(3 comments) SHARE        Sunday, May 18, 2008
OFF WITH HER HEAD? Norma J. Perez is still employed by the VA, even after writing an email urging subordinates to deliberately misdiagnose PTSD. Her continued employment makes a mockery of the VA's mental health care system.

(11 comments) SHARE        Monday, July 2, 2007
WHAT PROMISE TO VETERANS? It's the great American myth; an urban legend of epic proportions. But, there was no promise made, so there's nothing to keep. Now, it's time for a new, in-your-face attitude: WE ARE U.S. MILITARY VETERANS – YOU OWE US!

SHARE        Sunday, November 12, 2006
January 3, 2007 Should be "Veterans Day" The day the 110th Congress is sworn in should be a day of rejoicing for America's veterans. While I doubt there will be free beer at American Legion and VFW halls, veterans will surely breathe a sigh of relief as new leadership comes to the Veterans' Committees. The anti-veteran agendas of Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN) and Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) will give way to the sound leadership of pro-veteran Committee Chairmen.

(1 comments) SHARE        Sunday, October 8, 2006
DID VA BUDGET CUTBACKS LEAD TO THE DEATH OF CLINTON FULLER? Clinton Fuller, a veteran of three wars, had a friend drive him to the VA. Fuller was having problems with his asthma and emphysema. Fuller collapsed in the car. His friend pulled up to the VA's Urgent Care unit at 4:35pm and was informed that they had closed at 4:30. Then, instead of helping Fuller, VA employees called 911 and ordered an ambulance. Fuller was taken to another hospital where he died.

SHARE        Sunday, September 17, 2006
BUYING-OUT DISABLED VETERANS In an effort to control the budget at the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA), the administration is looking to buy out veterans' disability compensation with lump-sum payments. The politically-stacked Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission (VDBC), with considerable support from Capitol Hill, could completely rewrite the rules on veterans' compensation. How do you buy out a disability? Just watch!

SHARE        Monday, September 4, 2006
DON'T DENY VETERANS LEGAL REPRESENTATION The Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) has an army of attorneys whose only function is to deny compensation claims made by disabled veterans. They are very good at what they do. Now, it's time to even the playing field and allow veterans the opportunity to have attorneys represent them in the VA claims process. Legislation has passed the Senate and awaits action in the House.

SHARE        Sunday, June 25, 2006
WHO PAYS FOR THE VA'S DATA DEBACLE? The VA plans to pay with funds raided from veterans' healthcare and benefits programs. The VA has not asked for any additional funding and Republican lawmakers aren't offering any. But, legislation has been forwarded by Senators Murray & Byrd to give the VA an additional $160 million. Can it get past a belligerent majority who wants the VA to pay out-of-pocket - and veterans to pay through lost healthcare and benefits?

(2 comments) SHARE        Tuesday, May 2, 2006
Vets’ Commission Chair gets OK to Study Social Security Benefits General Terry Scott asked Congress to interpret its own law defining the charter of the Vet’s Commission. Unbelievably, and unconstitutionally, four key Members of Congress gave Scott the OK to study vets who get Social Security disability benefits and VA compensation. Scott’s goal is an offset, a reduction, in vets’ benefits. At stake: Veterans’ benefits, veterans’ privacy and the constitutional separation of powers.

(1 comments) SHARE        Monday, April 24, 2006
Push to cut Benefits for Vets who get VA and Social Security Compensation Vets’ Commission Chair, General Terry Scott wants to study if vets should get VA compensation and Social Security disability at the same time with the aim of reducing benefits. In an unconstitutional move, he asks Congress to interpret its own law so he would have the power to launch study.

(1 comments) SHARE        Saturday, February 4, 2006
Cooking the VA's Books Enron-style accounting comes to the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA). The VA's politically-appointed officials gave in to pressure from President Bush and lowered VA healthcare budget requests to meet pre-determined White House figures. VA healthcare could be short $4 billion.

(4 comments) SHARE        Sunday, January 22, 2006
Rep. Steve Buyer Pushes for VA run by Political Appointees House Vets’ Chair wants to get rid of VA professionals and replace them with political appointees – Says agency must be run like a business – And, wants veterans to pay for their healthcare with enrollment fees, deductibles and co-pays. What happens when the largest healthcare system in the country becomes an arm of the Republican Party?

SHARE        Sunday, January 8, 2006
DID THE VA REALLY ELIMINATE THOSE LONG WAITING LISTS FOR VETERANS' HEALTHCARE? NO! To hide a politically-dangerous situation, Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) officials moved veterans' healthcare waiting lists from outside the system to inside. The VA is playing a deadly game. Veterans still wait months or years for necessary healthcare.

SHARE        Monday, January 2, 2006
Veterans with PTSD Face Campaign of Misinformation, Disinformation and Outright Lies Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder are fighting an increasingly ugly battle with Department of Veterans' Affairs officials and doctors, politicians, politically-controlled media outlets and the conservative "spin machine." The cost of war does not end on the battlefield.

(4 comments) SHARE        Monday, December 26, 2005
Why Doesn't the VA tell Veterans About Their Benefits? Millions of veterans lose out on billions in benefits because the VA doesn't tell them they qualify. Why? Money! And, because the VA isn't required to tell them. Republicans oppose legislation that would require the VA to inform veterans and dependents of their benefits.

SHARE        Sunday, December 18, 2005
TSA Looks to VA and DoD for “Mental Defectives” The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) wants military and veterans' medical records to look for "mental defectives" -- all in the name of National Security. Who will decide who is a "mental defective?" And, who will have access to this information once it gets into the TSA database?

SHARE        Monday, December 12, 2005
BUSH'S VETERANS' HEALTHCARE BUDGET A RECIPE FOR DISASTER Republicans brag of the increase in the VA healthcare budget, but a close look at the numbers shows a budget that is not even keeping up with inflation much less taking into account the large number of troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with severe medical problems.

(1 comments) SHARE        Sunday, December 11, 2005
BUSH'S VETERANS' HEALTHCARE BUDGET A RECIPE FOR DISASTER Republicans brag of the increase in the VA healthcare budget, but a close look at the numbers shows a budget that is not even keeping up with inflation much less taking into account the large number of troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with severe medical problems.

SHARE        Sunday, December 4, 2005
Bush VA Appointees Diverted Healthcare Funds for Illegal Studies The political appointees who run the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) illegally diverted funds from veterans' healthcare accounts to pay for studies on outsourcing jobs and closing VA hospitals. We are well on the way to privatizing the nation's largest and best healthcare system.

(1 comments) SHARE        Sunday, November 27, 2005
SECRETIVE VA LAUNCHES NEW PTSD REVIEW Just six days after canceling one PTSD review, the Department of Veterans' Affairs “sneaks in” another. This culture of secrecy makes the agency designed to help veterans their biggest foe.

SHARE        Sunday, November 20, 2005
VETERANS TARGET OF THIRD-PARTY SLURS Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN) has mastered the third-party slur and effectively uses the words of others to forward his anti-veteran agenda. This while veterans in his Indiana Congressional District have to rely on Senators Durbin and Obama of Illinois to receive proper treatment from the VA.