Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 7-09-09

What’s Inside Today’s Local News for Veterans

1. VA, Shinseki Named As Defendants In Challenge To Defense Of Marriage Act.  
2. Committee Approves Funding Increase For VA’s IT Programs.  
3. VA Welcoming Home Vets In Colorado.  
4. VA Doctor In Montana Fired Following OIG Investigation.  
5. OIG Investigation Says VA Offices Are Vulnerable To Fraud.  
6. Vets Preparing To Compete In Wheelchair Games.  
7. House Praised For Approving Advance VA Funding.  
8. Subcommittees To Mark Up Veterans-Related Bills.  
9. Survey Highlights Racial Disparities In House Committee Staff.  
10.     Don’t Add Confusion To Your Survivors’ Grief.

1.      VA, Shinseki Named As Defendants In Challenge To Defense Of Marriage Act.   On its website, CNN (7/8) noted that on Wednesday, the state of Massachusetts sued the US government, "challenging the constitutionality" of a Federal "law that defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman." Massachusetts, the "first state to legalize" gay marriage, "says the Defense of Marriage Act denies same-sex couples essential rights." The "defendants named in the lawsuit include the Department of Health and Human Services, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki and the United States itself. Charles Miller, a spokesman for the Department of Justice, said the department will review the case but noted that President Obama supports the legislative repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act."
      The New York Times (7/9, A20 Goodnough, 1.06M), which notes that Massachusetts is the "first state to challenge the Defense of Marriage Act," says the lawsuit "highlights two state programs affected" by the law: Medicaid, "which provides health care coverage to low-income residents, and the burial of veterans and their spouses at cemeteries owned and operated by the state. The suit names as defendants" HHS, VA, and the US. The Times adds that Massachusetts’ "suit is similar to one filed in March by Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, the legal advocacy group that successfully argued for sex-same marriage in Massachusetts," but "that challenge, brought on behalf of a small group of same-sex couples and widowers, focuses more narrowly on equal protection as applied to certain benefits. Gary Buseck, the group’s legal director, predicted that the two suits would eventually be joined and said the state’s involvement would add heft."
      The Wall Street Journal (7/9, A3, Shishkin, 2.01M) reports, "The Department of Justice declined to comment pending a review" of the Massachusetts lawsuit, "but a spokesman for the agency noted that President Barack Obama supports the legislative repeal" of the Defense of Marriage Act. While the Journal does not note that VA was named as a defendant in the suit, the AP (7/9, Lavoie) and the Boston Globe (7/9, Finucane, 349K), which also cover this story, do.

2.      Committee Approves Funding Increase For VA’s IT Programs.   Federal Computer Week (7/9, Bain) notes that on Tuesday, the Senate Appropriations Committee "approved a measure to fund the Veterans Affairs Department in fiscal 2010 that would provide more than $3.3 billion for the department’s Information Technology Systems programs, an increase of $767.6 million from the previous fiscal year." The bill, however, "would place restrictions on the spending of the money for new program development until the head of the department or the chief information officer certifies to Congress the amount that will be spent on programs. ‘While the committee remains very supportive of leveraging information technology solutions to transform the VA’s delivery of service to veterans, it nonetheless notes its extreme concern with the Department’s systemic problems surrounding’" IT projects, according to a "report explaining the legislation." But the report also "said the committee was pleased with the VA leadership’s efforts to improve IT management. In particular, the committee report highlighted the VA’s new Program Management Accountability System."

3.      VA Welcoming Home Vets In Colorado.   The Grand Junction (CO) Free Press (7/9) reports, "A Veterans Welcome Home ceremony and information fair is planned for…Thursday, July 9, at the American National Bank Farmers’ Market from 5 to 8 p.m. at the intersection of Fourth and Main. The Welcome Home Celebration audience is for all veterans, their families, families of currently deployed soldiers, and veterans from all branches of the military. The focus of the event is to thank" the vets "for their service and to give them access to information about benefits and services for which they may qualify." The Free Press notes that speakers at the event "will include the director of the Grand Junction VA Medical Center." There "will also be a number of agencies in attendance," including the Grand Junction VAMC and the Grand Junction Vet Center, which are co-sponsoring the event.

4.      VA Doctor In Montana Fired Following OIG Investigation.   The AP (7/9) reports a physician at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center at Fort Harrison "was fired for delivering substandard care and falsifying medical records. The VA’s Office of Inspector General’s report," which was "released Wednesday, did not name the doctor, who was fired on March 13." The report "recommended the VA send a team of specialists to the facility west of Helena to review patient care in that doctor’s medical specialty, which was not named. A spokeswoman at the Fort Harrison VA center, Teresa Bell," who "declined to name" the fired doctor, "said an ‘action plan’ was developed to protect patients, but declined to provide any specifics on the plan."

5.      OIG Investigation Says VA Offices Are Vulnerable To Fraud.   The Washington Post (7/9, A17, Vogel, 652K) reports, "An investigation in the wake of a major fraud case involving the Department of Veterans Affairs regional office in Louisville has found that other VA offices around the country suffer security shortfalls that leave them vulnerable to the same type of alleged fraud." A report, based on a review by the VA’s Office of Inspector General, "warns that gaps in VA’s internal controls mean that ‘opportunities exist . . . to generate fraudulent large benefits payments.’" On Wednesday, however, VA spokeswoman Katie Roberts "said…that the department has taken actions to correct the problems." The Post adds that the VA’s OIG investigation was triggered after the US Attorney’s Office "for the Western District of Kentucky indicted 14 people" last November "in connection with a scheme to defraud VA by submitting altered or counterfeit medical records."

6.      Vets Preparing To Compete In Wheelchair Games.   KVOA-TV Tucson, AZ (7/8, 6:08 p.m. MT) A group of Tucson athletes were honored" Wednesday "for their achievements. About 25 veterans will be representing Southern Arizona in Spoke, Washington, for the 29th Annual Veterans Wheelchair Games." The "competition runs July 13-18." The lead story in Hugh Lessig’s "Military Notebook" column in the Newport News (VA) Daily Press (7/9, 80K) also notes the upcoming games, profiling participant Steven McGuire.

7.      House Praised For Approving Advance VA Funding.   In continuing coverage, the final story in the syndicated "Sgt. Shaft" column, appearing in the Washington Times (7/9, 74K), gives kudos "to the House of Representatives for passing H.R. 1016, landmark legislation to secure timely funding for veterans’ health care delivered through the Veterans Health Administration (VHA)." The bill "provides Congress greater ability to develop appropriation bills that provide sufficient funding to meet the best estimate of anticipated demand for VA health care services in future years by allowing funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs…medical accounts one year in advance." The column notes that S. 423, a companion bill, has been introduced in the Senate.

8.      Subcommittees To Mark Up Veterans-Related Bills.   CQ (7/9, Johnson) reports two House Veterans Affairs subcommittees "are expected to consider legislation Thursday designed to improve delivery of health care services and boost life insurance benefits." At 10 a.m. in 334 Cannon, the Health Subcommittee "is scheduled to…mark up seven bills," including HR 1546, which would "establish the ‘Committee on Care of Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury.’" This committee "would be responsible for assessing and making recommendations about the Veterans Health Administration’s ability to treat and rehabilitate veterans with traumatic brain injury." CQ adds, "The Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee is scheduled to meet" at 2 p.m. on Thursday in 334 Cannon and "mark up three other bills." CQ’s (7/9) "Today At A Glance" column also notes the scheduled markup times for both subcommittees.

9.      Survey Highlights Racial Disparities In House Committee Staff.   CQ (7/9, Allen) reports, "Black aides are so scarce on some House committees that the Congressional Black Caucus surveyed the panels" and found that "black staffers are most prevalent" when African American chairmen "do the hiring." Overall, the "survey found that African Americans account for a percentage of committee staff – 18.7 percent – that is higher than the 12.8 percent of the national population that is black," but that "average is skewed upward by the hiring practices of black chairmen, whose staffs range from 35.3 percent black" on the Judiciary Committee "to 45.5 percent" on the Homeland Security Committee. CQ adds, "Four committees with white chairmen – Budget; Education and Labor; Financial Services; and Veterans Affairs – occupy a middle ground, with African Americans holding between 16.9 percent and 21.7 percent of the staff jobs."

10.    Don’t Add Confusion To Your Survivors’ Grief.   In "The Color Of Money," her personal finance column for the Washington Post (7/9, 652K), Michelle Singletary discusses wills, urging readers to compose a letter with instructions on "where to find the documents that leave a trail of your holdings." This letter "should include…information about, and the location" of "Veterans Affairs records."