Veterans for Common Sense announces four major policy goals for 2008 designed to benefit our Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans.  Our goals are based on our ground-breaking VCS Congressional testimony on July 25, 2007.

Our over-arching VCS goal is to reduce the time veterans spend waiting for help from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  VCS advocates for the delivery of prompt and high-quality mental healthcare and disability benefits to Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans so that fewer fall in the cracks while waiting.

Congress made a strong step in the correct direction by approving the Dignity for Wounded Warriors Act last week.  VCS urges President George W. Bush to sign the legislation soon, so VA and the military can begin much-needed reforms. 

In addition to providing oversight of new and existing laws, VCS intends to press for these four goals:

1. Ending stigma against war veterans seeking mental health treatment
2. Stopping illegal Personality Disorder discharges for deployed veterans
3. Automatically approving deployed veterans’ Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) disability claims
4. Automatically approving deployed veterans’ Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) disability claims

Here are the details:

1. Ending stigma against mental health treatment.  In July 2007, VCS asked Congress to mandate and fund an anti-stigma campaign aimed at both veterans and the public.  Our first policy goal is to remove the stigma that Army doctors say is the number one barrier to veterans seeking mental healthcare treatment.  Our second policy goal is to end public stigma that may lead to job discrimination and other challenges for veterans and their families.  VCS supports VA's outreach efforts using Vet Centers, as demonstrated in Fort Worth, Texas, yet more outreach must be done by VA clinics, VA regional offices, and the Department of Labor.

2. Stopping illegal Personality Disorder (PD) discharges.  In July 2007, VCS asked Congress to order the Department of Defense (DoD) to stop discharging veterans with a diagnosis of personality disorder, as this violates Army regulations.  Furthermore, VCS asked Congress to order DoD to review all PD discharges among veterans deployed since September 2001, and order VA to review all PD healthcare and benefits claims since September 2001.  VCS supports S 1817, a bill to stop PD discharges.  The issue of improper PD discharges was profiled in several news articles.

3. Automatically approving disability claims for TBI.  In December 2007, after meeting with House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner, veterans service organizations agreed to ask Congress to automatically approve disability benefits for veterans who are diagnosed with TBI.  According to the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC) at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, up to 20 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans are at risk for TBI due to roadside bomb blasts.  However, the military does not document all of these incidents, making it hard for VA to process TBI disability claims. This can be accomplished by changing the law so that deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan means the government concedes there was a concussive blast incident strong enough to cause the TBI the veteran was diagnosed with, unless there is evidence to the contrary.  This allows VA to process claims and provide healthcare faster for TBI patients.

4. Automatically approving disability claims for PTSD.  In July 2007, VCS asked Congress to pass legislation to automatically approve disability claims for veterans who are diagnosed with PTSD.  At the same December 2007 meeting with veterans groups, we agreed to ask Congress to automatically approve disability benefits for veterans who war diagnosed with PTSD.  Estimates range from 20 percent to 33 percent for Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans returning home with PTSD.  In July 2004, an Army study reported that 93 percent of soldiers and 97 percent of Marines experienced "being shot at or receiving small arms file," indicating that nearly all soldiers are now involved in combat to some degree. As of July 2007, VA had diagnosed 52,375 veterans with PTSD, yet VA provided disability payments to only 19,015 veterans for PTSD.  VA should determine the status of the 33,360 veterans who may have a claim pending or denied to determine how this discrepancy can be resolved.  The major problem facing veterans is the fact that the military does not keep records for all military engagements, and obtaining military records during war is very difficult.  PTSD claims can be automatcially approved by changing the law so that deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan means that the government concedes there was at least one stressor sufficient enough to cause PTSD that the veteran was diagnosed with, unless there is evidence to the contrary.

VCS supports the new Marine policy of screening soldiers for PTSD and TBI if they are subject to disciplinary action after returning home from the war.  However, the Marines and the remainder of the military must medically examine all service members for PTSD and TBI, as this reduces stigma and provides early detection for potentially significant medical conditions that develop months or years later.

If veterans groups, Congress, and VA fail to close the gap and reduce waiting times for healthcare and benefits, then more veterans are at risk for homelessness and suicide.  We can and must win this battle to make sure fellow veterans receive what they earned.

VCS believes that VA is staffed by dedicated and diligent employees who should be recognized for their efforts during the past few years while VA was underfunded and understaffed.  With a new Secretary and with increased Congressional funding for VA on the horizon for 2008, our VCS goal for next year is to force VA to treat and to compensate our Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans faster so veterans can pay their rent, buy food, and not slip into despair, homelessness, or suicide.  All of these policy goals are simple and can be acted on quickly by Congress and then implemented soon by VA and DoD.  Many of these problems were outlined in our full written VCS statement to Congress on July 25, 2007.

Please share our 2008 policy goals with your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator and ask them what they are doing to make sure veterans are not forced to wait for healthcare and benefits.

While our VCS class action lawsuit against VA is processed through the courts, we ask for your support on these policy initiatives.  Please share your thoughts about our VCS policy goals for 2008 via e-mail at contact@veteransforcommonsense.org.

Thank you.