and "other benefits for military veterans passed the House on Monday." One of the measures, HR 1377, "would allow reimbursements to veterans who receive emergency treatment at a facility outside the Department of Veterans Affairs." The House also passed a bill, HR 1171, "that would authorize $300 million over five years for the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program. " The legislation would "also...establish a grant program for homeless women veterans and homeless veterans with children that would fund programs providing job training, counseling, placement services and child care services." The third measure, HR 1513, that the House passed "would provide a cost-of-living increase in disability compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities."
VET JOB TRAINING: A key member of a House panel responsible for helping veterans find a job has introduced five bills to enhance job training and placement. Rep. John Boozman of Arkansas , ranking Republican on the House Veterans’ Affairs subcommittee on economic opportunity, said he hopes the bills provide some ideas about things Congress can do to help veterans make the transition from military to civilian life. And, he noted, that does not necessarily mean spending a lot of tax dollars. However, he is not against spending any money on veterans' programs. All five of his bills were referred to the economic opportunity subcommittee. and are likely to be discussed during upcoming hearings on veterans’ transition issues. The bills are:
H.R.1168is the centerpiece of his proposals which he calls the Veterans Retraining Act of 2009. It would increase job training assistance for veterans who are unemployed for at least four months, provide a housing stipend for those taking the training, and pay up to $5,000 in moving expenses if a veteran must relocate to find a job in which he can use his new skills.
H.R. 1169would increase housing and auto grants for disabled veterans.
H.R.1170would create a grant program to develop technology to help modify homes for disabled veterans.
H.R.1171would extend through 2014 an existing grant program to provide job training and employment services for homeless veterans.
H.R.1172is the Pat Tillman Veterans’ Scholarship initiative, named for the former pro football player killed in Afghanistan in 2004 while serving as an Army Ranger. The bill would require the Veterans Affairs Department to maintain a list of scholarships available to veterans and their survivors.
House Veterans’ Affairs Economic Opportunity Subcommittee(Chairman Herseth Sandlin D-S.D.) held a hearing on H.R.1171plus the following pending veteran legislation:
HR 147- A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow taxpayers to designate a portion of their income tax payment to provide assistance to homeless veterans, and for other purposes.
HR 228- A bill to direct the secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a scholarship program for students seeking a degree or certificate in the areas of visual impairment and orientation and mobility.
HR 297- Veteran Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Subsistence Allowance Improvement Act of 2009.
HR 466- Wounded Veteran Job Security Act.
HR 929- A bill to amend Title 38, United States Code, to require the secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a program of training to provide eligible veterans with skills relevant to the job market, and for other purposes.
HR 942 -Veterans Self-Employment Act of 2009.
HR 950- A bill to amend chapter 33 of Title 38, United States Code, to increase educational assistance for certain veterans pursuing a program of education offered through distance learning.
HR 1088- Mandatory Veteran Specialist Training Act of 2009.
HR 1089- A bill to amend Title 38, United States Code, to provide for the enforcement through the Office of Special Counsel of the employment and unemployment rights of veterans and members of the armed forces employed by federal executive agencies, and for other purposes.
The House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity approved on 19 MARmeasures that aim to strengthen employment rights and benefits of veterans and servicemembers. “These bills are good steps to achieving the goals of this subcommittee,” said Chairwoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD at large). Each of the bills was approved by voice vote. The bills approved were:
H.R.228Visual Impairment Scholarship Program sponsored by Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) -- Would direct the secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a program for students seeking a degree or certificate in areas dealing with visual impairment. It would authorize the award of financial assistance up to $15,000 per academic year and no more than $45,000 total over six years be made effective no more than six months after the date of enactment.
H.R.466Wounded Veteran Job Security Act sponsored by Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) -- would prohibit employment discrimination against any person who has a disability or injury that has been determined by the secretary of Veterans Affairs to have been incurred in military service.
H.R.1088Mandatory Veteran Specialist Training Act of 2009 sponsored by Herseth Sandlin (D-SD) -- Would reduce, from three years to one year, the period during which a disabled veterans’ outreach program specialist must complete the training program provided by the National Veterans’ Employment and Training Services Institute.
H.R.1089Veterans Employment Rights sponsored by Herseth Sandlin (D-SD) -- Would authorize the enforcement of employment and unemployment rights of veterans and members of the armed forces by the Office of the Special Counsel. Before approving HR 1089, the panel adopted by voice vote an amendment by Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ) that would make technical changes to the bill. The amendment would give the Office of the Special Counsel the authority to investigate cases arising under the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act (USERRA). “This amendment would make sure the Office of Special Counsel has the same authority the Department of Labor has to investigate USERRA cases,” Kirkpatrick said. “It should strengthen OSC to better serve our nation’s veterans.”
The House Veterans Affairs Committee gave voice vote approval 25 MARfor submission to the full House the following three measures that would increase benefits for wounded or homeless veterans: H.R.1377Emergency Treatment for Veterans sponsored by Chairman Bob Filner of California - Would allow reimbursements to veterans who receive emergency treatment at a non-department facility. The bill would require the VA to pay for a non-service connected condition if a third party insurer doesn’t cover the full cost of care, including the difference between the amount paid by the insurer and the maximum VA allowable amount. Michael H. Michaud (D-ME) said veterans would still be responsible for co-payments to third party insurers. As amended in the panel’s Health Subcommittee last week, the measure would allow for reimbursements for emergency treatment provided at a non-department facility at any time before the date of bill’s enactment.
H.R.1171Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 sponsored by John Boozman (R-AR) - Would reauthorize the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program for fiscal 2010- 2014. Boozman touted the success of the program, saying that it has helped 9,061 homeless veterans get back to work. “The program gives a sense of self-worth and pride,” Boozman said. Before approving the bill, the panel approved by voice vote an amendment by Steve Buyer of Indiana, the committee’s top Republican, that added provisions from another bill (H.R.293) to establish a five-year, $10 million homeless women veterans and homeless veterans with children reintegration grant program. Buyer said he had hoped funding for the homeless veterans program would be included in the $787 billion economic recovery package Congress passed in February. Of the underlying measure (H.R.1171), Buyer said the bill could “do more” in addressing the issue of homeless veterans. As amended, the $300 million bill would authorize grants to provide job training, counseling, placement services and child care services to homeless women veterans.
H.R.1513Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2009 sponsored by Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-1) - Would increase the rates of disability compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and the rates for dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) for survivors of certain service-connected disabled veterans. The COLA bill would increase the benefits, effective 1 DEC 09 by the same amount as the annual COLA for Social Security beneficiaries.
New Bills of Interest
A number of new bills have been introduced that would benefit active duty members, retirees, Guard and Reserve members, and their families and survivors.
S.J. Res. 10 and H.J. Res. 23- Sen. Inhofe (R-OK) and Rep. Franks (R-AZ): Establish a U.S. policy of committing a minimum of 4% of the nation's gross domestic product to the base defense budget to meet national security requirements.
S. 644 – Sen. Chambliss (R-GA): Allow Guard and reserve members to draw retired pay 3 months early for each 90 days served on active duty since 9/11/01 . Current law only provides such credit for service after Jan. 28, 2008 .
S. 581 – Sen. Bennett (D-CO): Exclude combat pay from household income in calculating a military child's eligibility for free or reduced-price meals under school lunch and other programs.
H.R. 972 – Rep. Wilson (R-SC): Authorize all Guard and Reserve retirees eligibility for TRICARE upon receipt of retired pay. Under current law, those qualifying for earlier retirement due to active duty service are denied TRICARE coverage until age 60.
H.R. 809– Rep. Bilirakis (R-FL): Reduce from 57 to 55 the age at which a qualifying remarrying survivor could retain VA dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC).
H.R. 1592 – Rep. Bilirakis (R-FL): Require the military pay raise to exceed private sector pay growth by 0.5 percentage points each year for 2011 through 2014. The purpose of the bill is to continue reducing the current 2.9% pay gap between military and private sector wages by a half-percentage point each year.
FUTURE COMMITTEE HEARINGS of INTEREST
April 20, 2009 Full House Veterans Affairs Committee Field Hearing on Building the Critical Health Infrastructure for Veterans in Jacksonville, Florida 10:00 a.m.; Florida Community College – Jacksonville, Florida
April 21, 2009 Full House Veterans Affairs Committee Field Hearing on Building the Critical Health Infrastructure for Veterans in Orlando, Florida 9:30 a.m.; Board of County Commission Chambers – Orlando, Florida
April 28, 2009 House Appropriations, Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies, will hold a hearing on the VA Fiscal Year 2010 Budget. Secretary Shinseki will be invited to testify. 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. , Location TBD (Lukas)
April 30, 2009 House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Health hearing: Charting the VA’s Progress on Meeting the Mental Health Needs of Our Veterans: Discussion of Funding, Mental Health Strategis Plan, and the Uniform Mental Health Services Handbook 10:00 a.m. ; 334 Cannon
May 6, 2009 SVAC will hold a hearing on pending benefits legislation. 9:30 a.m.; 418 Russell (Ballenger)
May 7, 2009 Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies, hearing on the VA Fiscal Year 2010 Budget. Secretary Shinseki will be invited to testify. 2:30 p.m. ; Location: TBD (Lukas)
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE (CBO) COST ESTIMATES
H.R. 1513 <http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=10042> , Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2009
H.R. 1377 <http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=10040> , A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to expand veteran eligibility for reimbursement by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for emergency treatment furnished in a non-Department facility, and for other purposes
H.R. 1377 <http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=10039> , A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to expand veteran eligibility for reimbursement by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for emergency treatment furnished in a non-Department facility, and for other purposes
H.R. 1171 <http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=10050> , Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program Reauthorization Act of 2009
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Veterans’ Affairs Committee Advances Legislation veterans.house.gov <http://veterans.house.gov/news/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=374>
House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Approves Legislation: Buyer's Amendment to Help Homeless Women Veterans with Children Approved republicans.veterans.house.gov <http://republicans.veterans.house.gov/news/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=1705>
Buyer Calls for Immediate IG Investigation republicans.veterans.house.gov <http://republicans.veterans.house.gov/news/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=1706>
OklahomaVets Support Change In Divorce Law. Retired U.S. Navy flight engineer Frank Kurland is trying to get state courts to change how military retirement pay is viewed in divorce proceedings. The 47-year-old Midwest City man and several retired service members are meeting with veterans groups across Oklahoma to discuss House Bill 1053. ... If this bill becomes law, Oklahoma will be the first state to require the courts to view military retirement pay differently. When Kurland ended his 17-year marriage after retiring from the military, he was surprised to learn his ex-wife was entitled to a percentage of his military retirement pay, even if she remarried. 'Serious change' Under HB 1053, the payments would be viewed as alimony, not property, and alimony ends when the recipient remarries. The bill, filed by Rep. Gary Banz, R-Midwest City , passed the House and was approved by the Senate Judiciary committee last week. 'There is support to move this bill through the process,' said Sen. Patrick Anderson, R-Enid, who carried the measure in the Senate."
SB 489 can you call from the grave???? I said that in the subject line only because if you do not call this week to ( 1-800-522-8502 ask for) Ken Miller and Scott Martin and ask them to heard and pass the bill to the floor for a vote! fight for the rights of your spouse, you just mite be in a grave if they found out that you did not help them and have them call too very day it has to happen this week or we will lose again
This bill provides the widows/widowers of 100% Service Connected Veterans the Tax Free ID card. The widows/widowers spend the majority of their day caring for the veteran. Most have to provide 100% care for that Veteran, including feeding, cleaning, moving, and assisting the veteran in every aspect of their lives. They do all this without pay. Most cannot hold jobs outside of the home due to the nature of the disabilities that the veteran has. Once the veteran passes the widow/widower will lose a major portion of their VA income, leaving them in financial distress.
SB 489 Tax Exemption to Surviving Spouse (SB 489) Barrington - Amending current statutory language that provides a $25,000 sales tax exemption to 100% permanently disabled veterans to provide that sales of tangible personal property or services to the surviving spouse of a deceased eligible person if the surviving spouse has not remarried; not to exceed Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00) per year per individual;
| HR 1377 Has Been Received in the Senate |
|
| To Expand Veterans Eligibility For Emergency Treatment in non VA facilities | |
Please urge your Senator to support this legislation -- HR 1377 has been received in the Senate, read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans Affairs. This legislation would revise the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to reimburse a veteran for the cost of emergency care provided in a non-Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facility to provide that, if the veteran has contractual or legal recourse against a third party that would, in part, extinguish the veteran's liability to the provider of the emergency treatment and payment for the treatment may be made by both the VA and the third party, the amount payable by the VA shall be that which exceeds the cost payable by the third party. HR 1377 would prohibit the Secretary from reimbursing a veteran for any copayment or other charge owed to a third party under a health plan contract. HR 1377 further authorizes the Secretary to reimburse a veteran for the cost of the emergency care described above which is provided before the enactment of this Act, if the Secretary determines that it is appropriate under the circumstances. | |
by Chaplain Kathie
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder has evolved with war
Military puts focus on epidemic of suicides By Alan Gomez, USA TODAY BAGHDAD — In Maj. Thomas Jarrett's stress management class surrounded by concrete blast walls, American troops are urged not to accept post-traumatic stress disorder as an inevitable consequence of war.
Instead, Jarrett tells them to strive for "post-traumatic growth." During a 90-minute presentation entitled "Warrior Resilience and Thriving," Jarrett, a former corporate coach, offers this and other unconventional tips on how troops can stay mentally healthy once they return home. He quotes Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, Paradise Lost author John Milton and German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, among others. Walking through the crowd of young GIs in the makeshift classroom, Jarrett urges them to fight their "internal insurgents." The overriding theme of the course: Troops have the power to determine how they react to the horrors they may experience in Iraq . They can either accept them as traumatizing events, or transform them into learning — even empowering — experiences. go here for more http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2009-03-24-iraqsuicides_N.htm
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (66)
March 14, 2009
Combat Disabled Veteran Has No Constitutional Rights
Sergeant Major Paul Cousins, from Stockbridge, Georgia, served for 27 years in the United States Army. He was awarded 3 Purple Hearts for wounds received in combat during the 2 tours he served in Vietnam. Paul Cousins is a highly decorated combat disabled veteran with a distinguished military service record who has shed his blood protecting the principles and standards this country stands for. One can only imagine the pain and dishonor this proven American Patriot felt when he was told by a civil court judge that he had no Constitutional Rights in his court room.
Paul Cousins is one of the growing numbers of former military personnel faced with a broken marriage and divorce. Some studies indicate military personnel are 3 times likely to suffer a failed marriage, than non-military.
Sergeant Major Cousins was married for 14 years to a German National who is not a United States citizen. They had no children together. Cousins was not married at the time he was disabled from combat wounds in Vietnam. Yet, this combat disabled veteran was ordered to pay spousal support to his ex-wife directly from his earned disability compensation.
Superior Court, Judge Douglas C. Pullen, presided over the case of Cousins during a contempt of court hearing. A copy of a notarized statement signed by Sergeant Major Paul Cousins of some of the statements that took place in Judge Pullen’s courtroom for that contempt of court hearing in October 2005 can be found attached to this press release. In the statement, when Sergeant Major Cousins refers to the Federal Regulations which protect his disability compensation from third party awards, Judge Pullen is quoted to say; “WHEN I WAS ELECTED TO SIT ON THIS BENCH, I STOPPED READING THEM. I DO NOT HAVE TO ABIDE BY ANY FEDERAL OR GOVERNMENT LAW, BECAUSE I AM THE LAW. THIS IS MY COURTROOM AND I CAN DO ANYTHING I WANT TO IN HERE, DO YOU HEAR ME SERGEANT MAJOR? IN MY COURTROOM YOU HAVE NO CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS. I AM THE CONSTITUTIONAL LAW AND I DO WHAT EVER I WANT TO IN HERE.”
Operation Firing For Effect National Chairman, Gene Simes says his organization is currently monortoring 38 simular cases where veterans’ disability compensation has been misused as a divisable asset in a divorce settlement. According to Simes, Judge Pullen’s comments are totally unacceptable and Judge Pullen needs to be removed from the bench as soon as humanly possible. Simes is calling for Judge Pullen to step down immeately. “This renagade judge owes Sergeant Major Cousins an appoligy, and I am personnaly going to do everything in my powere to make certain he recieves it.” Simes stated.
Sergeant Major Cousins was ordered to pay his ex-wife $550 a month directly from his VA disability compensation, or go to jail for contempt.
Send your comments to:
Chattahoochee Circuit
Judge Douglas Pullen
P.O. Box 1340
Columbus, GA 31902
Work Phone: 706-653-4273
COUSINS DIVORCE CASE BACKGROUND:
Paul Cousins was ordered in February 1998, by Judge Douglas C. Pullen to pay his former spouse $550 per month from his Military Disposable Retirement Pay. This action is in accordance with USC, Title 10, Section 1408. This Federal Law stated that States courts/judges can only award up to 50% of a military disposable retirement pay and NOT any disabilities compensation.
In July 2003, Cousins came down with prostate cancer, which was caused from Agent Orange from combat in Vietnam. At that time the VA awarded Cousins 100% disability compensation. That action changed his military retirement pay to Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC). Now CRSE is a DOD compensation to retired veterans that suffered their wounds in combat. CRSC is a tax-free compensation and it is NOT subject to the Former Spouse Protection Act of USC, Title 10, Section 1408.
In October 2005 his former spouse filed a Contempt of Court order, after waiting for two (2) years after DOD stopped paying her the $550 per month. The DOD stated that she was no longer authorized any of his disability compensation. It was during the Contempt of Court hearing in October 2005 when Judge Pullen made those unjust statements in a US Courtroom.
To learn more about this issue, visit; http://jerebeery.com/5301 Club.htm
Jere Beery
OFFE National Public Relations Director
The 2010 budget request is a significant step toward realizing a vision shared by the President and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki to transform VA into an organization that is people-centric, results-driven and forward-looking.
“Our success must encompass cost-effectiveness,” Shinseki said. “We are stewards of taxpayer dollars, and we will include appropriate metrics to accurately gauge the quality of our care and the effectiveness of our management processes.”
If accepted by Congress, the President’s budget proposal would increase VA’s budget from $97.7 billion this fiscal year to $112.8 billion for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2009. This is in addition to the $1.4 billion provided for VA projects in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
The 2010 budget represents the first step toward increasing discretionary funding for VA efforts by $25 billion over the next five years. The gradual expansion in health care enrollment that this would support will open hospital and clinic doors to more than 500,000 Veterans by 2013 who have been regrettably excluded from VA medical care benefits since 2003. The 2010 budget request provides the resources to achieve this level of service while maintaining high quality and timely care for lower-income and service-disabled Veterans who currently rely on VA medical care.
The new budget provides greater benefits for Veterans who are medically retired from active duty, allowing for the first time all military retirees to keep their full VA disability compensation along with their retired pay. The President’s budget request also provides the resources for effective implementation of the post-9/11 GI Bill -- providing unprecedented levels of educational support to the men and women who have served our country through active military duty.
The new budget will support additional specialty care in such areas as prosthetics, vision and spinal cord injury, aging, and women's health. New VA Centers of Excellence will focus on improving these critical services.
The proposed fiscal year 2010 budget also addresses the tragic fact of homelessness among Veterans. It expands VA's current services through a collaborative pilot program with non-profit organizations that is aimed at maintaining stable housing for vulnerable Veterans at risk of homelessness, while providing them with supportive services to help them get back on their feet through job training, preventive care, and other critical services.
"Keeping faith with those who serve must always be a core American value and a cornerstone of American patriotism. Because America's commitment to its servicemen and women begins at enlistment, and it must never end."
-- Barack Obama, Speech in Kansas City, MO
August 21, 2007
As a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Barack Obama fought to end benefit disparities, bring homeless veterans in off the street, strengthen mental health care, add billions of dollars in additional Department of Veterans Affairs funding, and reform a system that often places barriers between veterans and the benefits they have earned. President Obama and Vice President Biden will ensure we honor the sacred trust to care for our nation’s veterans.
A Sacred Trust
Barack Obama and Joe Biden are committed to creating a 21st Century Department of Veterans' Affairs that provides the care and benefits our nation's veterans deserve. They will:
- Allow All Veterans Back into the VA: Reverse the 2003 ban on enrolling modest-income veterans, which has denied care to a million veterans.
- Strengthen VA Care: Make the VA a leader of national health care reform so that veterans get the best care possible. Improve care for polytrauma vision impairment, prosthetics, spinal cord injury, aging, and women's health.
- Combat Homelessness among Our Nation's Veterans: Establish a national "zero tolerance" policy for veterans falling into homelessness by expanding proven programs and launching innovative services to prevent veterans from falling into homelessness.
- Fight Employment Discrimination: Crack down on employers who commit job discrimination against guardsmen and reservists.
Help for Returning Service Members
Obama and Biden will improve the quality of health care for veterans, rebuild the VA's broken benefits system, and combat homelessness among veterans. They will:
- Ensure a Seamless Transition: Demand that the military and the VA coordinate to provide a seamless transition from active duty to civilian life.
- Fully Fund VA Medical Care: Fully fund the VA so it has all the resources it needs to serve the veterans who need it, when they need it. Establish a world-class VA Planning Division to avoid future budget shortfalls.
- Fix the Benefits Bureaucracy: Hire additional claims workers, and improve training and accountability so that VA benefit decisions are rated fairly and consistently. Transform the paper benefit claims process to an electronic one to reduce errors and improve timeliness.
Improved Treatment for Mental Health and TBI
Obama and Biden will improve mental health treatment for troops and veterans suffering from combat-related psychological injuries. They will:
- Improve Mental Health Treatment: Recruit more health professionals, improve screening, offer more support to families and make PTSD benefits claims fairer.
- Improve Care for Traumatic Brain Injury: Establish standards of care for Traumatic Brain Injury, the signature injury of the Iraq war.
- Expand Vet Centers: Expand and strengthen Vet Centers to provide more counseling for vets and their families.
OK SB 489 was recently introduced into the 2009 legislative session by Sen. Don Barrington (R-Lawton) and Sen. Randy Bass (D-Lawton)-It would extend the state's sales tax exemption to the surviving spouse of a 100 % disabled veteran, if the surviving spouse does not remarry; not to exceed $15,000 per person per year.Lower than the $25,000 figure for the living OK veteran-to make it easier to pass-because of the costs involved. This is something all OK veterans should get behind...
Shinseki to Enter Veterans Affairs With Daunting Task of Job Creation for Soldiers
Retired four-star Gen. Eric K. Shinseki is facing a daunting task as the probable next head of the Veterans Affairs Department -- getting soldiers returning from the field into the workforce in a very weak employment environment
By Kelley Beaucar Vlahos
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Gen. Eric Shinseki is in line to be President-elect Barack Obama's Veterans Affairs secretary (AP Graphic).
WASHINGTON-- Retired four-star Gen. Eric K. Shinseki will face a daunting task if he is confirmed as the next secretary of the Veterans Affairs Department: getting soldiers returning from war into the workforce in a very troublesome employment climate.
Nearly 900,000 veterans have served in Iraq and Afghanistan , and they could have a hard time finding or keeping a job. Many have been in and out of the workforce because of multiple deployments, and others face the prospect of being deployed overseas again.
"The unemployment rate among veterans is high and dramatically increasing," said Paul Rieckhoff, an Iraq war veteran and head of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, which President-elect Barack Obama's transition team has consulted informally. "We need to hear about job creation, and how we are going to get veterans out and to work."
Shinseki, whose confirmation hearing will be held Wednesday before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, will be expected to engage in a government-wide job creation strategy. The challenge will be especially daunting because of the numbers of military members who have returned recently from Iraq and Afghanistan , and the even greater number expected to return as America withdraws its fighting troops from Iraq .
Obama has instructed each of his Cabinet nominees to begin charting out job-creation strategies as part of his overall vision of generating more than 3 million jobs through a proposed $775 billion economic recovery package. In his weekly radio address on Saturday, Obama said 90 percent of the jobs would be created in the private sector.
His remarks came one day after the Labor Department announced the nation's unemployment rate rose to 7.2 percent in December, a loss of 524,000 jobs in a month. For all of 2008, the country lost a total of 2.6 million jobs.
Veterans' advocates like Rieckhoff say recent veterans between 18 and 35 years old -- the majority of Iraq and Afghanistan vets -- are a distinct disadvantage. Of the 1.6 million men and women who have served since 2001, hundreds of thousands have deployed for more than one tour. Many came from the National Guard and Reserves, and despite laws protecting their jobs when they were deployed, they came back to find their jobs gone, or they were told they could not return to their positions.
Many of these men and women now "have to keep up with their peers, who have been networking (for) years while they've been fighting in Fallujah," Rieckhoff said, explaining that they don't have the same kind of connections and amount of uninterrupted time in the workforce as their counterparts who didn't serve.
He said there have been reports that employers are skittish about hiring part-time soldiers who may be sent back overseas, and hesitant to hire veterans, for which a behavioral and mental stigma -- however unfounded -- exists.
The Uniformed Services Employment and Redeployment Rights Act says that all employers -- public and private -- must take returning soldiers back to their positions, and at the same pay, as when they left for war.
But, according to reports, thousands of veterans have complained over the last few years that their employers haven't been adhering to the law. In November, it was reported that over 10 percent of all National Guard and Reservists who came home had encountered problems returning to work, particularly in the corporate sector. Lawsuits have been filed against some of the country's biggest employers -- UPS, American Airlines and Wal-Mart.
Dave Miller, vice president of Con-Way freight, said his trucking company goes "beyond the call of duty" not only by upholding the Uniformed Services employment law but by making sure employees make the same hourly wage even when they are deployed. For example, if a trucker makes $58,000 a year under Con-Way, then only $28,000 under the Guard overseas, Con-way pays the difference.
The company also maintains the employee's health benefits and health care for his family, Miller said. He said 28 employees were deployed in 2008, costing the company $500,000 for the year. A total of seven are deployed now.
But Miller said Con-Way has been hindered by the ongoing use of National Guard and reservists in multiple deployments abroad. Because they are part-time soldiers, they do not get the job security and benefits given to an active-duty soldier, sailor or Marine.
"So many businesses are retracting -- vets have no place to go," he said. "They're coming out of a very high energy situation ... the worst thing we can do is to have these warriors come home to no job."
Meanwhile, Shinseki, a popular pick with veterans' organizations, has vowed to make veteran employment and education a priority. He says he wants to work with the new administration to fast-track the implementation of the new veterans' GI Bill, passed in 2008 to give returning vets more money for college tuition.
VA officials said they are taking a two-pronged approach -- working with the veterans in the VA system to transition into employment through a wide range of vocational and educational support services, as well as reaching out to veterans to place them into VA jobs across the country.
"Not only is it the right thing to do, but we're taking advantage of these highly skilled, educated folks. It seems like the perfect match," said Dennis May, director of the Veterans Employment Coordination Service for the VA in Washington . He said his department has reached out to 2,600 "severely injured" veterans to see if they are interested in applying for VA positions.
Veterans are given hiring preferences at both the federal and state levels.
Overall, May's group has reached out to 28,000 veterans, provided services to 11,000 and placed 64 in VA jobs.
Maryland Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, an Iraq war veteran, is also working with the Obama transition team on VA issues. Although he declined to talk specifically about the administration's plans for the department regarding jobs, he said that officials in his own state have embarked on a multi-level effort to help vets transition back into civilian life, including vocational support.
For example, veterans trained in battlefield trauma and in medical assistance but who are not certified to practice it in civilian life may soon find the hurdles lowered, Brown said.
"Many, when they come home, they want to apply those skills (in the health field) and there are obstacles like licensing and certification. No one is saying there should not be any quality control," Brown said, but some of the steps are "overly burdensome" and could be relaxed.
Jack Scharrett, an Army reservist who served in Iraq , has launched the Veterans Initiative Center and Research Institute to help entrepreneurial veterans build businesses and create jobs for other veterans across his state of Minnesota .
"It's been proven year after year that veterans hire other veterans," Scharrett said. "Being a small business owner -- and I've been there -- can be a very daunting exercise, with everyone constantly telling you 'no.' ... We're struggling ourselves to get the capital we need. We are having to look at our strategy hard and be very austere."
Internet address:
http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel
WASHINGTON (Jan. 6, 2009) -- For veterans struggling financially due to
a job loss or decreased income, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
offers an assortment of programs that can relieve the costs of health
care or provide care at no cost.
"With the downturn in the economy, VA recognizes that many veterans will
feel the effects," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B.
Peake. "Therefore, it is important that eligible veterans learn of the
many ways VA has to help them afford the health care they have earned."
Veterans whose previous income was ruled too high for VA health care may
be able to enter the VA system based upon a hardship if their current
year's income is projected to fall below federal income thresholds due
to a job loss, separation from service or some other financial setback.
Veterans determined eligible due to hardship can avoid copays applied to
higher-income veterans. Qualifying veterans may be eligible for
enrollment and receive health care at no cost.
Also eligible for no-cost VA care are most veterans who recently
returned from a combat zone. They are entitled to five years of free VA
care. The five-year "clock" begins with their discharge from the
military, not their departure from the combat zone.
Each VA medical center across the country has an enrollment coordinator
available to provide veterans information about these programs.
Veterans may also contact VA's Health Benefits Service Center at
1-877-222 VETS (8387) or visit the VA health eligibility website at
www.va.gov/healtheligibility .
WASHINGTON (Dec. 30, 2008) - Thirty percent of employees of the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are veterans - the second highest
ranking among cabinet departments after the Department of Defense -- and
nearly 8 percent of VA employees are service-connected disabled
veterans. But the VA intends to increase the number of disabled
veterans who obtain employment in its workforce.
"I am proud of this effort," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr.
James B. Peake. "VA knows the true quality of our men and women, and we
should be a leader in employing them."
Peake said all severely injured veterans of the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan will be contacted by VA's Veterans Employment Coordination
Service to determine their interest in -- and qualifications for -- VA
jobs. So far, that office has identified 2,300 severely injured
veterans of those wars, of whom 600 expressed interest in VA employment.
The coordination service was established a year ago to recruit veterans
into VA, especially those seriously injured in the current wars. It has
nine regional coordinators working with local facility human resources
offices across the country not only to reach out to potential job
candidates but to ensure that local managers know about special
authorities available to hire veterans. For example, qualified disabled
veterans rated by the Defense Department or VA as having a 30 percent or
more service-connected disability can be hired non-competitively.
"Our team is spreading the message that VA is hiring, and we want to
hire disabled veterans," said Dennis O. May, director of VA's Veterans
Employment Coordination Service.
VA coordinators participate in military career fairs and transition
briefings, and partner with veterans organizations, the Department of
Labor's Veterans Employment and Training Service, as well as VA's
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Service, the Marine Corps'
Wounded Warrior Regiment and the Army's Warrior Transition Units.
New (2009-2010) OK DEPARTMENT COMMANDER
Homer “Cris” Ford
H 918-683-3072
W 918-577-4164
E-Mail: Homer.Ford@med.va.gov
Chapters in Oklahoma:
1) 563/Rogers County (Claremore)
Meeting place is:
Claremore Veterans CenterCHAPEL @ 1000 AM, 2nd SATURDAY of each month.
Grady Lowery is the Commander. 818-283-1035.
Other POC Name/PH#: Don Clapsaddle, adjutant;
918 449 1441
2) 568/OKC
VFW Post 4968 at 16 E. Campbell, Edmond, Ok 73003.
Meets the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 1900.
MOPH Chapter 568 Mailing Address is 3126 South Blvd #176, Edmond, OK 73103-5308
POC Name/PH#: Russell Smith is the Commander. 405-475-0337. rsmith7042@yahoo.com
3) 589/Tulsa
We meet at 6:30 p.m. Second Monday of each month in the Floral Haven Family Center, 6420 S 129th E Ave.
POC Name/PH#: Charles Scott is the Commander.
918-357-1614
E-Mail: sscott711@aol.com
4) 602/Lawton
Meetings are held the first Tuesday of each month (except for January), 630 P.M. @ American Legion Post 29,
605 SW 11th St., Lawton, Oklahoma 73501POC Name/PH#: Pete Bailey is the Commander. 580-357-2827. pmbailey@sbcglobal.net
5) 641/Tahlequah
Tahlequah meets the first Friday every month at 12:00 noon at the Restaurant of the Cherokees.
POC Name/PH#: Donald Nichols is the Commander.
(918) 456-2866/(918) 453-9206
E-Mail: Nicholsdon@sbcglobal.net
Ladies Auxillary, Military Order of the Purple Heart (LAMOPH).
Patricia Richard, President
Dept. of OK LAMOPH
PO Box 567
Newcastle, OK 73605
405-392-4445
OKC Unit 568; Maggie Schipper, President
Meets 3rd Saturday at 10:00 am at
3421 Settlers Rd;
Newcastle, OK
Tulsa Unit 589 ; Jeanne Hellard, President
Meets 2nd Monday at 7:00 pm at Floral Haven
Family Center; 6500 S 129th E. Ave;
Broken Arrow, OK
New Bill Will Transfer GI Benefits Of Fallen Soldiers To Children
