What's New
| VA Secretary Pressed by Senator on High Percentage of Wrongly Denied Benefit Claims |
March 16, 2010, Washington, DC (CQ Politics) - A leading Republican senator on Tuesday asked Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki to explain why so many veterans’ benefit claims are wrongly denied, resulting in a high rate of reversal on appeal. |
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| Profile of New Veterans' Courts in New York Times |
Defendants Fresh From War Find Service Counts in Court - VCS Supports Veterans' Courts March 15, 2010, Charleston, West Virginia (New York Times) — When Judge Robert C. Chambers handed down Timothy Oldani’s federal sentence for selling stolen military equipment on eBay, he gave the former Marine a break. |
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| Presdent Obama Donated $250,000 of Nobel Prize Money to Fisher House |
March 11, 2010, Washington, DC (New York Times) - President Obama made good on his promise to give his $1.4 million Nobel Prize money to charity, releasing the names on Thursday of the organizations that will benefit. |
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| Philanthropist Bobby Willis to Build New $3.3 Billion Hospital for VA in Farmington, NM for Rural and Native American Veterans |
Proposed state-of-the-art Kirtland veterans clinic could provide as many as 8,000 jobs March 14, 2010, Farmington, New Mexico (Farmington Daily Times) — A proposed veterans complex in Kirtland centered around a new hospital, backed by a wealthy entrepreneur and costing an estimated $3.3 billion promises to bring state-of-the-art medicine and other benefits to veterans, as well as 8,000 jobs to the local economy. |
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| Dr. Haley at UTSW Presents Compelling Brain Images Showing Gulf War Illness |
VCS Asks VA: Since UTSW Research Remains Vital to Understanding Gulf War Illness, Then Why Did a Handful of VA Staff in Washington Impede UTSW Contract and Then End Funding for UTSW? March 9, 2010, Salt Lake City, Utah (Science News) - Nearly two decades after vets began returning from the Middle East complaining of Gulf War Syndrome, the federal government has yet to formally accept that their vague jumble of symptoms constitutes a legitimate illness. Here, at the Society of Toxicology annual meeting, yesterday, researchers rolled out a host of brain images – various types of magnetic-resonance scans and brain-wave measurements – that they say graphically and unambiguously depict Gulf War Syndrome. |
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Willow Springs War Vet Drives to D.C. on Tractor for VA...
Written by Jessica Nahmias
Friday, 07 August 2009 09:20
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August 5, 2009 - Matt Letterman says he has been trying to get his VA benefits for years. At 45, he's suffered two heart attacks in the past month, can't sleep lying down because of pain, and sometimes has to use a wheelchair, among other health problems. The cause of his multiple symptoms, he says, is Gulf War Illness. A clinical term determined by doctors and Congress to diagnose Gulf War Veterans who have presented with a range of symptoms that are unexplainable.
"I want to secure my family's future in case something happens to me," said Letterman, on Capitol Hill on Thursday. But the way he got to the Capital, with the will and persistence of a soldier, surprised many Washingtonians. "I came on a tractor," he said, "it was my only means of transportation...it was not a publicity stunt," Letterman added. He pulled into Virginia at 3:30 A.M. Wednesday night, to be greeted by fellow Gulf War Veteran Steve Robinson. The two had never met before, but Robinson, so touched by Letterman's story, took him in for the night and to Capitol Hill on Thursday to help get his story out. Letterman attended a Gulf War Illness research hearing on Capitol Hill on Thursday, and met with a top staffer at Senator Kit Bond's office. By the end of the day he secured most of what he had come for. He now has a Compensation and Pension Exam scheduled for next week, and has been promised his case and medical records will be transferred to Washington. But Robinson says Letterman is not in good health after making the trip, more than 1000 miles, in a tractor. Letterman says he slept in his tractor and drove 16 hours most days. While Robinson says both he and Letterman are happy with the progress made Thursday, it does not undo what has happened to him. Letterman, who might be staying at a residential in-patient Gulf War program known as WRIISC, is waiting for his Service Connection, which he says will cover his medical bills and help to take care of his family. Ozarks Fox tried to contact the Department on Veterans' Affairs for comment, but they were unavailable. They did, however, respond to Letterman through a letter, which is posted on his blog. Part of the letter, signed by Keith D. Stabler of the Department of Veterans Affairs, reads: "[I want] to assure you that Mr. Letterman's case was reviewed thoroughly, and with a great deal of compassion. There was simply no more favorable resolution possible at that time." Last fall, Letterman testified at a hearing in the Capitol, and said he felt hopeful when he left, but he says nothing materialized from his trip. "Last fall I left Washington on a promise... but this time I won't leave on a promise. I will leave Washington, D.C. with my service connection," he said.
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