VA Vet News for Thursday, June 30, 2011.  Thanks to Kevin Secor at VA.

1.   Our View: Every day is Veteran's Day.  Rocky Mountain Collegian  On Monday, CSU, in conjunction with the US Department of Veteran's Affairs, announced that it would be providing free tuition, fees, housing and books to veterans and their children. We commend the university for making an ...

 

2.   DFA asks US to reconsider FilVet Law.  Asianjournal.com  – The US Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) should continue to assist Filipino American and Filipino World War II Veterans and reconsider the cases of certain veterans denied benefits under the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation, ...

 

3.   VA center staff hears about military policy on homosexuals.  GazetteNET  Rachel Beitz, a graduate of the US Military Academy, speaks at a brown bag lecture and discussion series at the US Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Leeds. Paul Weeks , left, fields a question from Wilfred Melindez from the organization ...

 

4.   Asheville vets walking US 70 'goat trail' could get relief.  Asheville Citizen-Times  Michael Reich, director of the Veteran's Restoration Quarters and Transitional Housing, said residents of the 240-person shelter sometimes walk the mile to the Veterans Administration Hospital for doctor appointments. “At certain parts, especially near ...

 

5.   VA, DoD healthcare apps prepare for next wave of features.  FierceGovernmentIT  Join more than 17000 federal/state decision makers and IT executives who get FierceGovernmentIT via email. Sign up today! A mobile application has proven to be an ideal setting for providing assistance to a service member or a veteran struggling with ...

 

6.   Dale Musser honored by VSC for dedication, support of vets.  Morgan County Herald
To date, Musser has driven the Disabled American Veterans Volunteer Transportation Network van a total 559 trips to transport 1297 veteran patients to their appointments with the Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics across the state of ...

 

7.   Erin Brockovich Supports Veteran's Bill.  WCTI12.com  She joined 22 national and state organizations to back the bill. At least 500000 people at Camp Lejeune may have been exposed toxic chemicals and carcinogens from 1957 to 1987, The Department of Veterans Affairs said.

 

8.   Benicia's Willimon named Veteran of Year.  Vallejo Times-Herald  After earning a bachelor's degree in psychology, Willimon went to work for the US Department of Veterans Affairs in 1994, starting as a veterans service representative. "My own personal feeling is there are so many deserving veterans out there, ...

 

9.   State Budget Will Delay Redding Veterans Home.  Redding (CA) Record-Searchlight, "A balanced budget expected to be adopted by state legislators tonight will delay the opening of the long-awaited veterans home in Redding." J.P. Tremblay, a spokesman for the California Department of Veterans Affairs, "confirmed late this afternoon that the budget will delay the opening of the 150-bed Redding home and another one in Fresno." But Assemblyman Jim Nielsen "said he and others will vigorously fight to keep the spring opening of the Redding VA home on schedule."

 

10.               Failure To Raise US Debt Cap May Idle 800,000 Workers, Budget Group Says.  Bloomberg News "The US government wouldn't be able to fund about 50 percent of its obligations and would have to furlough about 800,000 federal workers if Congress fails to approve an increase in the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling, a coalition of former budget officials says. Sometime in the first half of August, no funding would be available for the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Education, and Housing and Urban Development, as well as unemployment insurance and Internal Revenue Service refunds, according to a report by the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington.

 

11.               Subcommittee Advances "Austere" Veterans' Measure.  CQ   "Senate appropriators on Tuesday advanced their first spending bill for fiscal 2012: a $142 billion measure to fund military construction and veterans' programs." The measure approved by the Military Construction-VA Appropriations Subcommittee "would provide $58.6 billion in discretionary spending" for the Veterans Affairs Department, which is "$2.3 billion more than current funding." Among other things, the measure "includes $202 million for the Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing, or HUD-VASH - a program heavily touted by the Obama administration as a means to reduce the number of homeless veterans by 2015."

 

12.               Iraq Veteran Offered Deal In Passport Violation Case.  New York Times  "The federal government on Tuesday took the unusual step of offering to drop a passport violation prosecution" of 26-year-old Petty Officer Elisha L. Dawkins, if he completes probation. Assistant US Attorney Olivia Choe "said her office 'did take into account the defendant's military service in making this offer.'" Because Dawkins was brought to the US "from the Bahamas as a baby," he still faces a "battle to sort out his immigration status."

 

13.               Environmental Investigation Underway On US Base In S. Korea.  Voice Of America "In South Korea, an investigation is underway to determine if the toxic defoliant Agent Orange was buried at a US military base three decades ago." At least three US veterans "claim that the US government covered up the incident that took place at Camp Carroll, about 135 miles south of Seoul." VOA added, "And as American forces prepare to return many of their facilities to the South Korean government, analysts say the environmental damage is already taking a toll on the US image among locals."

 

14.               VA Chief Discusses Efforts To Improve Veteran Care.  San Antonio Express-News  "Saying he 'can't come up with a single reason why a vet should be homeless,' Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki on Tuesday reiterated his target of eliminating veteran homelessness by 2015." Shinseki was "speaking at the 2011 Army Medical Command Training Symposium at the Convention Center when he listed ending veteran homelessness as one of his three primary goals since taking office in 2009. The others include increasing access to the VA's services and benefits, and eliminating the agency's disability claims backlog," which he hopes, according to his symposium comments, can be done by automating the benefits administration process.

 

15.               VA, DoD Healthcare Apps Prepare For Next Wave Of Features.  FierceGovernmentIT "A mobile application has proven to be an ideal setting for providing assistance to a service member or a veteran struggling with post traumatic stress disorder, said Sonja Batten," Veterans Affairs' assistant deputy chief patient care services officer for mental health. She was talking about "PTSD Coach," which is operated by VA and the Defense Department. PTSD "patients resoundingly asked for something to help them 'get through difficult moments,' and now DoD and VA are moving to gather more data, in order to deliver better care, said Batten at a June 28 FedScoop event" in Washington, DC. FierceGovernmentIT adds, "Enhancements are also on the way for the Blue Button mobile app, which allows patients to download their electronic medical records on the go in the case they are not treated in a VA or DoD facility, said Rachel Lunsford, special assistant to the chief technology officer at VA."

 

16.               Small-Business Conference Set For Veterans.  Fayetteville (NC) Observer "The Department of Veterans Affairs will hold a National Veterans Small Business Conference and Expo in New Orleans this summer. The Aug. 15-18 conference is expected to attract thousands of veterans who own businesses, government contractors and representatives of federal agencies, according to a news release" from the Fayetteville VA Medical Center. The Observer adds, "'From small business start-ups to the largest defense contractors, the conference will serve as a fusion point for information, tools, tips, techniques and how-to instruction to start, build and expand a small business idea into a lifetime dream-making machine,' the release said."

 

17.               Arlington Cemetery's Mishandling Of Remains Prompts FBI Criminal Probe.  Washington Post "The Justice Department is investigating the mishandling of remains at Arlington National Cemetery in a broad criminal inquiry that is also seeking evidence of possible contracting fraud and falsification of records, people familiar with the investigation said Tuesday." The Post adds, "The investigation, conducted by the FBI and the Army's Criminal Investigation Command, has been underway for at least six months, according to sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly."

 

18.               VA Cemetery Accused Of Censoring Religious Speech.  Houston Chronicle  "Local veterans and volunteer groups accuse Department of Veterans Affairs officials of censoring religious speech - including the word 'God' - at Houston National Cemetery. In one example cited in documents filed this week in federal court, cemetery director Arleen Ocasio reportedly told volunteers with the National Memorial Ladies that they had to stop telling families, 'God bless you,' at funerals and that they had to remove the words 'God bless' from condolence cards." Fred Hinrichs, a VA attorney "said some of the claims in the complaint aren't factually correct, but he wasn't prepared to give specifics." The Chronicle notes that the court gave VA until July 21st to investigate respond to the claims.

 

19.               Controversy Surrounds Recruitment Of Vets By For-Profit Schools. PBS' Frontline Iraq and Afghanistan vets attend "for-profit, mostly online colleges," and when Congress held hearings on such schools, it "became alarmed by how much GI Bill money was going" to them. Bloomberg News investigative reporter Dan Golden told that for-profit colleges "too often" emphasize recruitment of vets for GI Bill money while leaving vets to "fend for themselves" after that money has been obtained. When Veterans Affairs' Keith Wilson, who oversees the GI Bill, was asked by if his agency has "taken action against any school for over-aggressive pursuit of veterans," Wilson said "there are situations where that does occur." He added that VA is "always working to get" veterans "better information" about schools they can attend under the GI Bill. PBS noted that this spring, a feature on VA's website listed that the graduation rate at for-profit schools is half the rate at traditional schools.

 

20.               Residents, Business Owners Voice Opposition To Transitional Housing Facility For Homeless Veterans.  Gainesville Sun "Two weeks after county commissioners narrowly approved a zoning application to convert" a Gainesville hotel "currently in foreclosure into a transitional housing facility for homeless veterans, a crowd of residents and business owners showed up to voice opposition to the plans," citing concerns about the facility's ability to "fit in with their nearby businesses and homes." Additional concerns raised by 30 members of the community included panhandling, crime, and a negative influence on the area's image. Citizens asked commissioners to reconsider or deny the special-use permit, approved June 14 with a 3-2 vote. The facility would be operated by the Alachua County Housing Authority via a contract with Veterans Affairs and would offer housing for up to 152 veterans in hotel rooms if the applicants met pre-determined criteria.

21.               VA To Offer Vets eBenefit.  Corvallis (OR) Gazette Times The Department of Veterans Affairs have arranged a series of registration events for the VA's new online eBenefit service, which allows veterans to monitor their VA benefits, check on the status of claims and print out documents such as disability letters." Three "such events are planned Thursday in the midvalley, in Lebanon from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the Lebanon Boys & Girls Club, 305 S. Fifth St; in Albany from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Linn County Fair & Expo Center, 3700 Knox Butte Road E., and in Corvallis from 2:30 to 4 p.m. at the Chintimini Senior Center, 2601 N.W. Tyler Ave. Currently, veterans are required to travel to the Portland VA Regional Office to register, so this presents an opportunity to access benefits locally in the future without the trip."

 

22.               US Marine Corps Calls On Williams To Coach Wheelchair Basketball Team In Wounded Warriors Games. San Jose Mercury News Mr. Rod Williams, who mentored the US Marines' "wheelchair basketball team at the recent 2011 Wounded Warriors Games. Held at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, the Paralympic-style Games included 200 wounded, ill or injured soldiers from every branch of the military." Williams is the laboratory information manager at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Palo Alto, California. The work he does at the hospital – "where he interacts daily with vets who are dealing" with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), brain injuries, and other challenges, made Williams "uniquely prepared" to mentor a wheelchair basketball team.

 

23.               Some Military Families Waiting For Change In Presidential Condolence Letter Policy. CBS Evening News"President Obama has spoken often about the weight he feels every time he signs a letter of condolence to a military family," but families of active duty US service members who commit suicide or die in stateside training accidents do not receive such letters. The parents of Sara Conkling, who died in a stateside training accident, have been trying to change that, and in 2009, the "White House said it was reviewing the policy. A year and a half later, it still doesn't have an answer for families like" the Conklings and the Keeslings, whose son killed himself while serving in Iraq.

 

24.               New VA Clinic Opens In Cadillac.  WWTV-TV "Wexford County veterans now have easy access to outpatient care right in Cadillac." On Monday, a "brand new clinic opened...and lets all war veterans get free or discounted health care." The clinic is a "branch of the VA hospital in Saginaw."

 

25.               Entertaining Injured Vets. Wall Street Journal

 

26.               How Two Shell Companies Duped The Pentagon. Reuters Eagle Logistic Solutions and Eagle Logistics Aerospace, which were incorporated at a small house in Wyoming, which has liberal incorporation laws. That fact allowed the owner of the companies to create them using an alias so that he could represent them as minority-owned to win favorable treatment as a military supplier. The companies won Pentagon contracts but have since been banned from doing business with the Pentagon. Another firm registered at the same home in Wyoming has won a contract from Veterans Affairs.

 

27.               Ground Broken On USO Warrior Center At Fort Belvoir.  Washington Post

 

28.               "My Name Is Joe, And I Am A Fed."  Government Computer News

 

29.               Former Littleton Pharmacist Faces Federal Drug Charges.  WRAL-TV "The former owner of a Littleton pharmacy has been indicted on federal drug trafficking charges, authorities said." Last week, the 68-year-old James Arnold King was indicted "on 40 counts of dispensing drugs unlawfully and one count of conspiring to defraud the Veterans Administration health care system." King "faces a maximum penalty of 204 years in federal prison if convicted on all counts."

 

30.               Project To Help Out-Of-Work Veterans Needs Help Itself.  WRDW-TV Stimulus funding for Augusta's Veterans Curation Project (VCP) is "drying up." The project aims to "help veterans find jobs." Jim Lorraine, "director of the CSRA Wounded Warrior Care Project, feels the country should invest in the VCP because it's a pilot program that has proven itself."

 

31.               Wounded LA Veterans Cycle Through France.  KNBC-TV