Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 10-03-09

What’s Inside Today’s Local News for Veterans

1. VA Issues Millions In Emergency Checks For Post-9/11 GI Bill. 
2. Rockefeller Urges VA Care For Soldiers Potentially Exposed To Chemical Hazards. 
3. Iowa Event Aims To Help Homeless Veterans. 
4. VA Auditor Criticizes Department Approach To IT Projects. 
5. South Carolina Veteran Threatens To Use Grenade. 
6. Pennsylvania DAV Drivers Explain Resignation. 
7. Indiana Vet Bemoans State Of Neighborhood. 
8. VA Outpatient Clinic To Open In St. Cloud, Minnesota. 
9. VA Disputes Texas Veteran’s Disability Claim. 
10. Villages Clinic Figures Into VA’s Central Florida Reorganization.

1.      VA Issues Millions In Emergency Checks For Post-9/11 GI Bill.  CNN.com (10/2, Levine) reported, "Millions of dollars in emergency checks were issued to veterans Friday in an effort to help them pay for school expenses while they await a backlog in processing of their education claims." The emergency funds "were necessary because, as of last week, the VA had yet to process applications for as many as 75,000 veterans eligible for education funds under the various VA programs, including 25,000 under a new program for those who have served since September 11, 2001." The decision by Veterans Secretary Eric Shinseki "to issue the funds as a stop-gap measure came after several weeks of vocal complaints by veterans that the administration and schools were not processing the applications fast enough." Veterans groups "were complimentary of the decision to give out the emergency funds." Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, said, "This is Shinseki’s first true test under fire and it looks like he got the money into veterans’ hands and that is the most important thing."
      Mississippi’s Jackson Clarion Ledger (10/3 Crisp) reports, "The GI Bill and other education payments were supposed to go out Thursday, but officials said a processing backlog has left thousands of claims pending. Students who seek the emergency funds will receive on-the-spot payments up to $3,000, according to a VA news release."
      West Virginia’s Charleston Gazette (10/3, Knezevich) reports, "Up to 25,000 veterans nationwide [have] been waiting on education payments from the federal government, which was unprepared for a flood of claims for the Post-9/11 GI Bill."
      KPBS-TV San Diego (10/2, St. John) on its website reported, "Lily Fetzer, Director of the VA in San Diego, said she’s not sure how many veterans are waiting for checks in Southern California, but she found a line of veterans already waiting outside the office early this morning." She added, "We have 16 check writing stations set up and the feedback I’m getting is a lot of happy folks here. They really needed that money."
      WIVB-TV Buffalo (10/2, Schultz) on its website reported, "The GI Bill is still in its infancy. VA Officials expect the process will be much more efficient next year. Despite the delay, these veterans are grateful."
      In contrast, KOLO-TV Reno (10/2, Pearce) on its website reported that Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said, "The VA is scrambling, but they’re disappointing a lot of people right now."
      Checks Issued To Regional Offices Only  . WTKR-TV Norfolk, Virginia (10/2) on its website reported, "So why can’t veterans in schools here Hampton Roads get their checks right away? The VA says only regional offices were issued the checks because of security purposes and the only regional office in the state of Virginia is in Roanoke. So instead of making a trip to Roanoke, the VA encourages students in Hampton Roads to apply on the VA’s website for the money."
      Giffords Praises Online Benefits Application Method.  KGUN-TV Tucson (10/2, Gross) on its website reported, "The Department of Veterans Affairs was
praised by U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords today for making it easier for veterans and changing the way they receive their benefits. Now veterans can apply for emergency education benefits online, instead of having to travel far to receive them according to Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Eric K. Shinseki." 

2.      Rockefeller Urges VA Care For Soldiers Potentially Exposed To Chemical Hazards.  West Virginia’s Beckley Register-Herald (10/2, Porterfield) reported, "Picking up where he left off after America’s initial foray into Persian Gulf warfare, Sen. Jay Rockefeller is pushing the Veterans Administration to offer care to West Virginia soldiers possibly exposed to chemicals six years ago in Iraq." Rockefeller "is the senior member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs which has scheduled a hearing Thursday on the chemical exposure. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., is co-sponsoring a bill known as ‘Health Care for Service Members Exposed to Chemical Hazards Act,’ and was among senators who sought an investigation by the Inspector General in August." Byrd "said another concern centers on whether the Army is keeping Veterans Affairs up to date on the exposure and its potentially lethal results."  

3.      Iowa Event Aims To Help Homeless Veterans.  KTIV-TV Sioux City, Iowa (10/2) on its website reported, "The US Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs has committed to taking the nation’s 131,000 homeless veterans off the streets over the next five years. To help with that, Sioux City’s Veterans Center hosted ‘Stand Down 2009′ today at the Midtown Community Center," with the aim of giving veterans’ families "access to services that can help them out of a homeless situation." Sioux City VA Homeless Coordinator Candice Cummings "says having services available all in one place is what makes the difference."
      KPTH-TV Sioux City, Iowa (10/2) on its website reported, "From legal help to education, everything is free for the Vets, in an effort to help them get off the streets." VA Homeless Coordinator Cummings said, "I think people don’t know that they’re available for or that they have benefits that they can utilize. That there are medical benefits available that they can take advantage of that there are ways to help them move out of that cycle of homelessness." 

4.      VA Auditor Criticizes Department Approach To IT Projects.  Government Health IT (10/2, Mosquera) reported, "The Veterans Affairs Department unevenly enforces its own guidelines for managing health information technology projects over their lifetime, an auditor" recently reported. Belinda Finn, the agency’s "assistant inspector general for audits, said the VA’s IT projects are valued at $3.4 billion. Without an effective lifecycle process, she said, the ‘investments are at risk of cost overruns.’" Finn "said the VA should take immediate steps to set up management controls so that there is centralized oversight of the IT investments." In a "response letter to the IG’s office," VA CIO Roger Baker "said his office is deploying a ‘Program Management Accountability System’ to help oversee department IT projects and make sure IT programs be completed on time and within budget."
      Federal Computer Week (10/2, Lipowicz, 90K) reported, "The Veterans
Affairs Department has not consistently applied its life cycle process to manage information technology projects that cost billions, according to a new report from the department’s Office of the Inspector General." Although the VA’s System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) "is adequate, it was not communicated, enforced, or applied evenly to monitor the department’s IT systems’ spending effectively and efficiently, Belinda Finn, assistant inspector general for audits and investigations, wrote in the report issued Sept. 30." The IG’s office "recommended that VA’s Office of Information and Technology establish and implement policies, procedures, and management controls to ensure centralized management of VA’s IT investments."  

5.      South Carolina Veteran Threatens To Use Grenade.  South Carolina’s Charleston Post and Courier (10/2, Paras, 96K) reported, "Authorities evacuated a Ladson apartment building Thursday morning after they say a depressed military veteran threatened deputies with a grenade. The man, in his 50s, was taken into custody just before 11 a.m. without incident, said Dorchester County sheriff’s Maj. John Garrison. The man was taken to a local hospital for evaluation." 

6.      Pennsylvania DAV Drivers Explain Resignation.  Pennsylvania’s Wayne Independent (10/2, Compton) reported, "For the past 10 years, volunteer drivers had been providing free [Disabled American Veterans] van service for Wayne County veterans, but that all stopped in August. Volunteer drivers Bernie Harvey, Bruce Drake and Mike Krol" all encountered problems with a veteran who on multiple occasions "was either a no-show or 15 to 20 minutes late," and subsequently refused to transport him. The veteran complained to the VA and to the office of Sen. Arlen Specter. Harvey "says they met with the VA in July to try and resolve the issue," but the drivers all quit "when the VA insisted they pick up the veteran." 

 7.      Indiana Vet Bemoans State Of Neighborhood.  WSBT-TV South Bend, Indiana (10/2, Stopczynski) on its website reported that Doug Mappin, a veteran in South Bend, IN, "is losing neighbors quickly because of the economy, and what is left behind in his near-northwest-side neighborhood is leaving him frustrated and fed up." He "says he feels safer back in Afghanistan than on his own street." While he "served his country overseas last year, his garage was hit by arson and his air conditioner stolen." A spokesperson from the mayor’s office "says they are working with Mappin for additional ways to address his concerns and improve the neighborhood." 

8.      VA Outpatient Clinic To Open In St. Cloud, Minnesota.  Minnesota’s Wadena Pioneer Journal (10/2) reported, "The St. Cloud [MN] VA Medical Center will officially open its new Alexandria Community Based Outpatient Clinic at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the clinic at 10 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 5." The clinic, "at 515 22nd Avenue NE in Alexandria, will offer primary
health care and mental health care to veterans in central Minnesota, and specialty care referrals to the VA Medical Centers in St. Cloud and Minneapolis. Other services to be provided include social work, clinical pharmacy, laboratory and nutrition services." 

9.      VA Disputes Texas Veteran’s Disability Claim.  KXXV-TV Waco, Texas (10/2, Talbert) on its website reported, "A Vietnam era veteran says he was the victim of a near-fatal training exercise, but the Veteran’s Affairs is denying his claim for benefits. Jimmy ‘Red’ Anderson has been suffering from migraines for the last 18 years, and hasn’t been able to work because of it." The Veterans Affairs Regional Office says that "they can’t find any documentation that Jimmy received medical treatment for the accident," which occurred in 1964, but it "is trying to locate more information." 

10.    Villages Clinic Figures Into VA’s Central Florida Reorganization.  Florida’s Villages Daily Sun (10/2, Corder, 39K) said the "importance of The Villages Outpatient Clinic is becoming clearer as details emerge about the Department of Veterans Affairs’ reorganization of its Central Florida operations." The Sun pointed out that started on Friday, October 2nd, "veterans’ medical records from Daytona Beach to Orlando, and as far north as the Leesburg area," would be "consolidated at the Orlando VA Medical Center. This reorganization calls for the eventual consolidation of medical records of veterans who live in the Tampa Bay area, VA spokeswoman Mary Kay Hollingsworth said." She also "she noted that veterans in The Villages will remain under the umbrella of the VA’s North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System. Rather than traveling to a major VA hospital in Orlando, Tampa or Gainesville for specialty services, Hollingsworth added, many veterans affected by the consolidation could choose The Villages Outpatient Clinic as a more convenient alternative for certain specialty services."

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