Hearing Set For Sheddergate

[Berta]

Congressman Filner, Chairman if the House VAC , has called for a hearing on the GI Bill as well as the recent fiasco involves a growing amount of critical claims documents that were destroyed by the VA in numerous VAROs not just the first four the VA OIG investigated.These hearing will be held the week of Nov 17th and available to the public.That doesnt give vets and widows much time- but they can still send letters of protest to the committee on this latest VA fiasco.

This is a chance to have some input into this hearing by writing to Congressman Filner and the other commiittee members if you yourself have experienced this problem-

We can start assuming that-if they fail to address our medical evidence and the VARO does not list it under the Evidence part of a denial letter-

that it is 'as likely as not'- the RO has lost or destroyed it.Or ignored it for the sole purpose to deny.

There are suggestions at VA Watchdog.org as to how to write these letters.

I might take some time off here to prepare some letters to H VAC committee members because there are members on the committee who I have dealt with before and I want to shape each letter individually.I have only written 2 so far and this all takes time.

I have documented my own personal experiences since 1993 with VA loosing the good stuff-destroying some of it but mainly removing evidence until they denied and then they often put it back into the C file.I was surprised at how many times this happened and the aggressive steps I had to take for my husband and myself to resolve past claims.

Two vets called me last night and somehow got my phone number from someone at the local VA-they both went into a long rendition of how wrong this recent news was and both feel they are victims of it at the Buffalo VARO-and wanted me to contact the local newspaper about it (which I already had done)-

but would they promise they would write to our local Congressman and to the H VAC asking for congressional action?

Nope. The outcome of these hearings and the actual documented responses from vets and widows to it (which can be obtained from the H VAC under FOIA)(I am calling the comittee in 15 minutes to try to find out how many letters , emails and phone calls they have gotten on this latest VA fiasco-) the amount of protest and outcry from veterans will determine how I spend my time in 2009.

Edited October 24, 2008 by Berta

[Berta]

The H VAC Subcommittee for Oversight and Investigations will call me back.

If anyone wants to contact the H VAC on the VA shreddergate matter call-1-202-225-9756 and the operator will transfer you to the sub committee.