IntenseDebate - broncovet

12 years ago @ MilitaryAdvantage.Mili... - Retiree COLA Watch · 3 replies · +2 points

I hope Seniors and Veterans remember this will be the first raise we got since a Republican was president, that is, if their is a Cola this year. Of course, the Obama followers put the "No Cola" blame on the CPI W formula, but whose failed economic policies was it that did not work? Obama's. We need a Republican president and congress to get the economy working again. Even if we do get this years Cola, the average with Obama will be a mere 1% or so, because if you average even 3.5% with the last two goose egg years, you have Vets and seniors getting poorer, and others getting richer.

12 years ago @ VAWatchdogToday dot Org - Comments · 0 replies · 0 points

The "fishy smell" coming from the fiduciary department, the backlog department, and the equipment cleaning of Veterans medical devices of the VA seems to be permeating other departments as well. It seems the VA had a little trouble reporting 67 alleged instances of rape to the VAOIG, not that the VAOIG would do anything about it anyway. http://www.onlinesentinel.com/news/Dept-of-Vetera...
I wonder if it would be a good idea to address this "free ticket to rape" at the VA BEFORE DADT is implemented, or should we wait on that until afterwards?

12 years ago @ VAWatchdogToday dot Org - Comments · 0 replies · 0 points

I agree, Leo. If Veterans dont need lawyers, then Let's see the VA show "good faith" and fire all or most of their 400 lawyers who represent the VA AGAINST Veterans and level the playing field. Those 400 some VA employee lawyer salaries could be better used in granting Veterans VA benefits, that are presently being denied. While I dont see the VA firing their lawyers any time soon, Veterans certainly deserve a level playing field with their own attorney. If Veterans have fought wars to keep certain rights...such as a civilains right to an attorney when accused of a crime, how in the world can anyone justify taking away a Vets right to an attorney?
At a very minimum, the VA should appoint half of those 400 lawyers to represent Veterans.

12 years ago @ VAWatchdogToday dot Org - Comments · 2 replies · +1 points

I would also like to Thank Katrina Eagle/Doug Rosinski for their fierce advocacy for Veterans. I can not help but remember a few years ago when the DAV publicly opposed Veterans getting lawyers to represent them, suggesting that Vets did not NEED attorneys..they have VSO's and the Vet will be throwing away his money on lawyers. ...Tell that to some of the Vets who have won their benefits ONLY after hiring lawyers to represent them. Where would Vets be without lawyers to represent them...a Vet would have to prove his claim was "well grounded" before it would even be considered, and, the VA denied claims by the bushel basket that they thought were "not well grounded". Four years of honorable military service should entitle the Veteran to a "well grounded" status. I remain perplexed how someone who supposedly advocates for Veterans would want to deliberately limit Veterans representation to those lacking a professional law degree. Personally, I think Veterans deserve the VERY BEST representation...top notch attorneys educated from top notch colleges experienced in VA laws.

12 years ago @ VAWatchdogToday dot Org - Comments · 0 replies · 0 points

Wow! Eagle/Rosinski seem to be a lot more "for the Veteran" than the VA, who was chartered by congress to "care for the Veteran and his widow".
I think the question that begs to be answered is, "Who decided that the VA is free to comply with the law only if they so choose?"
Rather than "making recommendations", maybe its time the VA actually started ENFORCING the VA comply with its laws?
Can you imagine that happening in the real world? "Sir, the Office of Inspector General has recommend you stop selling drugs to children in school. Of course, if you dont want to comply, then its ok, but, you could be declared incompetent if you continue to sell drugs to children, and the VA will then appoint a fiduciary to manage your money for you."

12 years ago @ VAWatchdogToday dot Org - Comments · 0 replies · 0 points

How long do you plan on "blaming the previous administration" for Obama's failure to appoint judges? Yes, the number of Veterans waiting on the CAVC is small compared to the RO backlog, but what if you are one of those waiting for years for your claim to come out of the CAVC? Aren't you going to want more judges, or do you want in a longer waiting list? Most of the claims backlogged at the regional office are going to be denied anyway, and will wind up in appeals.

The only ones to benefit from the bailout was wall street and VA execs: http://articles.nydailynews.com/2010-02-23/news/2...
Here is an example of the outcry at VA exec bonues: http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfsep09/nf09230...
I dont understand what you or Obama has against speeding up the appeals process by appointing judges, and I really dont understand why you think wall street and VA execs deserve bonuses and Vets deserve further delays.
Last I checked Obama raised Vets pay exactly Zero since he has been in office, or is that the previous admin fault also? But, people earning over 150k got raises, and plenty of them: http://www.meetup.com/rochester-912-project/messa...

12 years ago @ VAWatchdogToday dot Org - Comments · 2 replies · +1 points

According to The NY Times and Veterans for Common Sense, the backlog in Veterans claims is in no small part due to both the congress and the President's failure to appoint 3 desperately needed new judges to the CAVC. http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/index.php/v...

I guess politicians Edwards and Weiner had good excuses as they had "other more important things" on their mind, according to bythelakes comments, but what was the president doing when he should have been appointing these desperately needed judges for Veterans? Maybe the president was too busy handing out bonuses to Wall Street and government Executives in the "Bail Out" that was supposed to get America back to work again and improve the economy? If these politicians would have appointed these judges instead of handing money to wall street, then maybe a few of the million Veterans waiting on their benefits would have gotten their well deserved money instead.
Since I failed at a business, do I get a $14 million dollar bonus too, or do I have to work at the VA and make the VA backlog still worse to qualify for a bonus?

12 years ago @ VAWatchdogToday dot Org - Comments · 0 replies · 0 points

I will add that, according to Burd in the article referenced above, the VA and VAOIG knew about the shredding
by at least June, 2008, and even acknowledged it in May 2008 emails.
However, Larry Scott indicated that the VA and VAOIG acted like they did not know about shredded documents until "The October (2008) Incident". http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfmar09/nf03040...
So, when did the VA REALLY know about the shredding incident, and how long did they cover it up for? Its time the VA "manned up" and told the truth.
More importantly, when are they going to "make it right" with the Vets who did have evidence shredded?
There is no sense of fairness when the Veteran ultimately bears the costs of the VA illegally shredding his evidence. The only way to make it right is for the VA to : 1)Acknowledge the shredding, and ditch the "limiting date" for Vets. 2) Pay the attorney fees for Vets who have to appeal their claim when it turns out that the VA shredded the evidence. 3)Pay the Veterans interest on the loss of use of their money as the delays are the fault of the VA, not the Veteran. 4)Prosecute, not transfer or promote, those VA employees responsible, as in this example: http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfdec08/nf12040...

12 years ago @ VAWatchdogToday dot Org - Comments · 1 reply · +1 points

The VA is still involved in a "coverup" of the shredding of Veterans health records, firing the whistleblowers. http://www.riograndesun.com/articles/2011/06/02/n...

Unfortunately, for many Veterans, the VA has imposed strict time limits ON Veterans reporting the shredding and has "closed the door" on Veteran complaints about shredding, so that Veterans can no longer qualify for "Special Handling" of their claim due to mishandling evidence by the RO. http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfoct09/nf10010...

Fast Letter 08-41, the VA's response to the shredding incident "self rescinded" Nov. 30, 2009, so I guess that means that these 455 Veterans whose claims were shredded are out of luck since the VA did not report the shredding until 2011, and it is unlikely these Vets even knew their evidence was shredded until then.

12 years ago @ VAWatchdogToday dot Org - Comments · 0 replies · +1 points

How to speed up Veterans claims: Get put on the congressional hearing list, and according to this article, it works: http://www.stripes.com/news/shortcomings-in-care-...

Well, that apparently worked for 1 Veteran. Now, what do the other 999,999 Veterans do? Vets need to hit the VA where it hurts: In the media. The rest of our complaints fall on deaf ears, as the VA is totally unresponsive to the needs of Vets. This reminds me of classic bad parents, who do not respond to their kids needs until the kids screeming prompts the neighbors to call the police.

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