Swords to Plowshares

Urgent Message From the Disabled American Veterans

Congressional Adjournment Nears
Urge Congress to Act on Vital Veterans’ Measures

Adjournment of the 110th Congress will occur momentarily, probably within the month of September. With elections looming, all of those who hold office want to leave Washington as soon as they can to run for reelection. In a Presidential election year, more time on the campaign trail becomes especially critical. While everyone in Congress seems to be talking about how important veterans are to the nation, and detailing what a debt we owe all of them, they are braced to leave town without enacting numerous health care bills that would actually help veterans who are sick, wounded, and even permanently disabled.

The veterans’ bills that have not been passed cover a wide range of topics, from women’s health to PTSD and homelessness and many others. All these bills have been subjected to Congressional hearings and some of them multiple hearings - but virtually nothing has been passed by both houses and sent to the President for approval. If Congress fails to act, these bills will die. It is unconscionable in an election year that Members of the House and Senate would leap into the campaign season from the darkened halls of Congress to brag about their accomplishments for veterans, their thankfulness to veterans and their loyalty to veterans - while leaving all this legislative work in the dust bin.

Now is the time for Congress to act. Congress should not adjourn before finishing its work on behalf of veterans. All Members of the House and Senate need to know where you stand: you stand with veterans, and you want your Member of Congress and your Senators to act.

A suggested letter has been prepared for your consideration. Please use it or use your own words to urge your Members of the House and Senate to stand up for veterans before they stand for reelection this year.

As always, thank you for your support.

Click here to send your elected officials a letter asking they act on pending veterans legislation.

The current official back log of disability claims is approximately 400,000 and 85,000 of those have been pending for over 180 days. For years initial decisions have taken approximately six months to be made thus, predictably, in 2007 the decisions on veteran disability compensation claims took, on average, 183 days (pg 119). Moreover, appeals of insufficient disability ratings or denials can last years. On average, it takes 4.4 years, “for a veteran to adjudicate a claim all the way to a BVA [Board of Veterans Appeals] decision,” not taking into account the time between an initial decision and a veterans’ filing of a “notice of disagreement” which can take as long as one year (pg. 43). These may be just numbers to the general public but to veterans and their families these delays are all too real as the following article demonstrates.

The Buffalo news: Veterans fight lengthy war over benefits

Charles Leist fought his way through a bureaucratic labyrinth for 10 years before finally winning an appeal on his military disability pension. The Buffalo veteran who fought in Vietnam and the first Gulf War is grateful for the more than $100,000 in back allowance he received a few months ago but says he could have used the money when it really counted.

“It would have been nice to have had that money when I needed it to put my kids through college,” he said. “After waiting for 10 years, my disability was raised from 30 percent to 80 percent.”

Some, like Leist, wait a decade, others two decades or even longer.

“All too often, it gets bounced around, and no final decision is made,” said David E. Autry, a spokesman for Disabled American Veterans in Washington, D. C., who worries about the new generation of disabled veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan.

“With the VA having trouble handling disability claims from previous generations of wartime veterans, this new generation may be in for a long and bumpy ride,” he said.

Veterans advocates say the system, in fact, counts on veterans giving up or just dying off in order to get out of paying benefits. Read on…

For more on the incessant delays and wrongs suffered by generations of disable veterans, Vets Under Seige: How America Deceives and Dishonors Those Who Fight Our Battles is a book worth reading.

Australia’s Veterans’ Affairs Minister, Alan Griffin, expressed concern over the growing number of Australian soldiers returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars who may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, today and in the future.

AFP: Australia says veterans may face problems from Iraq, Afghan tours

Griffin said officials were beginning to deal with the relatively new dilemma of mental health issues posed by troops who had served in not only one, but multiple, war zones.

He said one of the problems with psychological illness, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, was that it tended not to present itself immediately but years down the track.

“So we can look at it now and say, ‘There are x number of veterans who are coming back on a regular basis from Afghanistan. We can look at the figures and say, ‘Well, there aren’t that many at the moment that are presenting with problems,” he said.

“But what we can say with some confidence is that over the coming five to 10 years a lot more of those people will have problems.” Read On…

A study by the UC Davis Cancer Center has concluded that Vietnam veterans exposed to the defoliant Agent Orange are twice as likely to develop prostate cancer, compared to veterans were not exposed to it.

UC Davis Cancer Center: Exposure to Agent Orange linked to prostate cancer in Vietnam veterans

UC Davis Cancer Center physicians today released results of research showing that Vietnam War veterans exposed to Agent Orange have greatly increased risks of prostate cancer and even greater risks of getting the most aggressive form of the disease as compared to those who were not exposed.

Based on medical evaluations conducted between 1998 and 2006, the study revealed that twice as many men exposed to Agent Orange were identified with prostate cancer. In addition, Agent Orange-exposed men were diagnosed two-and-a-half years younger and were nearly four times more likely to present with metastatic disease. Other prostate cancer risk factors — race, body-mass index and smoking — were not statistically different between the two groups. Read on…

The Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General recently released a new report on, Alleged Research Funding Irregularities at the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, Temple, TX [pdf link].

The Austin American-Statesman reports:VA investigators find some waste at UT-based project
They find no evidence of widespread fraud or cronyism, as alleged

August 3, 2008, Austin, Texas - A Department of Veterans Affairs investigation has partially substantiated allegations of waste and mismanagement in a VA brain-research program housed at the University of Texas.

Leaders at the VA’s Central Texas branch made contracting mistakes that cost possibly hundreds of thousands of research dollars, according to the VA’s Office of the Inspector General. The investigators also concluded that VA officials moved too slowly when apprised of concerns by Dr. Robert Van Boven, who oversees the $6 million research program.

Paul Sullivan, the director of advocacy group Veterans for Common Sense and a VA critic, said that whatever the VA decides to do about the program, it should decide it quickly. “This is research that could help our wounded troops,” Sullivan said, “and they’re the ones who are hurt by this delay.” Read on…

Write your Senator today and ask for their support of S. 1084, the Homes for Heroes Act; legislation that would provide housing assistance for very low-income and formerly homeless veterans. The companion bill, HR 3329, was amended by the House Financial Services Committee recently and passed the House of Representatives on July 9 by a vote of 412-9. We urge the Senate to take similar action before adjourning later this year.

Below is a sample letter you can use to urge your Senator to support our troops when they come home.

August XX, 2008

The Honorable XXX XXX
United States Senate
XXXX Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-0505

Dear Senator XXXX,

(Briefly introduce yourself or organization): Swords to Plowshares is community-based organization founded by Vietnam veterans in 1974 that provides supportive services and housing to homeless veterans. We are writing to ask for your support of S. 1084, the Homes for Heroes Act; legislation that would provide housing assistance for very low-income and formerly homeless veterans. The companion Bill, HR 3329, was amended by the House Financial Services Committee and recently passed the House of Representatives on July 9 by a vote of 412-9. We hope the Senate will take similar action before adjourning later this year.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) officials recently reported on any given night, between 150,000 and 200,000 veterans are homeless. Veterans are at a greater risk of becoming homeless due to health problems (post traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse issues, mental health disorders), economic issues (extremely low or no livable income), and a shortage of affordable housing. While most currently homeless veterans served during prior conflicts or in peacetime, the newest generation of combat veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom (OIF-OEF), both men and women, are returning home and suffering from war-related conditions that may put them at risk for homelessness. A growing trend in homelessness among these new veterans points to a need to develop a coordinated approach to reduce, eliminate and prevent homelessness among all veterans.

S. 1084 and H.R. 3329 will provide shelter for homeless veteran families and help prevent low-income families from falling into homelessness. Specifically, the legislation would authorize the HUD Secretary to establish a housing program for very low-income veteran families with supportive services provided by the VA; designate a position of Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs within HUD; authorize an increase in budget authority under the project rental assistance component of the Housing Choice Voucher program to finance 20,000 rental assistance vouchers for homeless veterans; and require HUD to issue an annual report on its programs and activities pertaining to veterans.

To meet the current and future needs of our nation’s most vulnerable veterans, please support the Homes for Heroes Act. Supporting this historic veteran homelessness prevention initiative will be a giant step forward towards ending veteran homelessness in America.

Sincerely,
Name
Position or Military Status (if applicable)

Who is your Senator?

To find out who your senator’s contact information log on to www.senate.gov.

The Oversight Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs held a hearing Thursday, July 31, 2008, on “Sexual Assault in the Military.” Those testifying include members of Congress, victims and family members, Department of Defense, U.S. Army, and GAO.

Hearing clips via US Speaker of the House of Representatives website.

Testimony of Congresswoman Jane Harman representing California 36th District.

“Women serving in the US military today are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire in Iraq. The scope of the problem was brought into acute focus for me during a visit to the West Los Angeles VA Health Center where I met female veterans and their doctors. My jaw dropped when the doctors told me that 41% of the female veterans seen there say there were victims of sexual assault while serving in the military, and 29% said they were raped during their military service.”

Subcommittee Chairman Tierney and Full Committee Chairman Waxman threaten Michael Dominguez, Principal Deputy Undersecretary for Defense, with contempt after he reveals that he has ordered Dr. Kaye Whitley of the DOD Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office to defy a subpoena to appear.

The Oversight Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs web page for the hearing includes the written testimony of the witnesses and can can found here.

Click here for additional clips of the hearing.

Current U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs policy, defined in VHA DIRECTIVE 2008-025, blocks nonpartisan groups from holding voter registration drives at VA facilities. “The Veteran Voting Support Act” been introduced in both the House and Senate in order to reverse this blatant affront to the men and women who have worn the uniform to defend such rights.

Committee on House Administration Chairman Robert A. Brady commented in a letter to VA Secretary James Peake:

“It is inconceivable that the Department of Veterans Affairs would restrict non-partisan, non-profit organizations from providing resources and information to assist veterans in registering to vote… The fact that this affects wounded veterans, many of whom risk life and limb defending the freedoms that we all enjoy, is most troubling.”

In the same letter House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Bob Filner commented:

“The right to vote is the foundation for our democracy and this right has been courageously protected by our veterans… A recent bureaucratic ruling by the VA will not only prohibit voter registration drives on the grounds of VA facilities, but may hinder injured and aging veterans from receiving voter registration services altogether.”

Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, recently sent the following letter to Senator Diane Feinstein endorsing S. 3308, “The Veteran Voting Support Act.”

July 28, 2008

The Honorable Diane Feinstein
United States Senator
331 Senate Hart Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Feinstein:

Veterans for Common Sense strongly endorses your superb new legislation designed to restore veteran voting rights, S 3308, “The Veteran Voting Support Act,” already co-sponsored by a distinguished list of U.S. Senators, including Barack Obama, Charles Schumer, John Kerry, Patty Murray, Harry Reid, Patrick Leahy, and Ron Wyden.

Your legislation is critical because the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is blocking voting rights for veterans in VA hospitals and VA nursing homes as well as among homeless veterans who are provided VA assistance. VA is fighting against allowing our veterans to have access to voter registration and voter assistance. We appreciate how you first tried to work with VA to resolve this crisis without legislation. Unfortunately, VA rejected your reasonable suggestions to lift their ban.

Your bill is timely because the deadlines for voter registration are quickly approaching and because there are less than 100 days before we vote on November 4. Our simple goal as a non-partisan non-profit is clear: Let our veterans vote. We hope to improve voter turnout among our hundreds of thousands of hospitalized and homeless veterans.

Thank you for working hard to make sure that our fellow citizens who stood between enemy bullets and our Constitution have full and equal access to voter registration and voting on Election Day. Our veterans earned no less. Veterans for Common Sense will be asking our members to contact their elected officials soon so that your important legislation becomes law within a few weeks.

Sincerely,
Paul Sullivan
Executive Director

A new report by the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General [PDF Link] concluded that 76% of seriously disabled Iraq and Afghanistan veterans’ claims are failing the Veterans’ Benefits Administration (VBA) own goal of being processed within 30 days. 20% of the claims filed by seriously disabled vets exceed 181 day to process.

VAROs [Veterans Affairs regional Office] did not process 3,776 (76 percent) of 4,969 seriously disabled veteran compensation claims within VBA’s 30-day goal. Of the 4,969 claims VAROs processed, 3,776 did not meet VBA’s goal by an average of 114 days and as much as 504 days.

VAROs did not process these claims promptly because transition assistance controls did not ensure identification of all seriously injured OEF/OIF veterans’ claims and adequate case management of claims. Claim processing delays can cause veterans financial hardships by depriving them of compensation they may need to successfully transition from military service to civilian life.

Moreover,

VBA procedures did not ensure VAROs received the DOD data necessary to identify claims received from seriously disabled OEF/OIF veterans. As a result, only 1,049 (21 percent) of the 4,969 seriously disabled OEF/OIF veterans’ claims were placed on VBA’s OEF/OIF registry for case management. Although VAROs processed the remaining 3,920 claims (79 percent), VBA did not identify them as seriously disabled OEF/OIF veterans’ claims and, as a result, VAROs did not assign the claims the required higher processing priority.

from SpokesmanReview: Lives lost at home

A distraught 26-year-old Navy veteran who had a history of mental illness hanged himself within three hours of seeking help at Spokane Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The July 7 death of Lucas Senescall was the sixth suicide this year of a veteran who had contact with the Spokane VA, a marked increase in such deaths… Citing confidentiality rules, officials would not identify the recent fatalities.

But the identity of one other veteran who killed himself this year became public when his family wrote U.S. Sen. Patty Murray in April about concerns with VA mental health care. Spc. Timothy Juneman, 25, a National Guardsman and former Stryker Brigade soldier who was injured in a roadside explosion in Iraq, died March 5.

The same VA psychiatrist, Dr. William L. Brown, attended Senescall on the day he died and Juneman in early January when he was released from inpatient suicide watch at the Spokane VA. Brown had prescribed Juneman several medications, including potent antidepressant, anti-anxiety and antipsychotic drugs.

The Spokane VA is reviewing the death of Senescall, who hanged himself with an extension cord in his garage between 4 and 5 p.m. July 7 after leaving the hospital at 2:30 p.m. His father said the veteran remained depressed and agitated when left the facility.

Senescall’s brother Jacob and his roommate found his body in his garage that evening.

Police told Steve Senescall his son was dead by 5 p.m. About 150 people attended a memorial service July 13.

Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, adds,

…the problem could get worse, that the VA is unprepared to absorb 1.7 million returning Iraqi and Afghanistan war veterans if they need care. The health care system currently is treating 325,000 of them; of those, nearly 134,000 are being treated for mental health conditions.

h/t Veterans for Common Sense

Amy Fairweather and Mai-Ling Garcia of Swords to Plowshares IVP now have authored a course on OIF/OIF veterans issues and resources for the National Association of Social Workers. This primer on new veteran issues and resources will earn social workers three Continuing Education Units.

Clinical Social Workers, learn about veterans needs, earn Continuing Education credits and support Swords. Earn 3 CE credits accepted in 34 states! We invite you to take the course “Defining a New Age of Veteran Care: A Primer for Understanding Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans.” And let us know what you think.

It took an average of 9 years post deployment for Vietnam veterans to fall into homelessness. Today, Swords to Plowshares and our homeless veteran service colleagues throughout the nation are seeing an alarming influx of homeless OIF/OEF veterans, sometimes just months after separating from the military. We prepared the following paper for the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans to help decipher why this new generation are becoming homeless so quickly in the hope that, by understanding the issues, we may prevent or at least mitigate the kind of long suffering our older clients have endured. The paper looks at the conditions of deployment, economic and social challenges, and mental health, economic and social issues impacting all of our new veterans. It is up to us, as providers, as neighbors, and as citizens to prevent homelessness and truly support our military and veterans with the services and support they have earned.

The presentation is intended to be an accompaniment to be training performed by the Iraq Veteran Project staff and will be updated regularly. For more information, contact IVP Policy Associate Mai-Ling Garcia 415-252-2787 ext. 350, or mgarcia@stp-sf.org.

Combat to Community: Needs & Resources for Post-911 Veterans and their Families by Sword to Plowshares is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

***For a downloadable PDF version of this presentation click here.

Update: Write your Senator today and ask for their support of S. 1084, the Homes for Heroes Act; legislation that would provide housing assistance for very low-income and formerly homeless veterans. The companion bill, HR 3329, was amended by the House Financial Services Committee recently and then passed the House of Representatives on July 9 by a vote of 412-9. We urge the Senate to take similar action before adjourning later this year.

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Ask your senator to support S. 1084, the Homes for Heroes Act of 2007, legislation that would provide housing assistance for very low-income and formerly homeless veterans. The companion bill, HR 3329, the Homes for Heroes Act of 2008, passed the House of Representatives on July 9, 2008 by a vote of 412-9. Tell your senator you hope the Senate will take similar action and explain why permanent supportive housing will help to reduce, eliminate and prevent homelessness among veterans in your state.

Issue Status

The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV) developed comprehensive legislation to develop and expand permanent housing opportunities for very low-income veterans to prevent homelessness. The legislation, the “Homes for Heroes Act of 2008,” would establish new programs and activities pertaining to veterans within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Senator Obama (D-IL) introduced S. 1084, the Homes for Heroes Act in the Senate and Rep. Al Green (TX-9) introduced a companion bill, H.R. 3329, in the House.

THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES PASSED H.R. 3329 ON JULY 9, 2008. NOW SUPPORT IS NEEDED TO PASS THE BILL IN THE SENATE.

Why this Matters

• According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 1.5 million veterans have incomes that fall below the federal poverty level.

• The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) estimates between 150,000 and 200,000 veterans are homeless on any given night; more than 300,000 veterans experience homelessness over the course of a year.

• Contrary to the perceptions that our nation’s veterans are well-supported, in fact many go without the services they require. This is nowhere more apparent than in their need for safe, affordable, and permanent housing.

• While the federal government makes a sizeable investment in homeownership opportunities for veterans, its commitment to housing for low-income veterans is non-existent.

• Veterans are not well-served through existing housing assistance programs due to their program designs.

• Veterans are not a priority population for federally assisted housing.

• There is no national rental housing assistance program targeted to veterans.

• The HUD-VASH program, which provides rental assistance vouchers for veterans with disabilities, matched with supportive services provided by the VA, is the only permanent housing assistance program targeted to any veteran population. For FY 2008, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008 included $75 million for 7,500 new Section 8 vouchers for homeless veterans.

• HUD has no Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of HUD.

Background

The Homes for Heroes Act of 2008 consists of eight sections:

Section 1 establishes the measure’s short title.

Section 2 establishes a position of Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs within HUD.

Section 3 authorizes the HUD Secretary to establish a supportive housing program for very low-income veteran families. HUD would provide housing assistance to such veteran families via planning grants, capital advances, project rental assistance, and technical assistance to nonprofit organizations and consumer cooperatives proposing to develop such housing. VA would provide funding for supportive services to residents.

Section 4 authorizes an increase in budget authority under the project rental assistance component of the Housing Choice Voucher program to finance 20,000 rental assistance vouchers for homeless veterans.

Section 5 requires states and localities to include veterans as a special needs population in their public housing agency plans and their comprehensive housing affordability strategies.

Section 6 exempts from calculation of a family’s rental payment for federally assisted housing the amount of income the family receives from VA compensation.

Section 7 authorizes the HUD Secretary to establish a technical assistance program to assist veteran service providers on federally assisted housing matters.

Section 8 requires HUD to issue an annual report on its programs and activities pertaining to veterans.

Sample Letter

Below is a sample letter you can use to urge your Senator to support our troops when they come home.

August XX, 2008

The Honorable XXX XXX
United States Senate
XXXX Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-0505

Dear Senator XXXX,

(Briefly introduce yourself or organization): Swords to Plowshares is community-based organization founded by Vietnam veterans in 1974 that provides supportive services and housing to homeless veterans. We are writing to ask for your support of S. 1084, the Homes for Heroes Act; legislation that would provide housing assistance for very low-income and formerly homeless veterans. The companion Bill, HR 3329, was amended by the House Financial Services Committee and recently passed the House of Representatives on July 9 by a vote of 412-9. We hope the Senate will take similar action before adjourning later this year.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) officials recently reported on any given night, between 150,000 and 200,000 veterans are homeless. Veterans are at a greater risk of becoming homeless due to health problems (post traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse issues, mental health disorders), economic issues (extremely low or no livable income), and a shortage of affordable housing. While most currently homeless veterans served during prior conflicts or in peacetime, the newest generation of combat veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom (OIF-OEF), both men and women, are returning home and suffering from war-related conditions that may put them at risk for homelessness. A growing trend in homelessness among these new veterans points to a need to develop a coordinated approach to reduce, eliminate and prevent homelessness among all veterans.

S. 1084 and H.R. 3329 will provide shelter for homeless veteran families and help prevent low-income families from falling into homelessness. Specifically, the legislation would authorize the HUD Secretary to establish a housing program for very low-income veteran families with supportive services provided by the VA; designate a position of Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs within HUD; authorize an increase in budget authority under the project rental assistance component of the Housing Choice Voucher program to finance 20,000 rental assistance vouchers for homeless veterans; and require HUD to issue an annual report on its programs and activities pertaining to veterans.

To meet the current and future needs of our nation’s most vulnerable veterans, please support the Homes for Heroes Act. Supporting this historic veteran homelessness prevention initiative will be a giant step forward towards ending veteran homelessness in America.

Sincerely,
Name
Position or Military Status (if applicable)

Who is your Senator?

To find out who your senator’s contact information log on to www.senate.gov.

Army Times: House approves aid bill for homeless vets

A bill aimed at helping low-income veterans avoid homelessness passed the House of Representatives on Wednesday by a 214-9 vote.

The Homes for Heroes Act would create a $200 million assistance program for veterans making less than 50 percent of the median income for the area where they live, and also would authorize $20,000 in annual rental assistance vouchers for veterans.

About one-quarter of the estimated 800,000 homeless people in the U.S. are veterans, said Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, chief sponsor of the bill, HR 3329.

The legislation also would create a new post at the Department of Housing and Urban Development solely to oversee veterans’ programs. The new special assistant for veterans’ affairs would coordinate programs within the federal government and with state and local agencies and nonprofit organizations, Green said. Read on…

The Post-9/11 GI Bill is a new benefit providing educational assistance to individuals who have served on active duty on or after September 11, 2001.

When Can I Receive Benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill?
Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits are payable for training pursued on or after August 1, 2009. No payments can be made under this program for training pursued before that date.

Am I Eligible?
At a minimum, you must have served at least 30 days of continuous active duty service after September 10, 2001 and be discharged due to a service-connected disability, or served an aggregate of 90 days of active duty service after September 10, 2001, and—

- Be honorably discharged from Armed Forces; or

- Be released from Armed Forces with service
characterized as honorable and placed on
the retired list, temporary disability retired
list, or transferred to the Fleet Reserve or the
Fleet Marine Corps Reserve; or

- Be released from the Armed Forces with service characterized as honorable for further service in a reserve component; or

- Be discharged or released from Armed Forces for:
o EPTS (Existed Prior to Service)
o HDSP (Hardship) or
o CIWD (Condition Interfered with Duty); or

- Continue to be on active duty.

If I am eligible for the Montgomery GI Bill (chapter 30), Montgomery GI Bill- Selected Reserve (chapter 1606), or the Reserve Educational Assistance Program (chapter 1607), am I eligible for Post-9/11 GI Bill?
You may elect to receive benefits under the Post- 9/11 GI Bill if, on August 1, 2009, you have met the requirements to qualify for the Post-9/11 GI Bill and you are eligible for chapter 30, 1606, 1607, or are serving in the Armed Forces.

How many months of assistance can I receive?
Generally, you may receive up to 36 months of entitlement under the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

How much will I receive?
You are entitled to a percentage, as determined by your length of active duty service, of the following:

- Amount of tuition and fees charged, not to exceed the most expensive in-State public institution of higher education (paid to school);

- Monthly housing allowance equal to the basic allowance for housing (BAH) amount payable to a military E-5 with dependents, in same zip code as school* (paid to you); and- Yearly books and supplies stipend of up to $1000* per year (paid to you); and - A one time payment of $500 may be payable to certain individuals relocating from highly rural areas. (paid to you)

NOTE: Housing allowance and books and supplies stipend is not payable to individuals on active duty. Housing allowance is not payable for those pursuing training at half time or less or to individuals taking distance learning.

Length of Service Requirements and the Percentage of Maximum Benefit Payable

At least 36 months: 100% Maximum Benefit Payable

At least 30 continuous days on active duty and must be discharged due to service-connected disability: 100% Maximum Benefit Payable

At least 30 months, but less than 36 months: 90%Maximum Benefit Payable

At least 24 months, but less than 30 months: 80% Maximum Benefit Payable

At least 18 months, but less than 24 months: 70% Maximum Benefit Payable

At least 12 months, but less than 18 months: 60% Maximum Benefit Payable

At least 06 months, but less than 12 months: 50% Maximum Benefit Payable

At least 90 days, but less than 06 months: 40% Maximum Benefit Payable

Examples:
Tuition and Fees charged for full time: $6700
Highest In-State Tuition and Fees: $7000

Example 1: If you served for three years on active duty and separated, and you are going to school full time, in the above example you would be eligible for $6700 for tuition and fees, the monthly housing allowance, and $1000 for books and supplies.

Example 2: If you aggregated 12 months of active duty service in the guard or reserves, and were going to school full-time, you would be eligible for $4020 (60% of $6700) for tuition and fees, $600 (60% of $1000) for books and supplies stipend and 60% of the monthly housing allowance.

How long am I eligible?
You will be eligible for benefits for 15 years from your last period of active duty of at least 90 consecutive days. If you were released for a service-connected disability after at least 30 days of continuous service, you will also be eligible for benefits for 15 years.

What does The Post- 9/11 GI Bill cover?
You may receive benefits for training programs approved for chapter 30 that are offered by an institution of higher learning. This includes graduate and undergraduate training, vocational/technical training and foreign training. You may also receive benefits for tutorial assistance and reimbursement of a licensing and certification test. Additionally, if you were eligible for chapter 30, 1606 or 1607, and you elected to use benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, you would be eligible to receive benefits for on-the-job training, apprenticeship training, correspondence courses, flight training, preparatory courses, and national exams.

Can I transfer my entitlement to my dependents?
If you are a member of the Armed Forces on August 1, 2009, the Department of Defense (DoD) may offer you the opportunity to transfer benefits to your spouse or dependent children. Please contact DoD or your military service branch for more information.

DO NOT RELY SOLELY ON THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS PAMPHLET TO DETERMINE ELIGIBILITY. Always submit an application for benefits to receive a formal decision.

Visit http://www.gibill.va.gov/ for up to date information on this and other education benefits.

PDF Link: The Post-9/11 Veterans Education Assistance Act of 2008 Fact Sheet

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For additional info click here, here.

New G.I. Bill Aims to Provide Expanded Educational Benefits to Troops

A new G.I. bill signed into law Monday doubles funding for education benefits available to military personnel who have served since Sept. 11, 2001, and allows transfer of benefits to a spouse or children. Analysts discuss the law and its meaning for veterans.

Click here for full transcript and higher resolution video.

War photo brought Dwyer an unwelcome fame

PINEHURST — Joseph Patrick Dwyer, a former Army medic who became famous after he was photographed helping a wounded Iraqi boy, died Saturday from an apparent overdose. He was 31.

Dwyer is survived by his wife of five years, Matina Brown Dwyer of Pinehurst; a daughter, Meagan Kaleigh Dwyer; his parents, Patrick Dennis and Maureen Higgins Dwyer; a sister, Christine Dwyer-Ogno of New York; four brothers, Brian, Patrick and Daniel Dwyer, all of New York, and Staff Sgt. Matthew Dwyer of Andrews Air Force Base. Please read on…

Honor the fallen.

Eric Hilleman, deputy director of Veterans of Foreign Wars’s National Legislative Service, conducted an online question and answer session on how the New GI Bill will be implemented, and how veterans can access the increased benefits it provides.

New GI Bill: Implementation and How to Get Benefits

San Diego: I was active duty in the Navy from July 1998 through June 2002. I then went into the Inactive Reserves for 12 months, then went into Active Reserves for six months (June 2003-December 2003), and then returned to Inactive Reserves from January 2004 to June 2006. Will I be entitled to anything at all under this new program?

Eric Hilleman: You should be eligible for MGIB benefits for your 1998 to 2002 service. Any months of usage, of the total eligible 36 months, will count against full time usage of the 21st Century GI Bill. However, in your case you did not complete three years post 9-11-2001, the requirement for full-time active duty usage. Though, you did have time post 9-11 both on active duty and in the activated reserved. What dose all this equate to? Simply, you will be eligible for a percentage of the full Webb bill, but the regulations have yet to be written about how combined periods of service will equate. Read On…

DEDICATION
What: Santa Rosa Veterans’ Memorial Monument dedication
When: 2 p.m. Wednesday July 3
Where: Southwest corner of Santa Rosa City Hall (Santa Rosa and Sonoma avenues)
Opening remarks by Sonoma County Supervisor Tim Smith
Dedication by Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena
Contributions to the memorial can be sent to to Santa Rosa Veterans Monument, c/o Community Foundation of Sonoma County, 250 D St., Santa Rosa, 95404


Veterans memorial to open Wednesday

“It will be one proud day forward for all veterans,”

Crews added final touches to the Veterans’ Memorial Monument on Monday, which features five granite columns bearing the names of 448 Sonoma County veterans who have died in seven wars ranging from the Philippines-American War in 1899 to the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Monday’s work also included the solemn task of engraving on a column the name of the county’s latest casualty, Santa Rosa-born Ryan Connolly. Connolly, an Army paratrooper, was killed by a bomb blast in Afghanistan on June 24. Read on…

Senator Daniel Akaka, World War II veteran and Chairmen of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, issued this statement supporting the passage of the 21st Century GI Bill.

AKAKA CHEERS ENACTMENT OF 21ST CENTURY GI BILL
Promises to assist with transition to new education benefit

“I am pleased that with the President’s signature affixed to the Emergency War Supplemental, we will finally provide a new GI Bill to the veterans and troops who have served since September 11, 2001. I especially want to congratulate Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) on this occasion, who introduced the 21st Century GI Bill as S. 22 in the first days of the Democratic Congress.

“This new GI Bill will not only shape the nature of today’s military, it will also shape the future of the military – and our nation – for many years to come. Today’s new veterans will find that we fully appreciate the contributions they have made in service to the Nation. We understand the sacrifices they make, the hardships they endure, and the toll that is taken on their lives and the lives of their families. With this new GI Bill, we say to our newest generation of citizen soldiers, we appreciate you. We recognize that the ability of our Armed Forces to attract and retain quality personnel in the future – and consequently our national security – depends on how we meet the needs of those serving today.

“As Chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, I am committed to assisting with the transition to this new educational benefit. In its oversight capacity, the Committee will work with the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to resolve potential problems before the new benefits begin.”

Patrick Campbell, Legislative Director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans’ of America (IAVA), describes what motivates him to keep fighting for better health care and benefits for our veterans.

The Politico: Iraq vet driven by friend’s death

“Yesterday… one of my buddies from Iraq committed suicide.”

It should have been a heady week for Campbell, a week in which the former staffer for Sen. Barbara Boxer (Calif.) and other Democrats shared a rally stage with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-­Calif.), saw the Senate vote overwhelmingly in favor of Webb’s bill and graduated from law school at Catholic University.

But Campbell and the other soldiers in his unit had recently received notice that they’d be headed back to Iraq early next year. And then, in the midst of all that was happening in Washington, Campbell got word about his friend, a sergeant who had taken him under his wing during his tour of duty in Iraq.

Saturday afternoon, Campbell walked off the stage at the Catholic University graduation, handed his diploma to his parents and headed straight to the airport to fly to the sergeant’s funeral.

At IAVA, Campbell is helping to push for legislation that would provide returning soldiers with mandatory one-on-one screenings with mental health professionals within six months of returning from combat. He is also working toward increased access to mental health services in rural areas, a particular problem for some of the soldiers in his unit from remote parts of Louisiana.

Campbell wants Congress to lead the charge for a holistic approach to veterans’ mental health, including help for family members and targeted advertising campaigns to reduce the stigma that soldiers attach to counseling. He has also fought hard for the passage of the educational benefits in Webb’s GI Bill, which is expected to win Senate approval this week. He says the benefits would give returning soldiers a sense of purpose and “a reason to get up in the morning.” Read on…

MEDIA ADVISORY

June 25, 2008

Contact: Amy Fairweather, Iraq Veteran Project (415) 252-4787 ext 356, (415)505-6558; Elinor Roberts, Legal Director (415) 252-4787 ext 317

WHAT: Decision After Trial—VCS, et al. v. Peake, et al.

JUDGE: Senior Judge Samuel Conti, United States District Court, Northern District of California.

Senior Federal District Court Judge Samuel Conti has ruled against veterans with PTSD, traumatic brain injury and other disabilities. The case, VCS et al. V. Peake et al., was brought on behalf of veterans to remedy the Department of Veterans Affairs failure to provide timely and adequate mental health care to veterans and to address the VA’s failure to provide fair and timely adjudication of veterans’ disability claims.

Judge Conti acknowledged the VA’s failings but ruled that it is not within the court’s power to remedy the situation.

Michael Blecker, Director of Swords to Plowshares, comments that, “Everyday that goes by without action, another 18 veterans commit suicide and hundreds of thousands of veterans are denied mental healthcare and the compensation they need to survive. At Swords to Plowshares, we deal everyday with homeless and mentally ill veterans. These veterans need medical care and disability compensation in the near term to prevent the outcomes we still see among our homeless Vietnam era clients. Veterans are giving up, committing suicide, it is a tragedy.”

Elinor Roberts, Swords to Plowshares Legal Director added, “The Court’s ruling is very disappointing, the decision lays out in great detail the failures of the VA, and yet the court will not act. If the Administration and Congress were exercising proper oversight of the VA, then these veterans would not have had to resort to the courts. The VA benefits system should have out a welcome mat, not a locked gate for desperate veterans to pound on to get in – or die waiting for it to open.”

The VA is under equipped to handle their existing caseload and take on an unprecedented wave of new veterans with traumatic brain injury and PTSD. Over 1.7 million service members have been deployed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, many of them repeatedly. The conditions in these wars are a recipe for PTSD, the urban combat, repeated deployments, 24/7 and 360 degree exposure to extreme combat trauma. Approximately one-third of those returning from combat have PTSD or some mental health need.

These disabled veterans have to wait at least 6 months for an initial determination of their disability claims, and appeals can last years. In the meantime they are without resources. They are falling into poverty, unable to work and stuck in a bureaucratic battle for their earned disability compensation. The number of veteran suicides is overwhelming, with over 120 veterans taking their own lives every week, and 1000 suicide attempts per month amongst veterans under VA care. The suicide rate of veterans is at least three times the national suicide rate and in 2005, the suicide rate for veterans 18-24 years old was three to four times higher than non-veterans.

Amy Fairweather, Director of Swords to Plowshares Iraq Veteran Project adds, “There are good people on the ground in VA offices and vet centers, providing care, but the leadership made no provision to meet the wave of new combat veterans. There is no consistency of care; we get a steady stream of calls from Iraq veterans and their families struggling without care and benefits. The homelessness, joblessness, broken families and suicide, are heartbreaking.

“We had hoped that the Judge would call for some independent oversight of the VA’s mental health services, to bring some consistency and accountability to the treatment of our veterans. We hope for a different outcome in the plaintiffs appeal. In the meantime, veterans and their families wait, suffer and die needlessly.”

******************

Press Conference by Gordon Erspamer of Morrison & Foerster LLP

News reports,
ABC 7:Judge refuses to order overhaul of VA
Quotes from Swords to Plowshares clients:

Enrique Gonzalez served in Iraq. He underwent testing for PTSD and has been waiting since last February for an answer from the VA.

“It’s still ridiculous to wait years for something that is going on daily in our lives, in our heads and other aspects and other issues, health issues that can be resolved pretty soon,” says Enrique.

Tim Chapman was diagnosed with PTSD after he tried to kill himself.

“How many troops are committing suicide after coming home? For them to sit here and decline it like that, decline the help like that, it’s like a big slap in the face,” says Chapman.

CBS 5:SF Federal Judge Refuses To Order Overhaul Of VA(Swords to Plowshares client Enrique Gonzalez is featured in this report)

KTVU: Federal Judge Refuses To Order Overhaul Of VA (includes interviews with IVP director Amy and case manager Walter Williams)

Navy Times: Judge: VA care falls outside his authority

Los Angeles Times:Judge rejects court order to improve VA’s treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder

San Francisco Chronicle: Judge rules court won’t step in to aid vets

Reuters: Judge dismisses suit over veteran health care

AP: Federal judge refuses to order overhaul of VA

Kaiser Network: Despite Some Inadequate Treatment of PTSD in VA Health Care System, Federal Judge Finds No ‘Systemic Violations,’ Overrules Court Order for Improvement

Adrian College, in Adrian Michigan, is now accepting applications for its new scholarship program benefiting disabled veterans. The College is welcoming all applications for the fall 2008 semester.

The program, which is called ‘Operation Education’, will offer a disabled American veteran, who was injured during combat in Afghanistan or Iraq post Sept. 11, 2001, a full scholarship toward earning his or her college degree.

“The young men and women who risk their lives each day in Iraq and Afghanistan are heroes to all of us,” says Docking. “All Americans, regardless of whether they support these wars or not, share in the responsibility in helping these men and women further their education once they return home.”

“The College will ask the Veterans Administration to provide us with one to two candidates each year,” says Docking. “Adrian College will provide them with the services they need – housing, books, food, and other academic support requirements – to earn a four-year undergraduate degree free of charge.”

The College will offer the fundamentals: books, housing, meals, a laptop and school supplies, as well as physical and emotional support. If the soldier has a spouse or family, they too will be provided for through the College’s benefits.

For more information please follow this link:http://www.adrian.edu/news/6_08op_ed2.php

Army Times: Troops risk ruin while awaiting benefit checks

His lifelong dream of becoming a soldier had, in the end, come to this for Isaac Stevens: 28, penniless, in a wheelchair, fending off the sexual advances of another man in a homeless shelter.

The injury [sustained in boot camp] alone didn’t put him in a homeless shelter. Instead, it was military bureaucracy — specifically, the way injured service members are discharged on just a fraction of their salary and then forced to wait six to nine months, and sometimes even more than a year, before their full disability payments begin to flow.

As is often the case with disabled veterans, the public has to step in to fix the wrongs committed against those who selflessly serve.

Stevens was moved to the Operation Homefront apartment after a social worker at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii, acting on her own initiative, rescued Stevens from a homeless shelter there.

“This is a situation where someone used their common sense and they did the right thing, versus saying, ‘This is the rules. We can’t do this,’” Tripler spokeswoman Minerva Anderson said of the social worker.

In another instance:

Simon Heine served three tours in Iraq as a tank mechanic before he was discharged with severe post-traumatic stress disorder.

His wife quit college so she could figure out how her four children could live on less than $1,000 a month. Eventually, she moved the family of six into an Operation Homefront apartment so they could finish navigating the bureaucracy and wait out the arrival of Social Security and VA benefits.

“It is like giving you a car and taking the steering wheel off. They say, ‘There is the gas and the brake. Just go straight,’ and hopefully, you are going in the right direction,” Heine said.

And why does it take so long?

“The claims are a lot more complicated than people think,” said Ursula Henderson, director of the VA’s regional office in Houston.

Stating that these claims are “complicated” begs the question, are the claim processors being properly trained to handle these newer and more “complicated” claims?

A May 2008 GAO report found:

VBA has a standard training curriculum for new claims processors and an 80-hour annual training requirement for all claims processors, but staff are not held accountable for meeting this requirement.

Although VBA has a training requirement for VSRs and RVSRs, it does not have a policy outlining consequences for individual staff who do not complete their required training. Further, VBA does not maintain data on the training completed by individuals

In fact, claims processors we interviewed raised some issues with the training they received.

‘Disposable Heroes’: Veterans Used To Test Suicide-Linked Drugs

Mentally distressed veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan are being recruited for government tests on pharmaceutical drugs linked to suicide and other violent side effects, an investigation by ABC News and The Washington Times has found.

In one of the human experiments, involving the anti-smoking drug Chantix, Veterans Administration doctors waited more than three months before warning veterans about the possible serious side effects, including suicide and neuropsychiatric behavior.

“Lab rat, guinea pig, disposable hero,” said former US Army sniper James Elliott in describing how he felt he was betrayed by the Veterans Administration.

Veterans groups are also expressing their anger over the study. The executive director of Veterans for Common Sense said that this is yet another example of the VA failing America’s veterans.

“VA should have done a better job protecting the human rights of our veterans,” said Paul Sullivan of VCS.

“While VCS supports research to assist veterans, VA must bear a heavy burden of responsibility with these experiments on veterans diagnosed with PTSD,” said Sullivan, who is also calling for an immediate suspension of the study.

View the ABC Investigative Report here

Click here to read the Washington Times coverage of “Disposable Heroes”

House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner provided the following statement on reports that reveal that veterans are being recruited for VA tests on drugs with violent side effects:

“Today’s news report that the VA is conducting experimental drug tests on our veterans is appalling.

“Once the FDA issued the warning that it had received reports linking Chantix to suicidal thoughts and aggressive and erratic behavior, the VA should have immediately suspended this study and notified participants of the possible dangers. Instead, the VA took more than three months to notify patients and they did so in bureaucratese that did not clearly state the side effects of the drug.

“There were only 940 veterans in this study. Why didn’t the VA just call them and bring them in immediately?!

“The VA must immediately suspend this study until a comprehensive review of the safety of the protocol is conducted.”

PBS NOW: Fighting the Army

Of the thousands of U.S. troops getting discharged from the Army each year, many who are suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and brain injuries aren’t getting the vital care they need. The Army claims these soldiers have pre-existing mental illnesses or are guilty of misconduct. But advocates say this is a way for the Army to get rid of “problem” soldiers quickly, without giving them the treatment and benefits to which they’re entitled.

This week, NOW travels to Fort Hood in Texas to meet traumatized soldiers fighting a new battle, this one against the army they served. Are soldiers being wrongfully discharged for honorable service?

Follow link to view the program online.

View the extended interviews of soldiers Jonathan Norrell and David Chavarria here.

To view the TV news broadcast of this story, please go to this link: http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local&id=6197910

“Federal Judge Accepts New Evidence in VA PTSD Cover Up”

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (KGO) — There is new evidence suggesting the Veteran’s Administration is covering-up sub-standard mental health care given to vets. There’s evidence a federal judge in San Francisco accepted on Tuesday, even though the case has already been tried.

There was email was written in March by Norma Perez, Ph.D., a V.A. psychologist who coordinates post-traumatic stress disorder cases.

She wrote, “Given that we are having more and more compensation-seeking veterans, I’d like to suggest that you refrain from giving a diagnosis of PTSD straight out. Consider a diagnosis of adjustment disorder.”

The email was discovered by accident through a Freedom of Information request by a veterans group.

“It is a very damning email. Cut off the money, disguise them with adjustment disorders so they don’t get V.A. benefits,” said Gordon Erspamer, a Veterans Groups’ Lawyer.

Attorneys for Veteran’s groups suing the V.A. say the email supports their case that the dept has failed to diagnose and treat PTSD and other mental health problems. Read on…

“Judge considers new e-mail evidence in veterans care trial”

A recently surfaced e-mail by a Department of Veterans Affairs psychologist was added Friday to the evidence a federal judge is considering in deciding whether to order a massive overhaul of the agency’s health care system.

Heather Moser, a lawyer for the veterans groups, told the judge [sic] said the March memo written by Norma Perez, who helps coordinate a post-traumatic stress disorder clinical team in central Texas, shows that VA bureaucrats routinely attempt to deny veterans proper health care.

Moser told the judge that Perez was encouraging counselors to make more initial diagnosis of “adjustment disorder” rather than the more severe post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, because it was less costly and time-consuming to do so.

“The adjustment disorder diagnosis is a way around paying benefits to the veterans,” Moser said

Justice Department lawyer Daniel Bensing told the judge that the e-mail was a mistake and didn’t represent VA policy. He said Perez had been disciplined and that her e-mail was inartfully worded and is being misconstrued as an attempt to unfairly deny benefits…

“It was an honest mistake by a junior staff member,” Bensing told the judge. “There really is nothing more to this matter. We submit that it should have no effect on this case.” Read on…

In response to the Court’s decision, Veterans for Common Sense issued this statement:

“The Court’s ruling is an important victory for veterans. The ruling adds critical new evidence the judge will review as part of our lawsuit against VA on behalf of all veterans. VA’s anti-PTSD e-mail is a shocking example of how serious the problems are within VA. When combined, the e-mail and the evidence presented at trial clearly demonstrate a systemic failure by VA to provide prompt and high-quality mental healthcare to our Nation’s veterans suffering from PTSD.”

Via Govexec.com: “House bill creates VA ombudsman’s office”

WASHINGTON - Citing the confusion veterans face when trying to arrange benefits, the House Veterans’ Affairs Health Subcommittee passed a bill Thursday creating an ombudsman office within the Veterans Affairs Department (VA).

The bill instructs the VA secretary to create an office of the ombudsman, and designate the head of the office.

The office would act as a one-stop shop for information on benefits administered by the VA, including medical, housing and education. When testifying in support of his bill before the Health Subcommittee on June 14, 2007, Hodes said the VA has separate hotlines for different benefits, and the process can be confusing to veterans returning from overseas.

However, the VA does not support the bill. VA Undersecretary for Health Michael Kussman testified at the Health Subcommittee hearing on the bill that it would create an unnecessary level of bureaucracy within the VA. Kussman added the VA already has officers such as patient advocates and benefit counselors, and many state level veterans departments also have counselors. Read On…

“Agent Orange Victims Share Tales of Chemical’s Poisonous Legacy”

At age 19, Dan Wilson packed his bags and left St. Louis for the U.S. Army, and life as a soldier in Vietnam. It was a decision that would change his life.

Washington, D.C. - Scripps Howard Foundation Wire - infoZine - Vietnam is a land known for jungles, but during his last eight months there, Wilson lived where there was nothing green at all.

“There was no grass,” he said. “There were several thousand acres of dust when it didn’t rain and mud when it did.”

Neither he nor his fellow soldiers knew they were living, eating and drinking in a toxic wasteland.

The area had been sprayed with Agent Orange, a weed killer used by U.S. forces in Vietnam to destroy the jungle that provided cover for enemies. It contained dioxin, a toxic agent that can cause reproduction problems, birth defects, cancer and other diseases.

Now 60, Wilson suffers from illnesses linked to his exposure to Agent Orange more than 40 years ago.

Like Wilson, more than 400,000 U.S. veterans say they suffer from Agent Orange-related illnesses, and what’s worse to many is they don’t think they are getting the help they deserve.

According to the Department of Veteran Affairs, approximately 20 million gallons of Agent Orange and other equally or more harmful substances dubbed with the rainbow of names Agent White, Agent Purple, Agent Blue and Agent Pink were used in Vietnam over nine years. Out of the 3 million soldiers who served in Vietnam, nearly half were there during the heaviest spraying. Between 2 million and 4 million American soldiers and Vietnamese residents were sprayed with Agent Orange and other defoliants.

The diseases linked to herbicide exposure include prostate cancer, respiratory cancer, Type 2 diabetes, soft tissue sarcomas, peripheral neuropathy and more.

Richard Weidman, executive director for policy and government affairs for Vietnam Veterans of America, testified that the U.S. government is not doing enough to help American victims of Agent Orange.

“There’s not a single Agent Orange study being conducted by the VA, the Department of Defense, the EPA or the National Institutes of Health,” he said, in a phone interview Monday. “That can’t be an accident since the rest of the world is concerned with dioxin.”There’s more…

The Judge presiding over the class action lawsuit against VA, alleging systemic failures in health care and disability claims processing, has ordered a hearing on the e-mail issued by a VA psychologist. The psychologist suggests that counselors diagnose “adjustment disorder” in lieu of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder since it could impact the veterans disability compensation.

Judge to consider VA e-mail about PTSD diagnoses

The hearing ordered by U.S. District Judge Samuel Conti follows a two-week trial that ended last month. Veterans groups had sued the VA, saying it inadequately addressed a “rising tide” of mental health problems, especially post-traumatic stress disorder and suicides.

The plaintiffs asked Conti to reopen the case in light of the e-mail discovered after the trial ended.

The judge agreed, saying “the e-mail raises potentially serious questions that may warrant further attention.” He ordered lawyers for both sides to appear in court Tuesday to discuss whether the e-mail has any bearing on the case.

Lawyers for the veterans groups argue that Perez’s e-mail goes to the heart of their case, showing the VA’s indifference to treating mental health.

“This is not Joe the janitor writing this,” vets’ lawyer Arturo Gonzalez said. “This is a supervisor, and it shows how the VA thinks.”

Gonzalez wants the judge to add the e-mail to the evidence given to him at the non-jury trial in support of the lawsuit.

Read the letter written by Gordon Erspamer to Judge Conti on the ptsd email [pdf link] here

SENATE PASSES VETERANS’ MENTAL HEALTH CARE IMPROVEMENTS
June 3, 2008

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), Chairman of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, praised the Senate’s passage of S. 2162, the Veterans Mental Health and Other Care Improvements Act of 2008, tonight by unanimous consent.

This bill includes provisions on mental health care, suicide prevention, care for substance use disorders, prevention of homelessness, pain and epilepsy care, and other health care matters. This comprehensive legislation addresses many critical issues facing our Nation’s veterans.

…the legislation would make sweeping changes to VA mental health treatment and research. Most notably, it would ensure a minimum level of substance use disorder care for veterans in need. It would also require VA to improve treatment of veterans with multiple disorders, such as PTSD and substance use disorder. To ascertain if VA’s residential mental health facilities are appropriately staffed, this bill would mandate a review of such facilities. It would also create a vital research program on PTSD and Substance Use Disorders, in cooperation with, and building on the work of, the National Center for PTSD.

Veterans with physical and mental wounds often turn to drugs and alcohol to ease their pain. Experts believe that stress is the primary cause of drug abuse, and of relapse to drug abuse. Research by Sinha, Fuse, Aubin and O’Malley in Psychopharmacology (2000), and by Brewer et al. in Addiction (1998) has found that patients with psychological trauma, including PTSD, are often susceptible to alcohol and drug abuse. Similarly, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, patients subjected to chronic stress, as experienced by those with PTSD, are prone to drug use. VA has long dealt with substance abuse issues, but there is much more than can be done. This legislation would provide a number of solutions to enhance substance use disorder treatment.

The inclusion of families in mental health treatment is vital. To this end, the bill would fully authorize VA to provide mental health services to families of veterans and would set up a program to help veterans and families transition to civilian life.

Beneficiary travel reimbursements are essential to improving access to VA health care for veterans in rural areas. This legislation would increase the beneficiary travel mileage reimbursement rate from 11 cents per mile to 28.5 cents per mile, and permanently set the deductible to the 2007 amount of $3 each way.

It is important that veterans who rely on VA for their health care have access to emergency care. This bill would make corrections to the procedure used by VA to reimburse community hospitals for emergency care provided to eligible veterans so as to ensure that both veterans and community hospitals are not inappropriately burdened by emergency care costs.

Too often, veterans suffer from lack of care merely because they are unaware of the services available to them. This legislation would enhance outreach and accessibility by creating a pilot program on the use of peers to help reach out to veterans. It would also encourage improved accessibility for mental health care in rural areas.

The legislation also addresses homelessness, which is far too prevalent in the veteran population. The bill would create targeted programs to provide assistance for low-income veteran families. It would also allow homeless service providers to receive VA funds without offsetting other sources of income and require that facilities which furnish services to homeless veterans are able to meet the needs of women veterans.

The Committee heard testimony that epilepsy is often associated with traumatic brain injury, the injury that many are calling the signature wound of the current conflicts. This suggests a strong need to improve VA’s effectiveness in dealing with epilepsy. The pending legislation would establish six VA epilepsy centers of excellence, which will focus on research, education, and clinical care activities in the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy. These centers would restore VA to the position of leadership it once held in epilepsy research and treatment.

The medical community has made impressive advances in pain care and management, but VA has lagged behind in implementing a standardized policy for dealing with pain. The bill includes a provision that would establish a pain care program at all inpatient facilities, to prevent long-term chronic pain disability. It also provides for education for VA’s health care workers on pain assessment and treatment, and would require VA to expand research on pain care.

I urge all of my colleagues to support S. 2162, as amended. It has the potential to bring relief and support to tens of thousands of veterans and their families across the country.

Read Sen. Akaka’s full press release here

A critical concern among the veteran services community is the drastic rise in Military Sexual Trauma. This story in the Army Times highlights the rates of MST in the Army.

Army sexual assaults top all services combined

An internal Army-wide message issued Tuesday by the Army chief of staff states that sexual assaults “continue to occur at an unacceptable rate” as the service in 2007 “accounted for more assaults than the Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force combined.”

The message, which did not focus on any specific location or group, states that there were 1,516 reported cases of sexual assault in 2007 among 590,000 active and mobilized soldiers representing a 2.6 assault rate per thousand.

The Army data, which was contained in a March 14 Defense Department annual report to Congress on sexual assaults in the military, showed that the vast majority of Army sexual assault victims were 24 or younger, in the ranks of specialist and below and more than 90 percent female, according to the message.

The “all Army activity” message which was posted at the Army Knowledge Online Web site and obtained by the Army Times, announces that Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey and Army Secretary Pete Geren have directed the Army G-1 to lead a general officer steering committee to review the Army’s Sexual Assault Prevention Action Plan. There’s more…

The City of Chicopee Massachusetts plans to step in and provide some of the critical services many veterans are in need of.

New services proposed for veterans

CHICOPEE - Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette is proposing comprehensive new services for city veterans, including housing and the creation of a veterans’ opportunity center.

The mayor’s plan involves using Chicopee Housing Authority property, contingent on a new senior center being built behind Szetela Early Childhood Center off Macek Drive.

Bissonnette wants to convert the 40-unit Valley View Apartments, adjacent to the existing senior center, into veterans’ housing and use the old senior center for a veterans’ opportunity center. Both Valley View and the senior center are owned by the housing authority.

“It’s certainly three to five years away, but we want to start the process now,” Bissonnette said last week. “We’d be looking for state and federal assistance.”

The city would also seek guidance from the privately operated Soldier On, formerly the United Veterans of American Homeless Shelter, in Leeds. The group runs a 120-bed shelter for homeless veterans, and is planning a 39-unit apartment complex in Pittsfield that will be owned by the veterans who live there.

The veterans’ opportunity center would focus on obtaining housing, healthcare and job training for veterans of all ages and from all conflicts. There’s more…

Former VA employee James G. Bo Maske writes congress accusing top administrators of the VA’s Jackson Regional Office of purposely “allowing the regional office to fail.”

VA claims pace lagging: ‘Improper denials, poor service to vets’

Maske is a former legislative assistant to the late U.S. Rep. G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery, the man for whom Jackson’s VA hospital is named. Maske was also a staffer on the House Veterans Affairs Committee during his tenure on Montgomery’s staff.

“I feel in my heart that (Montgomery) would want me to do this for our veterans and for the dedicated employees,” said Maske. “Here’s my concern at this point - the VA’s motto in training employees is ‘grant when you can, deny if you must’ in deciding on veterans’ claims. My fear is that for a powerful few at the VA’s Jackson Regional Office, it’s becoming ‘deny when you can, grant if you must’ and that’s just wrong.”

The Article goes on to note:

An internal white paper produced by the VA’s Jackson Regional Office on March 28 obtained by The Clarion-Ledger outlines an inspection of veterans’ claims folders by Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee special projects counsel Mary Ellen McCarthy. McCarthy made a two-day visit to the Jackson office on March 26-28 to examine the “consistency and quality” of the handling of claims ratings. The Senate committee staffer’s findings included:

# In post traumatic stress disorder claims, McCarthy found “a pattern of improper and excessive development of stressors” (events or circumstances that cause traumatic stress) and that the VA “ignores valid information contained in the files” which results in “improper denials and poor service to veterans.”

# A PTSD claim was denied to an Operation Iraqi Freedom combat veteran because the veteran failed to return information on a specific VA form, but that the information requested was already contained in the veteran’s claims folder.

# The staffer found the Jackson VA office “lax on quality” and told VA personnel in Jackson that if the agency would “slow down” and be more thorough it would “get it right the first time and not have to re-work” claims.

# That in order to meet the VA’s system of “production quotas” to process claims, several failures resulted in “quick denial syndrome to achieve production.”

In order to correct the delays in processing veterans’ disability claims Congressman Tom Allen of Maine has introduced a comprehensive piece of legislation called the Full Faith In Veterans Act.

You can read more about the Full Faith in Veterans Act of 2008 here.

The Compass Center, a community based non-profit which serves homeless and low-income men and women, serves as another great example of how the local community can delivers services to those in need.

Veterans seek help at homeless shelter

Some veterans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan are among the Seattle-area homeless who seek the help of the Compass Center, which offers transitional housing.

Within the past year, five have been served by the center in a two-year program that offers shelter and counseling as they return to work or school, said Tracy Jones, a center program manager who spoke Tuesday at a town-hall meeting organized by U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Seattle. There’s more…

Army suicides reported up again at 115 in 2007

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Army suicides increased again last year, amid the most violent year yet in both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. An Army official said Thursday that 115 troops committed suicide in 2007, a nearly 13 percent increase over the previous year’s 102. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because a full report on the deaths wasn’t being released until later Thursday.

About a quarter of the deaths occurred in Iraq.

The 115 confirmed deaths among active duty soldiers and National Guard and Reserve troops that had been activated was a lower number than previously feared. Preliminary figures released in January showed as many as 121 troops might have killed themselves, but a number of the deaths were still being investigated then and have since been attributed to other causes, the officials said. There’s more…