What's New
| Congressman Mitchell: Pausing to Consider People Who REALLY Matter |
Chairman Harry Mitchell is a Hero to Veterans Nationwide August 20, 2010 (Arizona Republic) - It's been a month since I spoke to Rep. Harry Mitchell about suicides among military veterans and I'm just getting around to writing something. |
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| What Obama Won't Say Tonight About US Withdrawal from Iraq |
| August 31, 2010 (ConsortiumNews) - President Barack Obama’s aides say his speech this evening marking the end of "combat operations" in Iraq will avoid the vainglorious aspects of President George W. Bush’s infamous "Mission Accomplished" speech in 2003. We’ll see. |
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| Lawsuit Update: Prudential's Half-Billion in Dirty Secret Profits |
Families of Dead Soldiers Sue Insurer Over Its Handling of Survivors’ Benefits August 29, 2010 (New York Times) - Vickie Castro’s only child was killed six years ago just before Christmas, when a suicide bomber blew himself up inside an Army mess tent in Mosul, Iraq, killing more than 20 people. |
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| Op-Ed: Cost of War Must Also Include Caring for Our Veterans |
Overlooked Cost of Iraq / Afghanistan Wars: Our Veterans' Healthcare and Benefits August 15, 2010 (San Francisco Chronicle) - Two years after an Army specialist saw half his platoon torn apart in Iraq, he hanged himself in a California backyard. |
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| VA Secretary Shinseki's Open Message to Gulf War Veterans |
| August 11, 2010, Washington, DC (VA Press Release) - August 2010 marks the 20th anniversary of the beginning of the Gulf War, launched with Operation Desert Shield and followed by Operation Desert Storm. VA honors this milestone with a renewed commitment to improving our responsiveness to the challenges facing Gulf War Veterans. |
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VCS to Senate: Please Fund Gulf War Illness Treatment Research
Written by VCS
Monday, 28 September 2009 14:13
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Veterans for Common Sense began contacting Senators today asking for them to support $12 million in funding for urgently needed medical research for treatments for the estimated 175,000 ill Gulf War veterans. Our VCS letter to Senators is shown below. September 28, 2009 The Honorable Daniel K. Inouye, Chairman Dear Chairman Inouye and Ranking Member Cochran: Veterans for Common Sense (VCS) urges Senators to support Senator Sanders’ amendment to include $12 million in funding for Gulf War illness treatment research in the 2010 Defense Appropriations Act. Full funding for treatment research at the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) remains our top priority for our 175,000 Gulf War veterans who remain ill from the 1991 conflict. The CDMRP research remains vital for our military because it also serves to protect our current and future service members at risk of toxic exposures. The 2010 National Defense Authorization Act authorized $12 million for Gulf War illness research at CDMRP. The current funding bill is silent on targeted funds for Gulf War illness. The 2008 Congressionally-mandated Research Advisory Committee (RAC) report concluded Gulf War illness is real, was caused by wartime toxic exposures, and adversely impacts one-in-four veterans. A major Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) study published in 2009 confirmed the number of ill veterans. However, there are currently no effective treatments for our ill veterans. The RAC unanimously recommended $40 million in CDMRP funding. The RAC endorses the CDMRP and identified treatment research as the highest priority for our Gulf War veterans. Spending $15 million during its first two years of existence, CDMRP funded nine treatment studies, now underway, compared to three studies during the previous 15 years. The CDMRP focuses on small pilot studies of promising treatments already approved for other diseases and is open to all researchers on a competitive basis. Again, we respectfully request the Senate to include $12 million for Gulf War treatment research funding in the 2010 Defense Appropriations Act, and we appreciate your commitment to all our service members, veterans, and their families. Sincerely, Thomas Bandzul cc: Senate Appropriations Committee, Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee |