Swords to Plowshares

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

Homes for Heroes Act, S.1084/H.R.3329

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.

Who is your Senator?

To find out who your senator is and contact information for him/her, 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…

Bill Moyers’ essay for Memorial Day 2008 in which he comments on the litany of scandals emerging within the Veterans Administration.

You can read the transcript here.

Air Force Times: GAO faults training for VA claims processors

Although the Veterans Affairs Department has added thousands of staff to help process disability claims, a new study finds those new employees face no consequences if they don’t attend mandatory training.

And because the caseload is so heavy, instructors aren’t always available to provide on-the-job training for new employees.

The Veterans Benefits Administration “is taking steps to strategically plan its training, but does not adequately evaluate its training and may be falling short in some areas of training design and implementation,” the Government Accountability Office said in a report released Tuesday.

Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, asked GAO to find out what training is provided and whether it is uniform; how well it is implemented and evaluated; and how it compares with performance management practices in the private sector. There’s more…

You can read the full GAO Report here (PDF Link):

Op-Ed article in the NY Times calling for increased health services for the increasing numbers of female veterans.

For Women Warriors, Deep Wounds, Little Care

THIS Memorial Day, as an ever-increasing number of mentally and physically wounded soldiers return from Iraq, the Department of Veterans Affairs faces a pressing crisis: women traumatized not only by combat but also by sexual assault and harassment from their fellow service members. Sadly, the department is failing to fully deal with this problem.

Women make up some 15 percent of the United States active duty forces, and 11 percent of the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nearly a third of female veterans say they were sexually assaulted or raped while in the military, and 71 percent to 90 percent say they were sexually harassed by the men with whom they served.

As women return for repeat tours, usually redeploying with their same units, many must go back to war with the same man (or men) who abused them. This leaves these women as threatened by their own comrades as by the war itself. Yet the combination of sexual assault and combat has barely been acknowledged or studied. There’s more…

Swords to Plowshares executive director Micheal Blecker’s op-ed on the urgent need of better services for the men and women who have served this nation in the armed forces. This article appeared on page B - 5 of the San Francisco Chronicle.

ON MEMORIAL DAY
Broken promises to our veterans

Thousands of Iraqi and Afghanistan veterans are returning home only to become casualties of war - at their own hands. Suffering from psychiatric injuries, 1,000 veterans under Veterans Administration care are attempting suicide each month. Almost 40 percent of the young men and women returning from combat almost have proven mental health injuries that include Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, major depression and traumatic brain injury.

But when they seek help, disabled veterans face a claims system so mismanaged and inefficient that they often must wait more than five years for any assistance. The Department of Veterans Affairs is choking on a backlog of some 600,000 unresolved benefits claims. Even after their eligibility has been established, thousands of veterans cannot obtain adequate mental health treatment. While they wait for the care they are owed, veterans are dying. About 126 veterans per week commit suicide. Vast numbers of veterans are living with mental illness, sometimes so severe that they are unable to work. Nationally, about 154,000 veterans are homeless on any given night and twice that many are homeless at some time during the year. There’s More…

The Department of Veterans Affairs has come out in opposition to the Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act of 2008, meant to expand and improve health care services available to women veterans. This comes even as VA admits it is unable to provide adequate services to women veterans and a at a time when instansces of of Military Sexual Trauma are on the rise.

Bill on female vets gets VA thumbs-down

“We recognize there may well be gaps in services for women veterans, especially given the VA designed its clinics and services based on data when women comprised a much smaller percentage of those serving in the armed forces,” said Gerald Cross, the VA’s principal deputy undersecretary for health.

The VA also opposed sections that would require mental health workers to get special training on how to care for female victims of military sexual trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder, to require additional staff to deal with female veterans and to provide child care for veterans seeking VA care. The agency’s concerns about those proposals involved cost, necessity and a preference to let each region or hospital decide how to allocate its staffing.

Murray said female veterans have long been reluctant to voice their concerns.

“The voices of women are no longer whispers,” she said. “Today, they are full-throated calls for equal access to care at the VA.”

Testimony and Video of the Hearing Here

The Senate honors our servicemen and women by approving the Post 9/11 GI Bill; keeping the promise of a college education as a benefit to service in the armed forces.

Senate approves war funds, GI Bill

The Senate approved a $194.1 billion wartime spending bill Thursday that promises a greatly expanded GI education benefit for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.

But unless adjustments are made, the entire wartime bill faces an almost certain veto fight with the president. The question is whether cooler heads will prevail and Congress and the White House will begin some negotiation to avoid another veto fight, which is not necessarily to the advantage of either side.

“I want to see this actually done before I get too excited, but I feel really good about the vote today,” [Sen. Jim] Webb said. There’s more…

Veterans group VoteVets.org has launched television ads asking fellow veteran, Senator John McCain, to support a New GI Bill for the brave men and women who have honorably served this country since 9/11.

McCain targeted for opposing vets college aid bill

McCain, the all-but-nominated Republican presidential candidate, opposes a Democratic-backed bill that would significantly expand the breadth of education benefits for veterans, first adopted for those returning from World War II. Democrats want the proposal included in a war spending bill the Senate is scheduled to vote on this week…

And on Tuesday, a veterans’ group that has been critical of the war in Iraq is launching an ad in Washington to pressure McCain to change his mind.

The legislation, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia and Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, also veterans of Vietnam, would guarantee full tuition payments to veterans at any public school in their home state. Its expected cost is $52 billion over 10 years.

McCain says the legislation is too expensive and has proposed his own version, which would increase the monthly benefit available to most veterans to $1,500 from $1,100. It would not offer the equivalent of a full scholarship.

The ad by VoteVets.org Action Fund, features Iraq and Afghanistan veterans noting that both McCain and President Bush oppose the bill.

“McCain thinks covering a fraction of our education is enough,” one veteran says. Another one, pictured recovering from head wounds, adds in a voiceover: “We didn’t give a fraction in Iraq. We gave 100 percent.”

“Senator McCain” an announcer concludes, “we respect your service. Please respect ours.”

You can View the ads here

AKAKA REQUESTS DOCUMENTS AND INVESTIGATION OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PTSD DIAGNOSIS FOLLOWING DISTURBING EMAIL
May 16, 2008

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), Chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, sent a letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary James Peake today, in response to a recently disclosed email from a VA mental health professional which suggested that time and money could be saved if VA stopped diagnosing veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. Akaka also made a statement on this matter earlier today, calling the email “disturbing and disappointing.”

A copy of the letter is copied below:

May 16, 2008

The Honorable James B. Peake, MD
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Avenue
Washington, DC 20420

Dear Secretary Peake:

I am writing regarding recent events at the Temple, Texas, VA Medical Center. The suggestion that diagnoses of PTSD should be avoided due to cost and time considerations is deeply troubling, and merits close investigation.

VA has a responsibility to take seriously the effects of combat trauma, yet there are some who fail to appreciate the significance of this responsibility. The sentiment expressed in an email by the Program Coordinator for the PTSD Clinical Care Team at the Temple VAMC is clearly inappropriate, and I applaud your strong statement reiterating VA’s commitment to proper screening and diagnosis. Further, I share your hope that this is indeed isolated to a single facility and practitioner.

I have asked the Office of the Inspector General to undertake an immediate review of the diagnosis patterns at Temple, and the role that Department guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of PTSD may have played in those patterns. I have also asked the IG to examine the Compensation and Pension decisions based on Compensation and Pension exams performed at the Temple VAMC for any irregularity.

I know you understand how imperative it is that VA conducts Compensation and Pension exams and decisions according to evidence based clinical guidelines. Without a thorough exam, an appropriate decision is impossible. The report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) entitled Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Diagnosis and Assessment (2006) stated that “An optimal assessment of a patient consists of a face-to-face interview in a confidential setting with a health professional experienced in the diagnosis of psychiatric disorders…[T]he process of diagnosis and assessment will likely take at least an hour or could take many hours to complete.” VA’s own Best Practice Manual for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Compensation and Pension Examinations recommends a three hour time allotment for completing an initial PTSD examination, with additional time needed for complex cases.

Unfortunately, Committee oversight indicates widespread inadequate evaluation of veterans claiming service-connection for PTSD due to combat exposure and military sexual trauma. Recently, two Compensation and Pension examination reports indicated that exams last between 30 and 35 minutes. Veterans often report to the Committee that during exams they were not asked about their military experience and received superficial evaluations. Veterans’ advocates report the reluctance of some VA examiners to provide a diagnosis of PTSD, even for veterans previously diagnosed with PTSD. VHA managers have expressed the view that “the VISN does not get any funding to do Compensation and Pension examinations.”

These reports are deeply unsettling. I know that you agree with me that it is entirely inappropriate to attempt to save time or money by limiting the quality of medical examinations and the support given to Compensation and Pension units at VA medical centers.

To fully address the quality of Compensation and Pension exams and decisions, I suggest that a team of experts from the National Center for PTSD conduct a comprehensive study of the issues at hand. Such a study should review examinations for PTSD from a statistically valid national sample to assess 1) the amount of time taken to conduct PTSD examinations; 2) the adequacy of the examination, including the need for any additional testing of claimants; 3) the number of cases in which a “rule out PTSD” diagnosis was provided; and 4) whether or not another diagnosis was provided to veterans in cases where the evidence suggested that a diagnosis of PTSD is determined to be more appropriate.

Furthermore, as Chairman of the Committee with oversight jurisdiction over these matters, I request that VA provide to the Committee all records from January 1, 2001, to the present relating to any and all guidance given to any VA staff regarding the diagnosis of PTSD in veterans. “Guidance” includes formal and informal guidance, advice, and recommendation, regardless of format or medium.

I also ask, to avoid future problems, and to ensure proper conduct of Compensation and Pension exams and decisions, that you issue guidance to VHA and VBA clinicians, administrators, and support personnel to ensure that sufficient care and time is spent on each Compensation and Pension exam and decision.

I appreciate your strong repudiation of the Temple VAMC psychologist’s email, and your commitment to serving veterans. The trauma of combat can leave veterans with serious and long-term invisible wounds, and VA’s mission is to care for those veterans. VA must err on the side of presuming that those who have been exposed to service in a theater of war may be marked by that service. Our commitment to veterans demands nothing less.

Thank you for your attention to these issues. I look forward to working with you to ensure that veterans are getting the care and benefits they deserve.

Sincerely,
Daniel K. Akaka

Chairman

-END-

Article by John Koopman in the San Francisco Chronicle on veterans suicides, including a feature on Swords to Plowshares client Tim Chapman.

“Vets’ growing suicide rate worries officials”

Tim Chapman hit bottom on a trip to Reno.

He had been a soldier and served in the Middle East. But after his discharge for mental health problems, he returned to his home in Manteca and started a rapid descent. He joined a gang, sold and used drugs. His wife left him.

He wanted to commit suicide. And almost did.

The number of veterans who commit suicide is growing, and it is causing major concern among veterans groups and lawmakers. A recent report by CBS News, now supported by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, indicates that an average of 18 veterans commit suicide every day nationwide.

Chapman lived through his ordeal. He is now in recovery at San Francisco’s Swords to Ploughshares [sic] and living in an apartment on Treasure Island.

Chapman likes the place a lot. He smiles, and he’s put on some weight. He lives with other veterans, and the people who run the place were in the military, too. They understand, he said.

“It’s a little easier to talk to these guys,” he said. “I can work on my issues.” There’s more…

Interesting observations on the proposed new GI Bill and why certain politicians refuse to support our troops by giving them the resources they’ve earned in order to be successful in college.

If You Try to Send the Troops to College, They Just Might Go

Presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., solidified his position in a paper statement last night, along with the Pentagon and the White House, concerned that the measure could hurt retention in a time of war. In short, if you try to send the troops college, they might just go.

When senators consider the House version of the President’s $108 billion war funding request in the coming weeks, look for Democrats to attach a proposal authored by Webb that would drastically upgrade the Montgomery GI Bill. Instead of receiving a fraction of college tuition (a max of about $3,000 per year), Webb and 54 other Senators from both parties want to make the GI Bill more like it was after WWII, when it paid for all of college, even private schools. They won’t go quite that far, but would offer most veterans who serve in the war on terror — even reserve and national guard who deploy — compensation for the most expensive public school in their state as well as a living stipend.

McCain, along with Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., and Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., introduced his own, less generous plan that would encourage troops to stay in the military, increasing benefits more for troops who serve 12 years or more. McCain’s bill would also encourage troops to transfer their GI Bill benefits to family members. There’s more…

Excellent op-ed in the New York Times, by Bob Herbert, illustrating the many benefits of honoring service to the nation though an up to date GI Bill and the false and misleading arguments against it.

Doing the Troops Wrong
By BOB HERBERT

Who wouldn’t support an effort to pay for college for G.I.’s who have willingly suited up and put their lives on the line, who in many cases have served multiple tours in combat zones and in some cases have been wounded?

We did it for those who served in World War II. Why not now?

Well, you might be surprised at who is not supporting this effort. The Bush administration opposes it, and so does Senator John McCain.

Reinvigorating the G.I. bill is one of the best things this nation could do. The original G.I. Bill of Rights, signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1944, paid the full load of a returning veteran’s education at a college or technical school and provided a monthly stipend. It was an investment that paid astounding dividends. Millions of veterans benefited, and they helped transform the nation. College would no longer be the exclusive preserve of the wealthy and those who crowned themselves the intellectual elite.

The Bush administration opposes the new G.I. bill primarily on the grounds that it is too generous, would be difficult to administer and would adversely affect retention.

This is bogus. The estimated $2.5 billion to $4 billion annual cost of the Webb proposal is dwarfed by the hundreds of billions being spent on the wars we’re asking service members to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. What’s important to keep in mind is that the money that goes to bolstering the education of returning veterans is an investment, in both the lives of the veterans themselves and the future of the nation.

The notion that expanding educational benefits will have a negative effect on retention seems silly. The Webb bill would cover tuition at a rate comparable to the highest tuition at a state school in the state in which the veteran would be enrolled. That kind of solid benefit would draw talented individuals into the military in large numbers.

Read the Full Article Here

In yesterday’s hearing before The House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Chairman Bob Filner accused top VA officials of criminal negligence in covering-up and withholding, from Congress and the American people, critical information regarding veterans suicides.

“If you have a document showing 1,000 suicide attempts per month, we have some real difficult issues. But you never passed us that information and you never asked us to help you, saying you had it under control,” he said.

“You don’t have it under control.”

Dr. Ira Katz defended his notorious “shhh!” e-mail saying,

“[it] was in poor tone” and that the “content was a dialog” about discussing the high rate of suicides, adding, “I deeply regret the subject line.”

Chairman Filner remained skeptical,

“It sounds to me like you’re saying everything is fine and under control yet again,” Filner said. “You don’t acknowledge any of your mistakes. I don’t care what your figures show you; we’re not doing the job.”

CBS also covered the hearing…

Press Release of Senator Boxer

Senators Bond and Boxer Introduce Bill to Improve Treatment of Troops, Military Families

Friday, May 2, 2008

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators and Kit Bond (R-MO) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) along with a bipartisan coalition of Senators, introduced legislation to keep America’s promise to our men and women in the military and their families. The Honoring Our Nation’s Obligations to Returning Warriors Act – or the HONOR Act – will improve treatment for our service members and veterans suffering with mental injuries, better prepare them for the stress associated with combat, and increase care for military families. Original co-sponsors of the bill include Senators Ted Stevens (R-AK), Barack Obama (D-IL), Pete Domenici (D-NM), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Elizabeth Dole (R-NC).

Senator Bond said, “The Pentagon’s response to the suffering of our troops returning from combat with ‘invisible injuries’ has been deeply disappointing. We can’t continue to wait for the Pentagon to do the right thing, Congress must act now and this bipartisan bill is a critical first step.”

Senator Boxer said, “Too many of our service members, veterans, and their families are not getting the mental health care they deserve. This bipartisan legislation will help break down barriers to care and ensure that the necessary resources are available. It will also bring us closer to our goal of ensuring that mental injuries are treated no differently than physical injuries. I look forward to working with Senator Bond and my other colleagues to get this bill enacted into law.”

Last month the RAND Corporation released findings that an estimated 620,000 returning service members suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, (PTSD) Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)