New VA benefits claim form: Just 6 pages

New VA benefits claim form: Just 6 pages

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jun 9, 2010 21:07:19 EDT

After years of complaints from veterans about having to fill out a 26-page-long benefits claims form for the Veterans Affairs Department, the Office of Management and Budget has approved VA’s new six-page form.

As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have progressed, the 26-page application became particularly troublesome for veterans dealing with traumatic brain injuries or post-traumatic stress disorder, both of which can cause short-term memory loss and other cognitive issues.

“It’s a good thing and we’re pleased,” said Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense. “In our view, the current form is burdensome. It’s too long.”

VA spokesman Steve Westerfeld confirmed in a voicemail that VA had shortened VA Form 21-526, as well as creating a new “express claim” form, or 21-526EZ, which is six pages long and requires that the veteran provide his own medical and military records, rather than waiting for VA to gather them.
read more here
New VA benefits claim form

Doing the Right Thing for homeless veterans

Doing the Right Thing . . .

Tonight, Veterans for Common Sense shares a special video featuring Eric Shinseki, our current Secretary of Veterans Affairs and an retired Army General, discussing our homeless veterans.

In our February 7, 2008, VCS Congressional testimony about VA's 2009 budget, VCS asked for a new VA policy of "zero tolerance for homeless veterans."

Watching Secretary Shinseki's video, we believe he gets it, and we want him to win this battle for our veterans by ending homelessness.

We are in this together. Yes, we can do this.

Sincerely, Veterans for Common Sense

Veterans for Common Sense Power House for sake of all veterans

While there is an ever growing list of groups working for veterans, there is one that stands out above the rest. Veterans for Common Sense, under the leadership of champion advocate Paul Sullivan, has been behind most of the changes in how we treat our veterans. Admittedly, I am in awe of Paul's work as well as his humbleness.

The truth is we need Veterans for Common Sense because what politicians manage to do well is say one thing but do another. They are the watchers of what is done and when words do not translate into action, they let us know about it. These are just a few of the recent reports VCS has released.

VCS in the News

Speaking at the Coalition for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans (CIAV) conference in Washington, DC, VCS revealed how recent VA audits of eight Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) offices found an overall error rate of 28 percent among selected claims. Our presentation was covered by Kelly Kennedy at Army Times.

Also last week, VCS was featured on National Public Radio (NPR) discussing problems veterans face dealing with VBA. VCS highlighted VBA's frustrating and burdensome 23-page claim form with NPR reporter John McChesney.

In a piece of good news,VCS plans to closely monitor VBA's plans to build a new system to handle the expected hundreds of thousands of new disability claims filed by Vietnam War veterans who remain ill due to Agent Orange poisoning.
In another piece of good news, VBA plans to overhaul how VBA employees are judged for their work - the infamous and misleading work credit system
. We'll be watching this development, too.

Unfortunately, in a piece of bad news, VCS remains outraged that VBA still fights against our Vietnam War veterans seeking healthcare and benefits due to Agent Orange exposure while aboard Navy ships off the coast of Vietnam. Please read this shocking and shameful Congressional testimony by VBA's Tom Pamperin before the Senate today. Pamperin told Senators that "VA does not support" S 1939.

This means President Barack Obama and VA Secretary Eric Shinseki oppose reasonable Agent Orange benefits for blue water Vietnam War veterans. VCS asks you to contact your Representative and Senator as well as VA and voice your support for all of our Vietnam War veterans.

So how about it folks? Ready to get to work and make the call for Vietnam Veterans?

Paul Sullivan, Veterans for Common Sense tries to give VA some facts

Vets group cites errors reported by VA IG

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday May 12, 2010 15:01:20 EDT

At a conference designed to help veterans service organizations better understand the issues their clients face, Paul Sullivan of Veterans for Common Sense tried to tie it up in a one-page document of new data from the Veterans Affairs Department:

After looking at eight Veterans Benefits Administration regional offices in 2009 and 2010, VA’s inspector general found a 28 percent error rate. In fact, the San Juan, Puerto Rico, overall error rate stood at 41 percent, while the Nashville office had made errors in 52 percent of its post-traumatic stress disorder cases. In Baltimore, 55 percent of cases of diabetes in connection with Agent Orange had errors, and in Roanoke, Va., 49 percent of traumatic brain injury cases had errors.

“VA has a very significant quality problem in adjudicating their claims,” Sullivan said. “VA’s own reports indict the place. VBA is the dam that holds veterans up from getting the medical care they need.”

Sullivan spoke on a panel that detailed what roadblocks remain as service members transition from active duty to veteran status. He said Congress has focused so much on VA health care that the administrative end has gotten lost in the shuffle. “Some of their computers are older than I am,” said Sullivan, who served in the 1991 Gulf War and who used to work for VA.
read more here
Vets group cites errors reported by VA IG

VCS on the National Stage Providing Advocacy

VCS on the National Stage Providing Advocacy

Your support goes a long way in making sure the voices of veterans are heard throughout America.

Here are three outstanding examples of how VCS helps lead the charge to inform Congress and the public about the urgent needs and concerns of our veterans, especially delays in receiving benefits from the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA).

On Friday, April 9, VCS appeared on KPBS in San Diego, California, as they covered our VCS press conference about fixing VBA with Representative Bob Filner, the Chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee.

On Saturday, April 10, VCS was quoted in The Washington Post in an article about Gulf War illness research.
Then on Sunday, April 11, VCS was quoted in a Chicago Tribune investigation describing how badly broken VBA has become.

Please share these important news articles with your friends and let them know VCS fights for our veterans in Washington and in the national press.
VCS on the Cutting Edge Advocating for Our Veterans
In the next few weeks VCS plans to ask VA to expand benefits and healthcare for our Gulf War veterans based on new scientific evidence.

Veterans for Common Sense thanks you for your support that allows us to continue moving forward on behalf of our veterans!

Paul Sullivan
Executive Director
Veterans for Common Sense

P.S. Please visit our new web site, http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103299154776&s=6998&e=001ZkIBIDqezRA3Gb_OP2owb6LQ1s0DhKkG8GPDMtDnRaeOL0vwj3RlpwGSp0yfU3UyDRiE6XOr9Qz9WbSDZYaZ3Gs6yYuj9d2McDU7RyKcJTM=. VCS advocates for veterans before Congress and with reporters so our veterans get faster access to VA health care and benefits.

Veterans for Common Sense to have answers on how to "Fix VA"

VCS Public Advocacy in Action: VCS to Hold Press Conference Friday, April 9
Written by VCS
Wednesday, 07 April 2010 07:36
Veteran Advocacy Group to Announce New Program to Fix VA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Bill Morgan, Veterans for Common Sense
Contact@veteransforcommonsense.org


On April 9, Veterans for Common Sense (VCS) will be joined by Congressman Bob Filner to host a press conference to announce a new program, “Fix VA,” to reform the Veterans Affairs Department (VA). When: Friday, April 9, 2010 – 10:30 a.m. (press should arrive by 10:15 a.m.)
Where: The Westgate Hotel, 1055 Second Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101

Who: Veterans for Common Sense Executive Director, Paul Sullivan, a Gulf War Veteran and a former VA analyst: For 18 years, Paul Sullivan has been dedicated to ensuring that Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans get healthcare and disability benefits they earned and deserve. Veterans for Common Sense uses the government’s own data through the Freedom of Information Act to expose the real human costs of the conflicts.

In 2007, Paul worked behind the scenes to help journalists break stories about the dramatic increase in suicides and other mental health problems plaguing returning veterans. His organization publicly fought the VA to force the release of documents indicating the reality of the long-term health issues faced by U.S. veterans, including recent appearances on “60 Minutes,” and CNN.

Congressman Bob Filner, the Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, who is meeting with Veterans for Common Sense and other veterans organizations in San Diego on the morning of the 9th, will attend the press conference and make comments.
What:
• The launch of the new VCS program, “Fix VA” and new http://www.fixva.org/ website.
• Information obtained through the Freedom of Information Act showing the current human costs of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
• A set of practical, implementable solutions for fixing the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), the VA agency responsible for processing disability benefit claims.
Veterans for Common Sense is a non-profit based in Washington, DC providing advocacy for veterans. Founded in 2002 by Gulf War veterans, VCS testifies regularly before Congress about veterans’ healthcare and disability benefits. For more information about VCS, please visit our web site: http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/undefined

Veterans for Common Sense wants to hear from Gulf War Vets

Feeling as if your war was forgotten about? Feeling as if your suffering because of what you were exposed to just doesn't matter to anyone? Take heart and know you have someone fighting very hard for you. Veterans for Common Sense has been fighting for all veterans to make sure all of you receive the "gratefulness" of this nation when you have been wounded or made ill because of your willingness to risk your life. You served this nation, doing what was expected of you and this nation has an obligation to you. This is not a "handout" but a debt the government accepted the responsibility of the day they sent you to war.

April 1, 2010 - Veterans for Common Sense asks you for your opinion about VA's new proposed policies for Gulf War veterans.

Yesterday, VA formally announced a huge, new effort VA hopes will address the needs of our 210,000 Gulf War veterans who suffer from illnesses nearly 20 years after widespread exposures to many poisons and toxins in Southwest Asia.

Here is background information about this important issue.

In August 2009, VCS wrote new VA Secretary Eric Shinseki and asked him to reform how VA had mishandled healthcare, research, and benefits for Gulf War veterans.

In response, VA set up a Gulf War Task Force chaired by VA Chief of Staff John Gingrich, a Gulf War veteran.

Last week, VA announced the agency would begin providing benefits for 9 diseases suffered by Gulf War veterans, a positive move supported by VCS.

A few days ago, Gulf War veterans Anthony Hardie and Paul Sullivan wrote an op-ed published by TruthOut praising VA's new policy as steps in the right direction. The veterans are still advocating for additional pragmatic solutions for veterans who urgently need healthcare -- vital healthcare denied for nearly 20 years because VA often blocked research, treatment, and benefits.

Yesterday, VA announced the release of the highly-anticipated Gulf War Task Force report. You have an excellent opportunity to tell VA how to fix the problems facing Gulf War veterans.

Today, VCS wants your response -- especially from Gulf War veterans and families -- about VA's Task Force report. All of our VCS comments are due by April 30, 2010, so send your response soon.

Your voice is important and urgently needed. Please send your thoughts to contact@veteransforcommonsense.org.

Your comments will allow VCS to present a robust response to VA from the perspective of veterans, family members, and supporters of veterans.

Our goal is to work with VA to get it right for our Gulf War veterans who have waited too long for answers, healthcare, and benefits.

While VA has made several positive first steps for veterans in the past 14 months, our advocacy will make sure VA keeps going in the right direction.

Please send your comments to contact@veteransforcommonsense.org

Thank you, Veterans for Common Sense

Fix Broken VA Claims System Now

VCS: Fix Broken VA Claims System Now !
Written by VCS
Saturday, 20 March 2010 00:00
VCS Appears Before "Claims Summit 2010" in Washington

Veterans for Common Sense urges Congress to pass a law and to fund a complete overhaul that would fix VA's broken claims processing system. A key Congressional leader and a top VA official agreed VA was broken and need of an urgent overhaul. Yet some VA leaders remain resistant to improving VA, thereby slowing down urgently needed reforms.

March 20, 2010 - Late last night, I returned from Washington to my home in Austin after attending Thursday’s “Claims Summit 2010: A Call for Solutions,” organized by Chairman Bob Filner. After 18 years working on veteran-related issues, this was a very exciting advocacy effort. VCS hopes that Congress and new VA leaders will work closely together and fix VA's failed claims processing system. VCS offered our insights based on nearly two decades of fighting to reform VA.

To begin, VCS was pleased to meet several new VA leaders who brought urgently needed fresh air into an old issue. Also attending were more than 40 veteran group leaders, industry executives, plus VA employee union leaders. Six Democratic Members attended, yet no Republican Representatives ever appeared. Ranking Member Steve Buyer was most likely out because his wife is ill and he is not seeking re-election.
read more here
Fix Broken VA Claims System Now

Veterans for Common Sense working hard for all veterans

On March 18, VCS appears before the Congressional "Claims Summit 2010" to present our ideas for fixing VA's badly broken claims system.

In other news, VCS has released our March 2010 "Fact Sheets." After seven years of war in Iraq, the sobering statistics will shock you. Please share our Fact Sheets with friends, reporters, and legislators.

Nineteen years after the March 1, 1991, Gulf War cease fire, VCS is fighting for more research, especially the outstanding efforts by Dr. Robert Haley and his team at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

VCS is also pressing Congress to force the Central Intelligence Agency to release documents about widespread chemical warfare agent exposures to U.S. troops during Desert Storm.

And, finally, a philanthropist wants to build a new $3.3 billion VA hospital for rural veterans.

Compelling Brain Images Showing Gulf War Illness

Why do any of our veterans have to fight after they did the fighting they were sent to do?

Dr. Haley at UTSW Presents Compelling Brain Images Showing Gulf War Illness
Written by Janet Ralofff
Wednesday, 10 March 2010 07:02
VCS Asks VA: Since UTSW Research Remains Vital to Understanding Gulf War Illness, Then Why Did a Handful of VA Staff in Washington Impede UTSW Contract and Then End Funding for UTSW?

March 9, 2010, Salt Lake City, Utah (Science News) - Nearly two decades after vets began returning from the Middle East complaining of Gulf War Syndrome, the federal government has yet to formally accept that their vague jumble of symptoms constitutes a legitimate illness. Here, at the Society of Toxicology annual meeting, yesterday, researchers rolled out a host of brain images – various types of magnetic-resonance scans and brain-wave measurements – that they say graphically and unambiguously depict Gulf War Syndrome.


Or syndromes. Because Robert Haley of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and the research team he heads have identified three discrete subtypes. Each is characterized by a different suite of symptoms. And the new imaging linked each illness with a distinct – and different – series of abnormalities in the brain.


read more here
Dr. Haley at UTSW

VA Improves Policy on Gulf War Veterans

What is it about veterans that they think they can take on any problem and solve it? What is it about them that they spend time fighting our battles, facing death, watching the backs of their buddies, only to return home and still feel as if they can still keep doing it? It is exactly what veterans like Paul Sullivan do and this nation will be all the more better for it. He served in uniform and then took on battles to fight with brains and facts to use as weapons against harm being done to his "family" of veterans. That is what this kind of battle is. Great harm is being done to the men and women willing to die for the sake of this country. When we fail to tend to their wounds caused by service to America, we fail all who serve.

"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington

This is what I use to close off my emails. Paul understands this and he knows that our obligation to our servicemen and women should never end because they will pay the price for our freedom the rest of their lives. No one leaves combat as a civilian untouched by what was asked of them. It is not just the enemy they have to worry about but what was used and what they were exposed to can often do a lot more damage than the enemy ever could. We saw this with Agent Orange and as of today, they are still linking illnesses associated with it. We also see this with what is happening to our Gulf War veterans still waiting for us to live up to being "a grateful nation."

VCS Advocacy in the News: VA Improves Policy on Gulf War Veterans
Written by Mary Susan Littlepage
Tuesday, 02 March 2010 20:43
VA Agrees to Take Second Look at Thousands of Gulf War Veterans' Disability Claims

March 2, 2010 (TruthOut) - The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has agreed to re-examine the disability claims for what could turn out to be thousands of veterans of the Gulf War.

The development is the result of intense lobbying by veterans' advocacy group Veterans for Common Sense (VCS).

In response to the group's efforts, as many as 210,000 Gulf War veterans suffer from multi-symptom illnesses, and VA Secretary Eric Shineski said in a special interview with The Associated Press that he promises to review Gulf War veterans' disability claims. The claims may cover suffering from ailments that veterans blame on their war service.

Shineski announced that the department's Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses Task Force has nearly completed a comprehensive report that will redefine how the VA addresses the pain and suffering of ill veterans who deployed during the Gulf War in 1990 and 1991.

"At VA, we advocate for veterans - it is our overarching philosophy and, in time, it will become our culture," Shineski said. "Every day we must challenge our assumptions to serve our nation's veterans."

The mission of the VA's Gulf War Task Force is to identify gaps in services as well as opportunities to better serve veterans of the Gulf War. Of the almost 700,000 service members who deployed to Operation Desert Shield in 1990 and Operation Desert Storm in 1991, there have been 300,000 Gulf War veterans with claims decisions, more than 85 percent were granted service connection for at least one condition, and more than 14 percent were not granted service connection for any condition.

"We must learn from the past and take the opportunity to anticipate the future needs of our veterans," Shineski said. "This new approach is the first step in a still unfolding comprehensive plan of how VA will treat and compensate Veterans of the Gulf War era."

Paul Sullivan, spokesperson for VCS, is a Desert Storm veteran who returned home with headaches, skin problems and chronic respiratory infections linked by doctors at the VA with his exposure to depleted uranium radioactive toxic waste while he was deployed to Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in 1991.
read more here
VA Improves Policy on Gulf War Veterans

VA to assist Gulf War veterans because of Veterans for Common Sense

VCS Advocacy Produces Results

Here is a timeline describing our successful advocacy for Gulf War veterans that resulted in a new decision by VA to assist Gulf War veterans.

On September 24, 2008, VCS wrote VA Secretary James Peake about how VA leaders had improperly denied many Gulf War veterans' disability compensation claims in the early 2000s by failing to tell them about new laws expanding benefits.

In November 2008, VCS led a national effort to publicize the findings of VA's Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illness.

In January 2009, VCS urged Congress to investigate how VA was handling the issue of Gulf War illness.

In May 2009, VCS testified before Congress about the needs and concerns of Gulf War veterans who remain ill due to toxic exposures such as pesticides, oil well fire pollution, experimental pills, experimental anthrax vaccines, depleted uranium, and other poisons.

Yesterday morning, VCS posted our testimony for a hearing about Gulf War veterans originally scheduled for yesterday, but postponed until a date to be determined in the next few months.

Then this morning, a much-needed victory for veterans appeared on the horizon. VA Secretary Eric Shinseki provided an exclusive interview to the Associated Press promising to review Gulf War veterans' disability claims.

The number of potential veterans impacted by VA's decision is at least 15,000, and the number could go higher depending on the scope of VA's review.

VA leaders promised us reform, and never delivered

Veterans for Common Sense was supposed to be heard but the hearing has been moved to April. After all, the Gulf War veterans, along with all other veterans have waited all this time for congress to really honor them, what's a couple of months more?

Paul Sullivan, Veterans For Common Sense

February 25, 2010 - Veterans for Common Sense thanks Chairman Mitchell, Ranking Member Roe, and members of the Subcommittee for inviting us to testify today.



I am here wearing two hats.



I am here representing Veterans for Common Sense, a non-profit advocacy organization. VCS is here in a spirit of cooperation to offer our seasoned advice for improving VA policies for our nation’s 700,000 Gulf War veterans.



I am also here as a Gulf War veteran who remains ill due to wartime toxic exposures. I have worked on this issue since my return from Desert Storm. Veterans want to know why we are ill, how we can get treatment, and who will pay for our treatment.



Today, VCS presents our written list of 16 detailed policy goals to Congress for specific actions by Congress and the Obama Administration. We ask for our full written statement to be made part of the record.



Our goals are well thought-out and reasonable.



Most of our goals ask VA to do what Congress already ordered VA to do many years ago.



We would also like to thank VA Secretary Eric Shinseki for naming Gulf War veteran and VA Chief of Staff John Gingrich to lead VA’s new Gulf War Task Force.



We look forward to seeing the details of the Task Force report. We have not seen it. At this point, we have more questions than answers.



Mr. Chairman, Gulf War veterans are through with empty gestures from VA for the past 19 years.



Repeatedly during the 1990s, VA leaders promised us reform, and never delivered. In 2002, VA Deputy Secretary Leo MacKay apologized for VA’s shameful treatment of Gulf War veterans and promised reform.



However, behind the scenes, from 1991 through the present, VA bureaucrats scuttled our chances for healthcare and benefits. VCS asks VA to use objective and qualified staff for any new VA effort to assist us.



Let us be clear about today’s expectations: We are willing to work with VA and immediately begin implementing pragmatic solutions.



Here are our nine questions for VA:



1. Will VA Secretary Eric Shinseki publicly confirm that 25 percent of our Gulf War veterans – as many as 175,000 – still suffer from chronic multisymptom illness likely due to toxic exposures? Will the Secretary hold accountable those who blocked or disparaged research, treatment, and benefits?



2. Will VA amend Presidential Review Directive 5? Will our government declare Gulf War illness is a serious public health issue and a long-term cost of war worthy of prompt and high-quality research, treatment, and benefits?



3. Will VA name a specific leader and will VA publicize a timeline for the full implementation of all VA Gulf War Task Force goals?



4. Will Congress fund, and will VA create, a centralized VA office for Gulf War veterans to coordinate implementation of VA policy, training, research, benefits, and outreach?



5. Will Congress fund, and will VA create, a Gulf War advocacy panel?



6. Will Congress act to help VA restore Dr. Robert Haley’s vital research, mandated by Congress, at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center? In a related matter, when will VA investigate the handful of VA employees that VA’s IG concluded had undermined Dr. Haley’s important research? When will VA responded to our FOIA requests about those VA employees?



7. Will Congress urge VA officials to order the use of newer, more sensitive depleted uranium exposure tests as recommended by the Institute of Medicine and sought by Dr. Randall Parrish and by Dr. Haley? Will VA expand the population of veterans participating in DU research sought by Dr. Haley and IOM? If VA does not use the Best Available Current Technology, then VA stands accused of intentionally undermining scientific research and harming veterans.



8. Will VA retrain all VHA medical professionals about the harmful impact of toxic exposures on our veterans? Similarly, will VA retrain all VBA staff about the intent and application of Gulf War benefit laws?



9. Will VBA pay retroactive benefits to the 15,000 Gulf War veterans improperly denied benefits by VBA in 2001 for Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome? VBA leaders may have broken the law by failing to advise veterans about these benefits; the loss of benefits also means the veterans may have been improperly denied essential medical care.



Gulf War veterans should not have to continue waiting for VA to act. We are tired of what we call “death by bureaucracy,” where we wait endlessly for research, treatment, and benefits.



After nearly 20 years of delays and denials, today represents a rare opportunity for VA leaders to implement a set of reasonable, progressive, and pragmatic policies that address our needs for research, treatment, and benefits. Our veterans are dying, the time for delays is over, and the time for action is now.



America’s veterans are watching this hearing. They want Congress to press VA leaders to help Gulf War veterans and quickly address two more new emerging public health concerns: Iraq’s toxic burn pits and Camp Lejeune’s poisoned water.



We strongly urge Congress to demand action from VA to address our concerns today. We also thank Chairman Filner for his outstanding leadership and advocacy since 1993.



Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

VA Suicide Hotline has received almost 225,000 calls

"Hotline has received almost 225,000 calls" and that is a good thing on the surface but this many calls is an indication of how severe the risk is after service because there isn't enough being done.

Why would so many veterans reach such a desperate state, they end up on the verge of suicide? The VA says they "rescued about 6,800 veterans" out of that many calls. What happened to the others? Did they receive help? Did they end up with help filing their claims? Did they receive any kind of emergency help so that they would not end up needing to call the Suicide Prevention Hotline again? That's a point we all need to consider. What happens to the others should matter as much as how things got so bad for them in the first place.

Keep in mind we're not talking about your average citizen absorbed with their own problems. We're talking about men and women willing to lay down their lives for a greater cause other than themselves ending up wanting to die after they survived risking those same lives. None of this should be acceptable.

The other enormous factor is, if Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth did not file a law suit and seek documentation from the VA under Freedom of Information Act, nothing would have been done at all.

VA Saves Nearly 7,000 Suicidal Veterans

Secretary Shinseki honored Dr. Janet Kemp, who received the "2009 Federal Employee of the Year" award from the Partnership for Public Service. She helped create the Veterans National Suicide Prevention Hotline to help distraught veterans. Since August 2007, the Hotline has received almost 225,000 calls and rescued about 6,800 veterans, according to VA. VCS supports Dr. Kemp's work and the hotline.

VA set up the hotline after VCS filed suit in July 2007, and after many suicidal veterans had already been turned by a VA still unprepared to handle hundreds of thousands of additional patients from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars on top of the steady flow of new patients flowing into VA due to PTSD, Agent Orange, and the war-exacerbated global economic crisis.

Marine Cpl. Jeffrey Lucey's family had to file a law suit over this.

Posted On: January 24, 2009 by Lebowitz & Mzhen
Federal Government Settles VA Wrongful Death Lawsuit with Family of Iraq War Veteran who Committed Suicide
The federal government has settled a VA wrongful death lawsuit with the family of an Iraq war veteran who killed himself soon after he was denied mental health care. The family will receive $350,000.

Jeffrey Lucey was a corporal in the US Marines who was based in Iraq in 2003. When he came back to the United States, family members says he was having nightmares, behaving erratically, suffering from insomnia and serious depression, and drank a lot. The 23-year-old was involuntarily committed to a VA medical center’s psychiatric unit but was discharged from the hospital after four days following a diagnosis of mood swings and alcoholism.

Two days later, Lucey’s family readmitted him to the hospital after he crashed a car in an attempt to kill himself. He was turned away by a VA hospital nurse who failed to have a psychiatrist examine him.

Lucey hanged himself on June 22, 2004. His family filed their Veterans Affairs wrongful death lawsuit alleging medical malpractice against the United States. The Federal Tort Claims Act allows plaintiffs to file tort lawsuits, including those involving medical malpractice, against parties acting for the federal government.

Although the settlement has been reached, the Assistant US Attorney for the case says the VA is not admitting that it was responsible for Lucey’s suicide. The veteran’s death, however, has led to changes in how the VA medical system works with veterans and suicide prevention.

In 2007, A CBS News’ Investigative Unit found that from 1995 – 2007, almost 2,200 active duty service members killed themselves. The journalism also discovered that when it asked all 50 states for their suicide data for veterans and non-veterans, information sent back from 45 states showed that in 2005, 6,225 individuals who served in the armed forces were among those who committed suicide.

The Lucey family’s wrongful death lawsuit is not the first complaint filed against the federal government alleging that a VA hospital was negligent and therefore responsible for an Iraq war veteran’s suicide.

U.S. to pay $350,000 to family of Belchertown veteran who killed himself, MassLive, January 15, 2009

Suicide Epidemic Among Veterans, CBS News, November 13, 2007
read more here
Federal Government Settles VA Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Lawsuit says VA mishandled claims
Updated 7/24/2007
By Laura Parker, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — A coalition of disabled Iraq war veterans sued the Department of Veterans Affairs on Monday, accusing the VA of illegally denying or delaying claims for disability pay and mental health treatment.
The lawsuit names Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, among others, and asks for sweeping changes in the way the federal government handles claims of more than 1.6 million veterans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan since 9/11
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-07-23-iraq-vets_N.htm

Notice
Oral argument was heard on the appeal of this case on August 12, 2009. The case is now under submission at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.


On July 25, 2008 Plaintiffs Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth, Inc. filed a Notice of Appeal of the decision issued by Senior Federal District Court Judge Samuel Conti. In his decision, Judge Conti held that although it is clear to the Court that the VA may need "a complete overhaul" the the power to remedy this crisis lies with the other branches of government.

The importance of this appeal is underscored by the fact that a serious suicide epidemic among veterans continues to exist. Meanwhile, VA continues to turn away suicidal veterans, as shown by the recent case of Lucas Senescall in Spokane Washington. The flood of veterans with mental health problems will continue to increase as the wars go on. This is because, as a recent Army study found, repeat deployments increase the risk of PTSD by 50 percent, above and beyond what we are already seeing from veterans discharged from the first few years of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

In his decision, Judge Conti found that many veterans are suffering, and that the VA is the cause of much of that suffering. For these reasons, Plaintiffs believe they should continue to fight, that their cause is valid, and that Judge Conti was incorrect in holding that the courts are without power to grant veterans a remedy.
http://www.veteransptsdclassaction.org/

CBS joined the fight to force the VA to take care of our veterans.

April 21, 2008

VA Hid Suicide Risk, Internal E-Mails Show
Follow-Up Reporting On Exclusive Investigation Reveals Officials Hid Numbers
By Armen Keteyian

Veterans Suicides In Question

In a recently filed lawsuit, the Department of Veterans Affairs is accused of deliberately misinforming the American public about the number of veterans committing suicide. Armen Keteyian reports.

Suicide Epidemic Among Veterans
Help And Resources: Veteran Suicide
(CBS) The Department of Veterans Affairs came under fire again Monday, this time in California federal court where it's facing a national lawsuit by veterans rights groups accusing the agency of not doing enough to stem a looming mental health crisis among veterans. As part of the lawsuit, internal e-mails raise questions as to whether top officials deliberately deceived the American public about the number of veterans attempting and committing suicide. CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian reports.



In San Francisco federal court Monday, attorneys for veterans' rights groups accused the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs of nothing less than a cover-up - deliberately concealing the real risk of suicide among veterans.

"The system is in crisis and unfortunately the VA is in denial," said veterans rights attorney Gordon Erspamer.

The charges were backed by internal e-mails written by Dr. Ira Katz, the VA's head of Mental Health.

In the past, Katz has repeatedly insisted while the risk of suicide among veterans is serious, it's not outside the norm.

"There is no epidemic in suicide in VA," Katz told Keteyian in November.
Video Veterans Suicides In Question

read more here
Veterans Suicides In Question

As you can see, for the VA to be able to rescue any veteran, there were people pushing for them to make the changes and a news station willing to make sure the American people found out about it.

For more from Veterans for Common Sense, go here and read how hard they are working for veterans.

VCS Testimony Before Congress

On February 4, the day before the DC blizzard, VCS testified before Chairman Bob Filner and the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. We shared our strong support for President Obama's VA budget as well as our concerns about VA's inability to properly estimate Iraq and Afghanistan war casualties. This is important because our new war veterans wait longer for VA healthcare and benefits, and they often receive lower disability ratings.

There are too many things that still need to be corrected for the sake of our veterans. Because people are willing to step up and fight, things will change for the better. Maybe then we can finally live up to what George Washington thought,

"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington

As bad as the numbers are right now, we will see more Iraq and Afghanistan veterans needing help flooding the system. As the VA tries to deal with the flood there is a tsunami offshore of new veterans heading in. We also have not reached all Vietnam veterans needing care. Because of those willing to fight for those we send to fight, we are closer than we would have been, but we have so much more needing to be done.

People of 2009: Paul Sullivan of Veterans for Common Sense

Everything in this article is true and most of my readers know it already. They read posts about what Paul Sullivan has been doing all along, so this is no surprise at all. There is even more Paul does because he never stops working for our veterans. That's his only goal because doing the right thing is his passion.

It's been posted often that when it comes to having people on TV and cable shows addressing our veterans, it should be Paul Sullivan answering the questions because few are as informed as he is. He should have an office filled with awards for all he's done but I bet, knowing Paul, he'd be a lot happier with the veterans being taken care of as reward enough for him and all of his hard work.

People of 2009: Paul Sullivan
February 4, 2010
Jeffrey Allen, OneWorld US

For exposing the disgraceful treatment of soldiers returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan and for his work to protect civil liberties for all Americans

WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (OneWorld.net) - Gulf War veteran Paul Sullivan has dedicated the last few years of his life to making sure Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans get the care they deserve, while also exposing the true financial and human costs of the current conflicts.

In 2009, Sullivan not only worked quietly behind the scenes to help numerous journalists break stories about the epidemic of suicides and other mental health disorders facing returned veterans, but his organization fought the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) publicly to force the release of documents demonstrating the reality of longterm health issues faced by U.S. veterans.

The Freedom of Information Act request executed by Sullivan's Veterans for Common Sense revealed that nearly 300 veterans filed new disability claims every single day in 2008. Sullivan's group posted all the documents it received from that request on its Web site for journalists and others to use to uncover the extent of damage done to U.S. soldiers in today's wars.
read more here
People of 2009: Paul Sullivan

Lawmakers, Veterans for Common Sense Discuss Benefits Backlog

Lawmakers, Veterans Groups Discuss Benefits Backlog
Friday 29 January 2010

by: Mary Susan Littlepage, t r u t h o u t Report

Last week, Democratic and Republican members of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs met with Chairman Bob Filner to talk with 40 veterans' service organizations to discuss priorities for Congress' second session.
The roundtable marked the second time during the 111th Congress that the committee has met with veterans' advocates to discuss issues facing the nation's veterans and plan how to best solve veterans' problems.
Filner said, "The purpose of today's meeting is to build upon the successes of the first session and collaborate on how we can better serve our veterans and wounded warriors going forward."
Chairman Filner detailed the committee's priorities, which include ensuring adequate VA budgets for the next two years. Following the passage of advance funding legislation, Congress will approve a budget for Fiscal Year 2011 and 2012.
Veterans for Common Sense presented its legislative and policy goals for 2010 for veterans and families.
"Our comments were received well, and several of the representatives spoke with me later; Chairman Filner said they would be reviewing all our concerns and he hoped to take action," said Paul Sullivan, VCS spokesperson. The group called for streamlining how the VA processes post-traumatic stress disorder disability claims.
read more here
http://www.truthout.org/lawmakers-veterans-groups-discuss-benefits-backlog56524

CBS 60 Minutes lets what veterans face into public mind

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you don't need to have a lecture from me about how bad it is for our veterans, so you can move on to the videos and then maybe thank 60 minutes and above all Paul Sullivan for doing this.

If you are not a regular reader, then please stay with me here a second. Before you watch these clips from 60 minutes, you need to think about something.

When they talk about a million claims, when they talk about 4 years to have a claim honored, they are not just talking about a claim. They are talking about a serviceman or woman, wounded because they served this country. They are talking about someone willing to give up their life if they had to, but managed to make it back home with wounds. They are also talking about this same man or woman, coming home with no income in the case they are unable to work or hold down a job because of their injuries. Usually the kind of injury we're talking about is PTSD. With this, they also see their family shatter under the weight of all the stress of a husband/wife with PTSD, their symptoms, unable to work because of those symptoms, and then they are left to wonder if they would have been better off dying in combat than surviving it.

After the Vietnam war, it seemed no one really cared about the veterans. We had some kind of twisted excuse to not pay attention back then. But this, this time it happened while we were watching and supposedly paying attention. It all happened since 9-11 when it just kept getting worse for our veterans at the same time they heard every political hack on TV and radio squawk about how much they cared but never once bothered to let the general public know what was going on.

Paul Sullivan is a hero to many veterans. He has been trying to get this right for the veterans since he left the VA. Isn't it time you decided to do the same for our veterans? I don't mean quit your day job but you can get involved my calling your congressman's office and letting them know, this will not be allowed to go on. Write letters to your local newspaper and send me a copy. I'll be happy to post it up for you. There is much you can do and much that has to be done but remember, they never once made us wait for them.

"We owe a debt to all who served and when we repay that debt to those bravest Americans among us, then we are investing in our future."
~ Barack Obama, August 3, 2009

VCS on "60 Minutes" Exposing Long Delays Veterans Face with VA Claims
Written by Byron Pitts
Sunday, 03 January 2010 20:41
Why The VA Frustrates Veterans: Two Wars Are Slowing The Large Bureaucracy, Delaying Benefits

January 3, 2010 (CBS News "60 Minutes") - There is a sacred tradition in the military: leave no one behind on the battlefield. But many veterans are beginning to believe their country has left them behind at home, once they're out of uniform and in need of help. That help is supposed to come from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the financial compensation it gives to veterans disabled by their military service.

It was Abraham Lincoln who said the purpose of the VA was to "care for him who shall have borne the battle." But the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have pushed the VA further behind in that mission, and today there are a million veterans waiting for the VA to handle their disability claims.

That has led some to latch onto another motto making the rounds for how the VA operates: "Delay, Deny and Hope That I Die."

Extra: Watch extented segment posted at CBS News featuring Veterans for Common Sense

Extra: Read how VA tried to launch a pre-emptive strike against "60 Minutes" and VCS at VAWatchDog.org

"When I hear that, I will tell you that it really troubles me. As somebody who has devoted 35 years of my life to this organization, and to serving veterans, it's extremely troubling that there are veterans who feel that way," the VA's Deputy Undersecretary for Benefits Michael Walcoff, told 60 Minutes correspondent Byron Pitts.

read more of this here
Exposing Long Delays Veterans Face with VA Claims

Web Extra: A Four Year Wait?
January 3, 2010 5:30 PM

Paul Sullivan is executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, an advocacy group that works on behalf of veterans' issues.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Veterans' Benefit FrustrationsJanuary 3, 2010 5:30 PM

Two wars and a recession have significantly increased the claims handled by the U.S. Dept. of Veteran's Affairs, slowing the large bureaucracy and frustrating many veterans. Byron Pitts reports.

Watch CBS News Videos Online
CBS) There is a sacred tradition in the military: leave no one behind on the battlefield. But many veterans are beginning to believe their country has left them behind at home, once they're out of uniform and in need of help. That help is supposed to come from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the financial compensation it gives to veterans disabled by their military service.

It was Abraham Lincoln who said the purpose of the VA was to "care for him who shall have borne the battle." But the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have pushed the VA further behind in that mission, and today there are a million veterans waiting for the VA to handle their disability claims.

That has led some to latch onto another motto making the rounds for how the VA operates: "Delay, Deny and Hope That I Die."

"When I hear that, I will tell you that it really troubles me. As somebody who has devoted 35 years of my life to this organization, and to serving veterans, it's extremely troubling that there are veterans who feel that way," the VA's Deputy Undersecretary for Benefits Michael Walcoff, told 60 Minutes correspondent Byron Pitts.
read more here
Veterans Benefit Frustrations

VA budget still not enough, group warns

Paul Sullivan of Veterans for Common Sense, has a habit of getting angry with the way things are. He does it all the time. He filed law suits to get things done and to stop the abuse of our veterans. Because of him things changed at the VA and suicide was no longer something to just pass off. Thank God he does what he does. I would still love to know why on earth he is not on the "news" shows talking about all of this? He's been out there fighting for a very long time and telling the truth. He does not play games and does not do anything other than fight for what our veterans need. We need more people like Paul in this country if we are ever going to get this right for our veterans.

VBA’s claims disaster will be on “60 Minutes” in January, including an interview with Paul Sullivan

VA budget still not enough, group warns

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Dec 10, 2009 15:11:54 EST

The biggest veterans budget in history is not big enough, warns the head of Veterans for Common Sense, a group that closely tracks health care issues for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.

Paul Sullivan, executive director of the group, said the $109 billion veterans budget for fiscal 2010 — approved Thursday by the House and Senate — “may fall short as much as 45 percent” in covering the Veterans Affairs Department’s added costs of treating veterans of the two ongoing wars.

VA funding is included in HR 3288, a consolidated appropriations bill covering many federal agencies.

Sullivan’s warning is based, in part, on a joint statement from the House and Senate appropriations committees that says the new budget includes money to provide medical care in fiscal 2010 for 419,000 veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
read more here
VA budget still not enough, group warns

Supporting the troops means taking care of veterans too

While Taylor Texas can put out something like this,,,,,,

Adopt A Unit at Fort Hood Project

The City of Taylor and the City of Hutto adopted the 4th Infantry Division's Combat Aviation Brigade Battalion 1/4 Avn at Fort Hood. These two cities agreed to support the Central Texas Fort Hood Chapter Association of the United States Army (AUSA) and it's "Adopt a Unit" Program during their deployment to Iran in 2008/2009.The troops returned home from their most recent deployment to Iran in June, 2009 and were welcomed home with a special event sponsored by both cities at the Old Settlers Association facility in Round Rock on June 27. For more information on the program contact Jean Johnson at 352-5448 or the Taylor Chamber of Commerce at 365-8485.
Visit the website at http://www.forthoodausa.org/ for additional details on these programs and how you can adopt a unit of your own.
Letter from Lt. Col. Brian Bennett, July 15, 2008.
Letter of appreciation from Major General Hammond, July, 2009.
Contact Information
Taylor Chamber of Commerce
1519 N. Main StreetTaylor, TX 76574
512-365-8485

it also looks like they do not take it to heart when it comes to taking care of veterans as well.

Veterans for Common Sense Fights Discrimination Against Veterans in Taylor Texas
Written by Claire Osborn
Saturday, 10 October 2009 22:35
Taylor residents oppose proposed veterans center in their neighborhood

October 11, 2009, Taylor, Texas (Austin American-Statesman) — A California company wants to convert an empty facility formerly used as nursing home into a trauma assistance center for as many as 88 female veterans, including those who have been sexually assaulted by fellow soldiers.

But some Taylor residents say they don't want the facility in their town.

"It would put veterans in a situation where they are going to a town that doesn't want them," said Cherri Wolbrueck, co-owner of a Taylor bookstore. She talked about her opposition after attending a zoning board meeting where representatives of the company — Center Point Inc., based in San Rafael, Calif. — spoke.

Wolbrueck lives across the street from the proposed facility where veterans would live. She said she fears that veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder might attack residents in the Buttermilk Hill neighborhood.

"They can have an episode where a flashback transports them back into a combat situation, and they can perceive anyone as a threat: an elderly person taking a walk around the neighborhood, or a child on a bike," she said.

Laura Lambe, the executive vice president of Texas Center Point Inc., which would operate the facility and is a subsidiary of the California company, said the veterans who would be served at the facility would not be a danger to the community.

"We are not dealing with people who are threatening," Lambe said.

"We have a moral obligation to help veterans," said Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, an advocacy group based in Washington. "Veterans are the kind of neighbors we want, and it's safe to be around them."

click link for more

Not wanted in an American neighborhood? Really? This must mean as long as they are risking their lives some place else, they are welcome, but when they dare to come home needing help, they are no longer welcome. This is a town in dire need of an education on what war does and what kind of people the troops are. They risked their lives for the same people that do not want them in their neighborhoods!

Veterans Demand Apology from GOP and FOX for Lies About VA

Veterans are not stupid. Stop treating them like they are
Veterans groups blast right wingers
Senator John McCain, uses VA but thinks veterans are stupid

Veterans Demand Apology from GOP and FOX for Lies About VA
Written by Veterans for Common Sense
Thursday, 27 August 2009 12:36
August 27, 2009 - The claim that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has a manual encouraging veterans to "commit suicide," made by Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, is an asinine assertion with no basis in fact.

Steele made the charge two days ago (August 25th) on FOX News. Steele's egregious comments are an outrageous slander against VA designed to create an atmosphere of mistrust and fear among the millions of our veterans who rely on the VA for medical care. Veterans demand an apology from Steele and FOX News.

"Let me be absolutely clear, Steele lied. There is no VA manual encouraging veterans to commit suicide," said Paul Sullivan, the executive director of VCS, a non-profit based in Washington, DC providing advocacy for veterans, especially veterans with mental health conditions.

Here is the full text of Steele's comments:

"If you want an example of bad public policy, let's look at this situation with our veterans where you have a manual out there, telling our veterans stuff like, ‘Are you really a value to your community?' and, you know, encouraging them to commit suicide. This is crazy coming from the government, and this is exactly what concerns people, what puts them in fear of what government controlled health care, of health care, will look like."

go here for more

Veterans Demand Apology from GOP and FOX for Lies About VA