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V.A. to Allow Voter Signup for Veterans at Facilities
WASHINGTON; The Department of Veterans Affairs said Monday that it would no longer ban voter registration drives among veterans living at federally run nursing homes, shelters for the homeless and rehabilitation centers across the country.
In May, the department said such drives would violate the prohibition on political activity by federal employees and would be disruptive.
The reversal came after months of pressure from state election officials, voting rights groups and federal lawmakers who said that such drives made it easier for veterans to take part in the political process.
Veterans participation could be particularly important this year in a presidential election in which the handling of the Iraq war and treatment of veterans will be major campaign issues.
V.A. has always been committed to helping veterans exercise their constitutional right to vote, which they defended for all Americans while serving their nation, said Dr. James B. Peake, secretary of veterans affairs. We've now established a uniform approach to helping those of our patients who need assistance to register and to vote.
Veterans officials said that they would welcome state and local election officials and nonpartisan groups to hospitals and outpatient clinics to help register voters but that such assistance needed to be coordinated by those facilities in order to avoid disruptions to patient care.
More than 100,000 people reside for a month or longer at V.A. facilities nationally, a number that has grown as soldiers return wounded from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Story continued at link... WASHINGTON; The Department of Veterans Affairs said Monday that it would no longer ban voter registration drives among veterans living... more -
The VA Continues to Abandon Returning Vets
"Supporting the troops" only applies until they actually come home from war.
Sgt. Juan Jimenez had one of the most dangerous jobs in Iraq, ushering top Administration officials through the war-torn streets of Baghdad. He returned home with two Purple Hearts and shrapnel lodged in his right arm. Today he is gravely ill.
What Jimenez didn't realize is that before he could receive benefits for his wounds, he'd have to prove that those wounds came from war. Three and a half years later, the sergeant is still making his case. The Department of Veterans Affairs isn't convinced. And it won't give him his benefits until it is.
The VA requires all veterans to prove their wounds are "service-connected" before it writes them a check. Jimenez thought that hurdle was merely a formality. The Army sergeant had been struck by two roadside bombs. The first sliced into his arms; six months later, a second bomb sprayed scrap metal into his face, knocking him unconscious and leaving him brain damaged. He began having seizures and suffering from memory loss. The blast left a persistent ringing in his right ear. The stress sparked nightmares, flashbacks and acid-reflux disease.
"I'm a different person now," Jimenez says glumly. "I come home; I lock myself in my room. I don't really talk to anyone. I used to be fun." Now, he says, he can't even have a bowl of cereal. It gives him heartburn for days. "That second bomb, it killed me -- it just left my body." Sick, suicidal, the sergeant sought help from the VA.
The VA's diagnosis: too much caffeine. "They said I was drinking too much Red Bull. That's what was causing my problems."
Jimenez got mad. At that point, he did something few veterans even consider: he sued the VA. The sergeant is a member of Veterans for Common Sense (VCS), one of the most prominent veterans' groups in the country. In July 2007, executive director Paul Sullivan filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of Jimenez and the thousands of veterans in his organization who were wounded in Iraq and, he says, were rebuffed by the VA when they sought disability and medical benefits. "Supporting the troops" only applies until they actually come home from war. ... more -
Non-smoking drug endangering soldiers' health
VA inspector general found gross violations in a VA human testing program; drug linked to suicide.
American News Project: This week in Arkansas the Veterans Affairs inspector general found gross violations in a VA human testing program. For soldiers returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, health care and the transition back into society are important issues. Questions are being raised about what types of health care treatments soldiers should receive. Congress held another hearing on a recent VA case involving veteran negligence based on a series of Washington Times articles. In VA hospitals a non-smoking drug Chantix is given to veterans to help them quit smoking. This even after the FDA, drug maker Pfizer and the VA itself found the drug to have serious risks, including suicidal behavior. VA inspector general found gross violations in a VA human testing program; drug linked to suicide. ... more -
Sexually assaulted female troops struggle to recover
Even as women distinguish themselves in battle alongside men, they're fighting off sexual assault and harassment. It's not a new consequence of war.
But the sheer number of women serving today -- more than 190,000 so far in Iraq and Afghanistan -- is forcing the military and Department of Veterans Affairs to more aggressively address it.
Of the women veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan who have walked into a VA facility, 15 percent have screened positive for military sexual trauma, The Associated Press has learned. That means they indicated that while on active duty they were sexually assaulted, raped, or were sexually harassed, receiving repeated unsolicited verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature.
from the Navy Reserves, said people typically think of sexual harassment as someone making a comment about someone's appearance, but it goes well beyond that. In a war environment, living and working with someone exhibiting harassing behavior can potentially have long-term effects on troops' health and performance.
"There's automatically this thing that sexual harassment is not a big deal, it's not as bad as rape, and indeed it often is not as distressing as a completed sexual assault, but it still can be something that highly affects a person," Best said. Research also has found that working and living environments where unwanted sexual behaviors take place have been associated with increased odds of rape.
It's unknown whether incidents of rape and assault are higher in the military population than the civilian population. One study, however, of 1991 Persian Gulf War veterans found incidents of assault, rape and harassment were higher at war than in peacetime military samples, according to the VA's PTSD center.
It's only in recent years that the military and VA have kept comprehensive statistics, and even the two agencies define military sexual trauma differently.
What is known is that the effects of a military sexual trauma can be long lasting -- particularly for those who don't seek early help.
The VA still sees veterans who experienced sexual attacks in Vietnam -- and even World War II. Even as women distinguish themselves in battle alongside men, they're fighting off sexual assault and harassment. It's not a... more -
Veterans Administration Loans
A home buyer who is also a veteran, asks about buying a home from his girlfriend with a loan from the Veterans Administration, or a VA loan. He wants to know whether he can use his girlfriend's income on his VA home loan application. He needs to consider not only the VA's requirements, but also the future of his relationship with his girlfriend. A home buyer who is also a veteran, asks about buying a home from his girlfriend with a loan from the Veterans Administration, or a VA... more
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Veterans from 1960s chemical tests press for help
WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers and veterans of secret Cold War-era chemical and germ tests on military personnel demanded help from the Bush administration Thursday, but they got no satisfaction.
Officials from the Pentagon and Veterans Affairs Department said there was no need for legislation to guarantee health care and benefits to the veterans. Thousands of servicemembers were exposed, often without their knowledge, to real and simulated chemical and biological agents, including sarin and VX.
The tests were conducted at sea and above a half-dozen U.S. states from 1962-1973 to see how U.S. ships would withstand chemical and germ assaults and how such weapons would disperse. WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers and veterans of secret Cold War-era chemical and germ tests on military personnel demanded help from the Bush ... more -
GAO Study: Millions Wasted on Gov't Cards
WASHINGTON April 9, 2008, 01:17 am ET · Federal employees charged millions of dollars for Internet dating, tailor-made suits, lingerie, lavish dinners and other questionable expenses to their government credit cards over a 15-month period, congressional auditors say.
A report by the Government Accountability Office, obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, examined spending controls across the federal government following reports of credit-card abuse at departments including Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs. WASHINGTON April 9, 2008, 01:17 am ET · Federal employees charged millions of dollars for Internet dating, tailor-made suits, lingerie... more -
Document Shows Army Blocked Help for Soldiers
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." How's that for a "foot in mouth" moment? A document from the Department of Veterans Affairs contradicts an assertion made by the Army surgeon general that his office did not t... more
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