Some people actually believe that it makes a difference as to
which party (DFL/GOP) is in control of the Veterans Administration (VA) as to
how America's veterans are treated. Some people also believe that some
politicians are totally honest and sincere and uncorrupted by the political
atmosphere of Washington, D.C. After watching the abuse of our veterans
by the very agencies that are funded by millions of taxpayer dollars to help
veterans, I know that neither DFL/GOP party will significantly change the
policies and procedures of the these agencies which include the DOL (Department
of Labor), OFCCP (Office of Contract Compliance Programs), and VA (Veterans
Administration). This creation, VAShreds, will give you a glimmer of how
badly veterans are treated by our corrupt politicians and these agencies,
especially the VA.
If you, good readers, believe that the VAShreds
creation is an aberration of the U.S. Government, let's visit some well
cocumented stories over the past 30 years. (1) Over 10 years ago, Judge
Kenyon ruled that investigations into federal contractors by the OFCCP are
"SHAMS." (2) A conscientious OFCCP worker found a stack of complaints
stacked in a storage closet and headed for the shredder. The OFCCP
regional director was asked to take early retirement because she was exposed.
(3) A district OFCCP manager deliberately changed the company named in a
national OFCCP affirmative action complaint to cover up abuses by a well known
media company. (4) After a former OFCCP national director was told that
some OFCCP veterans' complaints were over 20 years old, the director replied, "I
have access to the OFCCP database from my private law firm and I find no
complaints over six months old."
All of these examples are part of a
systemic and pervasive policy of discrimination against veterans that is covered
by a law known as the "Continuing Violation Doctrine." It reflects
systemic government attitutde of stonewalling, ignoring, and not responding to
veterans' inqueries in the expectation that the veterans will either go away or
die. It is commonly confronted by most veterans when they follow the laws
and fill out the complaint forms. The following 6 reports filed by Col.
Dan Cedusky in the month of October are an outstanding series that in no way
could be considered an aberration.
VA SHREDS OUR VETERANS
Thanks to the current and former VA employees, and just
plain old friends, who helped make the following story possible. You know
who you are.
-------------------------
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfoct08/nf101308-1.htm
Many veterans who have filed disability claims with the
Veterans’ Benefits Administration (VBA) of the Department of Veterans’ Affair
(VA) will relate horror stories of misdated, misfiled or lost documents all
leading to delays in processing or an outright denial of the claim. The mantra
for veterans dealing with the VBA has become: “Delay, Deny and Hope that I
Die.”
It has been assumed by many veterans, their Service Officers who
help file claims and attorneys who specialize in veterans’ law that the VBA
operates in such a way as to deliberately stall or hinder the claim process with
the goal of frustrating the veteran to the point where they just forget about
the claim and go away. This isn't some grand plan to purposely hurt veterans,
but rather a combination of ignorance, arrogance, incredibly bad management and
non-existent oversight. While this viewpoint has been labeled cynical by some
and outright paranoid by others, new information is surfacing that shows the
cynics, and even the paranoids, to be correct.
What We Know
The
VA’s Office of Inspector General (VAOIG) has been conducting audits, or
investigations, of a number of VA Regional Offices (VAROs). There are over 50
VAROs around the country, each set up to handle the claims of veterans in a
particular geographical area.
The latest
series of VAOIG investigations centers on charges that VARO administrators and
employees deliberately falsified “timeliness” statistics sent to the VA’s
Central Office (VACO). This would be information that shows when a claim was
received and how, with a documented timeline including date/time stamps, it
moved through the process.
The first heads have begun to roll in this
investigation. During the week of October 6, 2008, four employees at the New
York VARO, including the Director, were placed on administrative leave. More
accurately, they were removed from their positions awaiting the outcome of the
investigation. Sources close to this investigation say that those removed, and
others, were found to have been fudging the “timeliness” figures. And, there are
allegations that documents, including paperwork essential to the claim process
had been destroyed.
Another VARO under investigation is Detroit. On
September 5, 2008, VARO employees were called to a meeting with the main topic
being their poor performance levels. They were told that the Director had been
called to Washington to answer questions regarding the poor
performance.
At that meeting, VARO officials announced an “amnesty
period” for anyone who had old claims at their desk or stashed in other places
around the office, a direct procedural violation. Employees were told to turn in
paperwork so they could try to get the “timeliness” numbers up. Officials also
stated that a VAOIG team would be coming shortly to inspect the VARO and urged
all employees “to be prepared.”
By mid-September the VAOIG team had
arrived at the Detroit VARO. What they found staggers the imagination. VAOIG
discovered hundreds of claims, documents critical to claims and other valuable
information in the shredder bins. Those bins were removed from the shredder area
and the documents were screened by upper management.
It is unclear if the
VAOIG team actually “seized” any of the documents in the shredder bins. What we
do know is that after the VAOIG investigators left the Detroit VARO, management
continued to find more critical documents in shredder bins. A meeting was called
and the Director told employees that it was known who had thrown out the
documents and that they would be fired. The “amnesty period” for turning in mail
kept at employee’s desks was extended in the hope of turning up all “lost” claim
documentation.
On October 2, 2008, the Detroit VARO Director began a “no
record mail” program. This was meant to find all mail in the offices for which
there, literally, was no record. Quoting from an employee directly involved in
this process: “…discovered in the thousands of pieces of ‘no record mail’ we
found original applications, medical evidence for veterans’ claims that had not
been included in the decisions, informal claims (that likely could affect
original dates of claims), and other relevant identifiable mail
items.”
On October 7, 2008, quoting again from the VA employee, “…the
Director, Service Center Manager and other top management ransacked our work
areas in search of mail that was being stored/stashed at individual’s desks.
They sent some individuals home, and the others were told to wait in the break
room until the end of their shift. I can’t attest to what they found in the work
areas, but individuals were pulled aside and questioned.”
Then, on
October 9, 2008, quoting again, “During a training session the Director…stated
that other regional offices have already placed numerous supervisors on
administrative leave in regards to ‘cheating’ on their numbers, and that with as
poor as our station numbers [are]…at least we aren’t cheating on our numbers, or
at least not cheating well.”
So, what is being done in the Detroit VARO
to put an end to this mess? Not much. The VA employee adds with a noticeable
sadness, “…They don’t seem to have any answers yet. They have juggled the
supervisory staff around to different departments for some reason, and have been
telling us to stand by for further training on our job functions. There are
still items of mail at my desk currently that I have been told to hold on
station since they don’t know the disposition of these types of mail yet
[and]…they keep finding new piles of mail that date back to March of 2008 [and
further] that’s had no action taken on it.”
What We Don’t Know
At
this time, we don’t know how many VAROs have been caught up in this
investigation or if the VAOIG teams just went out to “sample” some VAROs and hit
pay dirt in New York and Detroit.
We also don’t know what VACO is going
to do about this. A highly-placed VACO official, when told that this information
was going public, gulped, paused, and said, “I can’t talk about that.” And, one
of the VAOIG investigators who was at the Detroit VARO will not return phone
calls on this matter.
The worst part is, we don’t know if any documents
were actually shredded. By its very nature, shredding would eliminate the
evidence of what was shredded. We may never know unless a VA employee comes
forward and says that they did it or saw it done.
CYA Time
We will
have to wait for the VAOIG reports before we can get a handle on how widespread
this problem of “timeliness” is. Is this happening at all 50+ VAROs? A number of
former VA employees have said that they believe the “timeliness” issue exists in
all VAROs. They are of the opinion that there is widespread abuse of documents
as they come in to the VARO. No one felt that any VARO Director would actually
tell employees to hide or destroy documents, but the general feeling is that
this is “winked at” and a standard way of handling the paperwork crunch at the
VAROs.
Several former VA employees have postulated about how the VAOIG
reports will turn out. They feel that the VA will claim that any hiding or
destruction of documents was done at the lowest possible level and without the
consent or knowledge of anyone above that person’s grade, then make promises
that it will never happen again. A former VA attorney decided that it is
impossible for such “widespread abuse to occur” without knowledge of its
existence at all levels of the VARO.
We can expect statements of outrage
from VA Secretary James Peake. We can expect hearings from the politicians on
Capitol Hill. But, what will this really accomplish? Will any of this change the
way the VAROs operate? Don’t count on it.
Shredding Our
Trust
Although it is not clear at this time whether any documents related
to a disability claim were shredded at any VARO, it is safe to assume that they
weren’t sitting in a shredder bin waiting to be processed by a claims
representative. What has been shredded is veterans’ trust in the VA.
By
deliberately hiding vital documents and delaying claims, the VBA has lived up to
its reputation and to the slogan so many disgruntled vets hate to say but know
is true: “Delay, Deny and Hope that I Die.”
VA executives are fond of
touting their agency as “non-adversarial” when it comes to the disability claim
process. Prior to his confirmation as VA Secretary, Dr. James Peake promised the
Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs that he would “do the right thing” for
veterans. It appears he missed the mark.
The VA’s biggest fear is that
the VAOIG investigations will open the doors to, perhaps, tens of thousands of
re-filed claims from every veteran, Service Officer and attorney who has had a
claim or appeal timed-out because their paperwork was “not received in a timely
manner.” While that would add to the huge backlog of claims facing the VBA at
this time, it may be the only solution.
The VBA has shredded veterans’
trust in the disability claim process. It’s time for them to re-earn that
trust.
VA SHREDS OUR VETERANS ((II) October 17, 2008) VA claims found in piles to be shreddedhttp://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/10/military_va_stopshredding_101608w/ Department of Veterans Affairs regional offices have been ordered to immediately stop shredding documents after an investigation found some benefits claims and supporting documents among piles of papers waiting to be destroyed. Claims often include personal records supplied by veterans that are not duplicated in government files and might be difficult to replace, such as certificates for births, deaths and marriage. In a statement, VA Secretary James Peake said only a handful of documents were found among piles of documents set aside to be shredded. But he is not pleased. “I insist on the highest possible standards for processing and safeguarding information in VA’s custody,” Peake said. “It is unacceptable that documents important to a veteran’s claim for benefits should be misplaced or destroyed.” Peake said three of VA’s 57 regional offices were involved, without naming them. Veterans of Foreign Wars said they were told four regional offices — in Detroit, St. Louis, St. Petersburg, Fla., and Waco, Texas — were identified as having documents in shredding bins that should not have been there. VFW National Commander Glen Gardner said the problem could be significant. “The VA inspector general conducted a routine investigation of Detroit’s mailroom and discovered five documents in the shredder bin, then three pieces are found in St. Louis, two in Waco, and some more in St. Petersburg,” he said. “The question that begs to be asked and answered is how many veterans had their disability and compensation claims disappear down a paper shredder?” Peake said VA’s inspector general continues to investigate and that anyone who violated policies on protecting documents will be held accountable. Among the records found waiting to be shredded were applications for disability compensation, education benefits, home loans and pensions for low-income veterans, officials said. The halt in shredding was ordered by Patrick Dunne, the retired Navy rear admiral sworn in just weeks ago as VA’s new undersecretary for benefits. Dunne’s order aims to prevent any documents from being destroyed until officials can determine if this is a widespread problem. VA officials said a new policy will require regional office directors to certify, in writing, that none of the documents being destroyed are original copies of key documents or records. Current VA policies require that original copies of documents supplied by veterans or their families — including discharge papers and marriage and death certificates — be returned when they are no longer needed, but they allow duplicates to be destroyed, a practice intended to help protect privacy. VA officials discussed the problem in a conference call with veterans’ service organizations on Thursday, saying that the shredding ban is so sweeping that it includes the removal of portable shredders from beside the desks of VA workers. Garner, who was in on that conference call, said VA needs to establish internal controls. “We have to believe that the VA will right this wrong,” he said in a statement. He suggested that some claims may have been set aside for shredding by employees who did not want to complete them or were trying to hide a backlog. “Secretary Peake must hold everyone involved personally accountable for this disgraceful management failure,” he said. “Someone who intentionally destroys paperwork, or supervisors who allow employees to interpret their own rules, are … doing serious damage to a great public image that took the VA years to build. Our veterans and our nation deserve much better.” The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee chairman, Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, said the shredding ban makes sense as a temporary measure, “but this is not a long-term solution.” “VA needs an enforced and understood policy which preserves documents relevant to pending claims, without leaving veterans’ personal information open to identity theft,” Akaka said. He said he understands VA does not have room to store everything. “Some documents must be properly disposed of due to space constraints and privacy issues,” he said. Still, he said, veterans “must be able to trust VA to safely keep their records. If they cannot, VA will not be able to do its job, and veterans will not get the benefits they have earned through their service.” ******** Visit VA Watchdog http://vawatchdog.org/> Larry has
Much More about all this, some of which I've sent out
previous! VA SHREDS OUR VETERANS ((III) October 23, 2008) UPDATE: VA'S DELAYED
MAILING CAUSES REDUCTION IN BENEFITS FOR UNEMPLOYABLE
VETS Veterans' Advocate Jim Strickland: "They pounce on you very quickly to reduce your compensation because you didn't return the form they didn't mail you." by Jim Strickland Jim; I received my form 21-4140 last week on October 14th. It was dated August 1. Today I received a letter from them informing me that they had reviewed my case on October 15th and because I didn't return the form 21-4140 my benefits are being dropped to 70%. I even called them on the 14th and told them that the letter was late, they did put a notation on my file showing that I called. I called again today and was told that I did everything I could do but I still don't know if my benefits will be cut or if I have to appeal or have new exams. Jim; I was reading the e-mails you posted about 21-4140. I received a letter today dated 10/14/08 from the DAV in Winston-Salem,NC. They told me that their letter was not an official letter. They went on to say that the VA was cutting my disability from 100% to 90%. I will be receiving an official letter from the VA. I know its my fault but I didn't know about any Form 21-4140. I went through all the papers that I have received and nothing about 21-4140. The DAV said when I receive the letter if I have any questions feel free to contact them. They said that they will mail me a 21-4140????? I'm sending my appeal today. I will hand carry it to the DAV if necessary. He sort of stated that there are several Vets in the same boat with me. Reply; I want to follow up with all of you who have had this issue with your 4140 forms. About 3 weeks ago I got a flurry of letters from veterans in different regions and all were similar in that the 4140 form arrived some 60 to 80 days late. I'm continuing to hear from you and it seems this is ongoing. Some of you are now telling me that VA is taking action to reduce your benefits. So...the VA requires that you complete a form to keep your benefits. The form is worthless but to harass you with. Then they don't timely provide you with the required form. Then they pounce on you very quickly to reduce your compensation because you didn't return the form they didn't mail you. If I were a conspiracy theorist, I could easily see where this was an intentional move by the VA to slash the budget at your expense. I would probably also believe (if I were a conspiracy theorist) that the shredding of documents was intentional and there was more than a "handful" of documents. I might even believe that your DVA leadership really doesn't like veterans very much. It's a good thing I'm not one of those, isn't it? In any case, the letters above reinforce why I personally don't deal with DAV and why I tell you time and time again that you *never* call the toll free number. I'm continually amazed at how many of you write to me telling me of your disappointment with DAV or how the toll free number failed you. I feel like it's every other column I write "Don't ever call the VA" and the next week you write to tell me what happened when you called the VA. (Sigh) If the VA has issued any letter to you that they are proposing to reduce your rating from 100% IU, you must act swiftly and surely. You have time windows that you must act within to prevent them from proceeding. If you don't take action, you're what I commonly refer to as 'screwed'. Once you blow it by letting them lower that rating, it's a bitch to get it back. It makes more sense to stop the process before the VA acts. I can't for the life of me imagine why a veteran would hand carry an appeal to the DAV. It isn't them acting against you, it's the DVA. Let me make it as clear as I possibly can: If the DAV is sending you messages you don't understand about a VA action and you're sending stuff that you aren't sure of about the VA back to the DAV, you are one confused veteran. Then when you get advice from DAV and write to me back and forth to tell me each step of what the DAV said (or didn't say), I'm wasting my time with you. I had four email exchanges with that veteran above and he only wanted to relay to me what DAV told him and then ask what I thought. I told him I have too many other vets to serve to go back and forth with him and the DAV. Let's do a quick sanity check. We'll review just what happens and what should you do if the VA tries to lower your rating when you haven't returned a 4140...or any other time. I've received maybe 100 emails from readers in the last few days talking about their late or non-existent 4140 forms. These are the forms that are mailed yearly to veterans who receive the 100% Individual Unemployability benefit. The form tells the VA that the veteran has not held substantially gainful employment since the last form was mailed in. It's a particularly silly and wasteful effort by VA and that's really saying something for an organization that takes such pride in its silly and wasteful requirements. This one is a premier accomplishment by the dullards at the top of the organization, apparently a special assignment mission of the Department of Redundancy Department. Nonetheless, if your 4140 isn't there on time, no matter the excuse you have, the VA can and often will push the first domino in a long line that will eventually result in a lowering of benefits. In every mailing you receive from VA you get extra papers. Those extra papers tell you that you have rights to appeal. They tell you how to appeal, where to appeal and the underlying law about your rights to appeal. In a denial letter the VA even goes so far as to tell you exactly what you must do to appeal and win your case. It's all spelled out for you in very plain English language. Having said all that, I don't get why it's such a mystery to so many veterans about what they should do. Not a week goes by that I don't get note saying, "Jim...A year or so back I got this letter from the VA that told me I needed to respond to them. I didn't understand what they were talking about and it looked like a mistake to me. I called my VSO but when he called back he missed me and I never heard from him again. Then I went on vacation and I got married and forgot about it. Well, today I realized that my deposit last month and this month was 1/2 of what it should have been and I called VA and they told me my benefits were cut. I know they can't do that to me can they? Can you help?" The answer I give is always the same, "Yes." I can help. But once the action to take a benefit away from you is done, it takes 10 times the effort to get it back as it would have if you had reacted quickly...just like the letter tells you to do. This is how it works for a missing 4140. It's similar for most other reductions or recoupments. A "recoupment" is an action taken to get back an overpayment made to you. If you miss the 4140 deadline for any reason, eventually you'll get a letter that tells you "We may take an adverse action unless you timely act by notifying us in writing...". The language may vary a bit but the VA is firing a shot across your bow to warn you that if you don't do something, the next shot will be aimed to hole you beneath the water line and sink you. The letter will go on to tell you your rights. If you don't sit and read this carefully, you'll soon find out the awesome power of an ignorant and uncaring bureaucracy. The first thing to note is that you must notify them in writing. To write to me weeks or months later and tell me, "I even called them on the 14th..." makes me wonder how you manage to remember to eat breakfast each day. You're addressing actions on what may be your only income, your money, and you don't follow basic instructions. Instead of sitting down and analyzing the letter and doing what it tells you to do, you get pissed off and call a call center. Instead, as soon as you get any letter warning you of impending action, you should sit down and begin to write. A well written letter is the most powerful tool you have available to you. In the case of the 4140 that you never got, here's what your letter looks like: DATE VARO ADDRESS REFERENCE (Your name, Your Numbers) Dear Sir/Madame: I am in receipt of your letter dated (DATE). In that letter you notify me that you may take action to reduce my 100% Individual Unemployability (IU) compensation benefit because I did not timely return to you a VA Form 21-4140. Please accept this document as my Notice of Disagreement (NOD) with your proposal to reduce my benefit. I did not ever receive from you a VA Form 21-4140 so I was unaware that I should have sent that form back. (Or, I received it 2 months late, etc. Explain your reasons.) Enclosed with this letter, please find a VA Form 21-4140 that I have completed and signed. I attest that during the year preceding this I have not held substantial gainful employment. I ask that you make no adjustments to my payments while you consider this issue. If you feel that it may be required to settle the issue, I request a personal hearing before a Decision Review Officer or the Veterans Service Center Manager or a designate. Thank you for your kind consideration. Respectfully submitted, Your Name & Signature Address & Phone That's it. You type that up nice and neat and you carry it to your local post office where you mail it certified mail, return receipt requested. It really is just that easy and simple. If you do this within a day or two of any notice of adverse action, it may ensure that the matter is closed. You won't hear from them again about the issue. If you wait a 60 day period, you'll get a notice telling you that they have reduced your rating and the effective date. You'll have a year from then to appeal and after jumping through som flaming hoops, you may get your IU rating back. This stuff isn't rocket surgery. It does require that you sit up and pay attention, even if only for a short while. Do not ever ignore any notice from VA. Always respond as above telling them what you want and why. If you believe that using an intermediary between you and VA gives you an edge, you're wrong. Stay alert and even when VA blows it, you'll be able to fix things quickly with your written words. --------------- ADDENDUM: (My eagle eyed reader noticed a glaring omission early this morning. I don't know how I missed this but I did. As is lways the case, one of you comes through to help me get it right so that we all have the data we need. Thanks Jeffrey!) Jim; I am a vet and I wish that I had found VA Watchdog dot Org and your advise column much earlier. I am getting the education I wish I had before I filed for compensation. But that is water under the bridge. I have been fighting with the VA for quite some years now. Most of what I know I learned from the VA Watchdog dot Org. Both you and Larry Scott have taught me more in the last two years then I had learned on my own in the past thirty years. After reading this post I googled the form and found it in many different sites. The VA has a page to search for documents at. http://www.va.gov/vaforms/default.asp The page for VA Form 21-4140-1 is. http://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/VBA-21-4140-1-ARE.PDF The form can be filled out on your computer and then printed and mailed. Of course as you say. We should send it via certified mail. I hope that you and Larry will continue your good work. --------------- NOTE FROM JIM STRICKLAND: Might be good for each person to see when they were awarded IU, then write on a calendar each year as a reminder to send this in. http://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/VBA-21-4140-1-ARE.PDF VA SHREDS OUR VETERANS ((IV) October 27, 2008)“On October 22, 2008, the
Source and full story at
:http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfoct08/nf102708-1.htm Larry Scott -VA Watchdog - said it all this
morning: "And, it's time for more VA employees to come
forward with information to help the VBA and VAOIG, and the veterans they
serve. Can one person make a
difference? Remember, this
entire shredder scandal story started with just one VA employee in
Doing the right thing is what will help resolve
this problem. VBA employees are actually posting on the comment
section at Watchdog and other vets
sites-anonymously- while I applaud their willingness to confirm what
we claimants have known for years-and of course who really knows if they
are a RO employee or not- the unsung hero of this whole story is a Detroit
VARO employee who had enough and was brave enough to come forward.
VA SHREDS OUR VETERANS ((V) October 27, 2008) Subject: VA Shredder Gate plus:Sent: Sunday, October 26, 2008 5:00 PM Received the following from several sources but cannot confirm the
validity or the visit to the Regional Office in Chicago by Senators Durban
and Obama. This post is anonymous- not the right name- the VA employee is hoping
that vets will respond to his plea:
On VA Watch dog
at: http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfoct08/nf102508-7.htm You will
find Congressman Filner’s statement:
"This completely shatters confidence in the whole VA
system.” Hundreds
of thousands of Veterans/Widows never had any confidence in this sham of a
system including the BVA and the DC Appeals Management Center. In my opinion this system is so
full of biased crap, collusion, and criminal activity against the United
States Veteran and family it should be disbanded entirely. I know many have said save it and
fix it. But there comes a
time in any endeavor that it is just throwing good money and good
well-intentioned efforts away.
Changing the engrained VA philosophy on behalf of the Executive
Branch would be a total waste of that time and money. This whole issue should be done by
an entity not associated with the Federal Government and that can be held
accountable for actions like are being reported in a court of law. Also for at least rendering common
sense decisions instead of clerks needing medical records which they
have no idea what they say or what the meaning is (just more
BS) and on top of that just putting them in file 13, on purpose as if
they never received them.
This is
not about a “oops we slipped” but an ingrained policy by VA as we have
said all along to deny, stall, and defile the Military Service of a
Veteran until his or her death. Example is
also in that same link referenced above of how VA thinks these actions
should be handled. Can anyone say these are not direct criminal actions
with intent to do harm? Here was
VA’s response: Alison
Aikele, a VA spokeswoman in Washington, said a national ban on all
shredding in benefits offices remains in effect. That ban will continue
until the agency settles on a policy to guarantee key documents are not
improperly destroyed. So the VA
person thinks this is just another policy directive that needs to be
published. Not how many
Veterans has this affected, how many lives has it ruined, how many widows
and offspring were left in total distress because of government condoned
criminal activity of not just improperly destroying documents but not
using those documents in support of the veterans/widows case which seems
to what VA is all about; not justice or fair and impartial
decisions. I cannot
wait to hear what the Affairs Committees are going to do and that by the
way is supposed to take place (not confirmed) on the 14th or
the 17th. Everyone
be standing by for that deal on his or her computers to listen
in. In fact, I
cannot wait to see what the entire congress is going to do about VA and
the fact they have caused more harm than the Veterans fought the Nations
enemy’s. Now being caught in
that act we will see any criminal charges levied and job firings. I doubt it. Promotions all around for VA
employees they did exactly what they were trained and told to do. Screw the American
Veteran. Let the
punishment of the innocent (Veterans/Widows) and exoneration of the guilty
(VA, BVA, DC Appeals Management) begin or should as I say
continue. By the way
the science studies are also included in that lack of integrity as
recommended by several of the participating scientists. If integrity cannot be enforced
then all studies involving Veterans should be done by an outside
study/source not associated with the Federal Government. No I am not even considering IOM,
they have not been as forth coming and transparent as they should be
considering they are making legal decisions. Kelley
VA SHREDS OUR VETERANS UPDATE: VA SHREDDER STORY GAINS NATIONAL MEDIA ATTENTION -- U.S. News & World Report: It will be nearly impossible to figure out how many documents had been incorrectly destroyed in the past. ================================================================= Veterans' Benefit Claims Records Wrongly Headed for VA Shredders By Amanda Ruggeri If military veterans applying for benefits either haven't gotten a reply from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or received a different response than expected, it could mean that evidence for their claim file wound up in the shredder. A nationwide review of the VA's 57 regional offices has found that 41 had records in their shredder bins that shouldn't have been there. In all, nearly 500 benefit claims records had been erroneously slated for destruction, including claims for compensation, notices of disagreement with a claim decision, and death certificates. That number could drop, because the investigation is still tracking down some claims folders to see whether or not the records have already been incorporated into them. But officials also remain unsure how long the situation has been going on—and how many veterans may have been affected. "The common problem in the VA system has been delays in getting the mail to the [veteran's] file," says Steve Smithson, deputy director of veterans affairs at the American Legion. "But shredding documents that may be relevant to the claim is new to us." The issue first surfaced when audits by the VA's Office of Inspector General found records erroneously placed in shredder bins in the VA office in Detroit. In an ensuing nationwide review, the VA discovered that the Detroit office was only part of the problem. There are 474 documents that still cannot be identified as duplicated in veterans' claim files. Three offices have contributed more than half: St. Louis, with 94; Columbia, S.C., with 95; and Cleveland, with 53. Particular individuals in the Columbia and St. Louis offices are being "looked at closely" in an ongoing investigation, VA Undersecretary for Benefits Patrick Dunne says. "They are not handling clients." Sources from veterans' organizations say they believe the two potential perpetrators to be under administrative leave. The Cleveland office also remains under investigation, and no particular worker has yet been identified as the source of the problem there. VA's shredder bins typically are emptied once or twice a week, meaning that the 474 documents may represent only a few days' worth of errors. It will be nearly impossible to figure out how many documents had been incorrectly destroyed in the past—or if any have, Dunne says. The approximately 50 different kinds of records found slated for destruction—including nine compensation claims, 18 notices of disagreement with a decision, and two death notices—could be key pieces of evidence for a veteran's application for benefits, says Jerry Manar, the national veterans service deputy director for the Veterans of Foreign Wars. If a key piece of evidence has been shredded, "it can result in the denial of a claim," Manar says. More than 800,000 claims of various kinds are currently pending in the VA's backlog. The VA has taken swift action in an attempt to get the situation under control. All regional offices were immediately ordered to halt any shredding until changes are put in place. Training began in some of the regional offices this week to re-educate employees on the proper procedures for filing and shredding papers. Meanwhile, a policy is being drafted to strengthen oversight in the regional offices. The revised policy likely will include a two-person review, in which an employee will initial and date a document slated for shredding, give it to his or her supervisor for review, and only then destroy it. Some in the veterans community are urging more oversight. Rep. Bob Filner, head of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, recently announced that he will hold a hearing on the issue the week of November 17. Veterans are urged to call their service officers or the VA itself if they have any reason to think their claims file is incomplete, particularly if they have not received a letter of acknowledgement for the submission of a claim after 30 days or if the VA's list of documents received seems incomplete. "We can't tolerate even one veteran's piece of paper being missing," Dunne says. "We're taking action to make sure it doesn't happen again." There is a lot that could be said about the above abuse of our folded, spindled, mutilated, and shredded veterans. However, I have only one question. Does anyone understand the relationship between the abuse and the extremely high suicide rate among veterans? Your Cheatin' Heart (1952)Music and Lyricsby Hank Williams (1923-1953) Your cheatin' heart, Will make you weep, You'll cry and cry, And try to sleep, But sleep won't come, The whole night through, Your cheatin heart, will tell on you... When tears come down, Like falling rain, You'll toss around, And call my name, You'll walk the floor, The way I do, Your cheatin' heart, will tell on you... Your cheatin' heart, Will pine some day, And crave the love, You threw away, The time will come, When you'll be blue, Your cheatin' heart, will tell on you... When tears come down, Like falling rain, You'll toss around, And call my name, You'll walk the floor, The way I do, Your cheatin' heart, will tell on you... |