Lets Make It

[Berta]

My State: New York

Senator Hillary Clinton:

http://clinton.senate.gov/contact/

email http://clinton.senate.gov/contact/ or if I have time I will find my last email from her-and post actual addy here

Senator Chuck Schumer:

http://www.senate.gov/~schumer/

and my state rep in Congress:

Congressman Randy Kuhl: (29th District residents only )I have already contacted him on this months ago-

http://kuhl.house.gov/

Also you can call Randy -his Secretary and VA liason person will take note of your comments:

email him at http://www.house.gov/formkuhl/IMA/issue.htm

or call him here http://kuhl.house.gov/Contact/

I always call 776-9142 -his local office in Bath NY.

It would help if others here could put this info as to their state reps.

[Pete53]

I sent the following to my Texas Rep. Pete Sessions and will send to Kay Baily Hutchinson and John Croynin my two worthless Senators.

I think that it is an outrage that Congress is considering repealing law that allows a Veteran to choose and attorney to help them with claims against the Veterans Administration.

Veterans deserve to have the same rights as anyone else who has to fight a government bureaucracy.

Lawyers would make the VA more responsive to legitimate claims.

I am 100% Service Connected and it took me over 5 years to win my claim.

Please do not vote against Veterans.

[john999]

Pete

You and Berta could be terrific advocates for vets. You both have the deft touches. I would like to hit the congressmen over the head with a club and make them do right. The senators and congressmen talk a good fight but they don't care about a bunch of disabled vets per se. They do care about votes and money. One of my senators is the chairman of the RNC. What do you think he is worth?

[Berta]

John -I already am and have been an advocate for vets for 2 decades.

What I mean is that I have taken stands on Agent Orange ,and numerous other important vets issues with my Senators and Congressmen and also the past VA Secs-Principi, Brown, Gober- as well as the head of VBA ,the President of the US of A , The Committee on Veterans Disability- , etc etc and am member of numerous vet orgs -as my profile shows-

Nicholson did nt reply yo my emails to him -but Principi always did- and Nicholson, upon receipt of a letter I sent him the very week he became Sec. sent it instead to my RO- holding up my claim- it had Nothing to do with my claim- it was the AO Blue Water issue.

my file cabinets are full of letters etc re: veterans issues that I supported.

You,Pete and I and just about everyone else here is a veteran's advocate.

The VBM from NVLSP is dedicated to US! ALL veterans advocates.

I fought relentlessly for AO Blue Waters yet this legislation (Haas decision)has no benefit to me at all.

I fear the VA will bugger that up again and again I will have to make a statement and take a stand-

there is a lot more to veteran's advocacy then a BBS or vet site regarding claims issues-

I think this site is excellent and provides an incredible service to veterans-

but our responsibilities can go far beyond clicking onto hadit--- for veterans advocacy issues.

It is overwhelming work.

In my recent complaint to the Governor of New York- for example- I complained on behalf of ALL veterans and widows,with the state as their POA regarding VA, as well as myself-

regarding failures in the state divisions handling of our claims.

I know you meant well by what you said but I already am a veterans advocate-I think we all are here or we should be.

Every time a vet or widow Like Mrs. Nehmer who gets no credit from any of the AO vets and SHE is responsible -with NVLSP -for the AO regs we have today under Nehmer-

and the considerable millions in $$$$ they generated for vets in retro-that VA tried to snooker from them-

every time a widow or a veteran succeeds in a claim- they support the work of advocates and

that is what I thought we all do here- advocacy-

If vets do not want to take a stand -that is their right too-

I see it all the time-for years---- vets at the local VA griping about this and that -poor med care, lost med recs, lack of claims evidence, lousy vet reps,possible wrong meds, etc etc

yet many do nothing about it-

and therefore they allow it all to continue to occur.

[sixthscents]

Berta,

I just seem to do better with the vet on the street when it comes to advocacy. While I know you have made great contributions to both, I just cant do the Washington thing. I just think about it and get... tired. I admire that you can, but you see so little progress, over such long periods that I simply cannot think that I would be any good at it.

I LIKE handleing vet claims on a one-on-one basis. I LIKE learning about the system, and well like today, I found a diagnosis in a med record, that I didn't even KNOW was a rated condition. I reread it, looked for a couple more refrences, and found them, and knew that a new door had opened up in this guys claim. I was actually researching another claim when I saw it, and remembered reading something similar in this vets records a couple of days earlier... it is significant, and I totally missed it because it was buried, again and again, amongst other MAJOR diagnosis. I was so focused on the trees and the BIG ticket claim items, that I missed this little one, that will mean a big difference.

This, when I knew in my heart that I was fighting a losing cause with his claim. I was wrong, but I can deal with being wrong like that.

The things you are pushing for, the big changes take so much time, and so much commitment... well I honor you for it, but I dont think I could do it. I dont know how you do.

I agree though, we are forced to represent ourselves. While I have seen many comparisons to civil law and VA law, i.e. Workers Comp... I dont see how they can in any good conscience deny us the right to legal representation.

[Berta]

"a new door had opened up in this guys claim"

Sixthsense- I hope everyone at hadit and out there as guests in hyperspace reads your post here.

This has happened to me many times too-the MotherLoad suddenly appears.

I replied in the CAVC topic about a vet I helped-

for TWELVE YEARS no one- not his POA (same as mine -the Three Stooges)

not the RO, nor the BVA, nor the CAVC saw the significance of one single word.

As the vet and my former vet rep sat here hoping to get some input from me into this frustrating ordeal-I made them some coffee and as they sat and BSed I got the BVA decision (which they didnt have with them duh) off the BVA site, sat down, and asked them what a single word in the first paragraph of the last BVA denial meant-

they didnt know and neither did I-

I couldnt wait until they left!

I spent the whole weekend not only researching that word but pouring over the vets SMRS- BINGO!

It was the key to his award!

One word-

This also happened to me in my FTCA claim (and Sec 1151)

One word caught me and it took me time to find out what it meant- no Google in those days-

That word too was the Motherload-the smoking gun that generated my settlement wih the US of A for wrongful death.

Just this AM- at about 7 I sorted out what I have to do today-

homework on adiabatics and lapse rates and equations, all sorts of horrible scientific stuff-

the Mrs Clean compulsion for the day,

the imporatant stuff like whats for dinner-

and also I am still fretting over my CUE claim-

as the VA denied last year due to stating that the veteran himself had not filed a Sec 1151 and that I did but this circumvented the SMC CUE-

I replied The Hell he didnt and told VA it was right in my c file- Rods Sec 1151- which I re-opened when he died-

The VA is slick but at least on this CUE, they are reading the evidence-

I started thinging- the 1151 is in the c file and stamped by VA-

What if the VA sent me- not a copy of it years ago- but the actual claim?

Although it appears as a copy in the c file-

VA Paranoia started to set in.

Then I found the Mother Load-

My POA as you all know- I have complained to the Gov about- in regards to another issue-

I have not only a copy of my c file but also a copy of all that my vet reps have on me in their Bath office.

The Sec 1151 claim Rod filed was through the DAV.

They claim they destroyed the c file on Rod and me when I got my present POA-

Not only is this critical Sec 1151 claim that Rod filed in the c file at VARO-

(which the MF might have swiped it by now (MF Mysterious force I have dealt with there for decades)

but Rod;'s Sec 1151 claim with the NYSDVA recipt stamped on it is in their files too!

I am delirious with joy and have plenty to do today- very little time to spend here-

and cant wait to manipulate this evidence into my Second complaint to the Gov if needed-

which my POA will get copy of too-

More importantly it totally breaks down the ROs reason and basis to deny my CUE- which I responded to with

reference to the c file evidence they had-

If the RO has the veterans Sec 1151 but says they dont-

the POA had to do something with it too and they didnt.

I was given incorrect advise by my POA in 1997 that generated this CUE in the first place.

My point- you all have to read and re-read and then read again and again- these claims-

and the Reasons and Bases for denials.

The SOC contains the keys to success as well as a legal VCAA letter- and the claim evidence

has to be poured over sometimes-many times-

even by a third party- get a bright high school student to read it all----it is amazing what one can find- as Sixthsense did!