Honoring our Veterans
Walt's Vets News
Three veteran tales that have recently been making the rounds, two of which fall in the 'SSDD' category; I'll let you decide which two.
Gulf War Illness: Still Not According To The VA
Thanks to Scott Parks of The Dallas Morning Star, The Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and Larry Scott of VA Watch Dog Dot Com, we once again learn what is, unfortunately, still the case.
UT Southwestern
The UT Southwestern Medical Center conference room was brimming with dignitaries on April 21, 2006. U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Dallas billionaire Ross Perot looked on as university administrators and the federal government agreed to spend $75 million to research the causes of Gulf War illness. More than three years later, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has spent only a fraction of the earmarked money, and contract disputes between the VA and UT Southwestern are threatening the entire project run by noted epidemiologist Robert Haley.
A flurry of behind-the-scenes activity this month indicates that plenty of people were worried about the future of Haley's investigation into why so many 1991 Persian Gulf War veterans suffer from chronic fatigue, loss of muscle control, headaches, dizziness, memory loss and joint pain. A critical report issued by the VA's inspector general on July 15 sheds light on years of infighting and conflict between the VA's contract managers and UT Southwestern.
When the VA and UT Southwestern inked the research contract in 2006, the deal was said to be worth $75 million in federal funding $15 million a year for five years. Today, no one is quite sure how much of that $75 million UT Southwestern will see. The main bone of contention was how much medical information and data on human research subjects UT Southwestern is obligated to share with the VA.
Inspector General
The Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reviewed a contract under which the VA is funding UT Southwestern Medical Center's research into the cause of Gulf War illness. Among the office's findings:
-The VA and UT Southwestern have struggled over which entity owns the data generated by research on thousands of Gulf War veterans suffering from various illnesses.
-UT Southwestern tried to prohibit the VA from getting access to some information gathered in the project. Both sides said they were concerned about veterans' privacy.
-VA officials claimed ownership of all equipment that cost $5,000 per item such as laptop computers. Only later did the VA realize that the contract stipulates that the equipment is owned by UT Southwestern.
-In an effort to work more closely together, the VA moved personnel onto the UT Southwestern campus to work with researchers. But the VA provided its people with laptops that didn't have the proper software to do their jobs.
The Gulf War Veterans
Many Gulf War Veterans are ill. Yet unlike Vietnam Veterans the VA does not (yet !?!) recognize the Gulf War Veteran's service in the war has caused them to be ill. According to the VA there is no Gulf War Syndrome, which syndrome would entitle them to recompense.
One Court For All: Except If You're A Vet With Problems
Once again Larry Scott, of VA Watchdog dot Org, has brought to our attention an article (Rick Rogers, San Diego Union-Tribune) that helps us better understand a growing issue. Should there be a 'special' court that deals with veterans with certain problems. As a veterans advocate my initial reaction is it sounds like a good idea. Perhaps, just perhaps, my initial opinion needs to be re-visited when considering: Are veterans' courts on target or special treatment?
Veteran What
There's one in Santa Ana. And in Anchorage, Alaska; Buffalo, N.Y.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Phoenix; Santa Clara; and Tulsa, Okla. One is coming to Pittsburgh.
These places have or will have courts designed for criminal defendants who are military veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries and/or substance-abuse problems. The goal of these courts is to rehabilitate the veterans not by putting them in jail but by providing aggressive case management, which often includes closely monitored medical treatment, counseling and permanent housing.
The Debate
Debate over the concept is happening across the nation, including in Sacramento, where Assemblywoman Mary Salas, D-Chula Vista, introduced a bill this year to establish veterans courts statewide. Her legislation sparked such intense controversy that she quickly pulled it from consideration. Two years of negotiations have not produced a veterans court in San Diego County, which is home to about 250,000 veterans.
Supporters of the courts say they are an effective, humane and appropriately customized way of combating the revolving door of crime and punishment that some veterans experience. Critics say veterans shouldn't get special treatment and that judges in the court system are already equipped to deal with veterans' distinct circumstances.
Steve Binder, an attorney in the San Diego County Public Defender's Office, said former service members do elicit special understanding from judges and prosecutors. But one thorny issue in trying to establish a court here has been whether certain criminal behavior can be adequately addressed without time behind bars. There is a legitimate concern about public safety where veterans are driving 100 mph or are engaged in violent offenses and harming other people, Binder said. We'd like to see a court that recognizes that veterans provided for our safety and that now our treatment services can provide for their safety, he said. We don't want to lose another generation to the prison system, like we lost the Vietnam veterans.
VA Claims Processing Backlog Is Everyone's Fault But Theirs... Right
Recently, a Congressional hearing of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs was held. The topic: Review of Veterans' Disability Compensation: Forging a Path Forward. Having watched the 130-plus minute session I question what if anything was moved forward. This meeting included: Noel Koch, Director, Office Of Transition Policy Care Coordination, Department Of Defense; Patrick W. Dunne, Under Secretary For Benefits, Veterans Benefits Administration, Department Of Veterans Affairs; Michael P. Allen, Professor, Stetson University College Of Law; Daniel Bertoni, Director, Education, Workforce, And Income Security, GAO, and; John Wilson, Associate National Legislative Director, Disabled American Veterans. From having watched the hearing three thoughts come to mind: Same Stuff Different Day; "I'll take that under advisement," and; The Emperor's (VA) New Cloths... all over again. However, the report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Veterans' Disability Benefits: Preliminary Findings on Claims Processing Trends and Improvement Efforts, GAO-09-910T July 29, 2009, did include points that we veteran advocates recognize as fact.
The VA
Simply put, while various new-processes have been undertaken to attempt to reduce backlog, it seems the VA has not yet identified any measurement metrics to assess the progression of these new processes, no less determining what 'success' would be. It seems the VA will initiate and implement (read that spend the money) but when it comes to evaluate... they either haven't the foggiest idea, or prefer not to.
The GAO
- The number of disability claims VA completes annually at the initial level increased about 60 percent - from about 458,000 in fiscal year 1999 to about 729,000 in fiscal year 2008. During this same period, the number of claims pending at year-end increased 65 percent to about 343,000.
- Over the past several years, the number of appeals resolved increased 22 percent, from more than 72,000 cases in fiscal year 2003 to almost 88,000 cases in fiscal year 2008. However, it took on average 96 days longer in fiscal year 2008 to resolve appeals than in fiscal year 2003.
- The VA has taken several steps to improve claims processing, but the effect of some of these actions is not yet known. For example, VA increased claims processing staff about 58 percent from fiscal years 2005 to 2009, which has helped to increase the total number of decisions VA issues annually. However, VA expects individual staff productivity to decline in the short-term in part because of the challenge of training and integrating new staff.
- The VA has established 15 resource centers to which it redistributes claims and appeals for processing from backlogged regional offices, although VA has not collected data to evaluate the effect of its workload redistribution efforts.
The Senate Panel
Panel Agrees On Need To Reform Veterans' Disability System: Chairman Akaka encouraged by Administration's willingness to admit shortcomings; witnesses suggest solutions to claims processing challenges
Witnesses testifying before the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs agreed today on the need to reform the veterans' disability compensation system. "The consensus is growing that the veterans' disability compensation system needs to be broadly transformed. Representatives from the veterans' community, academia, and government are coming forward with specific ideas. I am encouraged by the Administration's willingness to advocate for change, and I will be working with VA officials and others to develop a broad compensation reform proposal," said Akaka.
My 2cents...
We can only hope.
--- --- Walt Schmidt Veteran Services Officer
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"To know yet to think that one does not know is best;
Not to know yet to think that one knows will lead to difficulty."
- Lao-Tzu 71:1
