A $690 Million Veterans Affairs Check

College Student Turns Over $690 Million Veterans Affairs Check -- Business Insider

A 22-year-old college student from Georgia might be the most moral person on the planet.

Allen Smith, whose father was an Air Force veteran, qualifies for a $650 education stipend that is issued monthly by the U.S. Treasury Department. But when he opened his check this month, he found a few more zeros than he was used to: More than $690,000,000.

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My Comment: I would have cashed the check via through an ATM machine .... and see if  the money gets deposited in my account. And then I will be wondering what to do next .... hmmmm .... :)

The Department Of Veterans Affairs Is Broken

Hopelessly Broken -- Human Events

Within five to seven years, the Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that more than one million new veterans will enter their system, in need of disability claims processing, health care, and more.

The influx is both enormous (the VA reports it served 1.3 million veterans in total during 2011) and inevitable: with combat ending and the ranks narrowing after a decade and a half of war, many troops will begin the natural process of transitioning out of the military and returning to civilian life.

The VA that will receive them is already overburdened, battling a veterans’ claims backlog of over a decade that swept past 600,000 overdue claims just last week and shows no clear signs of improvement.

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My Comment: With trillion dollar deficits and massive budget cuts being forecast .... it's not hard to figure out where all of this is going. A new direction needs to be taken .... but government bureaucracies have a long history of not being accommodating to change .... and I (unfortunately) expect the VA to follow this trend.

A New White House Initiative To Hire Veterans

OBAMA ADDRESS - President Barack Obama discusses a series of administration initiatives to help America's veterans find employment during a speech at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2011. DOD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley

Obama Proposes Tax Credits for Hiring US Veterans -- Reuters

* Veterans struggle to find work in weak U.S. job market
* 'Returning Heroes Tax Credit' to give hiring incentive
* Siemens, Microsoft, Accenture, Lockheed Martin to help (Recasts with quotes, details, background)

WASHINGTON, Aug 5 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Friday proposed $120 million in new tax credits for businesses that hire U.S. veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan at a time of stubbornly high unemployment at home.

During a visit to Washington's Navy Yard, Obama unveiled a "reverse boot camp" program to help soldiers return to civilian life and set a goal for companies to hire or train 100,000 unemployed veterans and their spouses by the end of next year.

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My Comment: President Obama's speech is here. Throwing a few thousand dollars in tax credits to businesses is going to create zero jobs .... because for a business to hire someone, they will need a greater incentive than that .... i.e. a booming economy would help.

Cost For Caring Iraq/Afghan Vets Estimated At $1 Trillion

The $1 Trillion Tab for Caring for Iraq/Afghanistan Vets -- NextGov

Roughly 2.3 million men and women have served in the armed forces in the decade-old wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, told a hearing of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Wednesday that the nation faces a bill of between $600 billion and $1 trillion to care for them as they revert to veteran status.

The legacy of these wars, Rieckhoff said, reflects the "cumulative impacts of the multiple deployments, year after year -- a burden of many carried by few," illustrated by stark unemployment and homelessness statistics.

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More News On The Cost Of Taking Care Of US Veterans

Cost of Treating Veterans Will Rise Long Past Wars -- New York Times
Advocates don’t want budget balanced on wounded veterans’ backs -- Washington Post
Hearing on long-term costs of war -- Washington Post
Senators try to tackle long-term costs of war -- Miami Herald/McClatchy News
10,000 veterans at risk of homelessness -- UPI
Recent war vets face risk of homelessness -- USA Today
Veterans, Servicemembers Worried About Economic Impact from Potential Default -- ABC News

Another Scandal At The VA Is Brewing

EXCLUSIVE: VA Spends Millions To Maintain Vacant And Hazardous Buildings -- FOX News

The Veterans Affairs Administration is spending tens of millions of taxpayer dollars every year to maintain hundreds of buildings – most of them vacant – that have fallen into such a state of disrepair that many of them are considered health hazards, an investigation by FoxNews.com reveals.

Exactly how much it costs to maintain the run-down and abandoned buildings is a matter of dispute. The General Accountability Office estimates that the VA has spent $175 million every year since 2007. But the VA disputes that figure, saying it spent $85 million on the buildings in 2007 and only $37 million last year.

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My Comment: In a time of tight budgets and the cutting of programs .... we have this gem of a story. I expect that this is just one messy example in the VA among many.

More Rot At U.S. Veteran's Affairs Disclosed

Veterans Betrayed -- Reflections Magazine

Something is rotten at the Veterans Administration. Neurologist Robert Van Boven has been waging a one-man campaign for more than two years against waste, fraud and abuse of power at the VA.

In January, 2009 he was ousted as physician-Director of Veterans Affairs' Brain Imaging and Recovery Laboratory (BIRL) for traumatic brain injury (TBI) research in Austin, Texas. The neurologist has since continued to provide care for wounded warriors, but remains dismayed and outraged by what he saw and experienced: Millions in public funds designated for brain imaging research which could help troops suffering from blast-related head injuries were shamelessly and brazenly squandered.

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My Comment: Something is telling me that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

VA To Reopen Gulf War Vets' Files

From Time Magazine:

(WASHINGTON) — The Veterans Affairs Department says it will take a second look at the disability claims of what could be thousands of Gulf War veterans suffering from illnesses they blame on their war service, the first step toward potentially compensating them nearly two decades after the war ended.

VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said the decision is part of a "fresh, bold look" his department is taking to help veterans who have what's commonly called "Gulf War illness" and have long felt the government did little to help them. The VA says it also plans to improve training for medical staff who work with Gulf War vets, to make sure they do not simply tell vets that their symptoms are imaginary — as has happened to many over the years.

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My Comment: I can now hear the collective sigh of relief from thousands of vets and their families.

Chairman Of The Joint Chiefs Honored For Efforts To End Homelessness

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his wife, Deborah, greet formerly homeless veterans at the first Soldier On award ceremony in Holyoke, Mass., Oct. 29, 2009. Mullen was the first recipient of the award created to recognize a person each year who works to stem homelessness among veterans. Soldier On operates shelters as transitional homes for veterans while providing them medical care, counseling and career services. DoD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley

From the Department of Defense:

HOLYOKE, Mass., Oct. 30, 2009 – The United States has the values, wealth, and support of its leadership to end homelessness among veterans, the top military officer said last night as he accepted an award for his efforts to stop what he said is a nationwide problem.

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he was “humbled, thrilled and grateful” to accept the first “Soldier On” award here last night.

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My Comment: A bit of a mea culpa .... 20 years ago .... because of some bad and unlucky business decisions, I found myself homeless. I survived by using my office as my place to sleep, and the local YMCA to clean up. It was the worse time of my life, and because of my pride I could never ask for help.

Fortunately, I was healthy and determined to work .... and work I did. It took almost a year of hard work and determination to get out of that predicament, to pay off my debts, and to lay the foundation to begin living a "normal" life. But it was not easy.

The experience is a scarring experience, and even though my life is completely opposite of what it was 20 years ago .... it still sticks with you. Looking at the above picture of Adm. Mullen shaking the hands of a veteran who has obviously went through that experience .... it touches me .... even after 20 years.

Returning Veterans Are Overwhelming The VA

'Surge Home' Overwhelms VA Clinics -- Military.com

WASHINGTON -- When he got home from war, Rey Leal's biggest problem was that he couldn't sleep as he tried to free himself of the images of combat in Iraq.

"My thing was turning off that movie in my head," says Mr. Leal, a former marine and now a student at a college in south Texas. Ultimately, he sought mental-health assistance at a Veterans Affairs clinic in the Rio Grande Valley. But he found navigating the bureaucratic tangle a strain: He waited a month or more for appointments with the sole psychologist there.

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My Comment: The key sentence in this report is the following ....

.... Among the roughly 2 million people who have deployed, there are some 300,000 cases of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and thousands more of traumatic brain injury, according to a RAND report last year ....

For many families, this is one of the many legacies of war that many of them will be carrying with them for the rest of their lives. I know that it is not going to be easy .... my father was a combat vet from the Second World War (Russian Front) .... but patience and understanding are the two things that we must stick into our heads when those tough days are upon us.

As Vets Suffer, VA Staff Get $24M Bonuses

From CBS News:

Thousands of Employees Receive Big Bucks While Wounded Veterans Face Financial Hardship, Reports Show.

(AP) Outside the Veterans Affairs Department, severely wounded veterans have faced financial hardship waiting for their first disability payment. Inside, money has been flowing in the form of $24 million in bonuses.

In scathing reports this week, the VA's inspector general said thousands of technology office employees at the VA received the bonuses over a two-year period, some under questionable circumstances. It also detailed abuses ranging from nepotism to an inappropriate relationship between two VA employees.

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My Comment: This is probably just the tip of the iceberg.

White House Caves On Veterans Plan, But What Was It Thinking?

From McClatchy:

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Wednesday abandoned a controversial plan to make veterans use private insurance to pay for costly treatments of combat-related injuries.

Stung by the angry reaction to the proposal, the administration made the decision after a meeting between officials from 11 veterans advocacy groups and top White House officials.

"Our voices were heard," said Norbert Ryan, the president of the Military Officers Association of America. "They made the right decision on this."

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My Comment: Yes .... what were they thinking?

U.S. Veterans Groups Denounce Private Insurance Proposal

The Slow Boil Begins -- Mudville Gazette

Greyhawk

The American Legion describes some potential problems with the newly proposed Obama/Shinseki "F#$k the Veterans" program:

The Legion argues that, depending on the severity of the medical conditions involved, maximum insurance coverage limits could be reached through treatment of the veteran's condition alone. That would leave the rest of the family without health care benefits. The Legion also points out that many health insurance companies require deductibles to be paid before any benefits are covered. Additionally, the Legion is concerned that private insurance premiums would be elevated to cover service-connected disabled veterans and their families, especially if the veterans are self-employed or employed in small businesses unable to negotiate more favorable across-the-board insurance policy pricing. The American Legion also believes that some employers, especially small businesses, would be reluctant to hire veterans with service-connected disabilities due to the negative impact their employment might have on obtaining and financing company health care benefits.

But...

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My Comment: A good comprehensive review of this story from Greyhawk. A must read for all veterans.

Update: Veterans Groups Denounce Private Insurance Proposal -- Washington Post

Obama Mulls Making Vets Foot Bill For Service Injuries

Monday: President Obama greets veteran Mahdee Abdul Sabir, who led the pledge of allegiance during Obama's visit to the Department of Veterans Affairs (Reuters).

Veterans Groups Blast Obama Plan for Private Insurance to Pay for Service-Related Health Care -- FOX News

President Obama's plan to require private insurance carriers to reimburse the Department of Veterans Affairs for the treatment of troops injured in service has angered veterans groups who say the government has a moral obligation to pay for service-related medical care.

President Obama's plan to require private insurance carriers to reimburse the Department of Veterans Affairs for the treatment of troops injured in service has infuriated veterans groups who say the government is morally obligated to pay for service-related medical care.

Calling it a "desperate search for money at any cost," Craig Roberts, media relations manager for the American Legion, told FOXNews.com on Tuesday that the president will "wish away so much political capital on this issue" if he continues to insist on private coverage for service-related injuries.

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More Plans On Charging Veterans For Their War/Service Related Injuries

Veterans groups irate at Obama's private insurance budget proposal -- CNN
Obama mulls making vets foot bill for service injuries -- Buffalo News
White House: No decision on privatizing veteran healthcare -- Raw Story
Veterans Groups Call Obama Veterans' Health Plan 'Unconscionable' -- AOL News
Obama's Vet Aid Proposal 'Clearly Angers' The American Legion -- National Review
Proposed veterans care policy change draws opposition -- Examiner.com

White House Proposal Is Being Considered To Charge Wounded U.S. Soldiers For Treatment

Wounded U.S. Soldier

The American Legion Strongly Opposed to President's Plan to Charge Wounded Heroes for Treatment -- Yahoo News/PR Newswire

WASHINGTON, March 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The leader of the nation's largest veterans organization says he is "deeply disappointed and concerned" after a meeting with President Obama today to discuss a proposal to force private insurance companies to pay for the treatment of military veterans who have suffered service-connected disabilities and injuries. The Obama administration recently revealed a plan to require private insurance carriers to reimburse the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in such cases.

"It became apparent during our discussion today that the President intends to move forward with this unreasonable plan," said Commander David K. Rehbein of The American Legion. "He says he is looking to generate $540-million by this method, but refused to hear arguments about the moral and government-avowed obligations that would be compromised by it."

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My Comment: A government that simply considers abandoning the responsibility of treating its wounded soldiers has lost its moral authority.