Initial Trip Report Plus Phone Numbers To Call.

[allan]

Initial Trip report plus phone numbers to call.

Hi to all,

Leaving in the morning for DC and hit the hill (VAC Committees in House and Senate) Sep 11th and 12^th in support of some of these bills and information/letters with objective evidence on the following issues.

· Backlog of Claims Issues

· Birth Defect Issues Associated

· All Site Cancer Issues Associated

· Dose Rate Issues

· Immune System Issues Associated

· Degenerating Neurological Issues Associated

In addition letters are being provided for:

Congressman John Conyers

Congressman Henry Waxman

Senator Patrick Lehey

These letters demonstrate, with submitted facts and charges of: the questionable actions, illegal actions, scientific fraud, command influence, the changing of protocols and studies, and violation of the government’s own integrity rules cited, etc.

It is time Judiciary and Government Oversight and Reform got involved into what our Executive Branch via Veterans Affairs is actually doing.

Outside of the flyers on support of the new bills Glenda took my data and made up some CD’s with covers called: Herbicide Veterans Issues and Herbicide Veterans Testimonials which is in a power point presentation. The ‘Issues CD’s have not only the letters with references but we included the reference information, which comprises of study data and science data.

The flyers encourages them to vote for:

HR6798, which is a bill adding many of our GI tract cancers as well as pancreatic and biliary cancers associated to the herbicide exposures. {For those that are going to call and assist us in these efforts, Please call Congressman Kagen’s office and thank them for submitting this much overdue inclusion of these cancers for our Herbicide Veterans and our Widows.}

HR5454, which is the ALS bill. Remember Secretary Peake stated in the media they were going to add this disorder on their own and so far, nothing is done.

HR6562, which is the Parkinson’s Bill association to Herbicides. I did not have the studies to include in our data but we did reference the studies and information back to that group for contact.

S.3332/HR 5729, which is the Spina Bifida Health Care Program Expansion Act.

HR 6562, which is the Agent Orange Equity Act. This also includes, if they are serious, congress should demand VA start processing these claims IMMEDIATELY that have been held up due to VA politics and not scientific facts.

I also furnished the article on the Issues CD “How the VA abandons our Vets.”

Of course, congress right now is more interested in spending time on the elections and are out of office as of Sep 24 I think it is until after the elections or the first of the year… whenever. So maybe this will give them something to think about as they go back to their districts and their individual states. Lets hope at least we accomplish that single point anyway.

I would hope that those that can would call or have an inclination to call as many of those on the VAC membership with phone numbers would do so.

http://www.2ndbattalion94thartillery.com/Chas/VACContactList.htm

Let them know we will be to their offices Sep 11 to 12 with objective data and they should at least look at it and not just 'file 13' the data and CDs.

Now if nothing were done say by March/April of next year on these issues then it would seemingly be nothing but once again the duping by “words and not deeds.”

If this indeed happens then I will be throwing in the towel and working on my own claim to my lawyer and then let him take it over to the point where he either calls me or I call him and you can actually talk to someone with a pulse.

We are giving that part of congress that is ‘supposed to be concerned’ about Veterans Affairs as their assigned committee tasks compelling and objective evidence of our issues. We are also going to supply Oversight and Reform; and Judiciary leadership the same data with back up data on clear government fraudulent activity committed with evidence.

If this is not enough in this nation because we are Veterans or Widows of Veterans held to outside the constitutional law “government politics” then I would suggest some major changes in government are needed and the battle is lost in our efforts and until those major changes are accomplished, if and when they ever are. Until then no matter what we do or find or study or cite objective evidence of facts it is useless because of politics, not science or medicine.

Our Herbicide efforts are futile at best.

As a fine Marine states citing Mark Twain:

“Patriotism: Supporting your Country ALL THE TIME; and, your government when it deserves it!”

I think it is time for all of use to look at that statement and how it applies to our past and current Veterans Affairs Issues and the lack of our Congress doing much about it – and with very few exceptions…about all of them.

Based on my experience with DAV and others that have contacted me on the lack of VSO efforts on the behalf of Veterans and Widows I would suggest that any Veteran or Widow dealing with a claim at whatever level you can first use a real legal representative (a lawyer) you do so. Let them take the constant pressure and pain off of your shoulders whether it is pro bono or not in dealing with this adversarial agency and very adversarial process with no legal sense or precedence. At least you have a shot of them returning e-mail or an actual phone call with a real person.

Lets hope we have some luck and get some of our issues addressed or at least out in the open where the stakeholders can address their legal rights instead of being relegated to an Executive Branch Appointee with a direct conflict of interest in these matters; with no separation of powers in the process.

For my battalion members Glenda is going to get the order in to have our second print run of our 2/94^th Battalion History made and get that finished up.

Report will be posted when I get back as to what kind of response we got as we visited the Congressional offices.

Kelley