Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 8-13-09

What’s Inside Today’s Local News for Veterans

1. Military Spouses To Be Given Federal Hiring Preference
2. Obama, Shinseki To Address VFW Convention.  
3. Shinseki: Post-9/11 GI Bill Is An Investment Worth Making.  
4. Shinseki Announces Contracts To Build New Health Care Facilities For Biloxi.  
5. Spokane VAMC Expanding Its Behavioral Health Department.  
6. Vets’ Advocates Urged To Negotiate With Government Over Mental Health Care Improvements.  
7. VACCHCS Named One Of Nation’s "Most Wired" Hospitals.  
8. Lawmakers Praise VA System.  
9. Official: VA’s New Orleans Hospital Plan Unaffected By Problems With State Facility.  
10. Work Expected To Begin On Vancouver VA Clinic Next Month.  

1.      Military Spouses To Be Given Federal Hiring Preference.   The Washington Post (8/13, O’Keefe, 652K) reports, "Federal agencies will soon have the option of hiring certain military spouses without having them compete" for Federal "jobs, under new guidelines the Obama administration issued Wednesday. The rules apply to the spouses of military service members relocating for a new assignment, some physically disabled spouses, and those whose husband or wife was killed in the line of duty," although the "widow or widower must remain unmarried before getting a job." Meanwhile, earlier this week, the "White House decided to cancel" a "Bush-era plan that would have ended the use of the ‘time-in-grade rule’" for promotions.
      Passage Of Military Spouse Residency Relief Act Seen As Likely.   The third story in the syndicated "Sgt. Shaft" column, appearing in the Washington Times (8/13, Fales, 74K), notes that the US Senate "recently approved the Military Spouse Residency Relief Act as an amendment to the 2009 Defense Authorization Act (S. 1390) at the request of Sen. Richard M. Burr, North Carolina Republican, putting the legislation on a fast track for passage into law this year." The bill, which was "authored by Rep. John Carter, Texas Republican, currently has more than 140 bipartisan co-sponsors. The high level of support" Rep. Carter "has built in the House makes it likely the final version of the Defense Authorization Act will include the Military Spouse Residency Relief Act when it is signed into law by the president. ‘This is fantastic news for our service families worldwide,’ said" Carter, "who has been pushing the legislation for the last four years." 

2.      Obama, Shinseki To Address VFW Convention.   The AP (8/13) reports, "The White House says President Barack Obama will address the nation’s largest organization of combat veterans next week." On Wednesday, "White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said…Obama would speak to the Veterans of Foreign War convention on Monday in Phoenix," where Gibbs "says Obama will discuss the United States’ responsibilities to maintain the world’s finest military. Gibbs also says Obama will speak about the nation’s responsibility to the men and women of the armed services when they return home from combat." The Army Times (8/13, Maze), which runs a similar story, notes that Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki "also will address the group."
      The AP (8/13, Superville) notes that "Obama gave posthumous honors to former Republican Rep. Jack Kemp of New York, the quarterback-turned-politician who died in May, and gay rights activist Harvey Milk, who was assassinated in 1978."
      The New York Times (8/13, A17, Stolberg, 1.06M) reports, "The ceremony was not without controversy. The recipients included Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland and human rights advocate, whose award has drawn the ire of Jewish groups and lawmakers who accuse her of exhibiting bias against Israel." The White House "said Mr. Obama had no second thoughts about the award; during the ceremony, the president praised Mrs. Robinson for her work as ‘an advocate for the hungry and the hunted, the forgotten and the ignored.’" USA Today (8/13, Kiely, 2.29M), Washington Times (8/13, Mosk, 74K) and The Politico (8/13, Lee) run similar stories. 

3.      Shinseki: Post-9/11 GI Bill Is An Investment Worth Making.   In an opinion piece appearing on the Huffington Post (8/12), Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki writes, "Educated by the GI Bill and motivated in part by the bill’s incentive to home ownership, the Veterans of the ‘Greatest Generation’ engineered a Post-World War II economic boom that allowed" the US "to become the world’s largest economy, leader of the free world, and ultimate victor in the Cold War. Today, our youngest Veterans offer a similar promise of future leadership, thanks" to the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Shinseki adds that in the "decades since" the original GI Bill was signed into law, "Veterans have proven that they will not let America down. They are well worth our investment." An editorial in the East Oregonian (8/13, 291K) offers similar praise for the Post-9/11 GI Bill, while the Troy (AL) Messenger (8/12, Treadwell) took note of specific benefits offered by the legislation.
      Vets Asking For More Help On College Campuses.   The Washington Post (8/13, Brown, 652K) says "across the country" and at schools like George Mason University, where President Barack Obama recently celebrated the new GI Bill going into effect, "veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are asking for more than cash to ease the transition between military and civilian student life. Their needs include resource centers to help servicepeople navigate the unfamiliar world of academia and ramped-up mental health services to help them deal with the emotional aftermath of war."

 4.      Shinseki Announces Contracts To Build New Health Care Facilities For Biloxi.   The Biloxi (MS) Sun Herald (8/13) notes that on Wednesday, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki "said…that six contracts have been awarded worth $153.7 million to build new health care facilities and expand existing services that provide care to veterans in the Biloxi area. ‘Rebuilding VA’s resources within the Gulfport-Biloxi area is a top priority,’ Shinseki said" in a news release, adding, "These contracts will allow us to provide our veterans with quality health care, expand our services and stimulate the region’s economy." The Sun Herald adds, "The projects, which include an addition to the medical center, new mental health facility, blind rehabilitation center, extended-care facility, parking garage and utility upgrades, are the result of a Department-wide reorganization of VA’s health care resources and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina."
      Gulfport Leaders Tour Old VA Property.   In continuing coverage, a separate story in the Biloxi (MS) Sun Herald (8/12, Scallan) notes that on Tuesday, city officials in Gulfport "and members of the Gulfport Redevelopment Commission toured the 92-acre…property" formerly owned by the US VA "and talked about the endless possibilities for it – parks, fishing, festivals, hotels and businesses." The Federal "government donated the property to the city after Hurricane Katrina, along with $39 million to help restore it."  

5.      Spokane VAMC Expanding Its Behavioral Health Department.   The Spokane (WA) Spokesman-Review (8/13, Graman) reports, "Amid a revolt by its staff psychiatrists, the Spokane Veterans Affairs Medical Center has begun expanding a behavioral health department strained by an increasing number of veterans seeking help. In a July 24 e-mail, all four of the department’s psychiatrists and one psychiatric nurse practitioner said they would refuse to accept new patients." The employees "said they could not add to their caseloads, which they said in some cases were more than 70 percent above the VA standard." The "stand came amid increasing concern across the nation about the mental health of service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and after a spike in suicides last year among veterans in the Spokane area."  

6.      Vets’ Advocates Urged To Negotiate With Government Over Mental Health Care Improvements.   The San Francisco Chronicle (8/13, A7, Egelko, 351K) reports, "Military veterans’ advocates took their complaints of a dysfunctional mental health system" to a Federal "appeals court Wednesday and were urged by the chief judge to negotiate improvements with the government. ‘It’s very difficult for the court to manage’ the Department of Veterans Affairs, which oversees mental health care for veterans, Chief Judge Alex Kozinski told lawyers at the end of a hearing at the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. ‘It’s much better if the parties manage it together. … You can have winners on both sides.’" However, Justice Department attorney Daniel Scarborough "told Kozinski the government was ‘not optimistic this is
something that can be settled.’ Gordon Erspamer, lawyer for Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth, argued during the hearing that the VA subjects veterans to long delays in mental health care and has shown few signs of improvement." The "advocacy groups sued the government in 2007, saying the VA had made mental health care virtually unavailable to thousands of discharged soldiers through perfunctory exams, delays in referrals and treatment, and a bewildering benefits system."  

7.      VACCHCS Named One Of Nation’s "Most Wired" Hospitals.   California’s The Business Journal (7/28) said the Veterans Affairs Central California Healthcare System (VACCHCS) is "among 100 of the nation’s most technologically advanced hospitals," according to "Hospitals & Health Networks magazine’s ‘Health Care’s Most Wired’ 2009 survey. Hospitals & Health Networks conducts an annual survey to track the industry’s use of technology in the areas of patient safety and quality, customer service, business process improvement, work force management and disaster readiness." This is the second time that the VACCHCS "has made the list," a distinction which was also noted by VAnguard Magazine. 

8.      Lawmakers Praise VA System.   The St. Cloud (MN) Times (8/13, Schumacher) notes that on Wednesday, US Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) visited several sites, including the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in St. Cloud. Franken and US Rep. Tim Walz (D-MN), who also visited the hospital, "praised the medical care offered through the VA system, and given the current political debate over health care reform, said they’d like to see some of what the VA does carried into broader reform efforts. ‘Electronic medical records and patient-centered health, that part of reform where you have an accountable health system where people work in teams, that’s as important to me as whether we have a public or private insurer model,’ Franken said."  

9.      Official: VA’s New Orleans Hospital Plan Unaffected By Problems With State Facility.   In continuing coverage, the New Orleans Times-Picayune (8/13, Barrow, 178K) reports, "The uncertainty about financing and governance of a proposed state teaching hospital in lower Mid-City does not affect the US Department of Veterans Affairs as it plans an adjacent hospital, a top agency official said Wednesday. ‘We have a commitment from the state that (its) facility will be built in that location,’ said Don Orndoff, who directs" the VA "construction and facilities office, during a planning forum to discuss the latest VA schematic designs. ‘We take them at their word.’" Both "projects are the subject of…lawsuits, but the VA has congressional financing and no questions of governance."
 

10.    Work Expected To Begin On Vancouver VA Clinic Next Month.   The Clark County (WA) Columbian (8/12, Joner) said Vancouver’s Veterans Affairs "campus expects to see construction begin in September on a $5.6 million clinic to bring dentistry and eye care services to the complex." Plans "call for the two-story structure to connect to Building 19 on the…campus. The steel-frame building will feature 20,000 square feet of interior space enclosed by a brick exterior, said Mike McAleer, a public affairs officer" with the Portland VA Medical Center.