Con. Bob Filner

[Berta]

"Faster OK sought for Agent Orange claims

By Rick Maze - Staff writer

Posted : Friday Nov 9, 2007 8:16:08 EST

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/11/mili...ervets_071108w/

The chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee has a radical idea to cut the huge and seemingly intractable backlog of veterans’ benefits claims.

To focus on handling new claims from Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., says the Department of Veterans Affairs should approve — with minimal questioning — claims filed by Vietnam veterans, especially those whose claims deal with exposure to the toxic herbicide Agent Orange.

In an interview Thursday, Filner said he sees no way for VA to make headway in reducing the backlog of more than 400,000 claims without “radical” reforms that must include eliminating an adversarial process that puts veterans in a defensive position.

“We know Agent Orange is a carcinogen, and that people could be exposed directly or indirectly in Vietnam,” he said. “We don’t need to be demanding scientific proof any longer.”

Expanded compensation would include paying the disputed claims of Navy veterans who served in the waters off Vietnam and never came ashore but think they still have herbicide-related health problems.

Filner’s idea would require an act of Congress. He envisions linking it with other disability legislation.

Filner, a longtime advocate of improved Agent Orange benefits, has another motive in pushing for VA approval of Vietnam-era claims. He thinks it will be easier to pass disability benefits reforms aimed at helping Iraq and Afghanistan veterans — including a controversial plan that would consider income loss, quality of life and a veterans’ continued participation in rehabilitation when setting monthly benefits payments — if older veterans think the government is also doing something to help them.

“We have to do something for both groups,” Filner said.

To cut the backlog, Filner thinks VA needs a system that quickly approves relatively simple claims and provides partial benefits — maybe 30 percent or 40 percent of full payment — for veterans while they are waiting for their claims to be verified and approved.

VA and some veterans groups oppose such a system out of concern that automatically approving claims with no prior verification could encourage fraud."

Although Nicholson proposed something similiar regarding approval prior to full verifications-

this idea could actually get somewhere-

Lets face it -a lot of the time spent (and wasted)on claims at the VA involves getting evidence either against the claim or ignoring the evidence that supports it-

Then again- who decides whose claim is "relatively simple"?

[Capt.]

Excellant point John. It is all the more reason for MANDATORY FUNDING to make sure our military stays first class. However even recruiters are trying to figure out how to interest "talented" people to serve. But when everyone is watching how the Government and the VA are treating the Vets.....Who in their right mind would want to serve. These malls will be vacant when we don't have qualified servicemen and women to fight and some punky country takes us over. Its just around the corner. Try repeating what happened in history when countries did not take care of their armies. And America is no different and if anything we are now at our lowest point of support by her so called residents. Just listen to all of the politicians. Are we really united? Are we really , as John said ....."Support our troops"??? The next set of Veterans should take our country back from those who lied from all veterans to begin with. It makes me so sick to see our young service men and old ones too who are sick , fallen , and their widows, children just cast out. Well , I will say that I may not be popular with everyone because this is really all I want to talk about with anybody.....because I am not going to forget. Everytime I see a vet I say something to them about how proud I am to shake their hand and to tell them how much I appreciate them and their service, it really shakes me up. I still cry at Vet events during the Star Spangled banner and God Bless America, Taps. If I ever stop, someone please put me out of my misery , lest I forget and bury me in the hog trough. I was so ashamed of my President today when he said "support the troops" and yet he won't lift a hand to help any of them when they get back and those that are and have been back for the last 40 years. That is why Mandatory Funding is the only thing that will take care of this monumental problem. I wish all of you a Happy Veterans Day. God Bless,C.C.