What's New
| VA Secretary Pressed by Senator on High Percentage of Wrongly Denied Benefit Claims |
March 16, 2010, Washington, DC (CQ Politics) - A leading Republican senator on Tuesday asked Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki to explain why so many veterans’ benefit claims are wrongly denied, resulting in a high rate of reversal on appeal. |
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| Profile of New Veterans' Courts in New York Times |
Defendants Fresh From War Find Service Counts in Court - VCS Supports Veterans' Courts March 15, 2010, Charleston, West Virginia (New York Times) — When Judge Robert C. Chambers handed down Timothy Oldani’s federal sentence for selling stolen military equipment on eBay, he gave the former Marine a break. |
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| Presdent Obama Donated $250,000 of Nobel Prize Money to Fisher House |
March 11, 2010, Washington, DC (New York Times) - President Obama made good on his promise to give his $1.4 million Nobel Prize money to charity, releasing the names on Thursday of the organizations that will benefit. |
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| Philanthropist Bobby Willis to Build New $3.3 Billion Hospital for VA in Farmington, NM for Rural and Native American Veterans |
Proposed state-of-the-art Kirtland veterans clinic could provide as many as 8,000 jobs March 14, 2010, Farmington, New Mexico (Farmington Daily Times) — A proposed veterans complex in Kirtland centered around a new hospital, backed by a wealthy entrepreneur and costing an estimated $3.3 billion promises to bring state-of-the-art medicine and other benefits to veterans, as well as 8,000 jobs to the local economy. |
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| Dr. Haley at UTSW Presents Compelling Brain Images Showing Gulf War Illness |
VCS Asks VA: Since UTSW Research Remains Vital to Understanding Gulf War Illness, Then Why Did a Handful of VA Staff in Washington Impede UTSW Contract and Then End Funding for UTSW? March 9, 2010, Salt Lake City, Utah (Science News) - Nearly two decades after vets began returning from the Middle East complaining of Gulf War Syndrome, the federal government has yet to formally accept that their vague jumble of symptoms constitutes a legitimate illness. Here, at the Society of Toxicology annual meeting, yesterday, researchers rolled out a host of brain images – various types of magnetic-resonance scans and brain-wave measurements – that they say graphically and unambiguously depict Gulf War Syndrome. |
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Breaking News: Top VA Claims Official Quits - VCS Issues Statement
Written by VA
Friday, 20 November 2009 09:53
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Patrick W. Dunne, VA Under Secretary for Benefits, to Step Down November 20, 2009, Washington, DC (VA Press Release) - Patrick W. Dunne, the Under Secretary for Benefits for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), today announced his resignation for early next year. Dunne, who attained the rank of rear admiral while in the U.S. Navy, has been with VA since 2006. Please read New York Times article quoting Veterans for Common Sense. As Under Secretary for Benefits since October 2008, Admiral Dunne has directed the administration of VA's disability compensation, pension, education, home loan guaranty, vocational rehabilitation and employment, and life insurance programs through a nationwide network of 57 regional offices, other special processing centers, and Veterans Benefits Administration headquarters. "I've appreciated the wonderful opportunity VA has given me to serve our nation's Veterans and their families," said Dunne. "We have an obligation to care for our heroes and their dependents, and I will fully support the transition of my successor to meet that moral responsibility." "Pat Dunne has guided the Veterans Benefits Administration through a number of challenges during his tenure as Under Secretary. I applaud his service and loyalty to our team and thank him for his unfailing commitment to our nation's Veterans," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Troy, N.Y., Dunne earned his undergraduate degree in mathematics from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis and earned a master's in mathematics from the Naval Postgraduate School and is a graduate of the Navy's nuclear power training program. ### VCS Statement on Resignation of Under Secretary Dunne November 20, 2009 - Veterans for Common Sense hopes VA Secretary Eric Shinseki moves forward quickly to find a strong advocate to replace the departing Dunne at the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA). Unfortunately, too many veterans still face significant obstacles obtaining VA medical care and disability benefits. To learn more about the serious problems at VA, please visit our web site dedicated to our landmark lawsuit on behalf of all veterans.
The facts are grim: veterans wait, on average, six months for an initial answer from VBA about a disability claim. Veterans who appeal a VBA decision wait, on average, another four or five years for a final answer. This is overwhelming evidence that VBA's claim system - with nearly one million backlogged claims - remains broken and in need of an overhaul.
VCS hopes President Barack Obama and VA Secretary Shinseki will name a replacement who can implement the urgently needed reforms at VBA so the harmful delays end.
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