VCS-Sponsored Florida Women Veterans Conference to Kick Off

Posted on April 16, 2015 by Team VCS

Screen-Shot-2015-04-16-at-5.20.59-PM-1024x488The first-ever statewide Florida Women Veterans Conference that kicks off this weekend in Sarasota, Florida is already showing signs of success, with attendance and fundraising goals for the women veterans’ empowerment event exceeded and the media providing favorable press coverage.

Key organizers and support have come from Veterans for Common Sense, including organizing and financial support from VCS, organizers and event volunteers from Florida Veterans for Common Sense, and principal funding through the Florida Veterans for Common Sense Fund.

See press coverage on the Florida Women Veterans Conference and other information here:

“Women veterans convene in Sarasota,” Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Billy Cox reporting, April 16, 2015
“Women vets set historic April meeting for Lido Key,” Bradenton Herald, James Jones reporting, March 8, 2015
Florida American Legion publicity
Florida Women Veterans Conference Facebook page
Florida Women Veterans Conference website

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VCS Supports Bill that Would Make “Proving You’re a Veteran” Easier

Posted on April 9, 2015 by Team VCS

(Veterans for Common Sense – April 9, 2015) — Joined by Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) and AMVETS, Veterans for Common Sense immediately registered support for the Veterans’ I.D. Card Act (H.R. 91), a bill authored by U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) joined by a bipartisan cohort of cosigners.  The legislation would make it easier for many veterans to prove their veteran status.

According to a press release issued by Buchanan’s office, and published news stories in the Tampa Tribune, the Bradenton Times, and the Sunshine State News:

“Over the years I have heard from countless veterans who have expressed frustration over their inability to prove their military service in our Armed Forces,” said Buchanan, who represents a congressional district home to more than 70,000 veterans, in a media release. “A simple, affordable, standardized ID card will make life a little bit easier for our veterans and serve as a reminder to folks that these brave men and women deserve all the care and respect a grateful nation can offer.”

Anthony Hardie, Director of Veterans for Common Sense and a Bradenton, Florida resident, hailed the congressman’s proposal saying the “VCS is honored to support this simple, make-sense legislation. Thank you to Rep. Buchanan for introducing this legislation, which would make it easier for many veterans to easily prove their veteran status in a simple, convenient, and credible manner.”

“AMVETS is especially supportive of this cost-neutral legislation because it will not only provide a much needed improvement over the current proof of military service document, the DD-214, but it will be carried out in a fiscally responsible way which will have minimal impact on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) which finds itself mired in the midst of massive claims backlogs and other issues,” said Diane M. Zumatto, National Legislative Director for AMVETS.

Many businesses honor veterans for their military service by providing promotions and discounts.  However, for many veterans, it is inconvenient at best to readily demonstrate their veteran status beyond carrying their full DD Form 214, which also contains their social security number and may also contain other personal information that the veteran prefers not to reveal to even well-intentioned strangers.

In particular, veterans who don’t have military retirement or similar ID cards or who are not enrolled in VA healthcare so therefore don’t have a VA ID card would benefit from this legislation once implemented.

While most states have implemented programs to denote veteran status on state drivers licenses, some states still do not have such programs.

Additionally, some States like Wisconsin, Iowa, and Georgia boldly spell out the full word, “veteran,” in bright red on the driver’s license.  For some veterans, this may be a matter of privacy and they may not wish to share their veteran status so publicly on their driver’s license, which is standard required identification for many business, banking, employment, and other public and private sector purposes.  Other states, including Alaska, Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, and Wyoming have more discreet, single-letter or symbol markings to denote veteran status on the state driver’s license.

This legislation would provide a simple remedy for all of those and other issues by directing the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to issue very low cost veteran identification cards to qualified veterans with honorable service using existing VA identification card locations and processes.

The new I.D. card would be available at VA facilities at very low cost — currently estimated to be around $2 —  to veterans with honorable service in the U.S. Armed Forces who want another way to prove their veteran status.  Those most likely to be interested in obtaining the new veteran I.D. card are veterans who don’t have military retiree or VA healthcare enrollment identification cards and live in the many states where a veteran identifier still isn’t available on the state driver’s license.

The following members of Congress have co-sponsored Buchanan’s legislation: Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA), Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT), Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY), Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA), Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT), Rep. William Keating (D-MA), Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC), Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI), Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL).

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THE DAILY CALLER: VA Inspector General Says We Do Lots Of Reports That We Don’t Publish Or Tell Congress About | Veterans for Common Sense

Posted on January 17, 2015 by Team VCS

SOURCE:  THE DAILY CALLER, Patrick Howley Reporting, 1/15/2015

http://dailycaller.com/2015/01/15/va-inspector-general-we-do-lots-of-reports-that-we-dont-publish-or-tell-congress-about/

 

THE DAILY CALLER:  VA Inspector General Says We Do Lots Of Reports That We Don’t Publish Or Tell Congress About

By Patrick Howley

The Daily Caller

The inspector general for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) knew that a VA medical center was giving out disconcertingly high amounts of morphine to patients, but did not disclose that information to Congress.

VA’s inspector general’s office, which is supposed to serve as an independent oversight body within the VA, admitted in a contentious conversation with The Daily Caller that its internal report on the notorious “Candy Land” facility was not published. The office also admitted that it routinely produces reports that it does not publish or send to Congress.

The inspector general’s office compiled a report in March 2014 which showed that the VA medical center in Tomah, Wisconsin, doled out high amounts of morphine to patients, causing area veterans to refer to the center as “Candy Land.” The inspector general’s report was first noted in a Jan. 8 article by the Center for Investigative Reporting.

House Committee on Veterans Affairs chairman Rep. Jeff Miller never got a copy of the internal report and did not even know that it existed until the Center for Investigative Reporting article.

“At this time, the Committee is provided electronic copies of all published reports at the time of publication,” Acting VA Inspector General Richard J. Griffin told the committee in a December 30 letter. “These reports can also be found on the Office of Inspector General [OIG] public website. If a report contains information that is protected from disclosure, we provide an unredacted copy for Committee oversight purposes upon the written request of the Chairman.”

But as a VA spokeswoman explained to The Daily Caller, there is a difference between “published reports” and un-published reports.

“We did not hide any reports from Congress,” Catherine Gromek, a congressional relations officer at the inspector general’s office, told TheDC over the phone.

“The [Office of the Inspector General] does many types of reports. Some are administrative,” while “some are published reports.”

“We had some conversations up on the Hill with congressmen about why we did what we did.”

Gromek told this reporter that “it gets under my skin” when she sees a question in her inbox asking why her office concealed a report instead of simply asking for a statement.

“It’s too long,” Gromek said, explaining that her answer to my question was complicated and that she expected TheDC was “just going to take the blurb” that “we did not hide any reports from Congress.” Gromek said she could type out a statement that would “make it seem like I went to college.”

That collegiate statement eventually came in.

“We have 10 public reports on the underlying issue of the use of opioid including a national report that the House Committee on Veterans Affairs received copies of and in some cases briefings on,” Gromek wrote to TheDC.

But Gromek did not answer our question: why did the House committee not receive a copy of the non-public March 2014 report?

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VA Names New Members to Gulf War Advisory Committee | Veterans for Common Sense

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Team VCS

The following is a VA press release.

SOURCE:  http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=2669

***

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 15, 2015

VA Announces the Appointment of New Members to Advisory Council

Gulf War-Related Brain Cancer Study Also Announced

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is announcing the appointment of new members to the Research Advisory Committee (RAC) on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses.

VA will appoint Stephen L. Hauser, MD as committee chair for a term through September, 2016. Dr. Hauser is the Robert A. Fishman Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco.  A neuroimmunologist, Dr. Hauser’s research has advanced the understanding of the genetic basis, immune mechanisms and treatment of multiple sclerosis.

Additional appointees include Ronnie D. Horner, PhD, who is a Professor of Epidemiology in the Department of Health Services Policy and Management at the Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina; Frances E. Perez-Wilhite,a former US Army Officer who served as a Lieutenant in Desert Shield in 1990; and Scott S. Young, MD, a former Navy flight surgeon during the Gulf War, who currently heads Kaiser Permanente’s Care Management Institute, an organization dedicated to creating and supporting high quality care delivery programs. These new members will serve terms through September 2017.

“VA is incredibly excited about the fresh perspective these new members will bring to the RAC, and we will continue to invest in research to understand and treat Gulf War Veterans’ illnesses,” said Secretary McDonald.

VA will also begin a study to examine brain cancer in Gulf War Veterans. The formation of the study was prompted by a discussion between VA Secretary Robert A. McDonald and members of the RAC. The members expressed concerns over the possible association between exposure to chemical nerve agents and brain cancer in Gulf War Veterans.

“Formation of this workgroup of VA subject matter experts to study research literature on the incidence of brain cancer in Gulf War Veterans is the latest VA effort on their behalf,” said Secretary McDonald.

Some Veterans may have been exposed to chemical weapon agents during the demolition of the munitions depot in Khamisiyah, Iraq, in March 1991 after the Gulf War ceasefire. VA expects to complete the brain cancer study by the spring.

The RAC was established by section 104 of Public Law 105-368 to provide advice to VA on proposed research studies, research plans or research strategies relating to the health consequences of military service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the 1990-1991 Gulf War (Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm). The Committee periodically releases reports that summarize and make recommendations regarding research on the health of Gulf War Veterans.

Information about the Khamisiyah munitions depot can be found athttp://www.gulflink.osd.mil/library/kham_info.jsp. Information about RAC is available at http://www.va.gov/RAC-GWVI/.

###

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INVEST in Our Veterans and Our Energy Future | Veterans for Common Sense

Posted on November 10, 2014 by Team VCS

Veterans for Common Sense is proud to be a supporter of the Incentives for our Nation’s Veterans in Energy Sustainability Technologies (INVEST) Act, H.R. 5494.  

*****

SOURCE:  Huffington Post, Nov. 10, 2014: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-barbara-lee/invest-in-our-veterans–o_b_6136436.html

INVEST in Our Veterans and Our Energy Future

-Rep. Barbara Lee and Rep. Mike Honda

Each Veterans Day, our nation pauses to salute the service of our brave servicemen and women who fought for our nation, many of whom made the ultimate sacrifice.

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, more than 1.8 million veterans call California home. Nearly 50,000 veterans live in the Congressional districts that we serve; it is an honor and privilege to represent them in Congress.

Thanks to strategic investments to create and preserve good-paying jobs, the national unemployment rate has fallen to 5.8 percent. However, the unemployment rate for our nation’s 9/11-era veterans is 7.2 percent. This is unacceptable.

As a nation, one of our most pressing priorities should be providing good-paying jobs for veterans. As members of the Appropriations Committee, we have long fought to prioritize funds for our veterans because after fighting for our nation, no veterans should have to fight to find a good-paying job at home.

First Lady Michelle Obama and Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden have been working together on such an initiative for many years and have had great success. But, we still must do more.

Congress needs to build on their actions by providing positive incentives for companies to hire veterans. We must provide opportunities for veterans to transition their military skill set into respected civilian competences.

That is why we have introduced a bill to take a small, but positive, step to promote good-paying job opportunities for our veterans. The INVEST — Incentives for our Nation’s Veterans in Energy Sustainability Technologies — Act (H.R. 5494) will help put our nation’s veterans to work building our nation’s sustainable energy future.

Our legislation would provide a tax credit reward to renewable energy sector companies that hire veterans. It is a simple step that will have profoundly positive implications for creating good-paying jobs for veterans and developing a sustainable energy grid, improving energy efficiency and developing new technologies.

We should INVEST in our veterans, advanced technologies and our sustainable energy future. This legislation would achieve all three goals making it a win-win-win.

During their service in our armed forces, our veterans gain expertise in advanced technologies, an expertise we can use in the civilian sector to build renewable energy infrastructure.

We are proud this legislation has earned the endorsement of American Legion and Veterans for Common Sense.

Additionally, scientists, business and military leaders and the American people agree that addressing environmental sustainability is critical for our economy and the future of our humanity.

For several decades, other nations have been making investments in the sustainability energy technologies that will power our future. Tragically, the U.S. has not maintained a competitive edge in this industry sector. We are being outcompeted.

As these technologies begin to power a greater share of the global economy, the U.S. will become beholden to foreign companies that have developed and perfected these technologies. We cannot allow this to happen.

Let’s employ the ingenuity and expertise of our nation’s veterans to build the world’s sustainable energy future, right here in America.

Let’s create good-paying jobs for veterans that are also good for the planet.

Let’s help our veterans continue their fight to make the world a better and more secure place by providing jobs building a more sustainable future.

On Wednesday, Congress will return to session for four weeks. In that time, Congress could quickly pass the INVEST Act and help put our nation’s veterans to work building our sustainable energy future.

Even though this is a “lame duck” session, we can still accomplish something to help our veterans, our economy and our environment.

Congresswoman Barbara Lee represents California’s 13th Congressional District and is the daughter of a veteran; Congressman Mike Honda represents California’s 17th Congressional District.

SOURCE:  Huffington Post, Nov. 10, 2014: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-barbara-lee/invest-in-our-veterans–o_b_6136436.html

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VA Announces Camp LeJeune Medical Reimbursement Program | Veterans for Common Sense

Posted on October 24, 2014 by Team VCS

Did you live at Camp Lejeune for 30 days or more between 1957-87? Veterans and their families who lived at the U.S. Marine Corps base and were potentially affected by contaminated water may be eligible for VA health benefits. 

Learn more: http://go.usa.gov/fttP

****

October 25, 2014

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has announced publication of the regulations in the Federal Register regarding provision of medical care to Veterans and reimbursement for care to their family members who were exposed to chemically contaminated drinking water at U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

The regulations implement provisions of the “Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012,” which President Obama signed into law on August 6, 2012.  VA will provide hospital care and medical services to eligible Camp Lejeune Veterans and reimburse eligible family members for care for one or more of the 15 illnesses or conditions specified in the Act.

To be eligible for care, Veterans must have served on active duty at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days between January 1, 1957 and December 31, 1987.  Veterans who are determined to be eligible under the Camp Lejeune authority will not be charged a copayment for treatment associated to the 15 stated conditions nor will their third party insurance be billed for these medical services.

VA may also reimburse eligible family members of Camp Lejeune Veterans for health care related to the 15 conditions. Eligible family members must have resided on Camp Lejeune as a dependent of an Active Duty Service member for no less than 30 days between January 1, 1957 and December 31, 1987 to receive benefits.  VA will also reimburse costs associated with hospital care and medical services, as the last payer, for the Veterans’ family members, including individuals who may have been in utero, for the same 15 illnesses or conditions.  Once those individuals have submitted claims to their insurance companies, they can apply to VA for reimbursement of the remaining balance of charges and fees connected to the qualifying illnesses.

Interested family members may apply online at https://www.clfamilymembers.fsc.va.gov.  Submitted applications and supporting documentation will be reviewed to determine family member eligibility for the program.  If you have questions regarding applying for CLFMP benefits, claims payment, appeals, or other related matters, feel free to call toll-free at 1-866-372-1144.  Additional CLFMP information is located online at the website listed above.

The law requires VA to provide health care for the following illnesses or conditions:

  • Bladder cancer                                                          • Miscarriage
  • Breast cancer                                                            • Multiple myeloma
  • Esophageal cancer                                                     • Myelodysplastic syndromes
  • Female infertility                                                      • Neurobehavioral effects
  • Hepatic steatosis                                                      • Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
  • Kidney cancer                                                           • Renal toxicity
  • Leukemia                                                                  • Scleroderma
  • Lung Cancer

VHA Office of Public Health offers a website dedicated to the Camp Lejeune Program and information regarding eligibility at: http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/camp-lejeune/.

Veterans seeking more information about VA’s Camp Lejeune Program can call 1–877–222–VETS (8387).  Additionally, Veterans seeking to enroll in VA health benefits can enroll online at www.VA.gov/healthbenefits/apply.

Please share this information with other Veterans and their families.  Thank you for your service.

Sincerely,

Terry Walters, MD, MPH
Co-Chair
Camp Lejeune Implementation Task Force

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AUSTIN STATESMAN: Congress to Probe VA Research Program | Veterans for Common Sense

Posted on October 18, 2014 by Team VCS

A Congressional committee has begun a probe of VA’s failed health research program, according to news from the Austin American-Statesman newspaper that helps show the critically important role of the media in holding VA accountable.   [Austin American-Statesman, “Congress to probe VA research after Austin Statesman investigation,” Jeremy Schwartz reporting, Friday, October 17, 2014]

According to the Statesman article:

A 10-month Statesman investigation into the Waco Center of Excellence’s brain imaging program found that the VA squandered millions of dollars and six years of research opportunity just as brain injuries were spiking among U.S. service members.

The newspaper found the VA purchased a once-cutting edge $3.6 million mobile MRI scanner in 2008 without a clear plan for success, was unable to recruit enough brain imaging experts and was paralyzed by internal squabbles.

….

On occasion, critics have accused the VA of covering up research that might show links between deployments and medical problems. In 2012, a VA research advisory committee accused VA researchers of of failing to “mount even a minimally effective program” to study Gulf War illness, vastly overstating the amount spent to study the illnesses affecting Gulf War veterans and misrepresenting the state of scientific knowledge regarding Gulf War veterans’ health.

Yet compared to the VA’s medical and disability benefits branches, which have been beset by numerous scandals in recent years and months, the research arm has received relatively little scrutiny.

….

U.S. Rep. Bill Flores, R-Waco, told the Statesman Friday that it’s time for “a broad discussion on the role of the VA in health care research” and said staffers with the House Committee on Veterans Affairs would begin scheduling a series of hearings on issues at the Waco center and beyond in early 2015.

The newspaper promised more coverage is to follow.

Read the full Austin American-Statesman article here:

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/congress-to-probe-va-research-program-after-states/nhmFL/?__federated=1

 

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Pentagon Report Calls Climate Change a “National Security Threat Multiplier” | Veterans for Common Sense

Posted on October 14, 2014 by Team VCS

The Pentagon released a landmark report this week, “asserting decisively that climate change poses an immediate threat to national security, with increased risks from terrorism, infectious disease, global poverty and food shortages. It also predicted rising demand for military disaster responses as extreme weather creates more global humanitarian crises.”  [Quote from New York Times, “Pentagon Signals Security Risks of Climate Change,” Oct. 13, 2014, Coral Davenport reporting]

The preface of the U.S. Department of Defense strategy report, entitled, “2014 Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap“, is signed by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and begins as follows:

The responsibility of the Department of Defense is the security of our country. That requires thinking ahead and planning for a wide range of contingencies.

Among the future trends that will impact our national security is climate change. Rising global temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, climbing sea levels, and more extreme weather events will intensify the challenges of global instability, hunger, poverty, and conflict. They will likely lead to food and water shortages, pandemic disease, disputes over refugees and resources, and destruction by natural disasters in regions across the globe.

In our defense strategy, we refer to climate change as a “threat multiplier” because it has the potential to exacerbate many of the challenges we are dealing with today – from infectious disease to terrorism. We are already beginning to see some of these impacts.

A changing climate will have real impacts on our military and the way it executes its missions. The military could be called upon more often to support civil authorities, and provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in the face of more frequent and more intense natural disasters. Our coastal installations are vulnerable to rising sea levels and increased flooding, while droughts, wildfires, and more extreme temperatures could threaten many of our training activities. Our supply chains could be impacted, and we will need to ensure our critical equipment works under more extreme weather conditions. Weather has always affected military operations, and as the climate changes, the way we execute operations may be altered or constrained.

….

Our first step in planning for these challenges is to identify the effects of climate change on the Department with tangible and specific metrics, using the best available science. We are almost done with a baseline survey to assess the vulnerability of our military’s more than 7,000 bases, installations, and other facilities. In places like the Hampton Roads region in Virginia, which houses the largest concentration of US military sites in the world, we see recurrent flooding today, and we are beginning work to address a projected sea-level rise of 1.5 feet over the next 20 to 50 years.

….

At home, we are studying the implications of increased demand for our National Guard in the aftermath of extreme weather events.

….

Politics or ideology must not get in the way of sound planning. Our armed forces must prepare for a future with a wide spectrum of possible threats, weighing risks and probabilities to ensure that we will continue to keep our country secure. By taking a proactive, flexible approach to assessment, analysis, and adaptation, the Defense Department will keep pace with a changing climate, minimize its impacts on our missions, and continue to protect our national security.

The full 20-page U.S. Department of Defense report, entitled, “2014 Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap”, is available for download here.

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Ex-Chair of Federal Gulf War Panel Says Concerns Remain | Veterans for Common Sense

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Team VCS

The recently “rotated out” chairman of the federal panel charged with overseeing health research related to veterans of the 1991 Gulf War was quoted extensively today in an Arizona Republic news article, expressing reasoned concerns regarding the approach of VA staff to Gulf War health research.

Legislation to transfer most of the oversight of the committee from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to Congress passed the U.S. House by unanimous consent earlier this year.  The bill, H.R. 4261, the Gulf War Health Research Reform Act, has stagnated in the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

Led by Chairman Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee has yet to schedule a hearing on the bill despite having had the bill since June 2, 2014.

From the article:

[ex-Chairman James H.] Binns detailed his apprehension about the committee’s revolving membership in a four-page memo to members of Congress and veterans associations on his final day as chairman, Sept. 30.

“I leave the committee gravely concerned about the future of Gulf War illness research,” he wrote.

“From here on, neither the Secretary, nor Congress, veterans service organizations, veterans themselves or the public will know the whole truth behind VA Gulf War research. In the absence of an independent, knowledgeable body, staff will operate unchecked, and its campaign to revive 1990s fictions that Gulf War veterans have no special health problem will likely prevail.”

….

Binns’ final memo has been circulated widely among veterans associations, said Rick Weidman, executive director of policy and government affairs for the Vietnam Veterans of America.

Veterans organizations are lobbying Congress to pass legislation that would have the Gulf War committee report directly to Congress rather than to the VA.

Weidman said it may seem like an extreme step, but VA administrators’ actions were out of line during the Gulf War committee’s last two-day meeting in Washington.

“It really was bizarre because you had the staff of the VA from the environmental-hazards and public-health section trying to drive their agenda. And their agenda is that there is no such thing as Gulf War illness; that it’s all psychosomatic,” he said.

The move to replace the Gulf War committee members came despite a request to McDonald by House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller, R-Fla., and four other members, including Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz., to retain the Gulf War committee members. The lawmakers sent their request Aug. 20.

Read the full Arizona Republic article here:

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/investigations/2014/10/09/va-seeks-new-voices-concerning-gulf-war-illness/16955417/

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VCS in the News: Guarded Optimism on New VA Secretary, Need to Reach Deeper | Veterans for Common Sense

Posted on October 5, 2014 by Team VCS

As new U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Bob MacDonald passes his two-month mark in office, the news media have begun trying to determine whether or not he is likely to be effective in redirecting VA to a more accountable course.

The Belleville, Illinois News-Democrat published a Sep. 28, 2014 article authored by veteran reporter Mike Fitzgerald, entitled: “Are VA reforms working? Metro-east veterans weigh in“.  The article said, in part:

MAKING A DIFFERENCE?

Nationally, longtime critics of the VA say it’s too early to tell if the reforms that Obama signed into law are making a difference.

After all, the VA, with 731 medical facilities nationwide, is so big and serves so many patients, and handles so many claims, it could take years to assess if the reforms are making a difference.

That’s especially true when it comes to changing the system’s inbred management culture, according to experts.

The VA’s management culture lay at the heart of the latest scandal plaguing the VA. It exploded in late April, when the news media began reporting, based on a whistleblower’s disclosures, that at least 40 veterans had died while waiting for appointments at the Phoenix VA Hospital.

Congress soon jumped into the fray when it was revealed that many of the veterans who died had been placed on secret waiting lists that prevented them from obtaining needed medical care.

The covert list was part of an elaborate scheme which VA managers had devised to hide the fact that up to 1,600 sick veterans had to wait months to see physicians. By hiding these patient lists, the managers reaped millions of dollars in bonuses awarded on the basis of their supposed success in cutting patient wait times.

The scandal over the secret waiting list led to the forced resignation of former Army General Eric Shinseki as the VA secretary and the appointment of Robert McDonald as his replacement.

BIG CHALLENGES

Earlier this month McDonald announced a 90-day plan for fixing the VA’s recent woes.

Anthony Hardie, a board member of Veterans for Common Sense, of Washington, D.C., said he’s hopeful the reform law and McDonald’s 90-day initiative represent a start in the right direction.

But in view of the huge, entrenched problems afflicting the VA — including a culture of deception and a long history of “cooking the books” regarding patient care and research — there is still a long, long way to go, according to Hardie.

“I think a year or two from now we’ll be able to say, ‘Yeah, we’re beginning to see some change,” Hardie said. “And maybe five years from now we’ll be able to look back and say, ‘That was the beginning of major change.’ I hope that’s what we can say.”

A report released by the VA inspector general in August stated that no deaths at the Phoenix VA could be “conclusively” linked to long wait times.

But the main whistleblower in the VA scandal two weeks ago denounced the IG report, calling it a “whitewash.”

A similar article by Claire McNeill in the Oct. 1, 2014 edition of the Tampa Bay Times, “VA secretary announces progress, promises more change“, came on the heels of a local Florida visits by MacDonald, who made stops to the Haley VA medical center in Tampa and the much maligned Bay Pines VA Regional Office in St. Petersburg.  

According to the article:

McDonald has appeared at Washington meetings that his predecessor never attended, said Anthony Hardie, a Bradenton resident on the board of directors of Veterans for Common Sense, a nonprofit advocacy group. And McDonald’s presence in the Tampa Bay area is significant, he said.

“He’s clearly making sure that he is hearing what the concerns of veterans are,” Hardie said. “I believe what the secretary is doing are very important first steps. At the same time, I’m still very guarded in my optimism.”

The secretary acknowledged the department’s deep issues.

“Too many of our employees have felt disenfranchised,” he said. “They have not been included. Too many of our veterans have been disenfranchised.”

He said the nearly 9 million veterans under VA care are the top priority, and leaders must work to ensure that veterans and employees are provided for. He called on every employee to be a whistle-blower.

“I want people to feel free to tell me what’s going wrong, and I feel the formality that may have been existing may have gotten in the way of that,” said McDonald, who freely distributes his cellphone number and said he fields calls from veterans at all hours.

Hardie said McDonald must consult all stakeholders to create real change in the department.

“It’s like turning around a battleship, and it will be a long time before we know if the captain of the battleship is successful,” Hardie said. “It feels like he’s doing the right thing in terms of listening, but he needs to reach deeper.”

That “deeper” included reaching out to former VA employees-turned-whistleblowers, many of whom were forced out of VA employment.  One of them would be former top VA epidemiologist Dr. Stephen Coughlin, whose testimony at a March 2013 Congressional hearing rocked Capitol Hill with his insider revelations of VA cooking the books on post-deployment health research to cover-up or otherwise minimize acknowledgement of post-deployment health issues.  Those allegations were later substantiated in a very quiet internal VA investigation.

Coughlin was honored last week at an evening affair in Washington, DC hosted by the Sgt. Sullivan Center, which focuses on complex post-deployment health issues like that suffered by the center’s namesake before his untimely death.  Veterans for Common Sense was represented at the event by Anthony Hardie, VCS Board Member and one of the event’s featured speakers.

If MacDonald were to consult whistleblowers like — and including — Coughlin, collectively they could provide a great deal of insight to MacDonald in righting and reforming the VA ship.

***

Read the full cited articles here:

http://www.bnd.com/2014/09/27/3424662/metro-east-veterans-report-mixed.html?sp=/99/166/

http://www.tampabay.com/news/military/veterans/new-va-secretary-says-he-is-trying-to-put-veterans-at-the-center/2200336

 

Belleville News Democrat-Sep 28, 2014

Posted in Veterans for Common Sense News | Tagged | Comments Off on VCS in the News: Guarded Optimism on New VA Secretary, Need to Reach Deeper | Veterans for Common Sense