Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 1-8-09

1. Idaho Man Sentenced To Prison For Posing As Vet, Stealing Benefits. 
2. Service-Disabled, Low-Income Vets To See Increase In Travel Reimbursement Payments.  
3. VA To Make Payments To Spouses Who Should Have Received Benefits.  
4. US Army Apologizes For Error In Letters To Survivors.  
5. Federal Court Says Veterans’ Preference Applies To Excepted Service Jobs.   
6. Vets Sue Over Cold War-Era Military Experiments.  
7. VA Hospital In DC To Host Stand Down Event.  
8. Dentist Joins Team At Bath VAMC.  
9. Treasury Guidelines Hint At Future Bank Bailouts.  
10. Arizona Advisory Commission For Veterans To Hold Town Hall Meeting.

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HAVE YOU HEARD?

VA is reaching beyond government to help non-government organizations (NGOs) carry out their own programs on behalf of veterans, their families and their survivors. Under the new NGO Gateway Initiative, launched this week by VA and the Veterans Coalition Inc., a non-profit organization formed by several major national veterans groups, VA will assist NGOs in identifying unmet needs of veterans, families and survivors and help minimize duplication of effort and confusion among NGO programs for veterans. A VA senior-level, career federal employee will serve as ombudsman with the Veterans Coalition. To ensure a cooperative relationship, VA’s deputy secretary will serve as a non-voting adviser to the group’s board of directors. “VA has a track record of success in working with non-profit groups and businesses that have their own programs for veterans, but we can do more” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake. “By tapping into the power and resources of NGOs, we can ensure more veterans, families and survivors receive VA services, and other assistance in their own communities.”  For more info, send email to [email protected]  or go to www.vetinnovation.org

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1.      Idaho Man Sentenced To Prison For Posing As Vet, Stealing Benefits.   The AP (1/7) reports 71-year-old Idaho resident Elven Joe Swisher "will spend 12 months and one day in federal prison after defrauding the government of nearly $100,000 in veterans benefits." Swisher "was convicted in April of wearing unauthorized military medals, presenting false statements and documents to the Department of Veterans Affairs and theft of government funds." In 2005, Swisher "was the federal government’s star witness in the conviction of north Idaho businessman David Hinkson, who was accused of plotting to kill a federal judge, prosecutor and tax agent." But in May, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals "ruled Hinkson deserves a new trial because Swisher forged documents and lied in court about his military background."

2.      Service-Disabled, Low-Income Vets To See Increase In Travel Reimbursement Payments.   In the third story in his Craig (CO) Daily Press (1/8) "Veterans Hotline" column, Bill Harding notes, "Service-disabled and low-income veterans who are reimbursed for travel expenses while receiving care at Department of Veterans Affairs facilities will see an increase in their payments beginning Jan. 9" because a "recently passed law allows" the VA "to cut the amount it must withhold from their mileage reimbursement." In commenting on the change, VA Secretary Dr. James B. Peake said, "I’m pleased that we can help veterans living far from VA facilities to access the medical and counseling help they deserve, especially in the current economic climate." Harding adds, "In November, Peake announced" the VA’s "second increase in the mileage reimbursement rate during 2008, from 28.5 cents a mile to 41.5 cents a mile."

3.      VA To Make Payments To Spouses Who Should Have Received Benefits.   The syndicated "Sgt. Shaft" column, appearing in the Washington Times (1/8, Fales), reports, "The Department of Veterans Affairs recently announced immediate actions to quickly identify and pay surviving spouses who are eligible to receive a one-time compensation or pension payment for the month of the veteran’s death." Problems in the VA’s "implementation of a change in law that was effective in 1997 resulted in some surviving spouses not receiving the veteran’s compensation or pension payment for the month of death." In a press release noting the VA’s announcement, VA Secretary James B. Peake said, "In these difficult economic times, it is imperative that we take aggressive action to fix this situation for the families of our veterans."

4.      US Army Apologizes For Error In Letters To Survivors.   The US Army "is apologizing for an embarrassing mistake." The Army "sent 7,000 letters last month to survivors of servicemen and women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan to tell them about available assistance," but "each letter began ‘Dear John Doe.’ The Army blames a printing error."
      The AP (1/8, Jelinek) reports the Army "issued a formal apology Wednesday," and its chief of staff, Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., "was sending a personal letter to all the families who received the improperly addressed letters," the Army said. The Washington Post (1/8, A5, Tyson) notes that the letters were "mailed late last month by the Army’s Casualty and Mortuary Affairs Operation Center in Alexandria."

5.      Federal Court Says Veterans’ Preference Applies To Excepted Service Jobs.   Government Executive (1/8, Rosenberg) reports that in December, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit "ruled that veterans’ preference rights must be applied in the same way for both competitive and excepted service positions, but declined to address larger questions about…the president’s power to decide which jobs are competitive." The court "ruled…in Gingery v. Department of Defense that the Merit Systems Protection Board incorrectly ruled that Defense did not violate the veterans’ preference rights of" a disabled veteran "when it filled two auditor positions with FCIP candidates without requesting permission from the Office of Personnel Management, or notifying" the vet "that he had been passed over and had a right to appeal the hiring decision." The "National Treasury Employees Union and the American Federation of Government Employees both hailed the ruling as a victory" for vets "applying for federal jobs."

6.      Vets Sue Over Cold War-Era Military Experiments.   The AP (1/8, Elias) reports, "Six veterans who say they were exposed to dangerous chemicals, germs and mind-altering drugs during Cold War-era experiments filed a federal lawsuit against" the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), "Department of Defense and other agencies Wednesday. The veterans say they volunteered for military experiments as part of a wide-ranging program started in the 1950s to test nerve agents, biological weapons and mind-control techniques, but were not properly informed of the nature of the experiments." The plaintiffs "are not seeking monetary damages but have demanded access to health care for veterans they say were turned away at Department of Veterans Affairs facilities because they could not prove their ailments were related to their military service."
      Bloomberg News (1/8, Gullo) reports the veterans involved with the lawsuit "say they and others were treated like guinea pigs in tests" that were codenamed MKULTRA. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday "in federal court in San Francisco," seeks "court orders declaring the experiments violated international law and forcing the government to notify and provide health care to people who participated in the tests."

7.      VA Hospital In DC To Host Stand Down Event.   The syndicated "Sgt. Shaft" column, appearing in the Washington Times (1/8, Fales), says it "is looking forward to joining the effort to support several hundred homeless veterans who are expected to attend the annual Winterhaven Homeless Veterans Stand Down" at the DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center (DCVAMC) "on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m." The hospital’s director, Fernando O. Rivera, "recently commented: ‘This is a significant event. We owe much to our veterans, and it is important that we reach out to those less fortunate veterans who…find themselves homeless.’" The Times adds that the Stand Down, "sponsored by the DCVAMC," will "provide medical screenings, mental health consultations, employment support and housing services to eligible homeless veterans."

8.      Dentist Joins Team At Bath VAMC.   The second story in the Elmira (NY) Star Gazette’s (1/8) "Health Briefs" column reports, "Dr. Margretta (Gretta) Tomb, has joined the dental team" at the Bath Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Tomb, "who has 26 years of experience," is "a past president of the Steuben County Dental Society."

9.      Treasury Guidelines Hint At Future Bank Bailouts.   The Washington Times (1/8, Hill) reports, "In a little-noticed move on Friday," the Treasury department issued regulatory guidelines that "opened the door to more bailouts of major banks…that the department deems too big to fail," although it said "it will use ‘extreme discretion’ in selecting which banks to rescue." However, some financial analysts say the department is "effectively putting a government guarantee behind "zombie banks" that are essentially insolvent, while putting taxpayers at risk for giant losses." 

10.    Arizona Advisory Commission For Veterans To Hold Town Hall Meeting.   In continuing coverage, the Arizona Daily Star (1/7) reported Arizona’s Veterans’ Service Advisory Commission, "a nine-member body appointed by the governor to provide policy advice to the governor and the Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services," will "hold a town hall meeting Saturday in a bid to increase communication between area veterans and the agencies that serve them." Representatives "from the regional office of Veterans Affairs will be listening" at the session, which "starts at 10 a.m. at the Clarion Hotel, 6801 S. Tucson Blvd., near Tucson International Airport."