Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 6-25-09

What’s Inside Today’s Local News for Veterans

1. House Votes To Expand Eligibility For Disabled Veterans’ Compensation.
2. Shinseki’s Participation In Community Service Campaign Noted. 
3. Water Treatment Plant Dispute Said To Symbolize Larger Debate.  
4. Vets Groups, Lawmakers Call For Overhaul Of VA Claims Process.  
5. Pentagon Survey: War Taking Its Toll On Troops’ Children.  
6. Job Fair To Be Held At VA Hospital In West Virginia.
7. Ribbon Cutting Ceremony For Homeless Vets Shelter Postponed.  
8. Some Indiana Colleges Participating In Yellow Ribbon Program.  
9. Vet Wins Special Award At Golden Age Games.  
10. Advance Funding For VA Makes "Significant Progress" In Congress.

     1.      House Votes To Expand Eligibility For Disabled Veterans’ Compensation.   CQ (6/25, Johnson) reports, "The House passed a bill on Wednesday to increase the number of disabled veterans eligible for both military retired pay and veterans’ disability compensation." CQ adds, "Under the rule governing floor consideration of the fiscal 2010 defense authorization bill (HR 2647)," the measure — HR 2990 – which "passed 404-0," would "be added to the defense bill before the House votes on passage."

2.      Shinseki’s Participation In Community Service Campaign Noted.   In continuing coverage, Federal News Radio (6/25, Miller) notes at the end of a story on the Office of Personnel Management’s participation in United We Serve, "President Obama’s campaign for meaningful community service," that almost "every major agency scheduled a community service event this week," whether "it was Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki assisting volunteers to drive veterans to medical appointments at VA hospitals or Interior Secretary Ken Salazar removing non-native plants in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia."

3.      Water Treatment Plant Dispute Said To Symbolize Larger Debate.   The AP (6/25, Cohen) reports "hundreds of…Guard members from Indiana, Oregon and West Virginia" served in Iraq, where they protected "workers hired by a subsidiary of the giant contractor, KBR Inc., to rebuild an Iraqi water treatment plant. The area, as it turned out, was contaminated with hexavalent chromium, a potent, sometimes deadly chemical linked to cancer and other devastating diseases. No one disputes that," but that is "where agreement ends. Among the issues now rippling from the courthouse to Capitol Hill are whether the chemical made people sick, when KBR knew it was there and how the company responded. But the debate is more than about this one case; it has raised broader questions about private contractors and health risks in war zones." The AP adds, "Earlier this year, several members of Congress asked Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki to investigate potential burn pit hazards. He replied that his agency is conducting a health study of 30,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and noted the VA ‘has learned important lessons from previous military conflicts’ as it deals with environmental exposure questions." But some veterans advocates "say the military is more attuned to health risks than it was in Vietnam and the Gulf War, but still falls short."

4.      Vets Groups, Lawmakers Call For Overhaul Of VA Claims Process.   In continuing coverage, the Washington Post (6/25, A17, Vogel, 652K) reports, "Citing a fast-growing backlog of unresolved disability claims, veterans groups and members of Congress are calling for an overhaul of Department of Veterans Affairs procedures for handling cases. The number of unprocessed disability claims has grown by nearly 100,000 since the beginning of the year and totaled 916,625 as of Saturday, a rise driven in part by increasing numbers" of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. The VA, however, "contends that the 1 million figure is misleading and that, in any event, it is incorrect to refer to it as backlog." Michael Walcoff, deputy undersecretary for benefits, recently addressed the issue, telling a House Veterans Affairs subcommittee that "410,000 cases are original or reopened claims for disability compensation and represent the ‘core’ of the VA claims inventory." But critics "accuse the VA of resorting to semantics. ‘It seems like they’re looking at ways to minimize the significance of it,’ said Steve Smithson, deputy director of veterans affairs and rehabilitation at the American Legion."
      Current State Of Process Labeled An "Absolute Disgrace."   In a related editorial, the Poughkeepsie (NY) Journal (6/25) says it is an "absolute disgrace" that the VA "system is actually losing ground in its ongoing effort to handle the disability claims of wounded soldiers." The Journal adds, "No system will ever be perfect, but streamlining the claims process must have a sense of urgency that has been lacking for too long."

5.      Pentagon Survey: War Taking Its Toll On Troops’ Children.   USA Today (6/25, Zoroya, 2.29M) says according to "the Pentagon’s most sweeping survey of the effects" of seven years of "war on military children," the majority of the "children of combat troops are showing more fear, anxiety, and behavioral problems." In a survey "of more than 13,000 military spouses of active-duty service members," 60 percent "told researchers their children have increased levels of fear and anxiety when a parent is sent to war," and "one in four say the child has coped poorly or very poorly," while "a third say the child’s grades and behavior in school have suffered." To date, "nearly 900,000 troops with children have deployed to war since 2001, and the Pentagon estimates that currently 234,000 children have a mother or father at war."

6.      Job Fair To Be Held At VA Hospital In West Virginia.   MetroNews (6/25) reports the Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH) "will work with Workforce West Virginia" and the Veterans Affairs medical center in Martinsburg, West Virginia, "to help veterans find jobs. The MOPH will hold a job fair and Business Opportunity Summit" at the hospital on Thursday. MetroNews notes that Donald Nichols, National Veteran Employment Coordinator with the MOPH, said, "It (the medical center) provides for us a great setting to hold this to hold this job fair. We’ve been pleased to work with it, and it’s been a great resource for us."

7.      Ribbon Cutting Ceremony For Homeless Vets Shelter Postponed.   The Belleville (IL) News-Democrat (6/25, Fitzgerald) reports, "The sponsors of the Joseph Center, a 22-bed shelter for homeless veterans" in East St. Louis, "have postponed a ribbon-cutting ceremony that had been set for Friday to mark the $2 million center’s completion." The ceremony "will still occur, said Frank Hackmann, a spokesman for Eagles Nest, the nonprofit group sponsoring the homeless center at 5020 State St. ‘But I don’t have a date for it,’ Hackmann said," adding that "he expects the center to begin accepting clients between late August and October." The News-Democrat notes that Peter Dougherty, director of the US Department of Veterans Affairs homeless program office, "said a VA inspector had walked the facility site within the past two weeks and had pronounced the job essentially complete." Dougherty’s "agency helped launch the project with a $100,000 grant in 2001."

8.      Some Indiana Colleges Participating In Yellow Ribbon Program.   The AP (6/25) reports, "Indiana veterans can get help with higher tuition costs at Indiana State University, Indiana University and other colleges taking part in the Yellow Ribbon Program run by" the US Department of Veterans Affairs. The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act "covers public in-state tuition for undergraduate veterans," but "schools in the VA’s Yellow Ribbon Program provide more money for students with higher costs, such as veterans attending a private college or graduate school."

9.      Vet Wins Special Award At Golden Age Games.   In continuing coverage, the Plano (TX) Star Courier (6/25, Shambaugh) profiles 89-year-old veteran Robert Blatnik, who has won multiple medals while competing at the National Veterans Golden Age Games, and who this year "added the 2009 George Gangi Award to his collection, the most prestigious prize given out" at the games. The award "honors a veteran who ‘clearly demonstrates physical fitness, sportsmanship, and competitive skill,’ according to Magic City Champions, the official publication of the Golden Age Games." According to the Star Courier, Blatnik said "tears came to my eyes" after he learned he had won.

10.    Advance Funding For VA Makes "Significant Progress" In Congress.   In continuing coverage, the Federal Times (6/25, Neal) reports, "Congressional efforts to provide advanced funding for veterans’ health programs made significant progress Tuesday," when the "House Appropriations Committee approved…the first advance budget for the Veterans Affairs Department. The 2010 spending bill for the VA and military construction includes fiscal 2011 health care funding." The "House on Tuesday also voted 409-1 to approve HR 1016, which would change budgeting rules to allow VA medical funding to be approved a year in advance."