Congress has no clue what they are funding in the VA

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
July 29, 2014

Year after year, decade after decade within the veterans community (military-veterans-families) we have a much different discussion than what the rest of the country is talking about. This is not a promising deal to fix the VA. It is yet one more round of toss, slap and grab.

We've been reading about all of this for decades followed by promises of fixing the problems with tossing money around. Soon afterwards we're faced with reports of veterans left to wait and fight for benefits they earned, feeling as if they got slapped and then some yahoos elected to go to Washington to take care of VA can't even bother to show up for hearings for the committees they get to put on their list of things they've done to grab up some veterans votes.

They make speeches about how much they care but never seem to match that care with the what they do.

We need to cut a lot of the bull out of the reports starting with the simple fact that if a veteran had not been to the VA before, they do not get to go to the head of the line. Even in the civilian world, doctors have an obligation to the patients they already have. They will not cancel appointments to fit in someone new or stay late to fit someone in. I have been going to my doctor's office for 10 years and I know if I have an emergency, they will fit me in. Had I not been known to them, I could go to the emergency room at a local hospital or to one of the hundreds of emergency clinics. My obligation is to make sure I take care of my health by having a relationship with doctors I trust.

Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan have 5 years of free care at the VA. They do not enroll and get a primary care doctor or even get testing done until they have problems. When they do, they expect to just get in and be seen right away. What about the veterans already there? Are they just expected to give up the appointments they had for months? Do veterans think doctors, nurses and staff will simply pop up when they decide to be seen? They need to enroll in the VA as soon as they get out even if they don't think they need it. Otherwise, staff will not be hired to meet the increase in need.

There has never been enough staff to take care of all the veterans in this country and Congress has had the same debates year after year for decades. We've seen it all before and most of the rush to address crisis after crisis happens the same year there is an election. What about the rest of the time when Congress was supposed to be doing their jobs so we wouldn't have to face repeats of the same things reported about decades before when we also got promises.

President Obama added to the number of veterans going to the VA by making it easier for Vietnam veterans to file claims for PTSD and Agent Orange. Congress did not increase funding enough to cover the numbers of employees to care for these veterans finally being able to seek the care they needed and tried to get before. There was already a backlog of claims and wait times for OEF and OIF veterans but the majority of those waiting were and still are Vietnam veterans. Congress didn't care because they got to talk to reporters about the newer generation of veterans. No one was really interested in the fact Vietnam veterans waited longer, were the majority of the claims waiting to be approved or that they were also the majority of the suicides.

We faced all of this while reporters simply dismissed the most obvious fact of all. Vietnam veterans were home by 1975, not 1973 the way most reporters think.

The First and the Last on the Vietnam Memorial Wall

The first American soldier killed in the Vietnam War was Air Force T-Sgt. Richard B. Fitzgibbon Jr. He is listed by the U.S. Department of Defense as having a casualty date of June 8, 1956. His name was added to the Wall on Memorial Day 1999.

First battlefield fatality was Specialist 4 James T. Davis who was killed on December 22, 1961.

The last American soldier killed in the Vietnam War was Kelton Rena Turner, an 18-year old Marine. He was killed in action on May 15, 1975, two weeks after the evacuation of Saigon, in what became known as the Mayaguez incident.

Others list Gary L. Hall, Joseph N. Hargrove and Danny G. Marshall as the last to die in Vietnam. These three US Marines Corps veterans were mistakenly left behind on Koh Tang Island during the Mayaguez incident. They were last seen together but unfortunately to date, their fate is unknown. They are located on panel 1W, lines 130 - 131.

The last pilot casualty in the country of Vietnam occured during the Embassy evacuation in Saigon, William C. Nystal and Michael J. Shea both died on the helicopter on April 30, 1975 approaching the USS Hancock in the China Sea (both are located at 1W, 124). The last pilot killed in the Vietnam war was Air Force helicopter pilot Second Lieutenant Richard Vandegeer who was killed on Koh Tang Island, Cambodia. This occured during the Mayaguez incident when his helicopter crashed on May 15, 1975. It is concidered the last combat action of the Vietnam War.

Now you know the other fact. Afghanistan is not the longest war. Actually when you think about it the way the Veterans Community does, Vietnam is not the longest war either. The longest war is the fight veterans have with the congress to get the care they need when they need it and not when members of congress get around to noticing.

There is nothing in this new funding for the VA that has not been done before. That also includes the fact that while Congress funds PTSD programs, 57% of the suicides happened after they went to the VA for help. How about Congress start to learn about what they are paying for first before they turn around and make things worse?

Veterans Screwed By Congress Since 1779

Veterans Victims of Weak Congress
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
October 25, 2015


History repeated!

"Revolutionary War veterans, like Martin, found themselves victims of a weak government unable to pay them and of conflicts between American republican ideals and the military institutions veterans represented."

Military Times reported on the VA Choice Act in September of 2015 and pretty much the trouble was summed up by Senator Isakson.

Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., said 7.5 million more medical appointments have been made under the VA Choice program this year than last.

“A lot of people have said VA Choice is a cop-out," Isakson said. "But you just don’t provide health care to 6.5 million veterans by snapping your fingers. We don’t have the money in the federal government to provide all the health care to veterans if we wanted to. We have to empower the private sector through programs that work."

The trouble is none of this was new and they should have actually planned for the 22 million veterans they forget about all the time showing they had no intensions of caring for when they can't even take care of the "6.5 million" veterans. Then again, maybe veterans are right and Congress wanted the VA to be broken so they could sell off care to private sector health care providers they always complain about.

Department Veterans Affairs Data

Isakson said VA Choice needs “time to work,” but added that the program, which last year received $10 billion in funding intended to last through 2017, along with health care provided at VA facilities, has “a long way to go” to reach the goal of providing seamless, quality care to veterans.

Yes, you read that right. $10 Billion going into the private sector for a couple of years.

The trouble is that members of the House and Senate seem to forget that have been in charge all along. Revolutionary War Veteran Entitlements

Revolutionary War veterans, like Martin, found themselves victims of a weak government unable to pay them and of conflicts between American republican ideals and the military institutions veterans represented.

The first veterans pension movement began during the war, when officers lobbied Congress in 1779 for half pay for life.

Public outcry charged officers with attempting to establish a military aristocracy on the backs of the civilian population.

After the war, officers responded to the failures of government support by forming a hereditary veterans organization called The Society of Cincinnatus, an allusion to an ancient Roman general who gave up his military power to save the republic. The society provided some mutual support, but only officers could join, leaving enlisted soldiers like Martin to fend for themselves.

Veterans have been fighting wars and then fighting the government for what they need afterwards since the beginning of this nation and hearing the same reply.

“Scarcely a day passes without some striking evidence of the delays and perplexities springing merely from the want of precedents. ”
Representative James Madison to Edmund Randolph, May 31, 1789

The Congress of the United States established by the new Constitution met for the first time at New York City’s Federal Hall on March 4, 1789. It is arguably the most important Congress in U.S. history. To this new legislature fell the responsibility of passing all the legislation needed to implement the new system, solving the difficult political questions left by the Constitutional Convention, setting up the rules and procedures of the House and Senate, and establishing the roles of its officers such as Speaker of the House and President of the Senate.

In 1932 veterans protested when the promises made to them were not kept.

As World War I drew to a close in 1918, millions of American veterans returned home to the promise of a cash bonus — compensation for their overseas service.

There was a catch, though: The money would not be paid out until 1945.

Then, the Great Depression struck. Millions of Americans were left hungry and homeless. Veterans of the war were desperate for relief.

So in 1932, a group of veterans in Portland, Ore., led by a man named Walter Waters, decided to go to Washington to lobby for early payment of their promised bonus.

You can read even more of the real history of what was not done for our veterans on Encyclopedia.com United States Department of Veterans Affairs


WCSH 6 News AUGUSTA, Maine-- Maine hospitals say they've been having trouble getting paid by the Veterans Administration., and the debt is in the millions of dollars.

The VA says often the problems are the result of veterans seeking services which are not pre-approved by the VA, creating long delays as hospitals try to work their way through the complex federal system to seek payment. Last year, Congress and the VA created a new system called "Choice", for veterans living in rural areas more distant from VA facilities. But Jim Doherty of the VA at Togus says that system is funded separately from regular VA medical programs, and the process for using it is still fairly new.

USA Today reported back in March of 2014

Federal law requires that such emergency expenses be covered by the federal government even if the injury or illness is not related to the veteran's service-connected disability.

But when GAO looked at a sample of 128 of these claims brought by non-VA hospitals in 2012 seeking reimbursement and that were later denied by the VA, investigators discovered mistakes in half of them, the report says.

In November of 2014, AZ Central reported on one of their veterans having to deal with unpaid medical bills

In New York this was reported by WKTV News on May 29, 2015

After returning to the U.S., Ready says he was employed as a computer network analyst, but due to company downsizing, lost his job, so when he went to the emergency room at Oneida Healthcare on Dec. 29th of 2013, he says he told hospital staff he had no insurance after being informed he needed an emergency appendectomy and he said he would need to go to the Syracuse VA Hospital.

Ready says Oneida Healthcare staff told him the surgery would be covered because it was an emergency situation, but he says the VA has not paid any of the bills, now 18 months later.

Tampa VA has this on their site
Emergency Care in Non-VA Facilities

In 2001, the U.S. Congress provided VA with authorization (called the Mill Bill) to pay for emergency care in non-VA facilities for veterans enrolled in the VA health care system. The benefit will pay for emergency care rendered for non-service-connected conditions for enrolled veterans who have no other source of payment for the care. However, VA will only pay to the point of medical stability. There are very strict guidelines concerning these types of claims. Veterans and their non-VA providers should be aware that these claims must be filed with the VA within 90 days from the last day of the emergent care.

Do I need to get approval before going to the emergency room?
No. If you are an eligible veteran, and a VA facility is not feasibly available when you believe your health or life is in immediate danger, report directly to the closest emergency room. If hospitalization is required, you, your representative or the treating facility should contact the nearest VA within 24 hours to arrange a transfer to VA care by calling the VA Transfer Center at (813) 972-7614.

As you can see, there have been too many times that Congress has listened to veterans, claimed to be fixing the problems while veterans are forced to see history repeated. Maybe it is time for yet one more massive protest of veterans seeking relief from this endless battle they have fight after they fight battles Congress sent them into in the first place!

History Repeated on Veterans Waiting for the VA and Congress!

This may sound really bad especially when you think about the fact these are men and women becoming disabled for doing their jobs. The jobs that they know could very well cost them their lives.

VA delays skyrocket in San Antonio
1 in 5 now aren’t getting an appointment for 30 days — or even longer
San Antonio Express News
By Martin Kuz, Staff Writer
October 17, 2015

Delays at the Veterans Affairs health care network based in San Antonio have risen sharply since spring, with one in five patients waiting 30 days or longer for an appointment, the nation’s second-highest rate.

Figures published online by the Veterans Health Administration show that, as of Oct. 1, more than 12,300 patients in the South Texas Veterans Health Care System waited 30 days or more for primary, specialty or mental health care appointments.

The number represents an almost sixfold increase since May, when 2,121 veterans faced comparable delays, and the largest jump of any VA network in the country. The total number of appointments scheduled each month during that span remained relatively flat, averaging 60,116.

Only the VA network in Gainesville, Florida, had a longer wait list at the start of this month, with nearly 14,200 veterans. But that system scheduled more than three times as many appointments as the San Antonio network.
read more here

It only sounds bad if you do not know the history of Congress allowing all of it to happen, over and over agin. The VA was not fixed long before the current veterans came home. There were news reports going back decades but as members of Congress held hearings, showed outrage when the press reported about situations each member of Congress should have been well aware of, they let it all get worse.

These folks are elected to represent their areas of the country to ensure that each and every department of government fulfills their duty and while members of the House and Senate love to complain none of them want to accept responsibility for what they failed to do.

Since President Bush took office, two secretaries of Veterans Affairs have come and gone. Both men promised to make sweeping changes in the veterans' medical system, which just about everybody agrees is broken and overwhelmed. Both of them failed.

VA secretary pledges to cut 5 weeks off wait when Secretary James Peake testified before Congress in 2008.

Peake wants to reduce wait times from roughly 180 days to 145 days by the start of next year. He cited aggressive efforts to hire staff, noting the VA will have 3,100 new staff by 2009. VA also is working to get greater online access to Pentagon medical information that he said will allow staff to process claims faster and move toward a system of electronic filing of claims.

Peake promised to “virtually eliminate” the current list of 69,000 veterans who have waited more than 30 days for an appointment to get VA medical care.

Peake went to Montana and Senator Jon Tester was there listening to what the VA planned on doing for veterans waiting for compensation, appointments as well as what rural area veterans had to deal with.

Peake said the current wait for claims processing stands at 182 days, a wait he called unacceptable. By the end of this year, the VA hopes to have that backlog reduced to 169 days, followed by 145 days by the end of 2009.

Pretty damning evidence when you look back at all the Congress knew and when they knew it leading to things just getting worse over the years. Can our elected official fix anything? When Peake was nominated to head the VA on the heals of Nicholson, this is what veterans were suffering with.

Peake's nomination comes as the administration and Congress are wrestling with the problems facing troops returning home with physical and psychological wounds from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Earlier this month, Bush sent legislation to Congress to restructure the health-care and disability system for U.S. troops wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan by eliminating duplicative bureaucracy and providing greater assistance to families dealing with the long-term effects of their injuries. The proposals are part of a broader effort by the Bush administration to overhaul how wounded service members are treated once they return from war, a project launched after revelations eight months ago of shoddy conditions and paralyzing red tape at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

VA Secretary James Peake denies cover-up of suicide rates The Department of Veterans Affairs is facing accusations that it covered up veteran suicide rates. Two veterans' groups are suing the VA, claiming that veteran suicides are rising at alarming rates, in large part because of VA failures.

The groups suing the VA want the department ordered to improve how fast it processes applications and how it delivers mental health care.

Dr. James Peake, secretary of Veterans Affairs, visited Charleston today to meet with officials from Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center and Medical University of South Carolina. Peake, a former U.S. Army Surgeon General, was sworn in in December 2007.

What has been fixed? Nothing as you can see by the wait time for a first appointment repeated from 2008 and 2015 are the same.

Congressional Americants

Congressional Americants
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
November 13, 2015

This is Friday the 13th, a day known to some for bad luck but it comes during the week when veterans are supposed to be honored for their service.  The reporters may have missed it but veterans don't blame the VA for what has been going on, they blame Congress.  They don't want to see private doctors, they want the VA fixed and expected it to have been decades ago.

When it came down to fixing it, Congress turned into a bunch of Americants instead of politicians with true gratitude for those who risked their lives for this nation.

Are they lacking information? No since every Congressional hearing is documented and every bill/law they pass is made public as well.

Are they lacking the ability to have expert advice? No. Considering the number of consultants they pay for are supposed to know what they're doing, that shouldn't be an issue.  Are they lacking vision or is it more the case of if they fix the VA, then they wouldn't be able to privatize it?

That is the direction most veterans are thinking right now.  If they fix the VA, then how could they send veterans into the private sector line so the government would pay more to take care of veterans while reducing what they get in return? Why would anyone in their right mind think that was a good idea?  Who would benefit from a stoop so low?  The healthcare industry!

Many cities and towns are holding their activities tomorrow, like in Orlando for the annual Veterans Day Parade.

The 2015 City of Orlando Veterans Day Parade is scheduled for Saturday, November 14 in Downtown Orlando. Hosted by Mayor Buddy Dyer and his Veterans Advisory Council each November, the parade honors the courageous men and women of the armed forces.

The parade includes more than 50 Central Florida veterans groups, the UCF Marching Knights and other marching bands, 13 ROTC and JROTC units, first responders, community groups and military vehicles.

This year’s parade is commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. The parade’s five grand marshals all served honorably during the conflict in Vietnam: Sgt. Peter Tattersall (U.S. Army), Col. Bob Springer (U.S. Marine Corps), Corpsman Jon Yeitrakis (U.S. Navy), Capt. William Thomas (U.S. Coast Guard) and Col. Joe Kittinger (U.S. Air Force).

Right now I'm home with a sinus infection and bronchitis trying to make sure that tomorrow I'll be able to be in the parade this year instead of just walking it. If you are going to the parade or watching it, I'll be with the Seabees. You may remember some of them from the video Veterans Not Gonna Take It Anymore.

Apr 12, 2015
Saturday fed up veterans got into a dumpster to show how they feel. Congress has failed them and made them feel like they are disposable. Congress blames the VA only because they refuse to blame themselves! They write the rules, pass the budgets and are supposed to be in control over what the VA does. They had the power going back to 1946!

It is a great time to remind folks of exactly why veterans are so angry about all of this.

Dishonorable Discharges have been in the news lately, since there is a push on to review all of them including Vietnam veterans.

Seems like the right thing to do finally unless you look back and know that Congress was paying attention back in 2007.

St. Louis Dispatch reported that the Army was discharging 10 a day under "personality disorders" in Iraq and just as a reminder of Congressional action,

Working behind the scenes, Sens. Christopher "Kit" Bond, R-Mo., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., have written and inserted into the defense authorization bill a provision that would make it harder for the Pentagon to discharge thousands of troops. The Post-Dispatch has learned that the measure has been accepted into the Senate defense bill and will probably become part of the Senate-House bill to be voted on this week.

Yet by 2015

Lawmakers Call For Army To Investigate Misconduct Discharges Of Service Members
NPR
NOVEMBER 04, 2015
"We are concerned that it may be easier to discharge service members for minor misconduct — possibly related to mental health issues — than to evaluate them for conditions that may warrant a medical discharge."

A group of 12 U.S. senators, led by Christopher Murphy, D-Conn., is calling for the Army inspector general to investigate the discharges of tens of thousands of service members diagnosed with mental health disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injuries.

They showed when it came to fixing this, Congress can't or won't. They held hearings and made speeches. Same thing with the number of military and veteran suicides going up.

Congress yet again turned into Americants when the numbers went up just as the number of enlisted went down, but hey, they wouldn't point that out since no one was looking at two sets of numbers. (Unless you read Wounded Times)

They started to "address" reducing suicides when there were 99 Army suicides in 2006.

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.

About twice as many women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan committed suicide as did women not sent to war, the report said.

The Washington Post went to state that many were due to "relationship problems" yet if you happen to be in a relationship with a PTSD veteran, you know what kind of problems come with it. Relationships don't cause PTSD but PTSD does cause problems in even the best relationship. Yet even more reports followed to show that there were more than the 99.

The total of 121 suicides last year, if all are confirmed, would be more than double the 52 reported in 2001, before the Sept. 11 attacks prompted the Bush administration to launch its counter-terror war. The toll was 87 by 2005 and 102 in 2006.

The report also shows an increase in the number of attempted suicides and self-injuries - some 2,100 in 2007 compared to less than 1,500 the previous year and less than 500 in 2002.

And another report came out with this piece of information. Soldier Suicides at Record Level reported by Dana Priest of the Washington Post in 2008.

At the same time, the number of attempted suicides or self-inflicted injuries in the Army has jumped sixfold since the Iraq war began. Last year, about 2,100 soldiers injured themselves or attempted suicide, compared with about 350 in 2002, according to the U.S. Army Medical Command Suicide Prevention Action Plan.

Anyway, what did Congress do about it? They wrote bills, over and over and over again. What was the result?

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.

And Second Quarter

Suicides among active-duty service members rose by 20 percent in the second quarter of this year to 71, according to a new report released Wednesday by the Defense Department.

The Marine Corps had the highest increase differential, 12 suicides, up from three the previous quarter.

The Army had 28 active-duty suicides, the Air Force, 17, and the Navy, 14, according to the report.

Over the first six months of 2015, 130 active-duty troops took their own lives, along with 89 reserve members, including National Guardsmen.

As for what was happening to veterans, it wasn't much better then then again Congress planned on sending troops but never planned on them coming home.

With 2 wars going on, there were less to care for them in the VA.

According to the American Federation of Government Employees, the VA employed 1,392 Veterans Service Representatives in June 2007 compared to 1,516 in January 2003.

But yet again, as outreach efforts were getting veterans to seek help, there was already a waiting line that had been there for decades before. What made it worse for our veterans was that with the reluctance of Congress to actually fix the VA, 148,000 Vietnam veterans joined the line of those waiting the same year.

Two-tiered system of healthcare puts veterans of the war on terror at the top and makes everyone else -- from World War I to the first Gulf War -- "second-class veterans" by Chris Roberts, El Paso Times

In the past 18 months, 148,000 Vietnam veterans have gone to VA centers reporting symptoms of PTSD "30 years after the war," said Brig. Gen. Michael S. Tucker, deputy commanding general of the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command and Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He recently visited El Paso.

An internal directive from a high-ranking Veterans Affairs official creates a two-tiered system of veterans health care, putting veterans of the global war on terror at the top and making every one else -- from World War I to the first Gulf War -- "second-class veterans," according to some veterans advocates.

"I think they're ever pushing us to the side," said former Marine Ron Holmes, an El Paso resident who founded Veterans Advocates. "We are still in need. We still have our problems, and our cases are being handled more slowly."

So as we "honor" Vietnam veteran remember they started the fight for everything done on PTSD and they are the last to receive what they need to heal. They are the majority of the suicides, attempted suicides, backlog of claims, homeless veterans and they are the least reported on.

After they came home, they said "Never again will one generation of veterans leave another behind" but while they kept that promise, I bet they never thought they'd actually be left behind again.

Veterans Message To Congress, We're Not Disposable!

Members of Congress hope that no one noticed they were responsible for how veterans were treated in this country. Any wonder why they feel like they do?

Legislation Within the Jurisdiction of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs

Veterans' measures generally.
Pensions of all the wars of the U.S., general and special.
Life insurance issued by the government on account of service in the Armed Forces.
Compensation, vocational rehabilitation, and education of veterans.
Veterans' hospitals, medical care, and treatment of veterans.
Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief.
Readjustment of servicemen to civilian life.
National Cemeteries.
Complete Jurisdiction of the Committee

The Department of Veterans Affairs

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) was established March 15, 1989, with Cabinet rank, succeeding the Veterans Administration and assuming responsibility for providing federal benefits to veterans and their dependents. Led by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, VA is the second largest of the 14 Cabinet departments and operates nationwide programs of health care assistance services and national cemeteries.

1930

The Veterans Administration was created by Executive Order S.398, signed by President Herbert Hoover on July 21, 1930. At that time, there were 54 hospitals, 4.7 million living veterans, and 31,600 employees.

1946
House Veterans Affairs Committee

The Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives was authorized by enactment of Public Law 601, 79th Congress, which was entitled "Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946." Section 121(a) of this Act provides: "there shall be elected by the House at the commencement of each Congress the following standing committees": Nineteen Committees are listed and No. 18 quotes: "Committee on Veterans' Affairs, to consist of 27 Members." This Act has since been amended so that there are now 22 Standing Committees in the House of Representatives. The number of Members (Representatives) authorized to serve on each Committee has been changed from time to time. There are currently 29 members of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

VA History in Brief

WWII

On Feb. 1, 1946, Bradley reported that the VA was operating 97 hospitals with a total bed capacity of 82,241 patients. Hospital construction then in progress projected another 13,594 beds. Money was available for another 12,706 beds with the construction of 25 more hospitals and additions to 11 others. But because of the demobilization, the total number of veterans would jump to more than 15 million within a few months. The existing VA hospitals were soon filled to capacity, and there were waiting lists for admission at practically all hospitals. In addition, there were 26,057 nonservice-connected cases on the hospital waiting list.

Until more VA hospitals could be opened, the Navy and Army both made beds available. To handle the dramatic increase in veterans claims, VA Central Office staff was increased in two years from 16,966 to 22,008. In the same period, field staff, charged with providing medical care, education benefits, disability payments, home loans and other benefits, rose from 54,689 employees to 96,047.

Korea

The Korean War, creating new veterans on top of the millions who came home from World War II, brought additional workloads to the VA. The number of VA hospitals between 1942 and 1950 had increased from 97 to 151. As of November 30, 1952, the VA had a workforce of some 164,000 employees working at the Central Office and its 541 hospitals, regional offices and other field stations. A daily average of 128,000 veterans received medical and domiciliary care. Each year 2.5 million veterans received outpatient and dental care at VA facilities. Each month 2.5 million veterans and dependents received $125 million in compensation and pensions.

Vietnam

Congress at first limited benefits for the Vietnam War to veterans whose service occurred between Aug. 5, 1964, and May 7, 1975. Congress later expanded the period to Feb. 28, 1961, for veterans who served in country. During this period, more than 6 million Vietnam-era veterans were separated from military service. A major difference of Vietnam-era veterans from those of earlier wars was the larger percentage of disabled. Advances in airlift and medical treatment meant that many wounded and injured personnel survived who would have died in earlier wars. By 1972 there were 308,000 veterans with disabilities connected to military service.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs

President Reagan signed legislation in 1988 to elevate VA to Cabinet status and, on March 15, 1989, the Veterans Administration became the Department of Veterans Affairs. Edward J. Derwinski, VA administrator at the time, was appointed the first Secretary of Veterans Affairs. As reorganized, the department included three main elements: the Veterans Health Services and Research Administration, which was renamed the Veterans Health Administration; the Veterans Benefits Administration; and the National Cemetery System.

Gulf War

The Persian Gulf War, which began in August 1990 as Operation Desert Shield and became Operation Desert Storm in January 1991, created a new climate in U.S. society favorable to military personnel and veterans benefits. As of July 1, 1992, there were 664,000 Persian Gulf War veterans, not including Reservists called up for active duty. Of these, 88,000, or 13.2 percent, were women.

The Rise (and Fall) of the VA Backlog, TIME, By Brandon Friedman, June 03, 2013

On the January afternoon Eric Shinseki took over as the nation’s seventh VA secretary, he inherited a mess.

To his immediate front, the former Army chief of staff faced a paper mountain of 391,127 separate disability claims—filed by veterans from every conflict since World War II. Nearly a quarter of the claims (more than 85,000) had been languishing in the system for more than six months.

Expanding eligibility for veterans affected by PTSD and Agent Orange more than doubled the claims backlog.

As if the paper weren’t problem enough, Shinseki and his staff soon learned that thousands of Vietnam War veterans—many with whom he likely served—had been barred from claiming disability benefits for conditions related to their exposure to the toxic defoliant Agent Orange.

The gravity of this situation in early 2009—with one war ending and another still raging—was not lost on the new boss. Compounding his problem, however, was the fact that he had little to work with in terms of a technological solution. VA was paper-bound, its IT system antiquated—and it had been this way for years.

Everyone knew this.

Everyone but members of Congress since all they've done for decades is blame the VA when they were supposed to be responsible for taking care of veterans. After all, they control all the funding, make the rules and pass all the bills.

This is from New York Times

Veterans Affairs Faces Surge of Disability Claims, By JAMES DAO Published: July 12, 2009

Veterans advocates say the actual backlog is nearing one million, if minor claims, educational programs and appeals of denied claims are factored in. They point to the discovery last year of benefits applications in disposal bins at several department offices as evidence of shoddy handling of claims. And they assert that they routinely see frustratingly long delays on what seem like straightforward claims.

One group, Veterans for Common Sense, has obtained records showing that some veterans are calling suicide hotlines to talk about their delayed disability claims. The group has called on the department to replace Veterans Benefits Administration leaders.

“We’re not saying vets are threatening to commit suicide over the claims issues,” said Paul Sullivan, executive director of the group. “We’re saying V.A.’s claim situation is so bad that it is exacerbating veterans’ already difficult situations.”

Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, has emerged as one of the most prevalent disability claims, after ailments like back pain and knee injuries. Not only are many new veterans receiving a diagnosis of the disorder, but an increasing number of Vietnam veterans are also reporting symptoms for the first time, officials and advocates said.

Ok, so while Congress has managed to forget what they were supposed to do, veterans remembered. They have a message for politicians, WE'RE NOT DISPOSABLE!

This dumpster was supplied by Pro-Demo

Mickey Grosman

Veterans keep having to help other veterans out of where Congress

keeps sending them.

Veterans have more news coming for members of Congress

Check back tomorrow!

UPDATE, here's the video

Congress:Common sense left the building

Update

When I said it was all about money, looks like I was right. I asked "Why does the NRA want you to be afraid" and thought it was because of what ended up happening with rush to buy guns they are running out of stock. Today there was another piece of information "Gun Makers: Assault Weapons Ban Will Kill Jobs"

So what are they trying to say? Is it assault weapons are good for the economy? Well guess they must be since they cost so much more than what NORMAL gun owners buy but then they also help the economy when funeral directors have to take care of all the bodies like they did in Newtown. Is this the price they think the American people are willing to pay for their rants? This pretty much proves that when it comes to gun rights the NRA always says they are "protecting" they are protecting their own pockets and do not give a crap about how many have to die in the process. By the way, lots of businesses closed down but the gun industry is here to stay because NORMAL gun owners BUY NORMAL GUNS! They don't buy Gatling Guns

If FDR had to work with the 112th or 113th congress, the world would be speaking German right now. Common sense left the building. Right now, aside from a long list, Congress is threatening to shut down the government, which means troops won't get paid, disabled veterans won't get their checks and the damage will spread out across the entire nation because some yahoo elected by his district and paid by, you guessed it, the federal government no matter if they get their jobs done or not, decided it was better to whine than it is to do the right thing. Yet we expect these cowards that can't stand up for what the majority of the nation wants to be in any kind of position to decide if we go to war again or not? How did that work out so far?

I can't help it.

When this nation committed to WWII, we didn't have the money do to it but it had to be done, everyone in this nation stood behind them, rolled up their sleeves and they got it done. The troops came home to a grateful nation and were taken care of with Congress standing standing up for them, not whining about the financial debt sending them created. They can't do the same now.  VA claims trap the in a system putting an extra burden on them and then there are all the suicides tied to military service with families and a long list of people who cared about them grieving.

The last Congress didn't do anything other than whine about the debt they created. Yep. They did it. See the simple truth they don't want us to notice is that Congress spends the money, not the President. We had two wars being fought since October of 2001 but they were not in the budget and were not paid for until President Obama put them in his budget, then gave that to Congress, which became part of the recorded debt they point fingers at. It was, as an ex-Bostionian still says, a wicked pissa of a trick since they haven't managed to pass a budget in years.

They whined about unemployment but didn't come up with any bills to put us back to work, then blamed Obama for few jobs being created at the same time they cut the federal work force. Bad enough? Hardly.

They turned around and then wanted to cut and gut the rest of the programs the elderly, disabled, poor and needy needed while whining about the "job creators" and wealthy needing the tax cuts for them right after they said they were not creating jobs basically proving everything they claimed was a bunch of hogwash.

Ok, so now we have them talking about the NRA and how they will not ban assault weapons pointing fingers at everything but the weapons. They blame the mentally ill for having them but yet again, they don't want you do see what is right in front of your face and it is all equal to dollar signs.

Smith and Wesson has a handgun for "personal protection and professional duty" called "Bodyguard" for $509.00. The capacity of this gun is 5 rounds.

Bushmaster has an "16" MOE" with 30-round Magpul® for $1,298.20.

"George K. Kollitides II, the chief executive of Freedom Group—which made the Bushmaster military-style assault rifle used in the Newtown massacre—was appointed as a member of the current committee, despite his failed attempts to be elected to the NRA board."

The NRA Board of Directors is fascinating to read. While it is true that the majority of NRA members are supporting laws that will take assault weapons out of the hands of "evil" people the NRA has said this is a matter of gun owners right. Is is about "rights" or is it more about money? Why wouldn't the NRA listen and value their own members?

The answer is above. It is all about money. The Bushmaster and the bullets this weapon uses are far more expensive to gun buyers than a handgun. Mentally ill people will be here forever and while the NRA talks about them they never once explain the simple fact that if they were not able to get their hands on assault weapons they wouldn't be able to kill as many people. They would not have the upper hand against a handgun owner. In other words, banning these weapons would give law abiding citizens a fighting chance to defend themselves and others.

Law enforcement professionals use handguns. People carry handguns. No one has a problem with them. So why is it that the majority of normal gun owners do not have the NRA sticking up for them?

We know what a handgun in the right hands can do because Melinda Herman proved it when a thug broke into her home and she hit him 5 times and had only learned how to shoot 2 weeks before that day. She was protecting her children.

The other factor is that too many people buy guns without having a background check yet law abiding citizens do it all the legal way. How is it fair to them to not only do it legally while others don't have to? Does it make anyone safer when someone can just walk into a gun show, buy a weapon and get bullets without even knowing how to use it on top of being a criminal/felon or mentally ill?

Congress doesn't want us to think about all of that because the gun industry is in the billions a year and now we know they make a lot more money with assault weapons. This has never been about the rights of gun owners. If it was then the NRA would be watching out for your right to live and not have to face off with someone with a lot more bullets than you have.

If the NRA won't listen to their own members and the Congress won't listen to voters, then it is yet again a money culture and not about us. I don't own a gun but will defend the rights of gun owners to protect themselves and go hunting. Most Americans still feel the same way. They don't do those things with assault weapons. I want the gun owners I know to live and not be slaughtered by a "evil" twisted individual with more bullets. The folks I know are not just current military, veterans and members of law enforcement, they are also brave enough to try to stop someone shooting an assault weapon no matter how "outgunned" they are. I want them to have a fighting chance to do it and live.

They say if they walk into a place with someone shooting, anyone shooting will be aimed at because they don't have the time in a split second to ask the people with guns if they are good guys or bad guys.  Their lives are not like the movies when bullets hit the target.  Stray bullets go all over the place and these guys are fully trained.  What do you think a teacher will be able to do with kids all around armed with only a handgun facing off with a crazed killer and an assault weapon?  Did you get the fact the last two mass murderers were wearing body armor?

This congress will be just as bad as the last one unless we make them do what we elected them to do and actually earn the federal tax dollars paying them to do it.

Veteran's best friends are watchdogs.

Veteran's best friends are watchdogs. Three of them are on one post over at the Daily Kos. If you are like me, you read titles of Bills and hear how wonderful the creators of these Bills think they are. I tend to get too busy to really read them and honestly, most of the language used confuses the hell out of me. That's why it's important for us to trust the experts on these Bills to make sure they are not worse than nothing. I understand PTSD and what comes with it but I also understand how harmful well sounding Bills can end up being and we fall for them all the time. We end up supporting Bills, contacting Congress to vote for them, only to discover that the Bill was akin to selling back Manhattan to the Indians because it had the title like Land Restoration Act never noticing to what point in history they planned on going back to. They do it to us all the time.

Here from the Daily Kos we have such a shady deal going on.

Senator Richard Burr received this from the IAVA Report Card

Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC)
1st term Republican from North Carolina.

IAVA Action Grade


C

(6 out of 9 votes with IAVA Action, not a Post-9/11 GI Bill cosponsor)



Current Elected Office Committees:

Armed Services
Energy and Natural Resources
Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Select Committee on Intelligence
Veterans' Affairs , Rnk. Mem.
http://iava.www.capwiz.com/bio/id/444&lvl=C&chamber=S

Burr is ranking member on the Veteran's Affairs committee yet he's trying to pull this off? And they are letting him try why? Last time I checked is a "C" is just average and the problems our veterans have right now should require at least someone with a "B" or above to tackle any part of it. But this is all part of the tricks they like to play on us. It's easy to fool us because all we care about is the veterans and what they need and it's really hard for us to ever think anyone in Congress would ever try to screw them. But they do it all the time. Thanks to Scharrison over at Daily Kos, and USDR, along with people like Larry Scott, the rest of us are not going to get hoodwinked into supporting something that will do more harm to the veterans than good.

Richard Burr: No Friend To Veterans
by scharrison
Richard Burr: No Friend To Veterans Sun Jun 14, 2009 at 11:54:21 AM PDT

As a veteran, my eyes and ears tend to perk up whenever the military is mentioned, whether in the media or even just in casual conversation. I can't help it. And if a politician claims to be "looking out for" or "representing" veterans' interests, I pay even closer attention, because that's one of those things that voters love to hear, but seldom follow up on. Richard Burr has developed a reputation as being "big" on veterans' issues, and I think it's about time we followed up on that.

scharrison's diary :: ::
Before I begin, I want to make sure that everybody understands that our senior Senator from North Carolina has been well-informed on these issues. He's been privy to countless briefings exposing the needs of veterans over the years, so any mistakes he's made can't be attributed to a lack of knowledge. Also, although I usually refrain from linking to (other) blogs because I don't want readers to have to struggle to find primary sources, I'm going to post a few here, because they are concerned voices that deserve to be heard.

Concerned About America's Wounded Warrior Act (11Mar2008)
As a disabled veteran with my fellow California Comrades are most concerned with the provisions of Senator Burr's America's Wounded Warrior Act (S 2674) and Representative Buyer's Nobel Warrior Act (HR 5509). I’m asking veterans to review the proposed drastically changes for disability compensation system for America's veterans. Then ask your Senators and Congress Representative to oppose this legislation.

Let me explain these bills are loosely based on the recommendations of the President's Commission on Care for America's Wounded Warriors (Dole/Shalala Commission), but the specifics of these bills would do great harm to most veterans in the following ways:

go here and read the rest
Richard Burr: No Friend To Veterans

And the USDR (Uniformed Services Disabled Retirees) Abel Quinones does exactly that.

For these reasons, among others, I strongly urge you to oppose S2674/HR5509 and any other legislation which is detrimental to and/or discriminatory against this nation's veterans.
go here for more
Concerned About America's Wounded Warrior Act

These are the Bills

Noble Warrior Act
To amend titles 10 and 38, United States Code, to improve and enhance procedures for the retirement of members of the Armed Forces for disability and to improve and enhance authorities for the rating and compensation of service-connected disabilities in veterans, and for other purposes.
previous 110th session of congress
Other Bill Titles (2 more)
Hide Other Bill Titles
Short: Noble Warrior Act as introduced.
Official: To amend titles 10 and 38, United States Code, to improve and enhance procedures for the retirement of members of the Armed Forces for disability and to improve and enhance authorities for the rating and compensation of service-connected disabilities in veterans, and for other purposes. as introduced.
2/28/2008--Introduced.
Noble Warrior Act - Amends federal armed forces provisions to add new provisions concerning the retirement for disability of members of the Armed Forces (members) following the implementation of an enhanced Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability compensation system (implemented under this Act). Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to continue after discharge or separation from active duty respite care and aid and other extended care benefits for members who incur a serious injury or illness while serving on such duty. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Secretary) to conduct a study to determine the appropriate:
(1) amount of compensation for service-connected disability payable to veterans for each assigned rating of disability; and
(2) amounts and duration of transition payments and rehabilitation transition allowances payable to veterans participating in a rehabilitation program. Requires the Secretary to conduct a study on measures to assist and encourage veterans in the completion of their vocational rehabilitation plans. Directs the Secretary to submit to Congress a proposal on the purposes and amounts of veterans' disability compensation and veterans' transition benefits. Provides for congressional consideration (by way of a joint resolution) of such proposal. Makes the effective date of implementation of the enhanced VA disability compensation system the date on which the authority of Congress to disapprove the Secretary's proposal expires, as long as Congress does not disapprove the proposal before such date. Revises the current VA schedule of disability ratings to take into account losses of earning capacity and quality of life as a result of the disability. Provides revised compensation and transition payments in connection with service-connected disabilities. Allows a retired veteran entitled to compensation for a service-connected disability to elect to provide a monthly supplemental survivor benefit to the veteran's surviving spouse and/or children. Authorizes such election by veterans:
(1) at the time of award of the disability compensation;
(2) not married at the time of award of the compensation who later marry; and
(3) married at the time of award of the compensation who later remarry. Allows a veteran to revoke the election of a benefit to a surviving spouse. Provides for the receipt of such benefit on the first day of the first month after the veteran dies. Requires the:
(1) reduction of disability compensation due to the election of the supplemental survivor benefit; and
(2) offset of the supplemental survivor benefit by the amount of dependency and indemnity compensation received.
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-h5509/show

America's Wounded Warriors Act
A bill to amend titles 10 and 38, United States Code, to improve and enhance procedures for the retirement of members of the Armed Forces for disability and to improve and enhance authorities for the rating and compensation of service-connected disabilities in veterans, and for other purposes.
previous 110th session of congress
Other Bill Titles (2 more)
Hide Other Bill Titles
Short: America's Wounded Warriors Act as introduced.
Official: A bill to amend titles 10 and 38, United States Code, to improve and enhance procedures for the retirement of members of the Armed Forces for disability and to improve and enhance authorities for the rating and compensation of service-connected disabilities in veterans, and for other purposes. as introduced.
2/28/2008--Introduced.
America's Wounded Warriors Act - Amends federal armed forces provisions to add new provisions concerning the retirement for disability of members of the Armed Forces (members) following the implementation of an enhanced Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability compensation system (implemented under this Act). Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to continue after discharge or separation from active duty respite care and aid and other extended care benefits for members who incur a serious injury or illness while serving on such duty. Directs the Secretary of Defense to conduct a study to determine the number of retired members who will be eligible for medical and dental care following implementation of the enhanced VA disability compensation system. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Secretary) to conduct a study to determine the appropriate:
(1) amount of compensation for service-connected disability payable to veterans for each assigned rating of disability; and
(2) amounts and duration of transition payments and rehabilitation transition allowances payable to veterans participating in a rehabilitation program. Requires the Secretary to conduct a study on measures to assist and encourage veterans in the completion of their vocational rehabilitation plans. Directs the Secretary to submit to Congress a proposal on the purposes and amounts of veterans' disability compensation and veterans' transition benefits. Provides for congressional consideration (by way of a joint resolution) of such proposal. Makes the effective date of implementation of the enhanced VA disability compensation system the date on which the authority of Congress to disapprove the Secretary's proposal expires, as long as Congress does not disapprove the proposal before such date. Revises the current VA schedule of disability ratings to take into account losses of earning capacity and quality of life as a result of the disability. Provides revised compensation and transition payments in connection with service-connected disabilities. Allows a retired veteran entitled to compensation for a service-connected disability to elect to provide a monthly supplemental survivor benefit to the veteran's surviving spouse and/or children. Authorizes such election by veterans:
(1) at the time of award of the disability compensation;
(2) not married at the time of award of the compensation who later marry; and
(3) married at the time of award of the compensation who later remarry. Allows a veteran to revoke the election of a benefit to a surviving spouse. Provides for the receipt of such benefit on the first day of the first month after the veteran dies. Requires the:
(1) reduction of disability compensation due to the election of the supplemental survivor benefit; and
(2) offset of the supplemental survivor benefit by the amount of dependency and indemnity compensation received.
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-s2674/show

Larry Scott over at VA Watchdog was mentioned on this piece because he took aim at anything attached to Dr. Sally Satel. She is also a favorite target of mine. Satel is one of the PTSD deniers that likes to blame the veteran, call them slackers and accuse them of sucking off the system. Yep, that type.

92 veterans will be part of the 116th session of Congress

The number of vets in Congress appears headed down again

Military Times
By: Leo Shane III
November 7, 2018

WASHINGTON — After Tuesday’s midterm contests, the number of female veterans and younger veterans in Congress are rising but the overall number of veterans in Congress remains on a steady decline.

Navy veteran Mikie Sherrill greets voters during a candidate forum in New Jersey on Oct. 9, 2018. Sherrill is one of 17 new veteran candidates to win a congressional seat in Tuesday's midterm elections. (Mary Altaffer/AP)

In a contentious election which saw Democrats take over the House and Republicans add to their majority in the Senate, 77 veterans won elections across the country. Combined with 15 incumbent veterans in the Senate who did not face election, that guarantees at least 92 veterans will be part of the 116th session of Congress in January.

As of Wednesday morning, 10 races involving veteran candidates were still undecided. If all of those veterans were to win — an unlikely scenario, given the unofficial results at press time — that would still only match the 102 veterans who were in office at the start of the 115th session.

Still, Veterans Campaign Executive Director Seth Lynn said he sees plenty of positives in Tuesday’s midterm results for veteran candidates.

“We saw an uptick in the number of non-incumbent veterans who got major party nominations this cycle,” he said. “We had an uptick in the number of women veterans. And we have a huge cohort of incoming veterans now.

“We’re seeing more of the younger veterans taking their place in Congress.”

Of the 77 election-night winners, 17 of them are new candidates. Lynn said that’s the biggest class of freshman veteran lawmakers since 2010.

Almost half of the veterans in Congress in January will be individuals who served after Sept. 11, 2001. Of the 92, 25 are Democrats and 67 are Republicans.
read more here

Veterans ended at the bottom of the despair valley when truth was ignored

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 22, 2014

Tampa Bay Times John Romano, Times Columnist wrote Why aren't we doing everything possible to help anguished veterans?

There were 475 suicides among active service members last year. That was triple the number of soldiers lost in combat. Also, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, active military suicides in 2012 were almost twice as high as the general population rate.

The numbers are even more frightening for retired military members. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates 22 veterans kill themselves daily. In other words, a veteran commits suicide nearly every hour of every day.

In the face of those numbers, it seems obvious that we need to do all we can to provide help and services for our military community.

Here are a few more facts. Most states say the number of veterans committing suicide are double the general population however, veterans are only 7% of the US population. The VA says the largest group committing suicide are 50 and over.

The article was yet one more reporter jumping on the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention Bill being blocked by Senator Tom Coburn. While I don't agree with him on most things, and only partially on the reason he blocked the bill, it should not be approved. Most of the ones congress has done have failed to produce positive results. The troops and our veterans deserved better.

The old line about "If you stand for nothing, you'll fall for anything" came to reality because well meaning reporters decided they wouldn't stand for much at all leading the public to jump off the same cliff while veterans ended at the bottom of the despair valley.

CBS 60 Minutes had an interview with Coburn about leaving the senate and talked about the way American feel about members. "Americans like witches, the IRS and even hemorrhoids better than Congress" with only 7% approval rating. Part of the reason veterans don't approve of what Congress has been doing is due to what they live with everyday, year after year.

While most reporters tell them what Congress, the VA and the DOD are doing, the reality

Coburn was also interviewed about holding the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention Bill. 13 Veterans groups came out against Coburn and so did most reporters but the reason doesn't seem clear to the rest of us.

In our lives, we've seen decades of other bills, countless hearings covered by CSPAN in their boring entirety and then we waited to see what each one produced until our minds got numb. We wanted to know when someone, somewhere, would stop playing games and start supporting the truth. How can anyone say they support the troops/veterans without supporting the truth?

The truth is suicides went up, more and more troops succeeded at committing suicide and far more tried multiple times even after everything was "being done" to prevent them. The truth says no matter how many Bills members of Congress got their names attached to, we went to more funerals.

For every active duty servicemember and veteran counted, there is a family in mourning wondering what they could have done differently. That anguish led to action and they got the ear of some member of Congress. Everyone wanted to do something to make a difference but no one wanted to take responsibility when that "something" they did made it worse.

We paid attention to the reports of veterans being turned down for claims in the 80's and 90's as much as we did after troops were sent to Afghanistan and Iraq. We paid attention to the fact that as these troops were sent to fight two wars under the War on Terror, the DOD didn't have enough medical personnel and the VA had less doctors, nurses and claims processors than they had during the Gulf War.

When reports surfaced about the lack of care veterans were getting from the VA, we pretty much scratched our heads since none of it was news to us. We've actually seen worse but we stopped hoping for better because of what Congress was doing and reporters ignored. They ignored history.

The veterans community paid attention all along and few support these bills because while the names have changed, the stories remained the same. How many more families have to go to Washington with hope of making a difference before other folks figure out until they start to do differently, nothing will really change?

"VA Has Lost Trust of Veterans, American People" and so has Congress

Reporters seem to think that veterans blame the VA but the truth is, most veterans blame Congress. After all, it is the job of our politicians to take care of all veterans and make sure they are getting what they need. When a veteran is having trouble getting a claim approved or is not getting the care they need from the VA, they call their Senators and Representatives offices. No member of congress can pretend to be shocked by anything that went on.

Then there is the issue of decades of promises from congress to fix the problems veterans face. Veterans know none of this is new and the blame falls on congress but reporters don't seem to understand that.

Acting Secretary: VA Has Lost Trust of Veterans, American People
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
By MATTHEW DALY
Published: Wednesday, July 16, 2014

WASHINGTON
The Department of Veterans Affairs has lost the trust of veterans and the American people as a result of widespread treatment delays for people seeking health care and falsified records to cover up those delays, the agency's top official said Wednesday.

Acting VA Secretary Sloan Gibson said the VA has created an environment where workers are afraid to raise concerns or offer suggestions for fear of retaliation and has failed to hold employees accountable for wrongdoing or negligence.

The agency also has devoted too many resources to meeting performance metrics — such as prompt scheduling of patient appointments — that were subject to manipulation and may not accurately reflect quality of care, Gibson said.

"As a consequence of all these failures, the trust that is the foundation of all we do — the trust of the veterans we serve and the trust of the American people and their elected representatives —has eroded," Gibson told the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.

Illustrating the depths of the agency's woes, the VA's Office of Inspector General said Wednesday it is investigating possible wrongdoing at 87 VA medical facilities nationwide, up from 69 last month.
read more here

Reporters cover whistleblowers but no one in congress has blown the whistle on themselves. Reporters cover wasted funds but no one has been interested on what congress has wasted for decades funding programs that don't work. When the rate of military and veterans suicides go up, veterans getting arrested, ending up homeless and jobless after so much has been done to address the problems they face, someone is making money off their suffering and frankly, veterans want accountability. They are tired of headlines being repeated over and over again when nothing gets fixed.

They lost trust a long time ago but no matter how much they have suffered for their service, they would do it all over again.

Where does Senator Gordon Smith really stand with Veterans

Vets back Smith on military health care, Rassmann says Smith voted with Bush Administration
By Britten Chase
Category: US Senate
Fifty-three Oregon veterans released a joint statement Tuesday defending U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith’s (R-Pendleton) record of voting to improve health care for injured troops.

“Gordon works for us, he works for Oregon. We served our country and we know Gordon Smith now serves us,”said John Leonard, United States Army Retired, one of the veterans who signed onto the statement. “We trust his judgment, his commitment to bipartisan solutions, and we’re proud to have him serve as Oregon’s senator.”

The Smith campaign brought the veterans together to respond to an ad it says falsely attacked Smith for cutting health benefits for veterans. The Smith campaign said that during his career, Smith voted for $276 billion in funding for the Veterans Health Administration, and that overall funding for the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs increased by 125 percent since Smith took office in 1997.

But Jim Rassmann, the vet most famous for crediting former presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) with saving his life, said that any increases the V.A. saw under Smith's watch had nothing to do with Oregon's incumbent senator.

"If Gordon Smith is telling me he's voting for all this funding, I would take that information with my tongue firmly in cheek," Rassmann said over the phone as he was driving from Eugene to Florence.

According to Disabled American Veterans, Smith supported 11 bills and cast votes against 20 bills that would have helped vets. Rassmann attributed Smith's attempts to validate his record on veterans health benefits as an election-year ploy.
click post title for more

From Vote Smart
10/05/2005
Health Care for Veterans Amendment
HR 2863
N
Motion Failed - Senate(48 - 51)


The record from Washington Post
Roles in Congress
· 110th Congress: Senator, Oregon, Republican. Jan. 4, 2007, to Jan. 3, 2011.
· 109th Congress: Senator, Oregon, Republican. Jan. 3, 2005, to Jan. 3, 2007.
· 108th Congress: Senator, Oregon, Republican. Jan. 3, 2003, to Jan. 3, 2005.
· 107th Congress: Senator, Oregon, Republican. Jan. 3, 2001, to Jan. 3, 2003.
· 106th Congress: Senator, Oregon, Republican. Jan. 3, 1999, to Jan. 3, 2001.
· 105th Congress: Senator, Oregon, Republican. Jan. 3, 1997, to Jan. 3, 1999.



As for American suffering in this financial mess:

3/10/05
Vote 44: S 256: Made it harder for people to erase debt by declaring bankruptcy.
Smith Yes
GOP Yes
Democrats No

2/10/05
Vote 9: S 5: Sought to curtail the ability of plaintiffs to file class-action lawsuits against corporations by making cases that were filed in multiple states the responsibility of federal courts.
Smith Yes
GOP Yes
Democrats No

Healing the wounds of war should have begun with congress

This makes my blood boil. Knowing that Congress is responsible for most of this still going on, spending billions a year on "addressing" PTSD, TBI and military suicides, you'd think they would stop pretending they cared enough to fix anything.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller / Healing the wounds of war
A veteran and his family illustrate the failures of the system
Pittsburg Post Gazette
June 14, 2013

Imagine you're the mom of three young boys with special needs. You are deeply proud of your husband, a combat veteran who served five tours of duty and earned two combat action badges. But you and your family struggle every single day with the invisible wounds of war.

Tracy White stands firmly by her husband's side. She is with him when his unimaginable combat experiences -- like taking his friend's photograph at the moment he was killed by an IED -- manifest in frightening ways. She is working with every fiber of her being to support their family, including holding down a part-time job so she can also be there for their sons.

She is her husband's biggest champion while he navigates an unfairly complex system to get the care and benefits he earned.

The Whites have no health coverage. When Jerry sought therapy through the Department of Veterans Affairs, a counselor told Tracy she should sleep in another room and call the police for protection. He was told he didn't fit into a certain stereotype of someone with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

So as he awaits a decision from the VA about his disability benefits, he remains isolated in his home. He says he feels like a prisoner.
read more here

While this may seem heartbreaking, it is more politics as usual. This is my comment

Playing politics by not setting the record straight? Five years of free care from the VA and an evaluations from the DOD and the VA. If these steps are not working, it has been up to congress to fix them. This doesn't solve the financial stress but it is caring for PTSD veterans. Telling a wife to not sleep in the same room is the advice I give case by case depending on the level of PTSD and the situation. What about the actions of congress over all these years? Suicides up yet the Congress funds 900 suicide prevention programs. Address that. Address how we are still at a point after all these years this is all still going on. Hold people, including members of congress accountable and then you may really help the veterans heal from where Congress sent them.

Number of veterans in Congress likely to drop

They know how to get things done, how to work together but above that, they know what it is like to put their lives on the line and not put themselves always first. We need them in congress no matter what political side they are on because when it comes to veterans, they are always on America's side. Isn't that what really should matter in the long run? We cannot assume all veterans care about other veterans. Look at John McCain and his voting record. He votes against veterans most of the time but too many others, on both sides, deeply care about this country and those who serve more than political agenda.

Number of veterans in Congress likely to drop
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Oct 28, 2010 18:55:01 EDT
The number of veterans serving in Congress is likely to drop as a result of Tuesday’s elections, according to the executive director of a nonpartisan group that teaches veterans how to run for political office.

Seth McCormick Lynn, executive director of the Veterans’ Campaign, said Thursday that the number of veterans in the Senate — now 26 — might increase as a result of the election. But in the House of Representatives, the number of veterans is certain to decline from the current 95.

Of the total, 61 are Democrats — including two delegates — and 60 are Republicans.

A drop in the number of veterans in Congress would be significant, Lynn said. “The lack of military experience in Congress has implications far beyond foreign policy and national defense,” he said.

“Veterans share a common bond that transcends party affiliation. Fewer veterans mean increasing polarization and partisanship.”
read more here
Number of veterans in Congress likely to drop