Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 10-29-09

What’s Inside Today’s Local News for Veterans 

1. VA Seeking Contractor Assistance In Processing New GI Bill Claims. 
2. VA "Only Recourse Left" For Vietnam Vets Exposed To Agent Orange. 
3. Boswell Focused On Breast Cancer’s Threat To Armed Forces. 
4. Shinseki Urged To Reconsider VA Stance On Nevada Clinic. 
5. Ensign Asks Shinseki For Extension On VA Clinic Bid. 
6. Shinseki Asked To Convert Old Hospital Into VA Facility. 
7. First Lady, Jill Biden Greeted Warmly At VA Hospital. 
8. Coburn Criticized For Placing Hold On Pending Veterans Legislation. 
9. Bayh Introduces Chemical Exposure Bill. 
10. Doctor Pushing For Widespread Use Of House Calls. 

1.      VA Seeking Contractor Assistance In Processing New GI Bill Claims.  In continuing coverage, the Air Force Times (10/29, Maze) reports, "The Veterans Affairs Department is ready to admit it cannot process GI Bill benefits claims without help, announcing Wednesday that it is seeking an outside contractor to do some preliminary data collection and enrollment certification." The "move to seek outside help comes after a rocky start for the Post-9/11 GI Bill program," which, according to the Washington Post‘s (10/28, O’Keefe) "Federal Eye" blog, "failed to deliver almost immediately. Thousands of students did not receive their first checks in time to help make tuition payments and related college expenses." The VA "issued emergency payments," but "banks placed five-day holds on some of the checks, which were handwritten by VA employees."
      After noting that VA Secretary Eric Shinseki ordered the emergency payments, NextGov (10/29, Brewin) says veterans advocates had different reactions to the VA’s latest decision. Joe Davis, "a spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars," said, "Professionally run organizations recognize problems and then take the necessary steps to correct them, even if it means asking for outside help," but Paul Sullivan, "executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, objected to VA’s plans to hire a contractor to clean up what he called ‘disastrous and catastrophic’ handling of claims" by the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA).
      Meanwhile, NextGov‘s (10/28) "What’s Brewin’" blog said it recently "reported that the Veterans Affairs Department didn’t include education claims data in an online report, called the Monday Morning Workload Report, which details pending claims managed" by the VBA. Bob Brewin, the writer of the blog, noted that the VA "assured me the omission resulted from a technical glitch, and it would be fixed this week," but the "VBA had yet to post a Monday Morning Workload Report — with or without education claims data — as of Tuesday afternoon. I don’t mean to get overly cranky, but the Monday Morning Workload Report is the primary way the public manages to get any insight into how" the VBA "does its job, which is processing claims for veterans who answered the call to service." Inside Higher Ed‘s (10/29) "Quick Takes" column also covers this story. 

2.      VA "Only Recourse Left" For Vietnam Vets Exposed To Agent Orange.  The Worcester (MA) Telegram & Gazette (10/29, Nicodemus, 78K) reports, "Ask any Vietnam veteran if he was exposed to Agent Orange, and you’ll likely get a shrug and a nod. ‘The stuff was everywhere,’ said Gary P. Swenson of Oxford, a Worcester native and US Army Vietnam veteran," a sentiment that was echoed by "Vietnam veteran James C. Savage III of Worcester," who said it was "pretty hard…to figure out" where Agent Orange "was not." The US "Department of Veterans Affairs has ruled that some of the health problems Mr. Swenson and Mr. Savage suffer from are attributable to exposure to Agent Orange." The Telegram & Gazette adds, "Applying for
disability payments through the VA is the only recourse left for Vietnam veterans, because" while the legal system settled one class-action lawsuit in 1985, subsequent "lawsuits against the chemical companies that produced Agent Orange have been unsuccessful."

3.      Boswell Focused On Breast Cancer’s Threat To Armed Forces.  In continuing coverage, US Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-IA) wrote in The Hill‘s (10/28) "Congress Blog" that he recently introduced the Armed Forces Breast Cancer Research Act "to address anecdotal evidence that our men and women in uniform are being diagnosed with breast cancer at an alarming rate. This legislation would require" the secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs "to collaboratively study the breast cancer incidence rate in servicemembers and veterans." Boswell added, "If the joint study indicates that service members are being diagnosed with breast cancer as a result of their military service, I pledge to work with the VA to classify breast cancer as a service-connected disability in order for these men and women to receive the necessary VA benefits to treat and cope with the disease." 

4.      Shinseki Urged To Reconsider VA Stance On Nevada Clinic.  The Laughlin (NV) Times (10/27, Maniaci, 8K) reports US Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki "has been sent a letter by the Congresswoman representing Laughlin that cited local military veterans emphasis of the distance they must travel to obtain VA medical services. Dina Titus, the Democrat representing Nevada’s Third District, took a distinctively positive note in her Oct. 20 letter to…Shinseki about the aborted outreach clinic initially planned for Laughlin, urging that the VA staff such a center, as was originally envisioned." The lawmaker’s "letter…did not mention the furor caused by the VA’s call for bids allowing the clinic to be located in another Congressional district, just across the Colorado River in Bullhead City, as well as an allocated $1.1 million being used only for services, not a facility." 

5.      Ensign Asks Shinseki For Extension On VA Clinic Bid.  The Elko (NV) Daily Free Press (10/29) reports US Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) "requested that the Department of Veterans Affairs give the Elko County Manager’s Office a three-week extension to complete a bid application to expand the Elko Outreach Clinic." In a "letter Tuesday to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki," Ensign "wrote…that the department should grant the extension. ‘Providing the county with adequate time to complete the application is the least we can do for thousands of veterans in Elko County and the surrounding areas,’ Ensign wrote> The Daily Free Press adds, "Elko County Commissioners voted unanimously to support the county’s request for an extension during their meeting last week."
  

6.      Shinseki Asked To Convert Old Hospital Into VA Facility.  The Canton (OH) Repository (10/29) reports, "Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray has asked the US Department of Veterans Affairs to transform the former Doctors Hospital in Perry Township into a full service veterans hospital. ‘By incorporating the Doctors Hospital facility, you would make available an additional option for veterans on the east side of the state who now must drive to Ohio’s northern border to receive care in Cleveland,’ Cordray wrote in an Oct. 19 letter to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki." The Repository notes that during a "county commissioners’ meeting Wednesday," Stark County Commissioner Peter Ferguson "welcomed Cordray’s involvement," while County Administrator Mike Hanke "noted that Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Avon, has assigned two staff members to the issue."  

7.      First Lady, Jill Biden Greeted Warmly At VA Hospital.  The AP (10/29, Noveck) notes that on Wednesday, First Lady Michelle Obama "shook hands with wounded veterans and handed them goody bags stocked with New York Yankee caps and teddy bears in a visit to a Bronx veterans hospital before taking in Game 1 of the World Series." She "was joined…on the New York visit" by "Jill Biden, wife of the vice president, and…officials" with Major League Baseball, which "is dedicating Game 1" of the series "to veterans and their families," for whom the First Lady "has been a vocal advocate…in the nine months since her husband became president. ‘I’m happy with every minute that I spend time with our men and women in uniform and our veterans,’ Mrs. Obama told a crowd of veterans and…staff" at the VA hospital, "who responded with three standing ovations."
      Appearance Part Of Major League Baseball Campaign For Vets.  The Washington Post (10/29, Sheinin, 684K) reports, "About six hours before the first pitch of the World Series would be thrown at Yankee Stadium," Michelle Obama and Jill Biden "took part in Major League Baseball’s new Welcome Back Veterans campaign." The two women "entered the auditorium" at the VA hospital "to a standing ovation from the audience of veterans, patients and hospital staffers." Later, after giving a speech, the First Lady shook hands and posed "for pictures with audience members," and it was then "that her personal magnetism came through. ‘It’s the spirit she has,’ said Johnnie Williams, a 61-year-old Bronx resident and Vietnam War veteran. ‘The first time I ever saw her, I guess a year or so ago, I heard her talking about helping out the veterans.’ ‘I think she really cares about veterans,’" added "Army Sgt. Nelson Garcia, 38, a Bronx resident who served two tours in Iraq, coming home injured both times."
      The AP (10/29, Noveck), meanwhile, says that after the VA hospital visit, the First Lady "received a warm welcome from Yankees fans…before Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday night." She "and Jill Biden…escorted Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra to the mound for the pregame ceremony honoring the nation’s veterans," then watched as Yankees employee and Iraq veteran Tony Odierno, whose "father is Gen. Ray Odierno," the US commander in Iraq, "threw out the ceremonial first pitch." Afterward, "some of the veterans in the audience said they
were exhilarated by the First Lady’s visit."
      The website for Major League Baseball (10/28, Newman) also noted the involvement of Michelle Obama and Jill Biden in its Welcome Back Veterans campaign, which, according to the New York Daily News (10/29, Saltonstall, 588K), is a "charity…aimed at helping returning Iraq and Afghanistan War vets find mental health services and jobs." This story was also covered by the websites for NY1-TV (10/28) and WNBC-TV (10/28, Baquero) in New York City, New York.  

8.      Coburn Criticized For Placing Hold On Pending Veterans Legislation.  In continuing coverage, the second item in the syndicated "Sgt. Shaft" column, appearing in the Washington Times (10/29, Fales, 77K), notes that after a "recent unanimous approval of Congress, legislation to secure timely and predictable funding for the veterans’ health care system has received" President Barack Obama’s signature. It is "very disappointing," however, "that Sen. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma Republican, has placed a hold on some other important pending veterans legislation, saying that he wants the costs to be offset in the budget. Among those most affected by the hold is the Caregiver and Veterans Health Services Act of 2009." The column argues, "Veterans and their families should not be held hostage by one senator as they continue to make sacrifices for the country." 

9.      Bayh Introduces Chemical Exposure Bill.  The Indiana Daily Student (10/28, Bloom, 16K) noted that US Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) "recently introduced a bill that would extend health care coverage to veterans exposed to hazardous chemicals in the line of duty." The Health Care for Veterans Exposed to Chemical Hazards Act of 2009, which "was drafted in response to an incident that occurred at the Qarmat Ali Water Treatment Plant" in Iraq, "would create a registry including members of the armed forces who have been exposed to any environmental chemical hazard." According to the Daily Student, Bayh’s "bill is modeled after legislation passed in 1978 after soldiers serving in Vietnam were exposed to Agent Orange." That "legislation ensured lifelong Veteran Affairs health care for soldiers exposed to the herbicide."
  

10.    Doctor Pushing For Widespread Use Of House Calls.  The AP (10/29) says Dr. Peter Boling, "head of general medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center," is "on a mission" to "convince Congress that the old-fashioned house call could be a fresh answer to the modern-day health care reform dilemma." There "are house-calls programs" in San Diego and Boston. The Veterans Health Administration, meanwhile, "cares for thousands in their own homes, saving money by reducing unnecessary hospitalizations and emergency room visits. But Boling wants to bring house calls to…up to 3 million of the most high-risk, high-cost Medicare patients" in the United States. The "idea is not just cost-savings, but to provide a financial incentive to persuade more doctors to return to this kind of work."