Top 10 Veterans Stories in Today’s News

From the VA:

Top 10 Veterans Stories in Today’s News

1.      Records: VA Did Not Inform Soldiers, Families About Life Insurance Benefits Agreement. Bloomberg News (9/14, Evans) reports, “The US Department of Veterans Affairs failed to inform 6 million soldiers and their families of an agreement enabling Prudential Financial Inc. to withhold lump-sum payments of life insurance benefits for survivors of fallen service members, according to records made public through a Freedom of Information request. The amendment to Prudential’s contract is the first document to show how VA officials sanctioned a payment practice that has spurred investigations by lawmakers and regulators.” Bloomberg adds, “VA spokeswoman Katie Roberts declined to say when Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, who was appointed by President Barack Obama in January 2009, learned of the existence of the…amendment.” A shortened version of this story is run by the New York Times (9/14, B2).
     VA Clarifying Claims Material For Beneficiaries. The Wall Street Journal (9/14, Scism), meanwhile, says government officials are pointing out that in an attempt to lessen confusion over the way proceeds from life insurance are paid to families of deceased vets, VA is going to change claims materials so that it is clear beneficiaries can opt for a check in the mail. According to the Journal, Shinseki has approved the changes and his agency is trying to put them in place by October.

 2.      During Clinic Renaming Ceremony, Shinseki Praises Vet Killed On 9/11. In continuing coverage, the KSAX-TV Alexandria, MN (9/13, Brown) website said the legacy of veteran Max J. Beilke, “who lost his life while working at the Pentagon on September 11th, 2001, continues to live on” as the Veterans Affairs clinic in Alexandria was “renamed in his honor Saturday.” KSAX noted that US Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), US Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN), Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki, and “several others spoke words of gratitude at the ceremony. ‘Max is a veteran of two wars, first in Korea and then in Vietnam…but the work he carried out as Deputy Chief of the army’s retiree services was magnificent,’ Shinseki said.”

 3.      VA Sponsoring Third National Veterans Summer Sports Clinic. Physical Therapy Products (9/14) says, “The National Veterans Summer Sports Clinic, sponsored” by the Department of Veterans Affairs, is an “event like no other, uniquely designed to teach recently injured veterans how to surf, kayak, sail, cycle, and enjoy other sports. The third National Veterans Summer Sports Clinic will be held September 19 to 25 in San Diego.” In commenting on the clinic, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said, “Helping these veterans rediscover their capabilities is why this clinic was started.”

 4.      Shinseki A Board Member Of National Action Alliance For Suicide Prevention. In continuing coverage, the ninth “Morning Federal Newscast” item on the Federal News Radio (9/13) website said, “Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius have joined forces to prevent suicides” with the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, which is a “coalition of private and public sector groups, all dedicated to reducing suicides.” After noting that Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki “is a board member” of the alliance, Federal News Radio added, “More than a thousand members of the military have taken their own lives since 2005, and the rate of suicide is rising. Gates called the phenomenon a scourge.”
     The third “Merrimack Valley In A Minute” item for the North Andover (MA) Eagle Tribune (9/14, 40K) notes, “In recognition of National Suicide Prevention Week, the Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention-Northeast Region is holding its Leadership Breakfast Friday at 8 a.m. at Holy Family Hospital. According to statistics released by the US Veterans Affair Department in January of this year, suicide deaths among US military veterans increased by 26 percent from 2005 to 2007.” The Eagle Tribune goes on to point out that VA Secretary Eric Shinseki has “said…of the over 30,000 suicides each year in the United States, 20 percent of them are veterans.”

5.      House Subcommittee To Focus On Camp Lejeune Water Contamination. McClatchy (9/14, Barrett) notes that on Thursday, the “oversight subcommittee of the House of Representatives Science and Technology Committee” will “question scientists, military leaders and Marine veterans about…water contamination” at the “big Marine base at Camp Lejeune, N.C.” After noting that investigators “want to know the Department of the Navy’s and the Department of Veterans Affairs’ positions on whether there should be a presumption that exposure to…poisoned water caused a variety of illnesses,” McClatchy adds, “The old contaminated wells were closed in the mid-1980s, and the Marines say drinking water at Camp Lejeune now meets all safety standards.”

 6.      Food Service Company That Contracted With VA Settles Fraud Lawsuit. The AP (9/14) says US Foodservice Inc., which “supplied food under federal contracts for the Department of Defense” and the US Department of Veterans Affairs, “has agreed to pay $30 million to settle claims that it overcharged the federal government.” The Department of Justice “claims the company, between 2000 and 2005, used shell companies to inflate the price of goods under this contract that were “resold” to US Foodservice and as a result received millions of dollars to which it was not entitled.”
     Bloomberg News (9/14, Hurtado) notes that in an e-mailed statement, US Foodservice “said…that it fully cooperated in the probe. ‘We deny any wrongdoing and stand behind our pricing policies and practices, which have always been consistent with the terms of our federal government contracts and industry standards,’ the company said,” adding, “We settled” the fraud lawsuit “because we want to close this chapter in our past.”

7.      Virginia War Memorial To Open This Week. The AP (9/14) reports, “The Virginia War Memorial is preparing to open a new $10 million education center.” After noting that the “Paul and Phyllis Galanti Education Center is scheduled to open Friday,” the AP says Vietnam vet Paul Galanti, the “commissioner of the Virginia Department of Veterans Services,” is a former prisoner of war (POW) whose wife has helped “secure the release of 591 POWs. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that Texas billionaire” and US Naval Academy “graduate H. Ross Perot will be among the guests at a Friday evening gala honoring the couple.”

 8.      Vets Court Underway In Los Angeles. In continuing coverage, the Los Angeles Times (9/14, Leonard, 681K) notes that four veterans were “offered the chance to avoid jail and turn their lives around as part of a Los Angeles County court initiative launched Monday that aims to help veterans in trouble with the law.” After saying the “program is one of a growing number around the country to offer veterans an alternative to jail by providing substance abuse counseling as well as mental health and medical treatment,” the Times says Superior Court Judge Michael A. Tynan, who presided over the first day of the LA court, ordered two “men be released from jail to a representative of the Department of Veterans Affairs so that the agency could assess their needs and find them a treatment facility.”
     VA Partnering With County On New Court. After stating that on Monday, Los Angeles County “county debuted a new courtroom” which partners with the US VA, the Whittier (CA) Daily News (9/14, Himes, 14K) says that in 2007, California “became the first state to enact laws that enable veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder to get treatment instead of incarceration.” With the new court, a “VA social worker will help…transfer veterans from jail to treatment. ‘We’ll use this as a way to enroll veterans in our system and get them into the treatment they deserve,’ said Sergio Antoniuk, a VA social worker assigned to oversee veterans sentenced by the court.”
     The KPCC-FM Pasadena, CA (9/13, Stoltze) website reported, “Only veterans who commit less serious crimes will be eligible” for the court, while will rely on US VA officials to “help recommend treatment programs.” VA’s involvement with the court is also noted by the KABC-TV Los Angeles, CA (9/13, Hernandez) website.
     The AP (9/14) says Los Angeles County, the “nation’s largest trial court system,” is “joining court systems across” the US that are “focusing on rehabilitating military veterans who have troubles with the law rather than putting them in jail.” The AP adds, “The Department of Justice estimates that veterans account for about 10 percent of the population with criminal records.”
     Local Law Enforcement Receives PTSD Awareness Training From VA. In a story submitted by Veterans Affairs Gulf Coast Public Affairs, the Northwest Florida Daily News (9/11, Barnett, 40K, 36K) reported, “Dozens of Northwest Florida law enforcement officials attended voluntary” post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) training sessions recently “conducted by the VA Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System in the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office administration building.” The “main objectives of the sessions were to educate officers about the signs and symptoms of PTSD in veterans, and inform them of ways to diffuse a situation to keep it from escalating. Part of the driving force behind this arrangement was recent incidents involving veterans and law enforcement in the northwest Florida area.”

 9.      VA To Cut Ribbon On Mid-South Consolidated Patient Account Center. The Murfreesboro (TN) Daily News Journal (9/14) reports, “The Department of Veterans Affairs will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Mid-South Consolidated Patient Account Center, at 10 a.m. Tuesday at 1412 Hazelwood Drive in Smyrna.” Workers have already begun moving into the center, “which handles patient billing.”

 10.    Roseburg National Cemetery Currently Being Revamped, Soon To Be Expanded. The KMTR-TV Eugene, OR (9/13, McKee) website said the US Department of Veterans Affairs has “begun construction on a project to enhance the Roseburg National Cemetery, while preparing to expand on to new ground in the near future.” The new site will be “near the south entrance of the Roseburg VA Hospital campus. The cemetery will sit on about 80 acres of land that is currently part of the VA Hospital Golf Course,” a point also made by the KEZI-TV Eugene, OR (9/13, Ko) website.