Archive for May, 2007
May 31, 2007 By You Served Editorial Staff
Posted in Veteran Benefits
The United States Senate recently held hearings on pending benefits legislation. During these hearings on May 9th Daniel Akaka (D-HI), the Committee on Veteran Affairs chairman, made the opening statement in which he proposed a number of positive changes for veterans benefits.
The first of which was S. 423, better known as the Veterans’ Compensation Cost of Living Adjustment of 2007. This bill that Senator Akaka introduced with Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) will increase the rates and benefits for veterans with service related disabilities as well as the survivors of veterans with certain disabilities. The bill will affect over three million veterans who depend on these benefits to provide for themselves and their families. Without adjusting veterans’ benefits for cost of living increases they will quickly become irrelevant.
Akaka also summarized four other bills he had recently introduced with other members of his committee. The Blinded Veterans Paired Organs Act would change the requirements for specific benefits that would help veterans with service related blindness. Two of the introduced bills pertained to Veterans Insurance and increasing the maximum total supplemental life insurance available to veterans and raising the cap on the Veterans’ Mortgage Life Insurance. His final bill would make numerous small changes to sweeten benefits for veterans in adjustment with cost of living increases.
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May 30, 2007 By You Served Editorial Staff
Posted in News
A new bill recently introduced by a pair of Democratic legislators would boost home loan benefits for veterans.
Called the 21st Century GI Bill of Rights Act of 2007, the proposed legislation would revamp the GI Bill in the face of rapidly rising education and living costs. The measure is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy of Pennsylvania and U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York. The bill’s precursor, the GI Bill, was created at the height of the Second World War to provide a financial foothold for soldiers returning from service.
The wide-ranging bill boasts a variety of changes for service personnel, including the creation of a micro-loan program that would provide low-interest loans for start-up businesses and the elimination of a $1,200 buy-in to enroll in the current program for college funding.
For homeowners, though, the news is even better. Changes in the VA home loans plan would boost the loan limit from $417,000 to $625,000 and eliminate fees for obtaining the loan.
VA home loans can make the difference between a lifetime of renting and the joys of homeownership for servicemen and women, especially those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
To learn more about VA loans and what these changes could mean for you, start with our Loan Library and Expert sections here at VAMC.
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May 29, 2007 By You Served Editorial Staff
Posted in Veteran Benefits
Story 1 – http://www.bluejersey.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=4790
An Expatriated Texan over at BlueJersey.com has an interesting post about the disintegration of benefits for Veterans. He tells the story of a retired Marine who spent 32 years in the service but is unable to convince the VA to help with his back problems.
He goes on to blame President Bush for the erosion of benefits for Veterans saying that Bush sees Veterans as dead weight. They are unable to continue serving the country but are a constant cost for taxpayers. As more and more soldiers are coming home from Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan intending to depend on the services of the VA something must be done to ensure the promised services are available to the men and women defending this country.
Steve Rothman, is taking action on this issue and is fighting to reverse a Bush Administration decision denying honorable veterans needed services. Sign BlueJersey.com’s petition to support Rothman and others fight back for veterans rights.
Story 2 – http://www.fremontneb.com/articles/2007/05/17/news/news2.txt
Angie Newbold-Steffen is a mother in Omaha whose son was a Marine during the Persian Gulf War in 1990-91. In 1992 Todd Newbold was honorably discharged, but in 1996 he became ill. Initial test showed lesions on his brain and after six months of struggling to even get additional tests done his physicians at a VA hospital in Omaha suspected Todd had multiple sclerosis.
There was no treatment or follow-up, but fortunately, his body healed itself and he was able to function again. However, in 2004 his symptoms returned again, and in 2006 he was finally diagnosed with MS. This was 15 years after he was discharged from the Marines.
Unfortunately, the current law states that a Veteran must be diagnosed with MS within 7 years of discharge to receive service-connected status, so Todd is unable to receive benefits that will provide him the care he needs. His mother is lobbying the VA to change the limitations on discovering diseases that could potentially be service related. Senator Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington, is reintroducing her proposal from 2005 that would extend the seven year window indefinitely.
Murray is receiving lots of support for her bill from veteran groups such as, MS Vets, Veteran of Foreign Wars, the Disabled American Veterans, the American Legion and the National Gulf War Resource Center as well as Newbold-Steffen herself.
Story 3 – http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2007/05/military_vetsbenefits_hamsterwheel_070522w/
Representative John Hall (D – NY) is the chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs disability assistance and memorial affairs subcommittee and is back in the news after hearing pleas from veterans to get their benefits claims through a never ending cycle of appeals. “This is not the desired result,” Hall said, referring to the bouncing of claims between the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, and a federal court.
One single error in a claim can bounce a case back to one of the lower courts without looking at any other issues in the case. This extends the appeals process for years and many die while waiting for their appeal to be resolved. Under pressure from Congress, some retired judges were recalled and asked to handle some cases. Another change in procedure that could help speed the process along would be to decide all issues covering a case, but this would require a change in the federal law.
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May 24, 2007 By You Served Editorial Staff
Posted in Military News
There is a serious problem that is being overlooked concerning the health and welfare of United States veterans. 5,000 veterans commit suicide every year and over 50,000 have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Unfortunately, the Department of Veteran Affairs is severely understaffed and typically unable to help these young men and women desperately in need of psychological help. VA officials are painfully aware of this situation but are unable to remedy it.
Congressman Jim Moran, a Democrat from Northern Virginia, recently introduced legislation to create a suicide prevention line for veterans. Hopefully the resolution will pass, creating a 24-hour national toll-free hotline staffed by trained professionals to help members of the Armed Forces who return from war with one of the many disorders commonly afflicting veterans.
Veteran suicides actually account for almost one in five of every suicide attempt in the entire country. Reports are saying that over 20 percent of soldiers currently coming home from Iraq have experienced some of the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and are an elevated risk of suicide.
An internal report from the VA makes a number of recommendations for helping these at-risk veterans such as a more qualified staff, extra mental-health screening, as well as tracking patients more accurately by storing listing suicidal patients in a database accessible to all VA clinics and hospitals. Another finding of the report is that too many veterans are being turned away from treatment because patients are required to demonstrate “sustained sobriety” before they receive any type of treatment.
The report, citing a lack of funding to help suicidal veterans, was released days after VA secretary, Jim Nicholson, reported he and other officials received almost $4 million in bonuses last year.
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May 21, 2007 By You Served Editorial Staff
Posted in News, Veteran Benefits
A House of Representative committee was recently told by Jim Nicholson, Department of Veterans Affairs secretary, that he intends to work hard to turn around the poor progress the VA medical system has experienced recently. He and other officials at the VA received almost $4 million in bonuses from last year.
Rep. John Hall (D – NY) wondered how the VA can justify the bonuses when the average delay for a veteran was 177 days and there is over 600,000 disability cases backlogged. This comes in a time of war, when more and more soldiers are coming home with serious injuries and soon become wards of the VA.
The highest individual bonuses were $30,000 and are now automatic, instead of performance related, which was the original intention. Luckily, Rep. Hall is trying to freeze bonuses this year until the VA’s backlog is reduced 500,000 or more. Democrats in the Senate are furiously considering whether or not to hold hearings on the issue. On average VA officials are making more in bonuses than any other sector of government making the VA “the most lucrative in government.”
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May 18, 2007 By You Served Editorial Staff
Posted in News
State wildlife officials were summoned to a VA Hospital in Tennessee this morning to trap a live black bear who had been sleeping on the grounds for the past day. Apparently no one had noticed the roughly 250 pound animal sleeping in a tree throughout yesterday.
An ironic turn of events in the wake of all the negative press given VA hospitals and their lack of resources lately. The big fella was baited with doughnuts and sardines (a tasty combination!) before being removed from the premises.
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By Dipps (VA Mortgage Center)
Posted in Blogroll
Sgt Stryker profiles Any Soldier, Inc., a company that sends letters and care packages to service members who aren’t receiving much mail. You Served did a similar spotlight on Any Soldier a few months back.
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By Dipps (VA Mortgage Center)
Posted in Blogroll
A Soldier’s Mind highlights an Army program called Strong Bonds. The program “is a unit-based chaplain-led program that helps Soldiers and their families build stronger relationships.”
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May 17, 2007 By Dipps (VA Mortgage Center)
Posted in Blogroll
Duty in the Desert mentions U.S. Air Force TSgt Jeremy Lock as winner of the Military Photographer of the Year for 2006. There is a photo of Jeremy’s plus a link to a gallery of award-winning photos.
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