Hadit Member Gets His Testimony

[Berta]

Kurt Priessman, Thailand vet and hadit member ( a wonderful advocate for veterans) had the committee accept his testimony for the record-I have not read exactly what he presented-

Two of the members heard from me before the hearings and Cohen promptly responded to my concerns-Charles Kelley made a submission also and include stuff from me and other vet advocates-

this was a very important hearing-and we do have a voice-

and the VA is listening-

I missed Ron Abrams statements ----had unexpected company for Valentines Day-

but MISSED what Ron had to say (NVLSP) -and have to listen again to it all today-nice surprise but frustrating-

Men and women - the testimony from numerous individuals from vets orgs and lawyers who rep veterans- was by far the best I have heard yet as to

defining why we have a backlog-

some of the remarks by the VA were stunning especially when the VA guy said "I dont know" a few times-

said rating specialists only had claims for average of 14 to 20 days,gave an extraordinary 170 claims processing time estimate-and

other remarks by panel members revealed only 2 % of claims work is being checked at ROs for errors and that 1 in 10 claims were found to have been done incorrectly-(I bet that is WAY TOO LOW based on the VCAA errors caught at the BVA level- I wonder where they got those figures-the one in ten - as this might not even account for prejudicial errors that the BVA finds- in THOUSANDS of claims at BVA since enactment of the VCAA.

I took 7 pages of notes so am going to check over what I mentioned here-

and also someone mentioned ( Maybe Chairman Hall)that at least HALF of RO Directors got Bonuses last year-YET the backlog continues to grow---

and the CPI model was foud to be "only marginally less flawed" than the case management system they used to have-

I am not sure if if was Smithson or not and will check -(VA panel) said the old way ten years ago was better and I agree with him-"assembly line mentality" was used to describe the claims system- much like what the 2005 OIG report (survey of VA claims employees revealed)

but ten years ago we did not not have the VCAA-

the VA could not abuse this DTA reg and almost HAD to read our evidence at some point if we presented in those days a "well grounded claim."

But the VCAA gave them a loophole-

which I wont gripe about here again- I always gripe about the VCAA here-

but I intend to continue to gripe to the people who can change the VCAA by amendment before these OIF OEF vets become victims of the VCAA defiance by Ros -too.

one more thing-very important- Delivery Discharge sites were discussed-

this is IMPERATIVE that the VA get off its thumbs here-in my opinion- and provide to all returning wounded men and women- claims help at deployment sites, amorys, what have you- but sites that are readily available for every returning wounded service man or woman-

The man from Vets for Common Sense- said that 2 to 3 % -that is 14%- of Reserves and National Guards were likely to have their claims DENIED!These are wartime military- that figure is ridiculous!

He gave 3 reasons this could be causing this to happen- and called for an investigation of this problem.

A LONG and yet important compelling hearing happened yesterday at the Cannon Building.Veterans do have a voice!!!!!

Edited February 15, 2008 by Berta

[Guest avet]

please post a link to the hearing and title of it, i'm just getting through The Use of Artificial Intelligence to Improve the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA’s) Claims Processing System and don't want to miss the one you are speaking of. thanks

Kurt Priessman, Thailand vet and hadit member ( a wonderful advocate for veterans) had the committee accept his testimony for the record-I have not read exactly what he presented-

Two of the members heard from me before the hearings and Cohen promptly responded to my concerns-Charles Kelley made a submission also and include stuff from me and other vet advocates-

this was a very important hearing-and we do have a voice-

and the VA is listening-

I missed Ron Abrams statements ----had unexpected company for Valentines Day-

but MISSED what Ron had to say (NVLSP) -and have to listen again to it all today-nice surprise but frustrating-

Men and women - the testimony from numerous individuals from vets orgs and lawyers who rep veterans- was by far the best I have heard yet as to

defining why we have a backlog-

some of the remarks by the VA were stunning especially when the VA guy said "I dont know" a few times-

said rating specialists only had claims for average of 14 to 20 days,gave an extraordinary 170 claims processing time estimate-and

other remarks by panel members revealed only 2 % of claims work is being checked at ROs for errors and that 1 in 10 claims were found to have been done incorrectly-(I bet that is WAY TOO LOW based on the VCAA errors caught at the BVA level- I wonder where they got those figures-the one in ten - as this might not even account for prejudicial errors that the BVA finds- in THOUSANDS of claims at BVA since enactment of the VCAA.

I took 7 pages of notes so am going to check over what I mentioned here-

and also someone mentioned ( Maybe Chairman Hall)that at least HALF of RO Directors got Bonuses last year-YET the backlog continues to grow---

and the CPI model was foud to be "only marginally less flawed" than the case management system they used to have-

I am not sure if if was Smithson or not and will check -(VA panel) said the old way ten years ago was better and I agree with him-"assembly line mentality" was used to describe the claims system- much like what the 2005 OIG report (survey of VA claims employees revealed)

but ten years ago we did not not have the VCAA-

the VA could not abuse this DTA reg and almost HAD to read our evidence at some point if we presented in those days a "well grounded claim."

But the VCAA gave them a loophole-

which I wont gripe about here again- I always gripe about the VCAA here-

but I intend to continue to gripe to the people who can change the VCAA by amendment before these OIF OEF vets become victims of the VCAA defiance by Ros -too.

one more thing-very important- Delivery Discharge sites were discussed-

this is IMPERATIVE that the VA get off its thumbs here-in my opinion- and provide to all returning wounded men and women- claims help at deployment sites, amorys, what have you- but sites that are readily available for every returning wounded service man or woman-

The man from Vets for Common Sense- said that 2 to 3 % -that is 14%- of Reserves and National Guards were likely to have their claims DENIED!These are wartime military- that figure is ridiculous!

He gave 3 reasons this could be causing this to happen- and called for an investigation of this problem.

A LONG and yet important compelling hearing happened yesterday at the Cannon Building.Veterans do have a voice!!!!!

[Pete53]

Berta:

The VA gets their numbers the same way they always have they make them up.

[Berta]

Indeed Pete-I got a few laughs when VA gave testimony-

who are they kidding-

http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/hearing.aspx?NewsID=189

This should get you to the hearing in Room 334- they dont have streaming video yet like some of the other hearings- click on the audio connection and your media player should pick it all up-

It is the Feb 14th hearing-

The Artificial Intelligence hearing was good too-

Chairman Hall is a New Yorker here and I recently thanked him for helping a WWII vet get $100,000 retro after decades!

(I bet that award is all wrong too- 100,000 for decades might only be a 30 % claim retro-a WWII vet with PTSD should be getting TDIU retro for decades and I am gping to ask Hall about this award when I get some time-he has something else that I want him to do- that will help ALL vets-

still this WW II retro amount doesnt seem right.)

[Berta]

PS all the hearing started late so the media player might say playing but wont pick up the hearing for about ten minutes-

If anyone can identify that guy who said (when he thought his Mike was off)

'this is a strange hearing and then he said he missed greeting Chairman Hall-PLEASE let me know who said that'-

I hope it wasnt VA's own Bradley Mays -I am a little ticked off at him as it is.

[Tbird]

thanks for the post

Indeed Pete-I got a few laughs when VA gave testimony-

who are they kidding-

http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/hearing.aspx?NewsID=189

This should get you to the hearing in Room 334- they dont have streaming video yet like some of the other hearings- click on the audio connection and your media player should pick it all up-

It is the Feb 14th hearing-

The Artificial Intelligence hearing was good too-

Chairman Hall is a New Yorker here and I recently thanked him for helping a WWII vet get $100,000 retro after decades!

(I bet that award is all wrong too- 100,000 for decades might only be a 30 % claim retro-a WWII vet with PTSD should be getting TDIU retro for decades and I am gping to ask Hall about this award when I get some time-he has something else that I want him to do- that will help ALL vets-

still this WW II retro amount doesnt seem right.)

[Guest morgan]

Berta, I have some very important information that needs to be heard. Could Charles Kelly help me get it to the right people? Or is it too late? The senate committee is investigating, but the regional director of the VARO involved sent me a letter that dismisses the whole thing as simply "unprofessional" and "unacceptable" conduct. It was certainly that, but more importantly, it was illegal.

This director's letter diverts responsibility for egregious violation of veterans rights, despite irrefutable evidence. If you could point me to a better source than I have so far, I'd greatly appreciate it. I think his response letter to the senate committee could even help make my case as to the most glaring reason veterans' claims are backlogged.

I know you are very busy, and you won't have to get involved at all, I just need a starting point.

BTW, who is Charles Kelly?