What's New
| 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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| March 9 VCS Weekly Update |
This week’s VCS update keeps you in the loop with news on issues you care about. One good change – our weekly news updates won’t ask you for money. Instead, our news updates point you to news articles at our web site. We hope you will read them and share the important facts with your friends. This week's update includes news about VA and suicides, VCS on CNN, our VCS FOIA campaign, VA automating Agent Orange claims, a waterboarding torture video, and Gulf War veterans' benefits. |
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| Federal Court Keeps Torture Lawsuit Against Rumsfeld Alive |
What's Waterboarding? Watch Video of Torture March 5, 2010, Chicago, Illinois (Associated Press) - A federal judge refused Friday to dismiss a civil lawsuit accusing former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld of responsibility for the alleged torture by U.S. forces of two Americans who worked for an Iraqi contracting firm. [Rumsfeld served at the Pentagon under former President George W. Bush.] |
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| Reducing Suicides: VA Adopts Policy on Emergency Care for Mental Health Patients |
This Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Directive provides policy to ensure the provision of safe and secure mental health services during all hours of operation for Emergency Departments (EDs) and Urgent Care Clinics (UCCs) in VHA |
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| Senator Hutchison Supports Gulf War Research at University of Texas Southwestern |
Texas Senator Calls VA Decision ‘Vindication’ for Gulf War Veterans February 28, 2010 - (Press Release) U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison released the following statement concerning the Department of Veterans Affairs decision to reconsider the rejected claims of Gulf War veterans: |
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Breaking News: Top VA Claims Official Quits - VCS Issues Statement
Written by VA
Friday, 20 November 2009 09:53
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Patrick W. Dunne, VA Under Secretary for Benefits, to Step Down November 20, 2009, Washington, DC (VA Press Release) - Patrick W. Dunne, the Under Secretary for Benefits for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), today announced his resignation for early next year. Dunne, who attained the rank of rear admiral while in the U.S. Navy, has been with VA since 2006. Please read New York Times article quoting Veterans for Common Sense. As Under Secretary for Benefits since October 2008, Admiral Dunne has directed the administration of VA's disability compensation, pension, education, home loan guaranty, vocational rehabilitation and employment, and life insurance programs through a nationwide network of 57 regional offices, other special processing centers, and Veterans Benefits Administration headquarters. "I've appreciated the wonderful opportunity VA has given me to serve our nation's Veterans and their families," said Dunne. "We have an obligation to care for our heroes and their dependents, and I will fully support the transition of my successor to meet that moral responsibility." "Pat Dunne has guided the Veterans Benefits Administration through a number of challenges during his tenure as Under Secretary. I applaud his service and loyalty to our team and thank him for his unfailing commitment to our nation's Veterans," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Troy, N.Y., Dunne earned his undergraduate degree in mathematics from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis and earned a master's in mathematics from the Naval Postgraduate School and is a graduate of the Navy's nuclear power training program. ### VCS Statement on Resignation of Under Secretary Dunne November 20, 2009 - Veterans for Common Sense hopes VA Secretary Eric Shinseki moves forward quickly to find a strong advocate to replace the departing Dunne at the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA). Unfortunately, too many veterans still face significant obstacles obtaining VA medical care and disability benefits. To learn more about the serious problems at VA, please visit our web site dedicated to our landmark lawsuit on behalf of all veterans.
The facts are grim: veterans wait, on average, six months for an initial answer from VBA about a disability claim. Veterans who appeal a VBA decision wait, on average, another four or five years for a final answer. This is overwhelming evidence that VBA's claim system - with nearly one million backlogged claims - remains broken and in need of an overhaul.
VCS hopes President Barack Obama and VA Secretary Shinseki will name a replacement who can implement the urgently needed reforms at VBA so the harmful delays end.
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