Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash) said on Thursday that an unnamed Republican Senator last week
blocked a bill that would have provided an annual cost of living adjustment, which means that payments of the new COLA could be delayed.
Senator Murray brought the bill, H.R. 4114 (which passed the House in July) to the Senate floor
on Sept. 21. The bill was cleared by Senate Democrats but was blocked by this unnamed Republican
Senator. So the Senate went into recess without passing the bill.
Once again Congress has stepped on our nation's veterans and one more time shown how little
our Congress thinks of those who served our country.
The bill as passed by the House would have given a cost-of-living-adjustment to 3.9 million veterans
and their survivors a raise in their disability compensation and benefits which is supposed to offset
inflation. Similar bills are usually passed each year with no controversy.
So, now with Congress not scheduled to return to work until Nov. 13, in order for the increase to
show in Jan. 1 checks the bill will have to be passed almost immediately.
Thursday afternoon the Department of Veterans Affairs stated that Congress must pass the
COLA no later than Nov. 13 if the increase is to be included in the Jan 1 checks. If the bill is
passed any later than that the VA would not be able to make all the changes to programming
of their system. Which means the increase would have to be paid retroactively.
This follows the move last week that saw the Veterans Job Corps Act fail to pass. A bill that
would have provided $1 billion to help veterans find employment. Their is now a bill in
the House that would direct the VA to create a Veterans Job Corps.
And so it continues, the ongoing disregard and disrespect for the brave men and women who
have served in our Armed Forces. The Veterans who sacrificed so much for our nation are again
left to hang in the winds of ill will.
America, it is time to say enough! Time to give our veterans what they were promised and what
is fair and just. If your elected officials are not standing up and voting for veterans and our military,
vote them out of office.
----
Jerald Terwilliger
Former Chairman
American Cold War Veterans
"We Remember"
----------------
"And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades."
-- Robert M. Gates, 1996
Showing posts with label disability compensation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label disability compensation. Show all posts
Friday, September 28, 2012
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Louisiana Good Idea, Poor Execution
The State of Louisiana had a good idea when the bill was passed, but it was poorly written and
now veterans are suing the state to receive the benefits.
In 2007 the Legislature decided to pay a grant to members of the Louisiana State National Guard that
were permanently disabled following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks $100,000.
So far only one disabled veteran is scheduled to receive the payment out of the twelve that have
applied to receive the benefit.
It seems that the way the law is written a person has to be declared 100 percent totally and
permanently disabled within one year. If the original decision from the Department of Veterans
Affairs is not at that time totally and permanently disabled, that their is the possibility of recovery
the claim is rejected.
So, if the veteran disputes the VA ruling, and is later declared as being totally and permanently
disabled; that ruling must be within year of the original date of the claim to the state.
Since the VA often takes so much time to process claims and appeals the one year time limit
is usually not soon enough to enable the veteran to receive his benefit.
The Legislature also directed the state to pay $250,000 to families of those killed in action.
$9.65 million has been set aside for these benefits, with the largest part at least $8 Million is
set for the death benefit.
There was also a problem with the death benefits portion of the original bill, which families
fought to have corrected. As originally written the bill omitted soldiers wounded or killed
between Sept. 11, 2001 and July 6, 2007. This summer the Governor signed a law to
correct the oversight.
Veterans are now suing the state to receive their benefits, and have the law changed to allow
more time for filling a corrected decision from the VA that says they are 100 percent totally
and permanently disabled.
We hope that the state changes the law very soon and shows true support of our troops and
veterans.
Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans
"We Remember"
---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996
now veterans are suing the state to receive the benefits.
In 2007 the Legislature decided to pay a grant to members of the Louisiana State National Guard that
were permanently disabled following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks $100,000.
So far only one disabled veteran is scheduled to receive the payment out of the twelve that have
applied to receive the benefit.
It seems that the way the law is written a person has to be declared 100 percent totally and
permanently disabled within one year. If the original decision from the Department of Veterans
Affairs is not at that time totally and permanently disabled, that their is the possibility of recovery
the claim is rejected.
So, if the veteran disputes the VA ruling, and is later declared as being totally and permanently
disabled; that ruling must be within year of the original date of the claim to the state.
Since the VA often takes so much time to process claims and appeals the one year time limit
is usually not soon enough to enable the veteran to receive his benefit.
The Legislature also directed the state to pay $250,000 to families of those killed in action.
$9.65 million has been set aside for these benefits, with the largest part at least $8 Million is
set for the death benefit.
There was also a problem with the death benefits portion of the original bill, which families
fought to have corrected. As originally written the bill omitted soldiers wounded or killed
between Sept. 11, 2001 and July 6, 2007. This summer the Governor signed a law to
correct the oversight.
Veterans are now suing the state to receive their benefits, and have the law changed to allow
more time for filling a corrected decision from the VA that says they are 100 percent totally
and permanently disabled.
We hope that the state changes the law very soon and shows true support of our troops and
veterans.
Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans
"We Remember"
---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996
Monday, October 24, 2011
Veterans to receive COLA in pensions
Veterans and their families will receive a 3.6 percent increase thanks to legislation passed by
the Senate. Since the House has already approved a slightly different plan, the House will now
have to approve the Senate version before it can be sent to the President.
Increases will be given for disabled veterans' compensation, additional compensation for
dependents, clothing allowance, dependance compensation for spouses and children.
The first increase since 2009 is scheduled to become effective Dec. 1st so that the larger
checks will arrive in January.
Veterans' benefits are not tied to the Consumer Price Index the way Social Security and federal
civilian retirement programs. Benefits for veterans must be approved by Congress.
It is not a large increase, but one that is justified and very much past due. Thank you Congress
for finally doing something right for our veterans.
Social Security and Social Security Disability payments will also be increased by 3.6 percent,
this is also the first increase in these payments since 2009. Our seniors need this increase
to maintain their life styles.
Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans
"We Remember"
---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996
the Senate. Since the House has already approved a slightly different plan, the House will now
have to approve the Senate version before it can be sent to the President.
Increases will be given for disabled veterans' compensation, additional compensation for
dependents, clothing allowance, dependance compensation for spouses and children.
The first increase since 2009 is scheduled to become effective Dec. 1st so that the larger
checks will arrive in January.
Veterans' benefits are not tied to the Consumer Price Index the way Social Security and federal
civilian retirement programs. Benefits for veterans must be approved by Congress.
It is not a large increase, but one that is justified and very much past due. Thank you Congress
for finally doing something right for our veterans.
Social Security and Social Security Disability payments will also be increased by 3.6 percent,
this is also the first increase in these payments since 2009. Our seniors need this increase
to maintain their life styles.
Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans
"We Remember"
---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
President Says Possibly No VA Checks
President Obama today warned that Social Security, Disability and Veterans Pension checks might
not be sent out on August 3rd.
Democrats and Republicans are still haggling on the issue of raising the national debt ceiling, and if
no agreement is reached soon there is a very large chance that the checks will not be mailed, or
sent via direct deposit.
The President said "I cannot guarantee that those checks will go out on August 3rd if we haven't
resolved this issue. Because there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it."
The President went on to say "This is not just a matter of Social Security checks. these are
veteran's checks, these are folks on disability and their checks. There are about 70 million
checks that go out."
The administration and many economists have warned of economic disaster if an agreement to
raise the U.S. borrowing limit is not reached by August 2nd.
Tell your Senator and Representative that an agreement must be reached now, we cannot allow
the country to default on its loans.
Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans
"We Remember"
---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996
not be sent out on August 3rd.
Democrats and Republicans are still haggling on the issue of raising the national debt ceiling, and if
no agreement is reached soon there is a very large chance that the checks will not be mailed, or
sent via direct deposit.
The President said "I cannot guarantee that those checks will go out on August 3rd if we haven't
resolved this issue. Because there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it."
The President went on to say "This is not just a matter of Social Security checks. these are
veteran's checks, these are folks on disability and their checks. There are about 70 million
checks that go out."
The administration and many economists have warned of economic disaster if an agreement to
raise the U.S. borrowing limit is not reached by August 2nd.
Tell your Senator and Representative that an agreement must be reached now, we cannot allow
the country to default on its loans.
Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans
"We Remember"
---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Repeal The Disabled Veterans Tax
The American Cold War Veterans are asking Congress to put an end to the unfair tax being placed on veterans who are receiving disability pay, or Social Security Disability Income and retirement benefits.
Under current law, veterans face a dollar for dollar reduction from their retirement pay for any disability benefits they receive.
There is a program which started in 2004 and ends in 2013 that is being phase- in that will partially fix the problem. The ten year program will take too long, and is not enough. It will only affect a veteran with a 50 percent disability rating from the Veterans Affairs.
Last year there were two bills introduced that would have put an end to this unjust treatment of our injured veterans. Neither bill progressed out of committee and died with the end of the 111th Congress.
These bills are being reintroduced this year they are The Retired Pay Restoration, and The Disabled Veterans Termination Act.
We call upon the current Congress to act quickly to pass these two very important bills, and put an end to the concurrent pay laws, and allows a veteran to receive the full amount that they are entitled to.
The American Cold War Veterans are urging equal and just treatment for all veterans, regardless of when or where they served our country.
It is only fair that after these brave men and women have sacrificed, left their loved ones far behind and faced danger every day for our country; that now our country return the respect and give them what is due and just.
Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans
"We Remember"
---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996
Under current law, veterans face a dollar for dollar reduction from their retirement pay for any disability benefits they receive.
There is a program which started in 2004 and ends in 2013 that is being phase- in that will partially fix the problem. The ten year program will take too long, and is not enough. It will only affect a veteran with a 50 percent disability rating from the Veterans Affairs.
Last year there were two bills introduced that would have put an end to this unjust treatment of our injured veterans. Neither bill progressed out of committee and died with the end of the 111th Congress.
These bills are being reintroduced this year they are The Retired Pay Restoration, and The Disabled Veterans Termination Act.
We call upon the current Congress to act quickly to pass these two very important bills, and put an end to the concurrent pay laws, and allows a veteran to receive the full amount that they are entitled to.
The American Cold War Veterans are urging equal and just treatment for all veterans, regardless of when or where they served our country.
It is only fair that after these brave men and women have sacrificed, left their loved ones far behind and faced danger every day for our country; that now our country return the respect and give them what is due and just.
Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans
"We Remember"
---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996
Thursday, December 23, 2010
VA wants veterans to sign up for direct deposit
The Department of Veteran Affairs is urging veterans receiving payments from VA to sign up
for direct deposit of your payments.
The Treasury Department announced that they will stop issuing paper checks as of March 1, 2013.
This means that all payments except Income Tax returns will be done electronically.
In order to receive payments you will be required to have a bank account for direct deposit of your
funds. If you do not have a bank account set to receive direct deposits you money can be put
into a pre-paid debit card.
Called the Direct Express card, it is issued by Commerce Bank as the financial agent of the U.S.
Treasury. To apply for the Direct Express debit card go to
http://www.usdirectexpress.com/edcfdtclient/index.html
Also people who will begin receiving benefits for the first time beginning May 1, 2011 will
automatically receive their payment electronically.
This applies not only to VA benefits, but also Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Railroad
Retirement Board, or Office of Personnel Management.
For more information you can go to www.godirect.com
Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans
"We Remember"
---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996
for direct deposit of your payments.
The Treasury Department announced that they will stop issuing paper checks as of March 1, 2013.
This means that all payments except Income Tax returns will be done electronically.
In order to receive payments you will be required to have a bank account for direct deposit of your
funds. If you do not have a bank account set to receive direct deposits you money can be put
into a pre-paid debit card.
Called the Direct Express card, it is issued by Commerce Bank as the financial agent of the U.S.
Treasury. To apply for the Direct Express debit card go to
http://www.usdirectexpress.com/edcfdtclient/index.html
Also people who will begin receiving benefits for the first time beginning May 1, 2011 will
automatically receive their payment electronically.
This applies not only to VA benefits, but also Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Railroad
Retirement Board, or Office of Personnel Management.
For more information you can go to www.godirect.com
Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans
"We Remember"
---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
VA Begins paying expanded Agent Orange benefits
From the Air Force News Service
http://www.af.mil/news/story_print.asp?id=123228918
11/1/2010 - WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Department of Veterans Affairs officials have begun distributing disability benefits to Vietnam veterans who qualify for compensation under recently liberalized rules for Agent Orange exposure.
"The joint efforts of Congress and VA demonstrate a commitment to provide Vietnam veterans with treatment and compensation for the long-term health effects of herbicide exposure," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki.
Up to 200,000 Vietnam veterans are potentially eligible to receive VA disability compensation for medical conditions recently associated with Agent Orange. The expansion of coverage involves B-cell (or hairy-cell) leukemia, Parkinson's disease and ischemic heart disease.
Secretary Shinseki said VA officials have launched a variety of initiatives, both technological and involving better business practices, to tackle an anticipated upsurge in Agent Orange-related claims.
"These initiatives show VA's ongoing resolve to modernize its processes for handling claims through automation and improvements in doing business, providing veterans with faster and more accurate decisions on their applications for benefits," Secretary Shinseki said.
Providing initial payments, or increases to existing payments, to the 200,000 veterans who now qualify for disability compensation for these three conditions is expected to take several months, but VA officials encourage all Vietnam veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange and suffer from one of the three diseases to make sure their applications have been submitted.
VA officials have offered veterans exposed to Agent Orange special access to health care since 1978, and priority medical care since 1981. They have been providing disability compensation to veterans with medical problems related to Agent Orange since 1985.
In practical terms, veterans who served in Vietnam during the war and who have a "presumed" illness do not have to prove an association between their illnesses and their military service. This "presumption" simplifies and speeds up the application process for benefits.
The three new illnesses -- B-cell (or hairy-cell) leukemia, Parkinson's disease and ischemic heart disease -- are added to the list of presumed illnesses previously recognized by VA officials.
Other recognized illnesses under VA's "presumption" rule for Agent Orange are:
* Acute and Subacute Transient Peripheral Neuropathy
* Chloracne
* Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
* Diabetes Mellitus (Type 2)
* Hodgkin's Disease
* Multiple Myeloma
* Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
* Porphyria Cutanea Tarda
* Prostate Cancer
* Respiratory Cancers
* Soft Tissue Sarcoma (other than Osteosarcoma, Chondrosarcoma, Kaposi's sarcoma, or Mesothelioma)
* AL Amyloidosis
Veterans interested in applying for disability compensation under one of the three new Agent Orange presumptives should go to www.fasttrack.va.gov or call 1-800-827-1000.---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996
http://www.af.mil/news/story_print.asp?id=123228918
11/1/2010 - WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Department of Veterans Affairs officials have begun distributing disability benefits to Vietnam veterans who qualify for compensation under recently liberalized rules for Agent Orange exposure.
"The joint efforts of Congress and VA demonstrate a commitment to provide Vietnam veterans with treatment and compensation for the long-term health effects of herbicide exposure," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki.
Up to 200,000 Vietnam veterans are potentially eligible to receive VA disability compensation for medical conditions recently associated with Agent Orange. The expansion of coverage involves B-cell (or hairy-cell) leukemia, Parkinson's disease and ischemic heart disease.
Secretary Shinseki said VA officials have launched a variety of initiatives, both technological and involving better business practices, to tackle an anticipated upsurge in Agent Orange-related claims.
"These initiatives show VA's ongoing resolve to modernize its processes for handling claims through automation and improvements in doing business, providing veterans with faster and more accurate decisions on their applications for benefits," Secretary Shinseki said.
Providing initial payments, or increases to existing payments, to the 200,000 veterans who now qualify for disability compensation for these three conditions is expected to take several months, but VA officials encourage all Vietnam veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange and suffer from one of the three diseases to make sure their applications have been submitted.
VA officials have offered veterans exposed to Agent Orange special access to health care since 1978, and priority medical care since 1981. They have been providing disability compensation to veterans with medical problems related to Agent Orange since 1985.
In practical terms, veterans who served in Vietnam during the war and who have a "presumed" illness do not have to prove an association between their illnesses and their military service. This "presumption" simplifies and speeds up the application process for benefits.
The three new illnesses -- B-cell (or hairy-cell) leukemia, Parkinson's disease and ischemic heart disease -- are added to the list of presumed illnesses previously recognized by VA officials.
Other recognized illnesses under VA's "presumption" rule for Agent Orange are:
* Acute and Subacute Transient Peripheral Neuropathy
* Chloracne
* Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
* Diabetes Mellitus (Type 2)
* Hodgkin's Disease
* Multiple Myeloma
* Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
* Porphyria Cutanea Tarda
* Prostate Cancer
* Respiratory Cancers
* Soft Tissue Sarcoma (other than Osteosarcoma, Chondrosarcoma, Kaposi's sarcoma, or Mesothelioma)
* AL Amyloidosis
Veterans interested in applying for disability compensation under one of the three new Agent Orange presumptives should go to www.fasttrack.va.gov or call 1-800-827-1000.---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996
Saturday, October 2, 2010
VA Extends Coverage for Gulf War Veterans
From Global Defence.net
WASHINGTON - Veterans of the first Gulf War as well as current operations in Iraq and Afghanistan now have a smoother path toward receiving health-care benefits and disability compensation for nine diseases associated with their military service, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced today.
A final regulation published in today's Federal Register relieves veterans of the burden of proving these diseases are service-related: Brucellosis, Campylobacter jejuni, Coxiella Burnetii (Q fever), Malaria, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Nontyphoid Salmonella, Shigella, Visceral leishmaniasis and West Nile virus. Shinseki added the new presumptions after reviewing a 2006 National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine report on the long-term health effects of certain diseases suffered among Gulf War veterans.
He also extended the presumptions to veterans of Afghanistan, based on NAS findings that the nine diseases are prevalent there as well.
The new presumptions apply to veterans who served in Southwest Asia beginning on or after the start of Operation Desert Shield on Aug. 2, 1990, through Operation Desert Storm to the present, including the current conflict in Iraq. Veterans who served in Afghanistan on or after Sept. 19, 2001, also qualify.
For Shinseki, who pledged to honor the 20th anniversary of the Gulf War by improving health-care access and benefits for its 697,000 veterans, the new presumptions represent a long-overdue step in addressing the medical challenges many face.
"This is part of historic changes in how VA considers Gulf War veterans' illnesses," he said. "By setting up scientifically based presumptions of service connection, we give these deserving veterans a simple way to obtain the benefits they earned in service to our country."
The new presumptions initially are expected to affect just under 2,000 veterans who have been diagnosed with the nine specified diseases, John Gingrich, VA's chief of staff, told American Forces Press Service. He acknowledged that the numbers are likely to climb as more cases are identified.
With the final rule, a veteran needs only to show service in Southwest Asia or Afghanistan during the specified time periods to receive disability compensation, subject to certain time limits based on incubation periods for seven of the diseases.
"It gives them easier access to quality health care and compensation benefits," Gingrich said. "The message behind that is that the VA is striving to make access to health care easier for our veterans who have served in our combat zones."
He expressed hope that by providing quick, easy access, VA will help veterans get the care they need early on, without having to fight the bureaucracy.
"When we find these presumptions and we reach out and get the veterans into our system, we can help them and give them the proper medical care they need, and maybe keep their disease from getting worse or getting it to go away altogether," he said.
It also will help eliminate the piles of paperwork and long claims adjudication process veterans had to go through to prove their cases to receive care and benefits. "This will help break the back of the backlog in the long run, while sending a reassuring message to veterans that the VA is there for them," Gingrich said.
He called the new presumptions part of Shinseki's effort to "create a culture of advocacy" within VA that builds trust as it reaches out to veterans.
For Gingrich, a Gulf War veteran himself, the effort is very personal. He remembers being deployed as a 1st Infantry Division field artillery battalion commander during Operation Desert Storm, when one of his officers became very sick with an illness nobody could diagnose.
"The medics couldn't diagnose it. We called in the doctors and they couldn't diagnose it. And eventually, he had to be medevaced back," he recalled. "And now here we are, 20 years later, and I saw him in Dallas in August, and he is still sick. You can't identify all the reasons and symptoms, but he is sick."
Veterans deserve better, Gingrich insisted. "I believe that our veterans that served in uniform for our country deserve the absolute best care and benefits that we can provide," he said.
VA provides compensation and pension benefits to more than 3.8 million veterans and beneficiaries, and received more than 1 million claims last year alone, VA officials reported. Veterans without dependents receive a basic monthly compensation ranging from $123 to $2,673.
Source:
U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996
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