All states do not treat this nation's veterans the same

All states do not treat this nation's veterans the same.
by Chaplain Kathie
Wounded Times Blog
July 17, 2012

How well a veteran is cared for after they served this one nation should never be left up to the judgment of the governors year to year. Texas has problems with claims and taking care of their veterans and so does Florida. Too many states are not living up to the debt they owe veterans but the majority of the citizens remain silent on what is being done to them instead of demanding what needs to be done for veterans.

The American public in general should take a dim view on any politician treating veterans like this.

Politicians keep talking about the deficit but never seem able to understand this is a bill the country owes veterans. Some even dare to consider the VA as a "welfare" program.

Backlog of benefits claims for Texas veterans has doubled in two years
By Jeremy Schwartz
July 16, 2012

TEMPLE — Pending benefits claims for Texas veterans have doubled in two years, the most visible indicator of what state officials on Monday described as a mounting crisis at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

"It's a monumental problem," James Richman, the director of claims representation and counseling for the Texas Veterans Commission, told a Texas Senate committee reviewing the state's massive backlog. "It's an implosion, a perfect storm."

According to the VA, pending claims in Texas have mushroomed from just more than 46,000 in July 2010 to nearly 90,000 this month. More than 76 percent of pending claims in Texas have been sitting for more than 125 days, significantly more than the national average of 66 percent.

State officials painted a picture of a bureaucracy overwhelmed by an influx of aging World War II veterans, Vietnam-era service member claims based on exposure to Agent Orange, and Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, who are filing disability claims at rates higher than their predecessors. The hearing Monday, held at the William R. Courtney Texas State Veterans Home in Temple, was a chance for legislators to gather information ahead of next year's legislative session, when officials probably will ask for more money to hire additional claims counselors.
read more here

Every state is different. This is an example of it. A study was done after Chicago Sun Times did an article on the issue in 2004. This is the result of the investigation. Review of State Variances in VA Disability Compensation Payments

Veterans Affairs Regional Office List is where you can find information on your own state.

STEP 3 – Learn about VA Services and Benefits
VA provides health care and other benefits to OEF/OIF veterans returning from the armed services.

Here are some of the benefits VA provides:
Access this Web site for more information on specific VA benefits available: http://www.oefoif. va.gov.

• Five Years of Enhanced Health Care. Your service member/veteran is eligible to receive enhanced VA health care benefits for five years following his or her military separation date. Whether or not your family member chooses to use VA health care after separation, he or she must enroll with VA within five years to get health care benefits later on.

• Dental Benefits. He or she may be eligible for one-time dental care but must apply for a dental exam within 180 days of his or her separation date.

• OEF/OIF Program. Every VA Medical Center has a team standing ready to welcome OIF/OEF service members and help coordinate their care. Check the home page of your local VA Medical Center.

• Primary Health Care for Veterans. VA provides general and specialized health care services to meet the unique needs of veterans returning from combat deployments.

• Non-Health Benefits. Other benefits available from the Veterans Benefits Administration may include: financial benefits, home loans, vocational rehabilitation, education, and more. Access http://www.vba.va.gov/VBA for information on these benefits.

• Benefits for Family Members. VA offers limited medical benefits for family members of eligible veterans. These include the following programs: Civilian Health and Medical Program of VA (CHAMPVA), caregiver support groups, counseling, and bereavement counseling.

Potential Co-Payments

Some veterans must make small co-payments for medical supplies and VA health care. Combat veterans are exempt from co-payments for the care of any condition potentially related to their service in a theater of combat operations. However, they may be charged co-payments for treatment clearly unrelated to their military experience, as identified by their VA provider.

Conditions not to be considered potentially related to the veteran’s combat service include, but are not limited to:

• care for common colds
• injuries from accidents that happened after discharge from active duty
• disorders that existed before joining the military.

This is a report on the Texas VA budget

Drastic cuts proposed in Texas Veterans Commission budget March 16, 2011
By RICARDO S. SANCHEZ LTG U.S. Army (Retired)

"NEVER LEAVE A FALLEN COMRADE" is part of the ethos embraced by America’s military. This commitment to our fellow warriors is embraced by every young man and woman in uniform and it exemplifies the commitment we make to defend our democratic values. Texas is on the verge of abandoning scores of Veterans if proposed budget cuts are approved.

The Texas Legislature is considering a 20 percent cut in the near $14 million in state funds which the TVC receives to provide veterans services across the state. This cut is, on average, disproportionate to the reductions other state agencies face. If approved, this will drastically reduce the TVC’s ability to provide services. With the proposed drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan over the next two years, our returning veterans will need considerable assistance to ensure they access the benefits they have earned. Now is not the time for Texas to curtail the funding for veterans services.

Every day, the counselors and staff at the Texas Veterans Commission work tirelessly as advocates on behalf of our state’s true heroes to ensure they are not left behind.

The TVC staff — 84 percent of whom are veterans themselves — has made astounding progress in the last year helping Texas Veterans access their benefits. Note the following direct impact of TVC efforts:

H 170,795 benefit cases filed, resulting in over $2 billion in monetary benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to Texas veterans and their families;

H 34,038 jobs found for veterans generating $1.8 billion in wages;

H 67,015 veterans approved for post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits totaling $397 million;

H $9 million in grants, funded mostly from the Veterans Cash lottery ticket, to 38 community and faith-based grantees offering a range of services to Texas veterans and their families.

read more here

Florida Gov. Scott wanted to cut the state VA Budget as well.

Scott Administration Offers Budget Details to House Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee
Legislators from both sides of the aisle have questions and concerns about governor's proposals
By: KEVIN DERBY
Posted: February 9, 2011

A day after Gov. Rick Scott unveiled his budget, the House Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee met to hear how his proposed budget would impact state health facilities in the next two years.

Chaired by Rep. Matt Hudson, R-Naples, the committee listened Tuesday to a presentation from Jane Johnson, a policy coordinator from the Office of Policy and Budget and, while Republicans remained firmly in control of the committee, they did have more than their share of questions about the proposed budget.

Noting that the health and human services appropriations consumed $18.4 billion in FY 2002-03, Johnson pointed out that they were more than $28.5 billion in FY 2010-11. Under Scott’s budget proposal, the costs would increase to $29.17 billion in FY 2011-12 before lowering to $28.01billion in FY 2012-13.

Of the $29.2 billion planned by the Scott administration for health agencies in FY 2011-12, more than $22 billion would go to the Agency for Health Care Administration, almost 76 percent of the entire amount allocated. Department of Children and Families would take 9.5 percent of the total with almost $2.8 billion, just ahead of the Department of Health which would have more than $2.75 billion. Persons with Disabilities would get almost 3 percent with $842 million while Elder Affairs would have 2.4 percent of the total with $690 million. The state Department of Veterans Affairs would end up with $45.5 million, around 16 percent of the total allocated. read more here

VA 'significant and chronic system failures'

This was the headline

Scathing VA review finds 'significant and chronic system failures'
By Richard Simon
Los Angeles Times
Published: June 28, 2014

WASHINGTON—The VA suffers from “significant and chronic systemic failures” that must be addressed by department leadership, according to a White House report delivered to President Barack Obama on Friday, giving urgency to congressional legislation aimed at reducing veterans’ wait times for health care and holding officials more accountable.

Among the problems cited are a “corrosive culture” that has led to personnel problems within the Department of Veterans Affairs, exacerbated by poor management and a history of retaliation toward employees raising issues.

The report is the latest stinging assessment of the VA, which operates 1,700 hospitals and clinics.
read more here

But to us, we know none of this happened overnight. It began with the failure of politicians to prepare for the wounded two wars would create and manage to care for the veterans from past wars still unable to get the care they needed.

Medically unfit forced to fight
43,000 unfit troops sent to war

More than 43,000 U.S. troops listed as medically unfit for combat in the weeks before their scheduled deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan since 2003 were sent anyway, Pentagon records show.

Most of the nondeployable service members are in the Army, which is doing most of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Between 5 percent and 7 percent of all active-duty, National Guard and Reserve soldiers slated for combat were found medically unfit due to health problems each year since 2003, according to statistics provided to USA Today.

That was from USA Today in May of 2008. The following month the UK reported they had 10,000 medically unfit forced to fight.

Nearly 40% of Army suicide victims in 2006 and 2007 took psychotropic drugs like Prozac and Zoloft.
That was what was going on in the DOD but in the VA, it was worse as more needed care.
Why might troops be medicating themselves? Well, consider that repeated deployments to the war zones also contribute to the onset of mental-health problems. Nearly 30% of troops on their third deployment suffer from serious mental-health problems, a top Army psychiatrist told Congress in March. The doctor, said that recent research has shown the current 12 months between combat tours “is insufficient time” for soldiers “to reset” and recover from the stress of a combat tour before heading back to war.

The DOD failed the troops first and then the VA failed them as veterans because members of Congress did not pay attention and failed to do their own jobs.

Snapshot of How VA Budget Shortfall is Hurting Veterans’
Prepared by the Democratic staff of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee
Access to Safe and Timely Care across the Nation

The VA claims that by shifting funds dedicated to replace old equipment and conduct maintenance the department can address its budget shortfall and meet veterans’ demand for timely, high–quality health care. The following snapshots from across the nation reflect the stark reality of the budget shortfall on veterans’ access to safe, high quality care.

The 3 surgical operating rooms at the White River Junction VAMC in Vermont had to be closed on June 27 because the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system was broken and had not been repaired due to the siphoning of maintenance funds to cover the budget shortfall.

The VAMC in San Antonio could not provide a paraplegic veteran with a special machine to help clean a chronic wound because the facility did not have the equipment dollars.

The VAMC in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, closed its Geriatric Evaluation and Management Unit which does extensive case management to help elderly veterans increase their functioning and remain at home.

The Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) needed to meet veterans’ increased demand for care in the North Florida/South Georgia VA Healthcare System have been delayed due to fiscal constraints. The Gainesville facility has made progress in reducing its wait lists, but as of April there were nearly 700 service-connected veterans waiting for more than 30 days for an appointment.

VA Medical Centers in VISN 16, which includes Arkansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Louisiana and part of Texas, have stopped scheduling appointments for many veterans who are eligible for care, pending available resources.

Even though the VA Palo Alto, California, Health Care System has used $3 million in capital funds for operating needs, as of March 1 more than 1,000 new patients had to wait more than 30 days for a primary care appointment. A third of these new patients had to wait more than 3 months. More than 5,000 patients had to wait more than 30 days for a specialty care appointment. Roughly 1,400 had to wait more than 3 months.

The replacement of the fire alarm system at the Loma Linda VAMC in California won’t be done this year because the facility is using most of its capital funds to cover operating expenses.

The White River Junction VAMC in Vermont struggling with a $525,000 shortfall in its prosthetics budget.

Because the FY 2005 budget is inadequate, the facility has not been allowed to hire 3 additional mental health care staff and 3 additional Registered Nurses for the ICU. Nurses in the ICU have been forced to work double shifts, which this Committee has found to be an unsafe patient practice.

Even though the San Diego VAMC expects to exceed its goal in medical care cost collections, it will divert $3.5 million of non-recurring maintenance funds to partially cover operating expenses, and has delayed filling 131 vacant positions for 3 months. The facility has a waiting list for patients of 750 veterans.

Because the Iowa City VAMC had to shift maintenance funds and equipment funds to cover a FY 2004 million shortfall of $3.2 million in medical care expenses in FY 2004, the facility is facing severe infrastructure problems and a larger shortfall of $6.8 million in FY 2005 that puts patient care and safety at risk. The facility wanted to spend $950,000 in non-recurring maintenance funds last year to prevent a mechanical failure of the electrical switcher, which would close the facility, but was required to use those funds to cover a budget shortfall in medical care last year. As a result in FY 2005, the VA must divert $1.5 million of medical care funds to maintain the key electrical switchgear for the hospital.

Recently, a motor failed on a hospital bed, which the VA planned to replace but couldn’t because of the shortfall, causing a fire with the patient on the bed. Fortunately the patient was able to get out of the bed safely, but the facility was forced to expend $700,000 of medical care dollars to replace all the beds, which thanks to the diligence of VA staff lasted 7 years beyond their life expectancy. The facility could not use capital funds to replace the very old beds because the money had already been siphoned off to cover medical care.

To bring the shortfall down to $6.2 million the facility has delayed hiring staff for 4 months. The deliberate short staffing of nurses on the psychiatric ward – as a means to correct the budget shortfall -- has forced the VA to cut the beds available for treatment in half.

As a result of cost cutting measures to make up for the shortfall in FY 2005, the Portland, Oregon, VAMC is delaying all non-emergent surgery by at least six months. For example, veterans in need of knee replacement surgery won’t be treated because of the budget shortfall.

Since FY 2002, the Portland VAMC has had to use its equipment and non-recurring maintenance funds to cover medical care expenses. For FY 2005 the facility needed $13 million for medical and clinical equipment but only received $2 million.

The facility is reducing staff as a cost-cutting measure and is now short at least 150 hospital staff, including nurses, physicians, and social workers. As a result of budget cuts for staffing, the VA has cut the number of medical beds available to care for veterans.

Veterans in need of outpatient psychiatric treatment at the Portland facility are on a waiting list because of the budget shortfall.

The Biloxi, Mississippi, VAMC has diverted maintenance dollars to meet operating expenses for the past two years but the facility will not be able to balance its budget without reducing staffing levels at a time when the Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System has approximately 100 new veterans seeking enrollment each week.

Fifty percent of all the veterans receiving home health care through the San Antonio VAMC will now have to fend for themselves. This cost-cutting measure means that some 250 veterans, including those with spinal cord injuries, will no longer be provided this care.

The VA Connecticut Healthcare System is facing a major budgetary challenge of sending veterans to non-VA facilities for hospitalizations because the VA has a shortage of beds to care for veterans and staff.

Due to the budget shortfall, the VA facility in Bay Pines, Florida, has been forced to put veterans who have a service-connected illness or disability rating of less than 50% on a waiting list for primary care appointments. As of late April, some 7,000 veterans will be waiting longer than 30 days for a primary care appointment.

Can we stop pretending this is new? Unless we do, nothing will ever be fixed for real. They talk about being able to send veterans to outside doctors. That practice was going on in the 90's. When the VA didn't have enough doctors available, they outsourced.

Can All Veterans Enroll in VA Health Care?
Not every veteran is automatically eligible to enroll in VA health care, contrary to numerous claims made concerning “promises” to military personnel and veterans with regard to “free health care for life.”

Eligibility for enrollment in VA health care has evolved over time. Prior to eligibility reform in 1996, all veterans were technically eligible for some care; however, the actual provision of care was based on available resources.

The Veterans’ Health Care Eligibility Reform Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-262) established two eligibility categories and required VHA to manage the provision of hospital care and medical services through an enrollment system based on a system of priorities.6 (See the Appendix for the criteria for the Priority Groups.) P.L. 104-262 authorized the VA to provide all needed hospital care and medical services to veterans with service-connected disabilities; former prisoners of war; veterans exposed to toxic substances and environmental hazards such as Agent Orange; veterans whose attributable income and net worth are not greater than an established “means test”; and veterans of World War I. These veterans are generally known as “higher priority” or “core” veterans. The other category of veterans are those with no service-connected disabilities and with attributable incomes above an established “means test.”

You can read more about this from the link above. I knew about it because in the 90's my husband's claim was tied up for 6 years. He had to have a private doctor evaluate his condition as part of the claims process. They didn't have enough psychiatrists back then either.

Not much has changed and that is the most revolting thing of all.

Villain and Vultures Want Veterans To Pay for Having Served?

POTUS wants to take away something that veterans were promised going back to WWII. Congress wants to pretend they had nothing to do with the mess at the VA, also going back to WWII. With all the crap in the news, it is a good time for a little history lesson. This way, no one can pretend they actually intended to keep their promises to our veterans.

First, if you think Concerned Veterans of America is actually putting veterans first, they aren't.

CVA wants more aggressive cuts to the fiscal 2018 VA budget

WASHINGTON — Like other advocacy groups, Concerned Veterans for America have problems with the president’s proposed Veterans Affairs budget. 
But unlike most of the veterans community, they think it doesn’t cut enough. 
The conservative group, which has ties to prominent Republican donors and several members of President Donald Trump’s administration, is releasing a policy memo this week calling for more belt tightening and increased scrutiny of the president’s $186.5 billion budget proposal, which has already drawn criticism from groups like the American Legion for too many trims. 
“We recommend that Congress aggressively seek out more savings within the VA’s budget, especially in its construction, medical facility operations, personnel, and medical compliance accounts,” the document states.

The cut against older veterans announced right before Memorial Day and all the speeches made about how much our veterans mean.

History lesson on the VA and the growing number of veterans seeking care.

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. When he left in 1947, Bradley reported that the VA had established 13 branch offices and 14 regional offices, and set up 721 contact offices. He noted that 29 new hospitals had been opened

Yes, it all happened before and considering 2 wars were added to the list of other war veterans in the backlog of claims, waiting for care as elected officials were attempting to push privatizing the VA, it makes sense the mess got worse. After all, if they had actually honored their promises to veterans, they'd never be able to get rid of it.

Currently, veterans eligible for the program have a 60 to 100 percent disability rating through the VA and are unable to secure a job because of their service-connected disability. The program allows them to get paid at the highest compensation rate. For 2017, the monthly rate for a 100 percent disabled veteran living alone is $2,915 per month. 

And this "unemployable benefit" goes back!

The benefit was a safety net for veterans who couldn't work because of health problems that began in the military and whose disability ratings, based on a formula combining their conditions, fell shy of 100%.

In 1945, as disabled World War I veterans continued to fall out of the workforce, the VA adopted a regulation ensuring eligibility to veterans of any age. That decision underlies much of the current growth.

More than half the 137,343 veterans approved since 2010 were 65 or older, including 13,684 who were at least 75, according to VA statistics.

The largest share served in the Vietnam era. Many joined the disability system over the last decade as the VA expanded eligibility for PTSD and diabetes, heart disease, prostate cancer and other common conditions on the presumption they were caused by exposure to the herbicide Agent Orange, used to clear jungle vegetation in the war. 

Once in the system, veterans are eligible for the unemployability benefit if their ailments are deemed too severe for them to work and their disability ratings reach a certain threshold, usually 60% or 70% depending on their mix of conditions. 

Pretty much sums up what this is all about. It is about paying to send veterans into private healthcare and treat them like everyone else. You know, the same healthcare they complain about being oh so bad for the rest of us! All these years of them saying how they want to kill "Obamacare" but now it is good enough to send veterans into that mess? Top that off with the fact that now they want our senior veterans to pay for what they do not want and you have a villain and a bunch of vultures!

Claim backlog not new and Congress promised to take care of it...New York Times reported this in 2007,

The agency’s new plan to hire at least 150 new appeals judges to whittle down the backlog, which has soared to 755,000 from 311,000 in 2000, will require $100 million more than the president requested this year and still more in the future. The plan has been delayed by the standoff between Congress and the White House over domestic appropriations.

By the following year, there was this report from Army Times

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. 

And that was followed up by a backlog of claims by GovExec

VBA's pending compensation and claims backlog stood at 816,211 as of January 2008, up 188,781 since 2004, said Kerry Baker, associate legislative director of the Disabled Veterans of America, during a Wednesday hearing of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.
Baker said VBA must have the funds necessary to upgrade its IT infrastructure to handle the backlog and a growing caseload. Anything short of an increase is "a recipe for failure," he added.
Carl Blake, national legislative director for the Paralyzed Veterans of America, said VBA needed $121 million in its fiscal 2009 budget for its information technology. According to VA budget documents, VBA requested an IT budget of $109.6 million for its compensation and benefits programs, down $23.8 million from $133.4 million in 2008. VA requested an overall 2009 IT budget of $2.53 billion in 2009, up from $2.15 billion in fiscal 2008, with the largest portion earmarked for the Veterans Health Administration. 

As foolish as it was to actually trust the press to get any of this right and put it all together so that all veterans knew exactly what Congress thinks of them, now is the time for them to make it up to all of our veterans and families!

Over the weekend, I'll do the same with the suicide numbers. Oh wait, I don't really have to since I already wrote a book about it!

Top Customer Reviews5.0 out of 5 starsAwesome bookByJames G. Youngon May 14, 2013Format: Kindle Edition|Verified PurchaseIf you have not read anything Kathie has written you are at a major disadvantage when discussing PTSD. She has a first hand account of dealing with this herself as the wife of a Nam vet, but then devoting her life to understanding the dilemma and helping others understand it as well. I consider Kathie a highly knowledgable contact with regards to this subject and have consulted her many times.
Kathie truely has the inside pulse in understanding the issues here, the denial of our govenment and the failures of the administrations to come to grips with how best to deal with it. Our govenment is trying to find a series of magic bullets (medications) that some practioners hand out like candy because they have nothing else to give and lack the compassion needed.
Straighforward, if you haven't read this book or spoken to Kathie you are at a major disadvantage. Great Book Kathie, well written and researched, should be made mandatory reading for anyone dealing with or discussing PTSD. ....

Ask a veteran about government health insurance and hear them

Wow, if any of this was new instead of just news, it would really be terrible. What makes it worse is none of this is new. Go back to before Obama and find the backlog of claims over 900,000 and less working for the VA than there were after the Gulf War. It was so bad back then Veterans for Common Sense had to file a lawsuit. Go back to the 90's when Vietnam veterans were standing in line only to be told they couldn't prove the exact moment PTSD hit them. Go back to the 80's when they were just learning what PTSD was. Go back to the 70's when they had to fight to force the VA to take care of them. Go back to when older veterans had to fight.

The truth is for all that has happened for veterans they fought for all of it and for what has not happened, congress never fixed it right. But then again you'd also have to be aware of the fact one state is worse than others when it comes to taking care of veterans and it has nothing to do with Obamacare. It has everything to do with only caring when it just matters to you. Care all the time then things can change.

Ask a veteran about government health insurance: Column
Pete Hegseth
December 21, 2013

The way benefits are handled by the Department of Veterans Affairs can tell us something about government health care.

Charles Skipper is an American hero. A retired member of the United States Army, he served in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968. A battlefield injury cut short his tour of duty — a tour which earned him two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star, and a lifelong battle with post traumatic stress disorder.

But you wouldn't know that he's a hero by the way he's been treated by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Six years after filing a disability claim, he's still waiting for resolution. Those years have been filled with paperwork, unfulfilled promises and a bureaucratic mess that makes Charles fight back tears.

Now he has a warning for America: "If you really want to know what Obamacare is going to be like, just look at the VA system."

His experience is not unique. Too many of America's veterans have suffered at the hands of the VA, where the federal government is both the middleman and the manager of their care. Their experiences thus provide a unique window into Obamacare's future.

That future is bleak. VA's biggest problem is its inability to process disability claims payments. VA has roughly 700,000 pending claims in the system right now. Of that number, some 400,000 have been backlogged for over 125 days. Some, like Charles, have been backlogged for over two years.
read more here

So here are the links to show what was missing.

Ordered to stop helping veterans with claims

NPR Morning Edition, February 7, 2008 · A document from the Department of Veterans Affairs contradicts an assertion made by the Army surgeon general that his office did not tell VA officials to stop helping injured soldiers with their military disability paperwork at a New York Army post.

The paperwork can help determine health care and disability benefits for wounded soldiers.

Last week, NPR first described a meeting last March between an Army team from Washington and VA officials at Fort Drum Army base in upstate New York. NPR reported that Army representatives told the VA not to review the narrative summaries of soldiers' injuries, and that the VA complied with the Army's request.

The day the NPR story aired, Army Surgeon General Eric B. Schoomaker denied parts of the report. Rep. John McHugh (R-NY), who represents the Fort Drum area, told North Country Public Radio, that "The Surgeon General of the Army told me very flatly that it was not the Army that told the VA to stop this help."

Now, NPR has obtained a four-page VA document that contradicts the surgeon general's statement to McHugh. It was written by one of the VA officials at Fort Drum on March 31, the day after the meeting. The document says Col. Becky Baker of the Army Surgeon General's office told the VA to discontinue counseling soldiers on the appropriateness of Defense Department ratings because "there exists a conflict of interest."

VA claim backlog at 816,211 but IT cut back? WTF
Vets' groups urge IT budget boost for benefits processing
By Bob Brewin bbrewin@govexec.com
February 13, 2008

Veterans' services organizations have urged Congress to provide a sharp increase in the information technology budget of the agency that handles their compensation and pension claims.

The fiscal 2009 IT budget request for the Veterans Benefits Administration is about 18 percent less than the fiscal 2008 proposal. The overall IT budget for the Veterans Affairs Department, VBA's parent agency, jumped 18 percent in President Bush's latest request.

VBA's pending compensation and claims backlog stood at 816,211 as of January 2008, up 188,781 since 2004, said Kerry Baker, associate legislative director of the Disabled Veterans of America, during a Wednesday hearing of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.

Baker said VBA must have the funds necessary to upgrade its IT infrastructure to handle the backlog and a growing caseload. Anything short of an increase is "a recipe for failure," he added.

Carl Blake, national legislative director for the Paralyzed Veterans of America, said VBA needed $121 million in its fiscal 2009 budget for its information technology. According to VA budget documents, VBA requested an IT budget of $109.6 million for its compensation and benefits programs, down $23.8 million from $133.4 million in 2008. VA requested an overall 2009 IT budget of $2.53 billion in 2009, up from $2.15 billion in fiscal 2008, with the largest portion earmarked for the Veterans Health Administration.

Veterans Wait 4 Years for VA Claim Appeal
Alabama State Veterans Director Says Veterans Wait 4 Years for VA Claim Appeal
Jane McCardle
Wiregrass Aviator
Apr 24, 2008

April 22, 2008 - Enterprise, AL -- Area veterans took advantage of an opportunity to ask questions about the benefits claims process from a state Veterans Affairs officer during a recent meeting.

Richardo (Rick) F. Randle, director of Alabama Department of Veteran Affairs, was the guest speaker at the April 19 meeting of the Lower Alabama Veterans Alliance Saturday at Ryan’s in Enterprise.

Randle told the filled-to- capacity crowd of LAVA members and guests that staffing is a critical issue with the department, and until more resources become available, staffing will remain a problem.

“We are doing the best we can with the resources available to us,” said Randle.

“Since 2006, the number of claims has grown 15 percent. The amount of time it takes to make decisions on disability claims is two to three year. On an average, it takes four years to get an appeals decision.”

There are more if you want them but I think you now know a lot more than the article told you.

What was hiding in President Obama's 2012 VA Budget?

In 2005 it was a budget of $76 billion with 222,000 full-time employees 5.4 million "patients" but the 2012 request was for 8.3 million veterans.  So how is it that with a budget almost double what it was in 2005 has escaped the reporting done on the "issues" we read about everyday? I didn't find these figures in news reports. I found them from the VA itself. Who knew all this was there all along and didn't tell reporters? At least this is what he requested, but when Congress is the branch writing Bills and funding everything, we see where all this went.

Providing Health Care for Veterans

The Veterans Health Administration is America’s largest integrated health care system with over 1,700 sites of care, serving 8.3 million Veterans each year.

President Obama's VA’s budget request for 2013

“The President’s vision for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is to transform VA into a 21st Century organization that is Veteran-centric, results-driven, and forward-looking. VA has established management systems that ensure accountability, maximize efficiency and effectiveness, and eliminate waste while improving the delivery of high quality and timely benefits and services to Veterans.

VA’s budget request for 2013 provides the resources critical to achieving the President’s vision and will help ensure that Veterans-our clients-receive timely access to the highest quality benefits and services we can provide and which they earned through their sacrifice and service to our Nation. The Department’s resource request for 2013 is $140.3 billion. This includes almost $64 billion in discretionary resources and nearly $76.4 billion in mandatory funding.

Our discretionary budget request represents an increase of $2.7 billion, or nearly 4.5 percent, over the 2012 enacted level.”

Stewardship of Resources

Supports management systems that ensure accountability, maximize efficiency and effectiveness, and eliminate waste while improving the delivery of high quality and timely benefits and services to Veterans.

Medical Care
Secures timely, predictable funding for health care through 2014 with advance appropriations
$1.352 billion (up $333 million) to further VA’s integrated plan to end Veteran homelessness, including $235 million for the Homeless Grants and Per Diem program to aid community organizations
$6.2 billion (up $312 million) to expand inpatient, residential, and outpatient mental health programs
$7.2 billion (up $550 million) to expand institutional and non-institutional long-term care services.
$335 million (up $9 million) is for tele-home health to improve access to care
$403 million (up $60 million) for the needs of women Veterans
$3.3 billion (up $510 million) to meet the needs ofover 610,000 Veterans returning from U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Job Corps
A Presidential initiative of $1 billion over the next five years to establish a conservation program impacting up to 20,000 veterans to protect and rebuild America’s land and resources.
Benefits Claims Processing
$2.164 billion (up $145 million over 2012) to support improved benefits processing through increased staff, improved business processes, and information technology enhancements
Supports the completion of 1.4 million disability compensation and pension claims, a 36% increase over 2011
Provides funding to complete 4 million education claims, a 19% increase over 2011
National Cemetery Administration
$258 million for operations and maintenance to ensure VA’s cemeteries are maintained as national shrines
The budget provides funding to expand access to burial options for rural Veterans.
Information Technology
80% of 2013 IT Budget supports direct delivery of medical care and benefits to Veterans Over $3.3 billion for a reliable and accessible IT infrastructure, a high-performing workforce, and modernized information systems for Veteran services and benefits
$53 million for development and implementation of the Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record (VLER) initiative
$169 million for integrated Electronic Healthcare Record (iEHR), a joint effort with DoD to share health information
$128 million for paperless claims processing system VBMS
Construction
Supports four major medical facility projects already underway.
Entitlement Benefits
$76.3 billion for mandatory benefits, including compensation for Agent Orange presumptive conditions and Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits

Political Shenanigans Target Veterans

Political Shenanigans Target Veterans in Texas and Florida
by Chaplain Kathie
Wounded Times Blog
July 23, 2012

When you hear a politician say they are taking care of your money, hold onto your wallet, because sooner or later they'll be behind your back taking what you have away.

Lately Republicans seem to only be talking about the deficit, which sounds like a good thing to focus on until you actually think about what they're talking about. When they say they don't want to pass the debt onto our kids and grandkids, you should be asking about the last ten years and worry about today because this is all a game. (Democrats do it too but not as much.)

Every state has their own VA Budget but it seems politicians like to forget that part so they can complain about the federal end as they lay off workers, lengthen the line of veterans waiting to get medical care and have their claims processed. Why? So they can go behind our backs, cut the state budget and point their fingers at Washington so we can blame them and re-elect the guys that actually did it just because they pretended to care.

Governor Signs 2011-2012 Veterans’ Affairs Budget
TALLAHASSEE – Gov. Rick Scott signed the 2011-12 state budget during ceremonies in The Villages May 26. The $69.1 billion budget includes more than $88.6 million for the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs (FDVA).
“Florida, with its more than 1.6 million veterans, has earned a reputation as one of the most veteran-friendly states in the nation,” said Steve Murray, FDVA Communications Director. “This was primarily a continuation budget aimed at providing a high level of service for our veterans, their families and survivors.”

Florida and Texas are about equal on how many veterans live in their states. This is what Florida did to them saving money.

$4.6 billion in federal stimulus money stays unspent in Florida
May 23, 2011
By Scott Powers
Orlando Sentinel
More than two years after the controversial federal-stimulus program began, Florida has yet to spend more than $4.6 billion of its stimulus money, even as the state starts seeing new layoffs of teachers and others paid with stimulus money the past two years.

Of $11 billion awarded to Florida for programs that were supposed to generate jobs, federal reports show that, as of March 31, 42 cents of every dollar still was unspent.

This is what Texas did.

In Texas, Republican Governor and Legislators
Slash Help for Veterans
Written by Jeremy Schwatrz Saturday, 26 March 2011
Texas Veterans Commission Faces 20% Budget Cut
State agency helps increasing numbers of veterans obtain needed VA disability benefits.
Austin, Texas
(Austin American-Statesman)

As it braces for an influx of veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Texas Veterans Commission, with help from a variety of veterans groups, is trying to fend off a 20 percent cut to its budget.

Legislators, grappling with a projected $23 billion budget shortfall, are considering reducing the agency's budget by as much as $2.8 million over the next two years, a move that would mean cutting 22 of its 100 claims counselors as well as other administrative positions.

Agency officials say those counselors play vital roles in helping the state's 1.8 million veterans navigate the labyrinthine Department of Veterans Affairs claims system, helping them win disability benefits they might not otherwise be able to get.

This is part of what the VA budget for Texas looks like on paper but you'll never notice the suffering veterans unless you read what has been really happening.

Texas VA Budget
Ensure Veterans, Their Dependents and Survivors Receive All Due Benefits
Ensure Veterans Receive Claims, Employment, and Education Benefits
CLAIMS REPRESENTATION AND COUNSELING
2010 $4,758,062
2011 $4,578,375
2012 $4,682,813
VETERANS EMPLOYMENT SERVICES
2010 $9,349,238
2011 $8,967,666
2012 $8,846,814
VETERANS EDUCATION
2010 $1,061,007
2011 $1,029,761
2012 $1,066,610
VETERANS ASSISTANCE GRANTS
2010 $2,739,832
2011 $11,929,833
2012 $12,623,097
OUTREACH AND MARKETING
2010 $551,732
2011 $488,010
2012 $523,280
Transition Assistance Program
2008 $295,000
2009 $241,394
2010 $218,901
2011 $219,212
2012 $210,079
Local Vets Empl Rep Prog
2008 $6,316,000
2009 $6,272,178
2010 $5,321,832
2011 $4,868,296
2012 $5,290,809

And that all leads to this.

Recent cuts at hospital infuriate VA council
By Zeke MacCormack
July 22, 2012

KERRVILLE — Opponents of service reductions at the Department of Veterans Affairs' facility here say it's a hospital in name only following the most recent cuts dictated by agency officials in San Antonio.

“We have no hospital beds as of July 2. Basically, what we have now is a nursing home and six clinics,” said Walter Schellhase, president of the Hill Country Veterans Council, which was formed two decades ago to safeguard services at the facility.

Besides closing the 20-bed acute care unit at the Kerrville VA Medical Center this month, the urgent care clinic's hours went from around-the-clock to weekdays only and after-hours lab and X-ray services were eliminated, he said.

The changes were sought by Marie Weldon, director of the South Texas Veterans Health Care System, who declined to be interviewed but provided written answers to some questions.

A proposal by Weldon to replace acute care beds with a short-term stay-services unit still was awaiting action last week by Robert A. Petzel, VA undersecretary for health, said William McLemore, spokesman for the VA's Heart of Texas Network, which covers most of the state and oversees the South Texas system.

McLemore said he thought inpatient care services still were available in Kerrville, noting, “You cannot close beds or change that acute care service without the undersecretary's approval.”

But an admissions clerk there Friday corroborated Schellhase's report that the only remaining in-patient care is in the 154-bed nursing home. “We don't have inpatient medical care any more,” the clerk said.

Vesta Cowen, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 2281, also confirmed the acute care unit's closure, saying, “We have stopped admitting acutely ill patients, except to long-term care.”

Her union's members fear that cuts eventually will result in the facility, which treated about 11,000 veterans last year, being shuttered.
Read more

State veterans commission facing 20% budget cut
Agency helps increasing numbers of vets get needed disability benefits.
By Jeremy Schwartz
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Published: 7:08 p.m. Saturday, March 26, 2011

As it braces for an influx of veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Texas Veterans Commission, with help from a variety of veterans groups, is trying to fend off a 20 percent cut to its budget.

Legislators, grappling with a projected

$23 billion budget shortfall, are considering reducing the agency's budget by as much as $2.8 million over the next two years, a move that would mean cutting 22 of its 100 claims counselors as well as other administrative positions.

Last week, the Texas House voted to restore $800,000 to the agency's claims program, which would reduce counselor losses from 22 to about 13, officials said. The House also voted to provide $159,000 for a new women's veterans coordinator position but maintained about $2 million in cuts to claims and other departments. The Senate is set to tackle the agency's budget soon, and agency officials are hoping to persuade senators to restore more than the House did.

read more here

Now that you've read this, you may find this very interesting that this happened.

Perry and the Stimulus: It's Complicated
by Ross Ramsey
August 17, 2011
Gov. Rick Perry speaks at the Iowa State Fair during a campaign stop on Aug. 14, 2011.

As Gov. Rick Perry has launched his presidential campaign, he’s turned to a talking point familiar to anyone who has heard him rail against the federal government over the last two years: the perfidy of the roughly $800 billion stimulus plan orchestrated by the Obama administration in 2009.

“Washington’s insatiable desire to spend our children’s inheritance on failed ‘stimulus’ plans and other misguided economic theories have given us record debt and left us with far too many unemployed,” Perry said in his announcement speech in South Carolina on Saturday.

In his 2010 book, Fed Up! Our Fight to Save America From Washington, Perry wrote this: "We are fed up with bailout after bailout and stimulus plan after stimulus plan, each one of which tosses principle out the window along with taxpayer money."

But the reality of Perry's relationship with fed-stim is complicated. Through the second quarter of this year, Texas has used $17.4 billion in federal stimulus money — including $8 billion of the one-time dollars to fund state expenses that recur over and over. In fact, Texas used the federal stimulus to balance its last two budgets.

It is true, as presidential candidate Perry says, that the state turned down some of the money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 because it had strings attached. Texas didn't apply for education grants that came with conditions, and the governor famously refused $556 million in federal stimulus funds for the state's unemployment insurance program, saying the conditions that came along with the cash would increase the long-term costs of the program.

All states do not treat this nation's veterans the same so how does your state stack up? Here's a list of states with the most veterans. Look up what your state budget has been and then compare them to other states.

In his budget proposal for fiscal year 2009, President George W. Bush requested $38.7 billion - or 86.5% of the total Veterans Affairs budget - for veteran medical care alone.

In the 2011 Costs of War report from Brown University, researchers projected that the cost of caring for veterans of the War on Terror would peak 30–40 years after the end of combat operations. They also predicted that medical and disability costs would ultimately total between $600 billion and $1 trillion for the hundreds of thousands treated by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

States with largest veterans populations
Published: July 17, 2012
LARGEST VETERAN POPULATIONS
1. California: 1,972,000
2. Texas: 1,694,000
3. Florida: 1,651,000
4. Pennsylvania: 964,000
5. New York: 950,000
6. Ohio: 890,000
7. Illinois: 783,000
8. Georgia: 774,000
9. North Carolina: 766,000
10. Michigan: 704,000
Source: U.S. Statistical Abstract, 2010 Census

Filner Releases Views on VA Budget Request

News
Filner Releases Views on VA Budget Request
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 13, 2009

House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner (D-CA) released the following statement upon submitting the Committee’s Views and Estimates letter to the House Budget Committee:

“The Administration’s preliminary budget request for the Department of Veterans Affairs calls for a total budget of $113 billion, a $15 billion increase above 2009 levels. The request includes $52.5 billion in discretionary funding – an increase of $4.9 billion from 2009, or 10.3 percent. The bulk of discretionary spending goes to VA medical care. This budget proposal marks the first time any President has submitted a budget that exceeds the recommendations of the Independent Budget. The budget forecast calls for a $25 billion increase over the next five years. Although we understand these numbers are not binding on future years, and the levels are lower than the amounts that will be needed, we applaud this move toward presenting a more honest and accurate look at our financial picture.

“The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs supports the President’s budget and has recommended an additional $800 million above the Administration proposal. This increase includes $600 million to safeguard veterans’ medical care funding and $200 million to assist the VA as it begins its transformation into an organization more aligned with the needs of veterans. We believe the VA can meet the needs of our veterans with this proposed budget.

“Over the past decade, this Committee has raised a number of issues on behalf of our Nation’s heroes that have not been addressed by the Executive branch. It is refreshing to receive a budget proposal that focuses on the issues of homelessness prevention, increasing education benefits, expanding health care access to more veterans, and cleaning up the claims backlog. Although this budget outline lacks detail and specifics, I look forward to working closely with President Obama and Secretary Shinseki to meet the needs of our veterans, provide for a strong and accountable Department of Veterans Affairs, and ensure uninterrupted benefits and services. We must spend these resources wisely as we work to create a 21st Century organization that serves our veterans. Americans demand this and our veterans deserve nothing less.”

Thank you Congressman Filner and Congresswoman Pelosi for what you did for veterans

There are a lot of people really happy this morning. I can see the people wanting to not pay taxes anymore happy but when I think about the people who will suffer because of this, it makes me heartsick. I only pray the Republicans who voted for the reversal of the leadership in the House will pay attention to what their politicans are doing and not doing for our veterans. You have to hold them accountable!

For now I want to thank Congressman Filner and Congresswoman Pelosi for what their leadership did for the sake of our veterans.

110th "Liberal" House did these for veterans under Congressman Filner and Congresswoman Pelosi. But some voters still wanted to hate the "Dems" in congress no matter what they did that was right, just, long overdue and taking care of the veterans they claim to love.

December 2008
12/17/2008 Filner Discusses Veterans Issues on Dr. Phil Show

12/8/2008 Filner Pleased With Obama Pick of General Shinseki to Run Troubled VA
November 2008
11/20/2008 Filner Re-elected Chair of House Vets Committee

11/19/2008 Filner to VA: Confidence in VA Completely Shattered by Recent Document Shredding

11/18/2008 Herseth Sandlin Continues to Monitor Progress of New G.I. Bill
October 2008
10/14/2008 Filner Victorious in Fight for Expansion of Veterans’ Health Care and Benefits

10/14/2008 Congressman Filner’s Bill Extends Purple Heart to All Deceased Prisoners of War!

10/1/2008 Filner Applauds Enactment of Veterans’ Spending Bill
September 2008
9/24/2008 Filner Leads House in Passage of Comprehensive Bills to Help Veterans Prevent Foreclosure, Access the Health Care They Need and Receive Earned Disability Benefits in a Timely Fashion

9/19/2008 Veterans Benefit Administration in Need of Improved Training, Performance Management and Accountability

9/18/2008 Chairman Filner Introduces Legislation to End Delays and Stop Budget Shortfalls for Veterans Health Care Funding

9/18/2008 House Passes Legislation to Honor Nation’s Veterans

9/16/2008 House Veterans’ Subcommittee Raises Concerns about VA Approach to Implementing New G.I. Bill Benefits

9/16/2008 House Veterans’ Affairs Health Subcommittee Assesses Suicide Prevention Efforts at the VA

9/15/2008 The Veterans’ Affairs Committees of the House and Senate Hold a Joint Hearing for The American Legion to Present Legislative Priorities

9/11/2008 House Passes Bill to Improve VA Home Loan Program and Sends COLA Bill to President’s Desk
July 2008
7/31/2008 House Passes Comprehensive Legislative Package to Improve Veterans Care and Augment Needed Services

7/25/2008 REPRESENTATIVES BRADY AND FILNER CRITICAL OF VA LIMITATIONS ON VOTER REGISTRATION

7/24/2008 Important Veterans Provisions Included in Comprehensive Housing Bill

7/23/2008 Congress Must Act to Restore Earned Benefits to All Vietnam Veterans – Including “Blue Water” Vets!

7/18/2008 Agent Orange Equity Act Press Conference, Wednesday, July 23

7/16/2008 House Veterans Committee Approves Comprehensive Legislative Package to Improve Veterans Care and Augment Needed Services

7/15/2008 Understanding the Journey of War Veterans:

7/15/2008 VA Details New Suicide Awareness Campaign at House Veterans Oversight Hearing

7/10/2008 Subcommittee Approves Legislation to Increase Access for Mental Health Care for Veterans’ Families
7/10/2008 Improvement Needed for Rehab Program at VA

7/9/2008 First – DO NO HARM!!
June 2008
6/30/2008 New G.I. Bill for Nation’s Veterans Becomes Law

6/26/2008 House of Representatives Votes to Name VA Facilities after Heroic Veterans

6/26/2008 Subcommittee Approves Legislation to Help Veterans Readjust After Military Deployments

6/26/2008 Health Subcommittee Reviews Legislation to Provide Mental Health Treatment for Family Members of Veterans

6/24/2008 Beyond the Yellow Ribbon: When the National Guard and Reserves Come Home

6/23/2008 Subcommittee Reviews Bills to Improve Quality of Life for Returning Veterans

6/17/2008 Filner to the VA: Suspend drug study IMMEDIATELY! IT MAY CAUSE SUICIDE!

6/12/2008 Veterans’ Subcommittee Reviews Legislation to Bolster Disability Benefits for Veterans

6/11/2008 House of Representatives Passes Veterans Legislation

6/11/2008 House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Approves Legislation to Establish Epilepsy Centers of Excellence

6/11/2008 Improving Care for America’s Wounded Warriors

6/5/2008 Health Subcommittee Reviews Legislation to Bolster Health Care for Veterans
May 2008
5/23/2008 Filner Releases Statement on VA Blue Ribbon Commissions

5/22/2008 Veterans in Need of Clear and Simple Outreach to Access VA Benefits & Services

5/22/2008 House Veterans’ Affairs Health Subcommittee Hearing: Need for Health Care Providers at VA Continues

5/21/2008 House of Representatives Passes Veterans Legislation

5/8/2008 Chairman Filner Statement on Veterans Provisions in Housing Legislation

5/6/2008 The Truth About Veterans’ Suicides

5/1/2008 Chairman Filner Statement on the G.I. Bill
April 2008
4/16/2008 Economic Opportunity Subcommittee Reviews Legislation to Improve Transition for Returning Service Members and Veterans

4/10/2008 House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee Reviews Historic Legislation to Reform the VA Benefits Claims Processing System

4/9/2008 Our Homeless Heroes: A Moral Disgrace for Our Nation

4/3/2008 House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees Hold Joint Hearing
4/2/2008 House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Holds Oversight Hearing to Address Vision Needs of Veterans with TBI

4/1/2008 House Veterans’ Affairs Health Subcommittee Hearing: More Research Needed on Effective and Comprehensive PTSD Treatment
March 2008
3/13/2008 Chairman Filner Lauds Passage of Budget

3/13/2008 House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Holds Oversight Hearing to Examine Care of Seriously Wounded Veterans

3/13/2008 The U.S. Paralympic Military Program: A Dynamic Rehabilitative Therapy for Our Injured Heroes

3/11/2008 House Veterans’ Affairs Health Subcommittee Examines Treatment of Substance Use Disorders and Associated Mental Health Conditions at the VA

3/6/2008 House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees Hold Joint Hearing

3/4/2008 House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees Hold Joint Hearing

3/4/2008 House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees Hold Joint Hearing
February 2008
2/28/2008 House Veterans’ Affairs Health Subcommittee Explores Expanding Mental Health Services for Families of Veterans

2/28/2008 Will Our Veterans Survive the Housing Crisis?

2/27/2008 House Veterans’ Affairs Health Subcommittee Holds Hearing on VA Construction for 2009

2/26/2008 VA Disability Rating System in Need of Comprehensive and Immediate Repair

2/14/2008 House of Representatives Offers National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans

2/14/2008 “VA’s Claims Processing System is in Need of 21st Century Reform”

2/13/2008 House Veterans’ Affairs Economic Opportunity Subcommittee Reviews Expiring Programs at the VA

2/13/2008 Bush Budget 2009: Misplaced Priorities for America’s Veterans

2/7/2008 Bush Budget 2009: Failing to Respond to the Needs of Our Veterans

2/6/2008 Veterans Group Recognizes Filner as “Legislator of the Year”

2/5/2008 No New Taxes for America’s Veterans!
January 2008
1/29/2008 Veteran Laments VA Claims Process: “We Are Not Alone”

1/29/2008 VA Inspector General: Marion VA Was In Disarray

1/28/2008 New Law Improves VA Health Care for America’s Returning Service Members and Veterans

1/17/2008 House Veterans’ Affairs Economic Opportunity Subcommittee Reviews Legislation to Update the Montgomery G.I. Bill
December 2007
12/19/2007 House of Representatives Passes Legislation to Modernize the VA Medical Center in Atlanta
12/19/2007 Filner Introduces Legislative Package to Help Veterans Survive the Subprime Mortgage Crisis

12/12/2007 Stopping Veteran Suicides: VA Not Reaching the Veterans that Need the Help

12/12/2007 House Veterans’ Affairs Holds Joint Subcommittee Hearing to Examine VA Outpatient Waiting Times

12/11/2007 House of Representatives Passes Veterans Legislation

12/6/2007 Chairman Filner Names Kimberly Ross Staff Director of DAMA Subcommitte

12/6/2007 House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Hosts Presidential Management Fellow

12/5/2007 Congressman Filner Introduces Bill to Provide Paralympics Programs to Disabled Veterans
November 2007
11/16/2007 Our Nation’s Veterans: Stopping Suicides and Ending Homelessness!

11/7/2007 House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Passes the Fair Benefits for Guard and Reserve Act

11/6/2007 House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner (D-CA) released the following statement on the Marion Veterans Affairs Medical Center:

11/5/2007 House of Representatives Passes Legislation Honoring America’s Veterans in Preparation for Veterans Day

11/1/2007 House Veterans’ Affairs Health Subcommittee Holds Hearing on the VA Construction Process
October 2007
10/31/2007 House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Hosts Army Congressional Associate

10/30/2007 Filner Statement on Nomination of James B. Peake

10/25/2007 House Veterans’ Affairs Economic Opportunity Subcommittee Holds Hearing on the Department of Labor VETS Program

10/24/2007 House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee Holds Hearing on the Sharing of Electronic Medical Records between DoD and VA

10/23/2007 House of Representatives Passes Veterans Legislation

10/18/2007 House Veterans’ Affairs Economic Opportunity Subcommittee Holds Hearing on the Montgomery G.I. Bill

10/17/2007 Filner praises Dole/Shalala recommendations – but urges a more radical shake-up of the bureaucracy!

10/17/2007 House Veterans Affairs’ Committee Hearing Examines the Long-Term Costs of the Current Conflicts

10/16/2007 House Veterans’ Affairs Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Hearing Examines Benefits Disparities within the Veterans Benefits Administration

10/10/2007 House Veterans Affairs’ Committee Reviews Findings of the Veterans’ Disability Benefits Commission

10/4/2007 House Veterans’ Affairs Health Subcommittee Holds Hearing on VA Research Programs

10/3/2007 House Veterans Affairs’ Committee Hearing Examines Funding the VA of the Future
September 2007
9/27/2007 House Veterans’ Affairs Health Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Improving Services for Homeless Veterans
9/26/2007 House VA Committee Continues Oversight of VA Information Technology Security

9/25/2007 House Veterans’ Affairs Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Holds Hearing on VA’s Polytrauma Centers

9/25/2007 House Veterans’ Affairs Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Holds Hearing on VA Appeals Process

9/20/2007 The American Legion Presents Legislative Agenda to Joint Hearing of House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees

9/20/2007 House Veterans’ Affairs Economic Opportunity Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Jobs for Returning Veterans

9/19/2007 Shalala and Dole Provide Details on Commission Recommendations to House VA Committee

9/18/2007 VA Secretary Jim Nicholson to Report on Current Issues – and to Say “Goodbye”!

9/6/2007 House Veterans’ Affairs Economic Opportunity Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Jobs for Returning Veterans


July 2007
7/30/2007 House of Representatives Passes Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2007

7/30/2007 House of Representatives Passes Legislation to Address the Immediate Needs of Returning Veterans and Expand Benefits for WWII Merchant Mariners

7/25/2007 “Personality Disorder”: A Deliberate Misdiagnosis To Avoid Veterans’ Health Care Costs!

7/18/2007 House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Holds Symposium on Traumatic Brain Injury

7/17/2007 House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Passes Five Bills

7/17/2007 House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Passes Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2007
June 2007
6/25/2007 House of Representatives Votes to Name Four VA Facilities after Medal of Honor Recipients

6/20/2007 House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Holds Hearing on Health Care Equity for All Veterans

6/18/2007 Chairman Filner Names David M. Tucker Chief Counsel for the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs

6/15/2007 House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Applauds House Passage of Veterans Spending Bill
May 2007
5/23/2007 House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Holds VA Disability Claims Roundtable

5/23/2007 House Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Filner Pleased at House Passage of Bills Honoring America’s Veterans

5/22/2007 Congress Passes Resolution to Recognize the Service of United States Merchant Marine Veterans on National Maritime Day

5/17/2007 House Passes Budget Resolution

5/16/2007 House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Holds Symposium on PTSD

5/3/2007 VA Officials that Miscalculated the Needs of our Veterans Awarded Significant Bonuses
April 2007
4/19/2007 Progress for America’s Veterans


April 2007
4/16/2007 House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Holds Hearing on Past-due “Thank You” to Members of the United States Merchant Marines
March 2007
3/30/2007 VA Treatment Centers Lack Access to Troop Medical Records

3/29/2007 Budget Resolution Passes House

3/28/2007 Wounded Warrior Assistance Act Passes House

3/27/2007 Veterans Groups Join Democrats in Support of Budget Resolution

3/23/2007 Chairman Filner Supports Proposed Budget Increase for Veterans

3/22/2007 House Passes Three Bills to Improve Veterans’ Benefits

3/16/2007 Skelton-Hunter-Snyder-Mchugh-Filner Introduce the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act of 2007

3/15/2007 House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Reports Three Bills

3/6/2007 House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees Hold Joint Hearing

3/2/2007 Filner Statement on Walter Reed Army Medical Center
February 2007
2/27/2007 House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees Hold Joint Hearing

2/15/2007 House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Holds Hearing on Equity for Filipino Veterans

2/13/2007 House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Holds Stakeholders Summit to Identify Legislative Priorities


111th Congress under the same leadership

1/22/2010 Improvements Ahead for Post 9/11-G.I. Bill Claims System

1/21/2010 House Veterans' Affairs Committee Meets with VSO Leaders

12/16/2009 Clear Need for Procurement Reform at VA:

12/7/2009 Herseth Sandlin Leads Discussion on Educational Options for Veterans

12/7/2009 House Committee Examines How Federal Dollars Get to Local Veterans for Health Care

12/7/2009 More than 200 Members of Congress Agree: Agent Orange Veterans Deserve Compensation for Their Sacrifice!!

11/4/2009 House of Representatives Votes to Enhance Veteran Protections: A Congressional “Thank You” for Veterans Day

10/28/2009 House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Advances Bills to Enhance Veteran Protections

10/23/2009 Landmark Legislative Victory for Veterans!

10/22/2009 Chairman Filner Supports Veteran Athletes and Military Paralympic Program

10/22/2009 Landmark Legislative Victory for America’s Veterans!!

10/21/2009 Emergency Stipends Successfully Reach Veteran Students

10/16/2009 Secretary Shinseki Provides Update on the State of the VA to Congressional Panel

10/14/2009 Chairman Bob Filner Releases Statement on Agent Orange Decision

10/14/2009 Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee Advances Bills to Enhance Veteran Protections

10/14/2009 Hall Leads Discussion on Proposed Regulation Change Regarding PTSD Determinations for Veterans

10/8/2009 House Passes Historic Bill to Secure Timely Funding for Veterans’ Health Care

10/2/2009 VA Provides Encouraging Progress Report on Going Green

9/29/2009 Congressional Panel Spotlights Waste, Inappropriate Use of VA Resources

9/25/2009 Most – Not All – Veterans Getting Prescription Drugs They Need

9/25/2009 Congressional Panel Calls on VA to Do More to Honor Sacrifice of America’s Veterans

9/17/2009 House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Holds Roundtable on Veterans’ Treatment Courts

9/15/2009 Filner Applauds VA Decision to Restart National Vietnam Veterans Longitudinal Study

9/14/2009 The American Legion Presents Legislative Agenda to Joint Hearing of House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees

9/14/2009 Herseth Sandlin Urges Stronger Management Oversight of VA Projects


September 2009
9/25/2009 Congressional Panel Calls on VA to Do More to Honor Sacrifice of America’s Veterans

9/17/2009 House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Holds Roundtable on Veterans’ Treatment Courts

9/15/2009 Filner Applauds VA Decision to Restart National Vietnam Veterans Longitudinal Study

9/14/2009 The American Legion Presents Legislative Agenda to Joint Hearing of House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees

9/14/2009 Herseth Sandlin Urges Stronger Management Oversight of VA Projects
August 2009
8/5/2009 Filner Bill Allows Elderly Veterans to Use Their Earned Medicare Dollars for VA Health Care

8/5/2009 California Veterans to Get Full GI Bill Benefit: Agreement between State of California and VA Will Result in Dramatic Increase in Benefits for Yellow Ribbon Program
July 2009
7/31/2009 VA’s Limited Scope of Research Prevents Gulf War Vets From Getting the Benefit of the Doubt

7/31/2009 VA Stumbles in Providing Vocational Rehab to Veterans

7/30/2009 Paralympians Inspire Others to Be Better and Do More

7/30/2009 VA’s Limited Scope of Research Prevents Gulf War Vets From Getting the Benefit of the Doubt

7/27/2009 House Passes Bill to Provide Unprecedented Support to Veteran Caregivers

7/23/2009 Critical Warning Signs Missed at Philly VA Weak Oversight Efforts Fail to Protect Veterans

7/21/2009 State Approving Agencies See Expanded Role Under Post-9/11 G.I. Bill

7/21/2009 Hearing Spotlights Immediate Needs of Nation’s Women Veterans

7/15/2009 Veterans’ Affairs Committee Passes Bill to Provide Training and Support for Veteran Caregivers

7/14/2009 Deadline Looms for VA-DOD Interagency Office on Military Electronic Health Records

7/13/2009 House Votes to Strengthen Work Study Program for Returning Veterans

7/10/2009 House Passes Advance Appropriations for Veterans Health Care in Veterans Funding Bill

7/10/2009 House Approves Filner Amendment to Support Paralympic Program for Injured Vets
June 2009
6/26/2009 VA Set for Start of Post-9/11 GI Bill on August 1

6/25/2009 House Subcommittee Reviews Legislation to Provide Greater Support to Veterans and Survivors

6/24/2009 House Passes Historic Bill to Secure Timely Funding for Veterans’ Health Care

6/24/2009 House Votes to Improve Care for Women Veterans

6/23/2009 House Subcommittee Reviews Claims Process for Veterans
6/19/2009 VA Addresses Failures of Contaminated Equipment Use

6/19/2009 House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health Reviews Legislation

6/12/2009 CARES Process Lacks Transparency, Performance Measures

6/10/2009 Veterans’ Affairs Committee Passes Historic Bill to Secure Timely Funding for Veterans’ Health Care

6/8/2009 House Affirms Commitment to Nation’s Veterans, Men and Women in Uniform

6/8/2009 More Support for Caregivers of Veterans Needed

6/3/2009 Too Many Unmet Needs for America’s Veterans: Losing Veterans to our Streets
May 2009
5/21/2009 House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Holds Roundtable to Address Issues Confronting Women Veterans

5/20/2009 VA Unresponsive to Questions, Needs of Gulf War Veterans

5/20/2009 As VA Reaches Out to Veterans, Health Care Access Issues Magnify

5/19/2009 House Passes Bills to Honor America’s Veterans: A Congressional Thank You for Memorial Day

5/14/2009 House Subcommittee Reviews Appellate Process for Veterans

5/14/2009 House Subcommittee Reviews Appellate Process for Veterans

5/14/2009 Federal Contractors Not Taking Necessary Steps to Employ Veterans, Say Veterans Groups

5/13/2009 Private Sector Groups Present Cutting Edge Technology and Treatment Options for Veterans at Hearing

5/12/2009 House Votes to Thank WWII Service of Merchant Mariners

5/8/2009 Congress Must Act to Restore Earned Benefits to All Vietnam Veterans – Including “Blue Water” Vets!

5/6/2009 Veterans’ Affairs Committee Advances Legislation
April 2009
4/30/2009 Chairman Hall Holds Hearing to Discuss the COMBAT PTSD Act, H.R. 952

4/30/2009 Filner Applauds Passage of Budget Resolution that Increases Veterans’ Funding

4/30/2009 Care Coordination for Seriously Injured Veterans Improving

4/30/2009 Filner Holds Hearing on Advance Appropriations for Veterans’ Health Care

4/6/2009 Chairman Filner Names Martin L. Herbert Majority Staff Director of Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee

4/2/2009 Filner Applauds Passage of House Budget Resolution that Increases Veterans’ Funding
March 2009
3/30/2009 House Subcommittee Reviews Combat PTSD
3/30/2009 House Advances Important Veterans Bills

3/25/2009 Veterans’ Affairs Committee Advances Legislation

3/23/2009 Filner Reintroduces Bill to Help Vietnam Veterans Suffering from Parkinson’s Disease

3/19/2009 Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittees Advance Legislation to Improve Care and Benefits for Veterans

3/19/2009 Health Subcommittee Reviews New and Existing Health Care Programs for Rural Veterans

3/18/2009 VFW Presents Legislative Goals at Joint Hearing of House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees

3/17/2009 Veterans Groups Present Legislative Goals at Joint Hearing of House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees

3/17/2009 Billing Our Heroes: It’s DOA!

3/17/2009 DOD and VA Let Veterans with Eye Injuries Down

3/13/2009 Filner Releases Views on VA Budget Request

3/10/2009 Obama Budget 2010: Responding to the Needs of Our Veterans

3/6/2009 Veterans Groups Present Legislative Goals at Joint Hearing of House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees

3/3/2009 Health Subcommittee Reviews Legislation

3/3/2009 House Subcommittees Probe Mishandling of Veterans Disability Claims
February 2009
2/26/2009 DAV Presents Legislative Agenda at Joint Hearing of House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees

2/26/2009 Filner Honored for Protecting Veterans’ Education Benefits

2/26/2009 Obama Budget 2010: Responding to the Needs of Our Veterans

2/26/2009 New G.I. Bill On Track for August

2/14/2009 Finally, Equity for Filipino WWII Veterans!!

2/14/2009 Filner Pledges to Fight for Budgets Worthy of Our Veterans

2/13/2009 Filner and Akaka Reintroduce Legislation to Secure Timely Funding for Veterans’ Health Care through Advance Appropriations

2/13/2009 Filner Introduces Bill to Ensure Parity for Veterans Taking On-Line Courses

2/11/2009 Congressional Leaders, Veterans Orgs and Former VA Official to Hold Press Conference Supporting Advanced Funding of Veteran's Health Care

2/9/2009 Filner Reintroduces Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act

2/5/2009 “Shinseki Off to Great Start,” says Filner
2/2/2009 Keeping the Promise: A Veterans Agenda for the 111th Congress

2/2/2009 Filner Urges More Veterans Spending in Stimulus Package
January 2009
1/22/2009 House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Adopts Oversight Plan for the 111th Congress and Officially Names Members

1/21/2009 FILNER APPLAUDS CONFIRMATION OF VA SECRETARY SHINSEKI

1/15/2009 FILNER APPALLED BY LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY, LEADERSHIP AT VA

House Veterans Work

It is terrible that we're going to head backwards because no one on the news bothered to tell veterans and their families how much was done for them and who did it. I talk to Republican voters all the time and none of them had a clue. Too bad the media never told them what was going on and who was lying about what.

Congress played shell game with veterans

Members of Congress can play the shell game all they want and hope that we don't notice which cup is in what hand, but they can't change history. They can pretend this is all new to them but they can't change reality. They cannot pretend they had nothing to do with any of this and get away with it. Sooner or later someone notices the ball has been removed and all the cups are empty.
Annual Report to Congress on Combating Terrorism 2001

While it seemed as if the government was focused on defending this nation against terrorists, they were not really focused on taking care of the men and women putting their lives on the line to do it.

Table 1. Historical Budget Authority for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in Current and Constant (FY2011) Dollars, FY1940-FY2012 (dollars in millions)

Just an example, when adjusted for inflation to 2011 values, in 1976 the VA budget was $76,940.2 million. The Vietnam War was over. By 1977 funding started to drop from $69,992.9 million to a low of $51,849.3 million in 1990. In 2004, with two wars producing more disabled veterans, the VA budget was still less than it was in 1977 at $75,827.4 million.

But that wasn't the worst of all. The American Federation of Government Employees issued this statement in a report to the Washington Post.

According to John Gage, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, the VA is calling for a reduction of 540 full-time jobs in the Veterans Benefits Administration, which handles disability, pension and other claims by veterans.

In the same post, there are other comments and claims made.

Dr. Jonathan B. Perlin, acting under secretary of veterans affairs, said the medical staff of the department would be reduced by 3,700 employees under the president's budget. About 194,000 employees now provide medical care.

Representative Steve Buyer, Republican of Indiana, chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, indicated he was open to the ideas. Laura J. Zuckerman, a spokeswoman for Mr. Buyer, said he saw the proposals as a way to "bring balance, fairness and equity into the system."

The president's budget would save $293 million by reducing federal payments for state-run homes that provide veterans with long-term care. It would also save more than $100 million with a one-year hiatus in federal spending for construction and renovation of such homes.

As for "privatizing care" politicians like John Boehner and John McCain have been pushing for, they have been at it for a very long time.

Their answer at a time when the needs of our veterans was growing, was to cut.

The crisis in veterans' healthcare
Honolulu Advisor
By Tom Philpott
March 14, 2005

Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Ind., new chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, says the medical and rehabilitation needs of a new generation of war veterans leave him more certain than ever that Congress erred in 1996 when it opened VA healthcare to any veteran willing to pay modest fees.

"While some veterans organizations like to create a theme, that 'a veteran is a veteran (and) there is no difference,' I disagree," Buyer said.

A decade ago, in the wake of a Persian Gulf War that saw relatively few U.S. casualties, the Department of Veterans Affairs went back to worrying about an aging patient population and underused VA clinics and hospitals, Buyer said.

Those concerns, along with wishful thinking about the VA billing employer-provided insurance plans for the cost of care, led Congress to open VA facilities to veterans neither poor nor disabled.

Time has shown that to be a mistake, Buyer said. Today, the VA has $3 billion in uncollected healthcare debts for services that insurance companies have not paid.

"And we find ourselves now in protracted wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the war on terror all over the world. So the sense from 1996 that we could open up the VA to protect the bricks and mortar because of a declining population of veterans," Buyer said, is replaced by "the reality that we have more veterans now that have to come into the system."

His comments came in an interview for this column days after his committee voted to impose an enrollment fee of $230 to $500 a year on 2.4 million veterans in priority categories 7 and 8, those who are not poor and have no service-connected disability.

• Develop a "seamless transition" process for veterans moving from active duty to VA care. So far, more than 10,000 have been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, and as many as 100,000 could have post-traumatic stress disorder, Buyer said.

They cut more and outsourced more.

AFGE strongly opposes the 15% privatization quota at the VA. It is divorced from the needs of veterans, ties the hands of VA medical directors, and will adversely impact on the quality of veterans’ health care. The quotas prevent the VA from using other tools to make their operations more efficient. The VA has no system in place to the track costs or quality of performance from service contractors. Federal employees, unlike VA contractors, have no rights to appeal bad service contracting decisions to the Court of Federal Claims or the General Accounting Office. The administration’s privatization quotas only subject current government work to contracting out review. No VA contractor’s work will be reviewed for consideration to be performed by VA staff.

And now the ultimate shell game was and still is, ignoring what caused most of the damage to our veterans. Each year the list increased and so did calls from veterans to their members of congress complaining about the lack of care. Each year members of congress were pretending they had nothing to do with any of it as actors on a stage showing their shocked faces as yet one more report surfaced.

Article in Today’s Congressional Quarterly:
CQ TODAY
Nov. 14, 2005 - 10:48 p.m.
American Legion to Chairman: We Will Not Be Talked Down to or Lectured
By Tim Starks, CQ Staff

The tense relationship between House Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Steve Buyer and veterans’ groups is deteriorating rapidly - to the point of nastiness - in the wake of a revamped hearing schedule the Indiana Republican unveiled recently.

The latest row: The American Legion’s national commander, Thomas Bock, fired off an angry response Monday to a Buyer letter about a Nov. 7 summit at which the chairman announced the new schedule.

“You begin your letter by stating in an almost condescending manner that, ‘it is unfortunate that the American Legion chose not to send a representative,’” wrote Bock. “I might say to you that it is unfortunate that your staff chose not to send an invitation to the National Commander of The American Legion.” By the time Buyer’s staff “deigned” to contact the group, Bock said, it was too late.

“I must tell you, sir, to a person, we find your letter and your implications to be insulting and patronizing,” Bock fumed, adding that the group would not be treated as if it were “superfluous.”

Buyer said that while he strongly disagrees with “much of the letter’s accusations and rhetoric,” he still wants to work with it and other groups “for the good of our nation’s veterans.”

There is a very long list of issues covering three years beginning with this,

Timeline on Veterans’ Health Care – 3 Years of Facts
2003

January 2003 Bush Administration cuts off veterans’ health care for 164,000. In January, the Administration cut off VA health care for 164,000 veterans without service-connected disabilities, who make as little as $25,000 a year. Through 2005 this has denied health care to more than 522,000 veterans. [68 Fed. Reg. 2670, 2671, January 17, 2003]

March 2003 Republicans vote to slash veterans’ health care. House Republicans voted in their budget to cut $14 billion from veterans’ health care. The GOP budget also included the President’s proposal to impose a $250 fee for enrollment in VA health care for low and moderate income veterans, along with a doubling of the drug co-payment for those veterans. [H Con. Res 95, Vote #82, 3/21/03]

July 2003 Republicans break promise on veterans’ health care. After agreeing to reduce some of their budget cuts, the House GOP reneged on their promise to increase funding for VA health care and passed an appropriations bill providing $1.8 billion less than their FY 2004 Budget. [H. Res. 338, Vote #450, 7/25/03]

October 2003 Democrats seek an additional $1.3 billion for veterans health care, but Republicans reject it. The Bush Administration opposed and House Republicans rejected a Democratic motion to include $1.3 billion for veterans’ health care in the Iraqi Supplemental. [H.R. 3289, Vote #600,10/31/03]