$18-billion hike for military fails in Senate Stars and Stripes
By Travis J. Tritten
Published: June 9, 2016
Without the increase, the Army will continue with plans to cut 15,000 soldiers and all servicemembers will receive a 1.6-percent pay raise, which will continue years of increases that fall below private sector wage growth.
WASHINGTON — The Senate backed away Thursday from breaking federal spending limits when it rejected a bid to add $18 billion to the military budget.
The spending hike, backed by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., was blocked by only a few votes and would have reversed troop drawdowns, bumped up pay raises, and bought more fighter jets, ships and helicopters.
McCain and other defense hawks in the Senate argued the military is stretched dangerously thin after 15 years of war. But billions of dollars in new spending would have violated military spending caps that have tied up the budget since 2011, when they were first pushed into law by a wave of Tea Party conservatives.
“Our military commanders have warned us we risk sending Americans into a conflict for which they are not prepared,” McCain said. “This is the reality our soldiers, airmen and Marines are facing. I say it doesn’t have to be this way.” read more here
McCaskill: Mustard gas test subjects denied veteran benefits Stars and Stripes
Travis J Tritten
May 31, 2016
WASHINGTON — The military has acknowledged for decades it performed secret mustard gas tests on troops at the end of World War II but a Senate investigation released Tuesday found 90 percent of related benefit claims have been rejected by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said she discovered shortfalls in the benefits process that took her breath away during a yearlong investigation into treatment of the test victims. The release of her findings is accompanied by a new bill – named after an 89-year-old former soldier from Missouri – that fast-tracks VA benefits for possibly hundreds of survivors.
About 60,000 servicemembers were exposed to mustard gas and another chemical agent called Lewisite as part of a clandestine defense research program in the 1940s. Of those servicemembers, about 4,000 had their entire bodies exposed to the chemical weapons. Mustard gas and Lewisite burn the skin and lungs, are linked to a variety of serious health problems and have been banned by the international community.
McCaskill said she believes about 400 of the veterans could still be alive and eligible for benefits.
read more here
Vets Group Criticizes Senate Panel Vote to Curb GI Bill Housing Aid Military.com
by Brendan McGarry
May 13, 2016
"In a normal process, they would have published a schedule and in two or three weeks time, we're having a hearing to mark up this particular bill,'" Jonathan Schleifer, the organization's chief policy officer, said on Friday during a telephone interview with Military.com.
"This was done certainly without any notice or warning."
A veterans group is criticizing a key Senate veterans committee for voting to curb the GI Bill housing allowance.
The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America on Thursday issued a statement blasting the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee after members approved omnibus legislation that would reduce by 5 percent the Post-9/11 GI Bill housing allowance to pay for other veterans programs.
"As Congress quietly passed another bill cutting veterans education benefits, veterans are stuck having to beg for the benefits we earned," IAVA Chief of Staff Allison Jaslow said in a statement. "We fought hard eight years ago to get the Post-9/11 GI Bill passed and we will not quit fighting until Congress protects the benefits being earned on the battlefield as we speak."
The Senate committee, headed by Sen. Johnny Isakson, a Republican from Georgia, during a hastily convened session on Thursday afternoon unanimously voted in favor of the legislation, known as the Veterans First Act.
The circumstances surrounding the vote also drew criticism from IAVA officials. read more here
If you asked older veterans if Post-9-11 veterans should be treated like they have been, they'd say "hell no" but I have to tell you, they are pissed off they are being ignored in all of this.
Senators want caregiver benefits phased in for older veterans Stars and Stripes
By Tom Philpott
Special to Stars and Stripes
Published: May 5, 2016
There are problems with the program, but the VA alone isn’t to blame, said Adrian Atizado, deputy legislative director for Disabled American Veterans, whose national service officers field caregiver complaints. Congress underfunded it.
A showpiece of the Veterans First package that the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee unveiled last week is a multibillion-dollar initiative to phase in for older generations of severely injured veterans robust caregiver benefits first enacted in 2010 only for the post-9/11 generation.
Though it’s only part of a huge omnibus bill containing many veteran reform measures that senators previously introduced as separate bills, the plan to expand caregiver benefit coverage carries the biggest price tag. The early estimate is $3.1 billion over its first five years.
For in-home caregivers of thousands of vets with severe physical or mental injuries, it would mean cash stipends for their time and effort, health insurance if caregivers have none, guaranteed periods of paid respite to avoid caregiver burnout and training to enhance patient safety.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., prime architect of the caregiver expansion plan, negotiated with Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., the committee chairman, to secure a modified plan that could be funded with budget offsets and gain bipartisan support on the committee. That should improve its chances of becoming law despite still formidable obstacles ahead. read more here
Older veterans came home with the same wounds and the same long waits for Congress to fix the VA. After all, Congress has had since 1946 to fix it. While you have salamanders running the show then running from their own records, at the same time they want to send veterans away from the VA while screaming about how bad civilian healthcare is, you get a predicted outcome. Much like salamanders can be used to protect, they can also be deadly and that is what we really need to talk about.
Did you know that older veterans are the majority of the backlog of claims? They are also the largest percentage of veterans committing suicide. Top that off with the fact that no wound created with military service is new and the toll on families is just as harsh for us, but we've been struggling for decades while fighting for the generations coming after us. Seems like we did a pretty good job on that end but as for taking care of our own, we pretty much suck at it. We let the Caregivers Bill be pushed through Congress even though it didn't include us. We let all these neophytes running around the country screaming about raising awareness when they didn't even bother to get a clue first that when it comes to the problems veterans face, they are new to the road all too well traveled. There isn't much they have to teach us and they don't care about what we want to teach them so they have it all easier. What makes all this taste even more bitter is that no one in our generation wants them to lose anything. We want them to have what they paid for and what they wouldn't need if they did not risk their lives serving this country. Given the choice between letting them have it all or no one getting anything, older veterans would step out of line but in a nation with so many bumper slogans about how much our veterans mean to the rest of the country, it seems reprehensible they would ever have to face a choice like that at all. Do we really care about our veterans or don't we?
Pentagon Misled Lawmakers on Military Sexual Assault Cases
Associated Press
by Richard Lardner
Apr 18, 2016
WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon misled Congress with inaccurate and vague information about sexual assault cases that portrayed civilian law enforcement officials as less willing than military commanders to punish sex offenders, an Associated Press investigation found.
Adm. James "Sandy" Winnefeld
Local district attorneys and police forces failed to act against U.S. service members who were subsequently prosecuted in military courts for sex crimes, according to internal government records that summarized the outcomes of dozens of cases. But in a number of cases, the steps taken by civilian authorities were described incorrectly or omitted. Other case descriptions were too imprecise to be verified.
There also is nothing in the records that supports the primary reason the Pentagon told Congress about the cases in the first place: To show top military brass as hard-nosed crime fighters who insisted on taking the cases to trial.
The records were obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by the advocacy group Protect Our Defenders, which provided the documents exclusively to AP. Protect Our Defenders is scheduled to release a report Monday that criticizes the Pentagon's use of the cases to undermine support for Senate legislation that would mandate a major change in the way the military handles sexual assault allegations. read more here
Army Needs 220K More Soldiers to Deal With Major Foes: Milley Military.com
by Matthew Cox
Apr 07, 2016
Gen. Mark A. Milley tells 300 ROTC and U.S. Military Academy cadets his winning philosophy. Milley spoke during the George C. Marshall Award and Leadership seminar on Fort Leavenworth, Kan., March 31, 2015. (U.S. Army photo/ David Vergun)
The U.S. Army's chief of staff told lawmakers Thursday that the service would need another 220,000 soldiers before it could confidently handle major operations with emerging military foes around the world.
Gen. Mark Milley told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Army is operating at "high military risk" if it continues to operate at the proposed total Army troop strength of 980,000 soldiers.
By fiscal 2018, the Army's active force is slated to have 450,000 soldiers in its ranks. The National Guard will have 335,000 and the Army Reserve will have 195,000 soldiers.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, has been one of several lawmakers who's been very vocal about his concern that the Army is too small.
"Everything that I have heard from your generals is there is no way we can meet the imminent threats that we have around the world with 980,000 soldiers," Manchin said. read more here
Senator Wants Data on Wounded Warrior Project, a Charity Under Fire New York Times
By Dave Phillips
March18, 2016
“Significant questions remain as to whether or not WWP is properly performing its side of the bargain for veterans and taxpayers alike,” the letter said.
Senator Charles E. Grassley, an Iowa Republican, on Capitol Hill last week.
Credit Doug Mills/The New York Times
A week after the top executives of the Wounded Warrior Project were fired amid accusations of lavish spending, an influential senator on a committee that oversees nonprofit organizations is asking for a detailed accounting by the country’s largest veterans’ charity.
In a letter Friday to the Wounded Warrior Project, Senator Charles E. Grassley, an Iowa Republican who sits on the Finance Committee, said that recent news media reports had raised questions about the charity’s treatment of employees and its spending. An article in The New York Times described the charity’s work environment as hostile and detailed lavish spending that included millions on staff retreats, food and drinks. “If true, these allegations are a breach of faith with donors, taxpayers, and, more importantly, veterans,” the letter said. read more here
Who Is Really Accountable on Suicides Now?
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
October 26, 2015
We've all been made all too well aware of what is going on regarding suicides tied to military service and none of it is good.
Everyone is doing a hell of a lot talking but no one seems to be doing much answering. Oh, I'm sorry I forgot the press hasn't figured out they are supposed to be asking questions otherwise they are part of the problem.
Has anyone asked Senator Joe Donnelly about suicides going up? Has anyone asked any member of the House or Senate?
On Saturday the Evansville Courier and Press released this stunning piece of information out of Joe Donnelly's state.
Four veterans from one unit have killed self
Ronald Zeller was the first. He died on March 18, 2011.
Then William Waller, July 5, 2013;
Justin Williams, Nov. 3, 2013; and
April James on May 24, 2015.
Sgt. April James with a group of Iraqi children on her second deployment.
Justin's mother, Carolyn Williams, remembers well the day the 163rd came home. The entire family lined the streets with thousands of other Evansville residents to cheer the soldiers' return. Officials hosted a parade along the Lloyd Expressway — a hero's welcome.
April was supposed to attend a grave side service for Justin on Memorial Day 2015.
She never made it.
The night before the service, she shot herself.
The following day the paper followed up with this report
Soldiers have few places to turn for help
Evansville Courier and Press
Jessie Higgins
October 25, 2015
Veterans from the Indiana Army National Guard's 163rd battalion are no longer surprised when one of their own commits suicide.
It happens far too often.
"It was kind of devastating to begin with," said Michael Barrentine, a veteran from the 163rd's 2007-08 Iraq deployment. "Then the second one happened, and the third and the fourth. Now it's kind of just — numb."
To date, four veterans from Barrentine's deployment have killed themselves after long struggles with PTSD.
The issue is not contained to that particular unit. Each day, across the country, about 22 veterans commit suicide, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
"They're still dying," said John Williams, the father of one of the 163rd veterans who committed suicide in 2013. "There's got to be something we can do. We have got to step up. If we don't step up and do something, there will be others."
The VA launched a suicide prevention program in 2007, with a 24-hour suicide hotline, peer support groups and one-on-one therapy, said Beth Lamb, a spokeswoman for the VA. In Evansville, the Vet Center — which is also affiliated with the VA — provides counseling for combat veterans. The Vet Center declined to comment on this story.
But even with those services, veterans and their families fear there is not enough support for veterans in Evansville. read more here
The thing is, first, it isn't 22 a day and no, the VA released the suicide report clearly stating it was an average taken from 21 states incomplete data.
If this prevalence estimate is assumed to be constant across all U.S. states, an estimated 22 Veterans will have died from suicide each day in the calendar year 2010.
They also leave out this
Specifically, more than 69% of all Veteran suicides were among those aged 50 years and older
Yet in state after state more and more folks were popping up claiming to have the answers as long as they got a donation check and no one was asking any questions. Basic facts were left out most of the time while information overload used up valuable time veterans could have used on actually gaining awareness they needed to know instead of just finding the same old worn down false information spread by others with minions jumping on their instant experts every Tweet and Facebook selfie screaming "look at what I did for the veterans today" while lying their ass off about what the results really are.
The state of Indiana sued founders of fake nonprofits. "Starting in June 2011, the four people created the nonprofits in Indiana and at least five other states and started soliciting money, according to the suit" reported by the Indy Star. Not that unusual considering how many folks are out there raising money and not much else to show for all they have taken from the public to "raise awareness" about nothing more than themselves.
A 2014 report by the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs found the state was deficient in 21 ways — both large and small — that hamper the delivery of services.
The report found that in 2013 the state spent $3.67 per veteran. Meanwhile, Texas spent $18.69, Missouri spent $15.97 and Alabama spent $29.40.
"Where is the governor's priority on taking care of veterans?" Bauerle said. "They wipe their hands of it and say 'Well, it's for the federal government to do' instead of being progressive and forward thinking."
Yet another Indiana National Guardsman ended his torment in May of 2015
23-year-old Robert Moroney was the strong, silent type, with one thing on his mind. “He always said he was going to be a soldier,” said his mother, Gina Hayes.
His pictures now line the dining room table as the family prepares for something they never thought would happen. Robert's family says what he witnessed during combat drastically changed him. "He was walking away, she was crying, and she blew up. She had a bomb strapped to her. Her father put it there."
Robert committed suicide last week, and his family wants other veterans to know they aren't alone.
Sen. Joe Donnelly keeps writing bills on suicides but as more and more ink dries up, more and more death certificates are written.
Jacob Sexton Military Suicide Prevention Act made news in Indiana when FOX 59 reported on it along with a grand picture of a Donnelly and the parents of Jacob Sexton standing by his side. It was the first bill Donnelly introduced but it was not the first one the Senate Armed Services Committee came up with or a even the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.
Washington, D.C. — Senator Joe Donnelly conducted a conference call with members of the Indiana media today to discuss military and veteran suicide prevention efforts. Last year, more combat troops committed suicide (349) than were killed in combat in Afghanistan (229), and 43% of Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines who took their own life did not seek treatment beforehand. The Reserve and National Guard force has also seen a rise in suicides.
“This has to stop,” said Donnelly. “Our fighting men and women bear an incredible burden on our behalf. I’m focused on doing everything I can to ensure that every servicemember and veteran has the resources they need and knows where to go if they need help.”
Did anyone ask him what he has to say about all this time and all of this getting worse?
No, because no one has ever asked members of the House or the Senate to explain to families why all this time of them "addressing" suicides, spending money and raising awareness, the troops know less than before, families know less than before and more commit suicide because they still don't know how to heal or find the help they need.
It isn't as if Donnelly was new to all of this. The Washington Post reported on the Sexton Bill as well as Clay Hunt Bill.
Donnelly, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said working on suicide prevention in the military was one of the most important things he could do. He took the issue up after joining the Senate in January 2013 following six years in the House of Representatives.
“I just wanted to make sure we were doing everything to prevent this scourge, because when it does happen it is such a heartbreak for families and everyone affected,” he said in an interview with Checkpoint. “I thought maybe I could have some impact on bringing those numbers down.”
Yet the Congressional Budge Office had no cost estimates for a reason, they were already being done for the most part.
S. 479 would require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to develop and implement a comprehensive program to reduce the incidence of suicide among veterans. This bill would require that the program have specific components, including training for all staff who interact with veterans, a suicide prevention counselor at each medical facility, outreach and education for veterans and their families, and a national campaign aimed at reducing the stigma of mental illness among veterans.
According to VA, most of those requirements are already in place or will be implemented before the end of the year. For example, training seminars have recently begun for all employees and peer-support groups are a regular facet of veterans’ rehabilitation centers.
Annual screenings for suicide risk factors such as depression and alcohol abuse are routinely performed by primary care physicians. Two medical centers are focused on research and education about suicide and its prevention. In addition, VA works with other medical providers in the community to reach veterans who may not use the VA health care system. VA also plans to hire suicide-prevention professionals at each of its hospitals. The bill would authorize VA to create a toll-free hotline staffed by mental health personnel, and the agency plans to have such a hotline in operation by the end of August 2007. CBO estimates, therefore, that implementing this bill would have little, if any, cost because VA already has or soon will implement all the specific requirements of the bill. Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or receipts.
S. 479 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. On March 19, 2007, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 327, the Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on March 15, 2007. The two versions of the legislation are similar, and their estimated costs are identical.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Michelle S. Patterson. This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
WASHINGTON -- Army soldiers committed suicide last year at the highest rate in 26 years, and more than a quarter did so while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a new military report.
The report, obtained by The Associated Press ahead of its scheduled release Thursday, found there were 99 confirmed suicides among active duty soldiers during 2006, up from 88 the previous year and the highest number since the 102 suicides in 1991 at the time of the Persian Gulf War.
Pretty much blowing the claim made by members of our Congress.
That number was hit during the first quarter of 2015.
In the first quarter of 2015, there were 57 suicides among service members in the active component, 15 suicides among service members in the reserve component and 27 suicides among service members in the National Guard.
The headline reads Donnelly puts military suicide prevention above party politics but nowhere in the entire article does it mention the fact that this is not the first time, second, third or even 50th bill claimed to be about reducing suicides in the military. Considering the military itself has been reduced, the numbers show a significant increase after all these bills have been written and paid for.
"The suicide rate among servicemembers and vets is not just a tragedy, but a crisis for our country that we have to get down to zero," said Donnelly, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
They love to leave out the fact the OEF and OIF veterans were created and trained to stop committing suicide. Suicide in the veterans community have gone up as well.
Then there is John McCain. He loves to say he is a veteran yet from where he sits, he sees no connection to his amazing lack of accountability on any of the issues veterans face and he's been in the Senate all along.
"The president wants to take a stand for greater domestic spending, and he wants to use the vital authorities and support for men and women in uniform as leverage," said U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman of the Armed Services Committee. "At a time of increasing threat to our nation, this is foolish, misguided, cynical and dangerous."
Now everyone is talking about troops staying longer in Afghanistan yet McCain doesn't seem to understand that Congress is supposed get involved in war decisions as well. That is why they are supposed to hold hearings and hold folks accountable.
No plans things get worse, no accountability nothing gets fixed but they still get to complain and pretend they're doing something.
Look up how many times this has happened in the past.
"If they can afford to pay for wars, they can afford to pay for the treatment after the wars," says Garry Augustine, with Disabled American Veterans. DAV and other private veterans' organizations draw up their own "independent budget" for the Department of Veterans Affairs every year. "We've been saying it every year for the last 10 years in our independent budget, that the funding is not sufficient to sustain the demand," Augustine says.
Tester, Daines disagree on Veterans Affairs funding bill
Independent Record
MARTIN KIDSTON
October 02, 2015
MISSOULA -- Montana’s two U.S. senators criticized a proposed Veterans Affairs funding bill this week, with Republican Steve Daines accusing Democrats of blocking the bill, while Democrat Jon Tester said the measure would underfund the VA by nearly $1 billion.
While both senators have worked to improve VA care for Montana veterans and have introduced needed reforms to the system, they have differing views on funding the agency -- a debate that's tied in part to budget caps proposed by the GOP leadership.
Daines said the latest legislation includes a record $163.8 billion in funding for the VA. He said the figure marks an increase of $4.6 billion.
“This legislation contains numerous important provisions to address Montana veterans’ long-standing concerns and it would be shameful to see these much-needed reforms fall victim to Democrats’ obstructionism,” Daines said.
Tester, however, has urged his colleagues to oppose the VA funding bill, saying it underfunds veteran care by nearly $1 billion and would undermine VA reforms passed by Congress a year ago.
Earlier this year, Tester offered an amendment to increase funding for the VA to a level that better reflected what department officials said was needed to carry out veteran care.
His amendment failed on a 16-14 party-line vote, with all 16 Republicans voting against it. read more here
VA audit: Overworked Seattle office didn’t read mail, told veterans they’d lose benefits
The News Tribune
BY ADAM ASHTON
Staff writer
October 2, 2015
Dozens of West Coast military veterans incorrectly received letters indicating they’d lose unemployment benefits after an overworked Department of Veterans Affairs office in Seattle lost track of records the veterans had submitted, according to a VA Inspector General report released this week.
The mail audit stemmed from a complaint that suggested about 1,000 pieces of unread mail from veterans were being stored indefinitely in a yellow bucket without a response from employees assigned to evaluate benefits claims.
In some cases, the complaint alleged, veterans were told they’d lose unemployment benefits because they had not returned information to the office in a timely manner even though they had met their deadlines.
The unemployment benefits are given to veterans who can’t hold a job because of a service-connected disability.
Auditors who visited the Seattle office in April did not find a bucket loaded with unread letters, as had been alleged in the complaint. However, they did talk to employees who were familiar with it and called it the “yellow bucket project.”
They also took a sampling of 132 employment questionnaires and determined that a fifth of the veterans had been sent letters indicating a reduction or cancellation of benefits, even though they’d mailed forms that should have allowed them to continue receiving money. read more here
WOW seems really shocking! That is until you are reminded of how long all of this has been going on.
Staff at the office began having trouble storing files in 2005 when that location, as part of a national initiative, started collecting and processing disability claims prior to a service member's discharge. The office was one of two regional centers in the country to handle such cases, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Staff tried to transfer or retire 50,000 files in recent years, as well request more storage space. The office was denied extra room because of a lack of money and few external storage options.
Numbers tell the story. Last year, veterans filed more than 1.3 million claims, double the number in 2001. Despite having added nearly 4,000 new workers since 2008, the agency did not keep pace, completing less than 80 percent of its inventory.
This year, the agency has already completed more than one million claims for the third consecutive year. Yet it is still taking about eight months to process the average claim, two months longer than a decade ago. As of Monday, 890,000 pension and compensation claims were pending.
But as you can see, that didn't end the wait for veterans.
One number will hang over a congressional hearing Wednesday looking into mismanagement at a U.S. Veterans Affairs regional office in Oakland: 13,184.
That’s the number of compensation and disability claims that were found in 2012, wrongfully stashed in a filing cabinet — some dating to the mid-1990s and many unprocessed. But what the number represents remains the source of fierce debate.
Back in 2008 members of Congress were "shocked" and said they were doing something about it. Oh but that was when there were 879,291 VA claims in the backlog.
The Senate version also includes an amendment that offers $50 million to speed up the processing of disability claims. It would pay for pilot programs to reduce the average waiting time -- which currently is six months -- for rulings on claims.
As of March, the VA reported 879,291 claims were in backlog from the same time last year.
Cullinan says, “This is just the first step in the VA funding process. It gives broad outlines of spending for the Department which the Appropriations Subcommittees will use to find specific amounts and tasks within the VA. The process is not complete until the president signs the Appropriations Bill.” The Federal government’s 2009 fiscal year begins Oct. 1, 2008.
Around the same time contractors were taking over processing claims, like Lockheed Martin as in this report from Army Times
In February, the backlog was said to be “more than 39,000” cases. Jonas said she had been assured that the backlog would be cleared by April.
That did not happen, according to the subcommittee report, because Lockheed Martin, the contractor hired in July 2006 to compute the complex retroactive pay awards, had difficulty making the computations fast enough to eliminate the backlog quickly. The complexity of the computations also hindered Lockheed Martin’s ability to develop software to automate the process.
In asking Peake about what the VA is doing to reach out to struggling veterans who may not know about VA resources available to them, Murray referenced a VA study that found that Guard or Reserve members accounted for 53 percent of the veteran suicides from 2001, when the war in Afghanistan began, through the end of 2005. The study was made public yesterday in an Associated Press story.
As you can find more on your own with a simple Google search result, nothing should shock members of congress anymore since most of them have been there all along.
Sen. Gary Peters introduces bill to ensure fairness for vets improperly discharged
WXYZ News
Aug 5, 2015
WASHINGTON (WXYZ) - U.S. Senator Gary Peters, a Democrat from Michigan has introduced a bill that would ensure fairness to veterans who were improperly discharged.
Peters, along with Sen. Steve Daines, a Republican from Montana and Sen. Thom Tills, a Republican from North Carolina, introduced the bill Monday.
The administrative discharges are given due to behavior resulting from mental traumas such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or traumatic brain injury (TBI). read more here
While most folks seem only interested in Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with PTSD, here are the real numbers. The VA says they are treating 119,000 OEF and OIF veterans for PTSD but they are treating 500,000 for it including the veterans no one wants to talk about.
The other factor to think about is with over 22 million veterans the VA has less than 4 million in their system. Now think about how many veterans do not go to the VA even though they really need to.
FactCheck: Bernie Sanders correct on veteran PTSD
Tucson Sentinel
Lori Robertson
FactCheck.org
Jul 28, 2015
"Right now, the VA is taking care of slightly over 500,000 people with posttraumatic stress disorder."VA Dr. Petzel
Sometimes politicians are right, but their campaigns can’t prove it. And we do.
That’s what happened when we decided to take a look at Sen. Bernie Sanders’ talking point that 500,000 veterans came back from Iraq and Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injuries. His campaign pointed us to a 2013 Senate hearing as its source — a hearing in which a Veterans Affairs official told Sanders that the number was less than half that.
But it wasn’t a case of Sanders exaggerating. We discovered more recent VA reports that put the number with PTSD at about 390,000, and that would only include veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan that sought care at VA facilities. Not all veterans use VA care. Other estimates suggest the total number could be around the 500,000 figure Sanders has been using for the past year.
Sanders, who’s running for the Democratic presidential nomination, repeated his claim at a July 2 town hall event in Rochester, Minnesota, (5:30 mark) when he said: “In Iraq and Afghanistan, and I will tell you that I voted against the war in Iraq … it was not just the 6,700 men and women who died in the war. 500,000 — 500,000 came home with PTSD and traumatic brain injury.”
Chairman Sanders, March 20, 2013: I mentioned in my opening remarks that as we end 10 years of war in Iraq and 11 in Afghanistan or so, the cost of war, I think, is a lot heavier and more tragic than many people realize. So, let me start off with a very simple question. I do not know if you have the answer in front of you. When we are talking about posttraumatic stress disorder and when we are talking about traumatic brain injury, how many human beings are we talking about who are suffering from these illnesses?
Dr. Petzel: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Right now, the VA is taking care of slightly over 500,000 people with posttraumatic stress disorder.
Sanders: Let us stop right there. 500,000 returning soldiers.
Petzel: Correct. Not just returning. This is our whole population, Mr. Chairman.
Sanders: This is not just Iraq and Afghanistan.
Petzel: I was about to get to Iraq.
Sanders: Okay.
Petzel: We have about 119,000 people from the present conflicts that carry the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder. read more here
Webb’s opposition to the Iraq War – his son Jimmy served in the conflict – played a central role in his surprise Senate election in 2006 against a Republican challenger. While he chose not to seek re-election after one term, his military and foreign policy credentials could allow him to become a debate stage foil to Clinton, who served as President Barack Obama’s secretary of state.
But he opposed President George W Bush’s decision to invade Iraq in 2003 and was recruited by Democrats to challenge Republican Sen. George Allen in 2006. Webb’s campaign was helped by an anti-Iraq war fervor.
click link for the rest
Democrat Jim Webb joins 2016 White House race
FOX News
July 2, 2015
Considered a moderate-to-conservative Democrat who supports gun rights and is strong on defense, Webb contends his candidacy would appeal to a wide swath of voters who feel disenfranchised by Washington politics.
Former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb is jumping into the race for president, becoming the latest Democrat to try for a primary upset over frontrunner Hillary Clinton.
In a message to supporters obtained by Fox News, and later posted on his website, Webb says: "After many months of thought, deliberation and discussion, I have decided to seek the office of the Presidency of the United States."
Webb's entry brings the total number of Democratic presidential candidates to five. Clinton continues to dominate the field, though Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders lately has been gaining in the polls.
But Webb, 69, is cut from a far different political cloth than the independent, socialist-leaning Vermont senator.
A highly decorated Vietnam veteran and former secretary of the Navy under the Reagan administration, Webb had been seriously mulling a presidential run since establishing an exploratory committee in November 2014.
Webb, who is also a war novelist, served under Reagan from 1984 to 1987 but quit after refusing to reduce the size of the Navy during budget talks. He was a U.S. Marine Corps platoon and company commander in Vietnam, earning a Navy Cross, the Silver Star, two Bronze Star Medals and two Purple Hearts for his actions in combat.
Donnelly: ‘Combatting Stigma is Critical Step to Addressing Mental Health’
Supported resolution that passed Senate to designate June as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Month
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Washington, D.C. –U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly co-sponsored and the Senate unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution today to designate June 2015 as National Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Month. The designation would increase awareness among the Armed Forces, veterans, military families, and the public about the causes, symptoms, and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Donnelly joined U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp and 21 colleagues in introducing the resolution. This is the third consecutive year that the Senate has designated a full month for national PTSD awareness.
Donnelly, who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee said, “Combatting stigma is a critical step to addressing mental health challenges among troops and veterans. By designating June as National Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Month, we continue to bring this and other mental health issues out of the shadows. Post-traumatic stress affects the best and bravest among us.
We need to let our Hoosier heroes know that they have our unwavering support and that seeking help is a sign of courage and strength.”
Donnelly has continuously worked to advance legislation to improve mental health care for servicemembers, veterans, and military families. In March, he introduced the “Servicemember and Veteran Mental Health Care Package” (“Care Package”), three bipartisan bills to help improve mental health services for troops and veterans. Military mental health provisions from the “Care Package” recently passed the Senate as part of the national defense bill.
The “Care Package” would help ensure there are a sufficient number of and the best trained mental health providers for servicemembers and veterans. The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee has committed to considering veterans-related provisions of Donnelly’s “Care Package” in the months ahead. This legislation would build on the progress made by Donnelly’s Jacob Sexton Military Suicide Prevention Act, which was signed into law late last year and requires an annual mental health assessment for all servicemembers—Active, Guard, and Reserve.
from Joe Donnelly
Veteran's disability benefits claim delayed by VA again
Doctor finds against former Marine for second time
ClickOrlando
Author: Tara Evans, Producer
Published
On: Jun 16 2015
ORLANDO, Fla. -
A Camp Lejeune veteran said his disability benefits claim has been denied by a Department of Veterans Affairs doctor for a second time.
He said he has just weeks to live.
"No veteran deserves to go through this kind of garbage, they just don't," said Donald Burpee, 59.
Burpee is a former Marine battling kidney cancer. He is one of thousands who were exposed to toxic drinking water at Camp Lejeune between 1953 and 1987.
Burpee has been battling for his benefits for more than a year and a half. He was initially denied, so he filed an appeal. Then he was diagnosed as terminal.
He said at this point, his kidney cancer has spread to his brain and liver after hitting a ureter, an adrenal gland and his lungs.
"Finally, I had heard enough, and so I got on the phone and called the high-ups," said Sen. Bill Nelson, how has been involved in Burpee's case for some time, as well as Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Alan Grayson. "So they assure me they are expediting that."
Burpee is hoping a final decision in his favor comes soon, because he said he's afraid he will die, never knowing if his family will be taken care of. read more here
VA Nomination On Hold in Senate Over Agent Orange Dispute
Associated Press
by Hope Yen
Jun 11, 2015
"These veterans have waited too long to receive the health care and disability benefits they deserve," Brown told The Associated Press. "Dr. Shulkin is extremely qualified, but we can't move forward to confirm an undersecretary for health at the VA until this pressing veterans' health issue is addressed."
WASHINGTON — Three Democratic senators are holding up a confirmation vote on President Barack Obama's nominee for Veterans Affairs' top health post, citing the department's delay in extending disability benefits to Air Force reservists possibly exposed to Agent Orange.
Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Oregon's two senators, Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, said Thursday they will block a vote on Dr. David Shulkin's nomination in the full Senate until the Department of Veterans Affairs provides a fuller update on its efforts to help roughly 1,500 to 2,100 reservists who served from 1972 to 1982 at military bases in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
The senators had requested such feedback in a letter to the VA in April, with no adequate response to date, they said.
read more here
Ernst rips VA for slow response to D.M. vet's suicide
Des Moines Register
Tony Leys
June 3, 2015
U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst blasted the Department of Veterans Affairs on Wednesday for taking too long in determining whether a Des Moines veteran obtained appropriate care before he committed suicide.
Richard Miles, 41, was found frozen to death in Waterworks Park on Feb. 20. Friends said the Iraq War veteran suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and had gone to Des Moines' VA hospital on Feb. 15 for help. Instead of being offered in-patient treatment, he was given medication and was told he would receive an appointment with a psychiatrist later, friends said.
Ernst formally requested an investigation by the VA inspector general a few days after Miles' death. She told reporters Wednesday that she was originally told she'd get a response by April, but she still hasn't received a report. "It is frustrating, disappointing and absolutely unacceptable that this has taken so long," she said.
Ernst said part of the problem could be that the inspector-general's top position is vacant.
read more here
VA Crisis Line under investigation
Military Times
By Patricia Kime, Staff writer
May 2, 2015
Amid concerns that the Veterans Affairs Department's suicide hotline has left veterans stranded during high-volume call periods, a senator has asked VA to investigate the service to ensure it is meeting veterans' needs.
Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., recently sent a letter to VA Secretary Bob McDonald asking for data on the Crisis Line's call volume, hold times, and average wait times between when a call is made and the caller can see a VA therapist or counselor, or a community provider, in person.
Nelson's request was made in response to a news report by Tampa television station WFTS that Air Force veteran Ted Koran was placed on hold repeatedly for up to 10 minutes at a time as he fought off suicidal thoughts.
According to the report, Koran's wife died of cancer last year and he was despondent the day he made the call.
But when he dialed, he was placed on hold numerous times. After he reached a counselor, he said he did not feel comforted, according to the report.
"They had me on the [verge] of saying to hell with it," he said, according to WFTS.
Since its creation in 2007, the Veterans Crisis Line has fielded more than 1.6 million calls and is credited with 48,000 rescues, according to VA. read more here
Here is the story of what happened that time.
Veteran says he was repeatedly put on hold by veterans' suicide hotline
Hotline has problems with handling number of calls
ABC News
Adam Walser
Apr 13, 2015
He put himself in danger to protect our country, but when he needed help to save his own life all he got was a recorded message. Ted Koran was thinking about committing suicide Saturday night.
He reached out to the VA and the Veterans Suicide Hotline for help, but said he couldn't get any until after he was repeatedly put on hold for up to 10 minutes at time.
Veterans in Crisis: Vets put on hold for 36 minutes His case is just the latest the I-Team has been exposing for months now.
When the Veterans Crisis Hotline was first set up by the VA in 2007, it averaged 60 calls a day on four manned phone lines.
Now, 52 operators at a time field about a thousand calls a day, and that's not always even enough to keep some veterans on the verge of suicide from being placed on hold. read more here
And before that
Veterans describe runaround when calling crisis line; Texas man records 36 minutes on hold
KJRH News
Amanda Kost, Scripps News
Isaac Wolf, Scripps News
Feb 23, 2015
WASHINGTON D.C. - On an evening last March, 42-year-old Dedra Hughes’ thoughts turned to suicide.
The Army veteran, who had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder five years earlier, had split with her boyfriend days before. She was unemployed and had stopped taking classes. And she was convinced her two daughters would be better off without her. Sitting on the floor of her suburban Chicago living room, Hughes attempted to slash her wrist but didn’t draw blood, and says she passed out from anxiety. Her 12-year-old discovered her there on the floor with the knife beside her.
Hughes decided that night to turn to the national Veterans Crisis Line, a 24-hour, seven-day-a week service that promises an immediate, open line to professional help. But when Hughes phoned, she said, her call went straight to hold. After several minutes, she became frustrated and hung up. “I would never call the hotline again,” said Hughes. She said she needed to quickly get to someone that night who could give her help and reassurance. read more here
His story came out the same day this did.
Oscars 2015: Who Dana Perry Is and Why She Want Us to Pay Attention to Suicide
ABC News
By JOI-MARIE MCKENZIE and EMILY SHAPIRO
Feb 23, 2015
While accepting the Oscar for best documentary short subject, director Dana Perry said suicide should be talked about "out loud," dedicating the award to her son.
During her acceptance speech on behalf of "Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1," the music abruptly cut off when Perry mentioned her son, Evan Scott Perry, who committed suicide at age 15 in 2005. "I lost my son," Perry told reporters after the speech.
"We need to talk about suicide out loud to try to work against the stigma and silence around suicide because the best prevention for suicide is awareness and discussion and not trying sweep it under the rug."
Perry also mentioned veteran suicide in her Oscar speech, which she called "a crisis." Tonight's Oscar-winning HBO documentary, directed by Perry and Ellen Goosenberg Kent, is about the Department of Veterans Affairs' 24-hour call center for veterans. read more here
Wonder if they thought to include what else was going on?
This was part of the Joshua Omvig Suicide Prevention Act in 2007. Ever since then veterans have been complaining to members of Congress about what was happening to them when they did call. Not much changed. So now we get yet another investigation to be followed by even more hearings. No one seems to know when we get something that actually works.
Every member of Congress needs to face veterans in their districts and explain why the VA is still such a mess, especially when the facts prove, they just don't really care.
Start with the veterans in Ohio and how Speaker of the House John Boehner decided it would be better for veterans to kill the VA and let them face for profit corporations. After all, there are no waiting lines in regular hospitals and no long waits to see a specialist. Sure everything is perfect in the world civilians live in.
It seems Boehner has been trying to do exactly that and is no longer ashamed to admit it.
The Columbus Dispatch reported this May 24, 2014 when everyone was trying to blame the mess in the VA on Eric Shinseki, including Boehner pointing his finger at him so no one would remember how long the horror stories had been coming out or how long veterans had been hearing promises at the same time this man was doing all in his power to destroy the VA.
WASHINGTON — More than two decades ago, House Speaker John Boehner said, he floated an idea that was controversial: Why not privatize the Department of Veterans Affairs?
The idea was soundly rejected by veterans’ organizations.
Now, in the midst of a sweeping scandal over allegations that government officials falsified reports on how long veterans were waiting for medical treatment, Boehner said yesterday that the idea still has merit.
“I still like the idea, and especially now,” he said.
There were a lot of reports last year that made it seem as if all these problem were new and no one had any clue how bad things were. The trouble is, Congress Collective Amnesia on Veterans Affairs has a long list of all the years they knew exactly what was going on.
This isn't about Democrats or Republicans, since both parties managed to fail veterans over and over again, then pretend they had nothing to do with any of it for decades. It is all about Congress and blindsiding veterans. They actually think they can tell us they care at the same time they screw things up on purpose and hope we just didn't notice.
Boehner isn't the only one trying to destroy the VA.
Senator John McCain shocked veterans last year calling for it too, but it was the same thing he said when he was running for the Presidency.
We have to go all the way back years to see what he really felt about the VA and the Huffington Post still has up a fabulous list of what McCain was against doing for veterans. He hasn't been so great for the troops either but that is another part of the story on the article.
This one is the best of all when it comes to his desire to kill the VA.
Disabled American Veterans Legislative Director Said That McCain's Proposal Would Increase Costs For Veterans Because His Plan Relies On Private Hospitals Which Are More Expensive and Which Could Also Lead To Further Rationing Of Care. "To help veterans who live far from VA hospitals or need specialized care the VA can't provide, McCain proposed giving low-income veterans and those who incurred injury during their service a card they could use at private hospitals. The proposal is not an attempt to privatize the VA, as critics have alleged, but rather, an effort to improve care and access to it, he said. Joe Violanti, legislative director of the Disabled American Veterans, a nonpartisan organization, said the proposal would increase costs because private hospitals are more expensive. The increased cost could lead to further rationing of care, he said." (Las Vegas Sun, 8/10/08)
These were also and the list and I found them very interesting considering that my husband's claim was filed in 1993 and was not approved until 1999. Yep, we had to fight 6 years back then. Imagine how I feel about all this still going on at the VA because members of congress never really gave a crap.
McCain Voted Against Providing Automatic Cost-of-Living Adjustments to Veterans. McCain voted against providing automatic annual cost-of-living adjustments for certain veterans' benefits. (S. 869, Vote 259, 11/20/91)
McCain Voted to Underfund Department of Veterans Affairs. McCain voted for an appropriations bill that underfunded the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development by $8.9 billion. (H.R. 2099, Vote 470, 9/27/95)
McCain Voted Against a $13 Billion Increase in Funding for Veterans Programs. McCain voted against an amendment to increase spending on veterans programs by $13 billion. (S.C.R. 57, Vote 115, 5/16/96)
McCain Voted Against $44.3 Billion for Veterans Programs. McCain was one of five senators to vote against a bill providing $44.3 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, plus funding for other federal agencies. (H.R. 2684, Vote 328, 10/15/99)
There are a lot more reports on many different people we elected to lie to us. It's all political bullshit as the facts have shown yet this is what CBS news let stand when they did the report on McCain's thoughts in 2014
"Unfortunately, as this scandal at the VA escalated for nearly two months, President Obama was nowhere to be seen," McCain wrote. "There were expressions of anger through presidential proxies, but nothing from the commander in chief himself. And when the president finally did speak about the crisis on Wednesday, there was only a recitation of talking points, expressions of confidence in the system, without a real sense of emotion and urgency."
They were right but things didn't change much by 2014 when FOX news reported on Milton Rachham, a WWII veteran fighting for his claim to be honored for 68 years. He wasn't alone. In 2008 there were many reports of older veterans seeking help from the VA for the first time.
As World War II veterans have aged, and reflected on the dreadful experiences of war and carnage, more and more exhibited the symptoms of a malady unheard of when they went off to battle 65 years ago: post traumatic stress disorder.
The only way these people can pull this off is to make sure the VA is as bad as it can be and destroy it. After all, how can their rich buddies make more money when the VA is still taking care of veterans? Guess they didn't stop to think about all the veterans and families suffering and dying in the process while they play deaf, dumb and blind hoping we didn't notice any of this.
