Crowds overflowed from the courtroom into the hall and other nearby rooms. I want to personally thank each and every Veteran for your poignant and peaceful presence at our hearing. I was truly impressed with the huge turnout.

Our attorney Gordon Erspamer, from the firm Morrison & Foerster in San Francisco, did a masterful job arguing that our Veterans still face unreasonably long delays when seeking care and benefits from VA. We thank Gordon and attorney Sid Wolinsky at Disability Rights Advocates, plus all of their wonderful and dedicated staff, for their fantastic diligence.

We need your help to cover our lawsuit expenses. VCS won't make any money off of this lawsuit - in fact it costs us tens of thousands of dollars per year. VCS is a member-funded organization, which means that your gift helps us help our Veterans. Please make a gift to Veterans for Common Sense today.

Another Case, Another Very Important Legal Victory

Larry Scott at VA WatchDog writes, "We have a landmark decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit which could impact hundreds of thousands of veterans." Lary is correct: this is a very important legal victory for the 900,000 Veterans and their families forced to wait endlessly for a claim decision.

Your gift to VCS make a real difference in our Veterans' lives. Please set up a tax-deductible monthly donation today so we can keep the heat on VA to improve access to timely services for our Veterans.

On V-J Day, Remembering All of Our Veterans

World War II Veteran Albert Perdeck waited 50 years to go to VA for post traumatic stress disorder. More than 64 years after V-J Day that marked Japan's surrender and the end of Word War II, he thought nearly everybody had forgotten the sacrifices his generation made. VCS wants to remind all of you how we all need to continue supporting our Veterans and their families for months, years, and even decades after they return home. Our Veterans require equal levels of medical assistance for both the physical and psychological wounds of war.

Please read our VCS letter to VA Secretary Shinseki about the need to move forward on treatment, research, and benefits for the estimated 210,000 Gulf War Veterans who remain ill 19 years after Iraq invaded Kuwait.

At VCS, we keep the lighthouse lit so Veterans from all wars and peacetime can find his or her way home. Your financial support helps us keep that light burning bright. Please give to VCS today.

Veterans for Common Sense FOIA in the News

Our efforts to obtain governement documents using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) get results. Last week, the Spokesman-Review newspaper used information obtained exclusively by VCS to highlight the increasing surge of 425,000 Iraq and Afghanistan war patients flooding into VA. The article describes how VA doctors in Washinton state revolted over their dramatically increased caseloads.

VCS makes our FOIA results available to all who ask - this means Veterans, reporters, Congressmen, and the public all benefit from the extensive work we do to obtain and publicize important government reports.

One final note to all the Veterans who attended our appeal hearing in San Francisco on August 12 --- thank you very much for your support. Please help us raise $2,000 in the last two weeks of August by making a tax-deductible contribution to Veterans for Common Sense today so we can continue our lawsuit, our FOIA efforts, and otherwise raising the voices of Veterans on issues you care about.

Sincerely,

Paul Sullivan
Executive Director
Veterans for Common Sense