Veteran speaks in support of Obama at local gathering

Press Photos/Paul L. Newby II
U.S. Army Lt. and Vietnam Veteran Bill Dooling, Veterans Affairs advisor with the Obama campaign, center, listens to Iraq War veterans Grant Collins, of Austin, Texas, left, and Cameron Whitaker, of Grand Rapids, talk about their experiences with war and the veterans' health care system.

Veteran speaks in support of Obama at local gathering
by Kyla King The Grand Rapids Press
Friday September 26, 2008, 7:08 PM

GRAND RAPIDS — As the two major party presidential candidates prepared to debate foreign policy Friday night, veterans stumped for their candidate in Grand Rapids.

Democratic nominee U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., got a boost from retired U.S. Army Lt. and Vietnam Veteran Bill Dooling.

He highlighted the cost of the Iraq War in a Grand Rapids news conference followed by a town hall meeting with local veterans at the UAW region office.

Dooling, a former school teacher and Boston native, said he is backing Obama because he opposed the "costly" war from the beginning.

He also pointed to Obama's Senate voting record and service on the Senate Committee on Veteran's Affairs.
click post title for more

Senate passes bundle of veterans benefits

Senate passes bundle of veterans benefits

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Sep 17, 2008 12:27:11 EDT

After months of delay, the Senate passed an omnibus veterans’ benefits bill Tuesday night that includes bigger benefits for veterans and their families, expanded home loans and a variety of other programs.

The bill, S 3023, had passed the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee in June but lingered in limbo because of disputes over dozens of details. With congressional leaders aiming to end this legislative session of Congress as early as next week, passage of the Senate bill was essential for any hope of passing a compromise bill in conjunction with the House this year.

The Senate passed the bill by voice vote and with no debate.

Sens. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, chairman of the veterans’ committee, and Richard Burr of North Carolina, the committee’s ranking Republican, said the bill passed by the Senate includes a host of compromises.

Akaka said one key provision would order VA to simplify what it tells veterans when it denies benefits claims or asks for more information.

“Notification letters to veterans about the status of their claims have become increasingly long, complex and difficult to understand,” Akaka said. “These notification letters must be simplified. They should use plain and ordinary language rather than bureaucratic jargon. Veterans should not be subjected to confusing information as they seek benefits.”

The bill also would temporarily extend an increase in veterans’ home loans through the end of 2011. The temporary measure allows loans of up to $730,000, but it is due to expire at the end of 2008.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/09/military_senatepasses_veteransbill_091708w/

VA thought 37,000 Citizen soldiers were ineligible?

Some Guardsmen, Reservists back from Iraq didn't get benefits
By Les Blumenthal McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs failed to send benefit packages to nearly 37,000 National Guard and Reserve members who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan because it mistakenly thought they were ineligible.

Several senators raised the discovery Wednesday, detailed in a report by the VA's Office of Inspector General, as the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee held a hearing on whether Guard and Reserve members are being adequately informed of the benefits that are available to them.

"While the VA has targeted outreach programs in place to help service members, we still miss far too many veterans who need help and aren't aware of the services and benefits they have earned," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., a senior member of the committee.

Murray and others have long criticized the VA and the Defense Department as not doing enough to ensure that the more than 488,000 members of the National Guard and Reserves who've been mobilized and deployed are notified of and receive the benefits they're entitled to.
go here for more
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/257/story/45262.html
linked from RawStory

Sen. Bob Casey:DoD must eliminate sexual assaults

Senator: DoD must eliminate sexual assaults

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Jul 14, 2008 16:30:23 EDT

A Pennsylvania lawmaker who says he continues to hear many complaints about sexual harassment and abuse from women who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan wants the Defense Department to do more to stop mistreatment and provide more care for victims.

Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said in a Monday letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates that harassment and assault of military women, especially in combat zones, is a “scourge” that needs to be eliminated.

Casey is particularly interested in how the military handles complaints from women in the National Guard and reserve, whose cases may be harder to investigate than those of women on full-time active duty and in the federal civilian workforce.

In the letter, Casey said he knows the military is trying to do more, but added: “I am still very troubled by a process that may dissuade many victims from ever coming forward with claims.”
click post title for more