Another stunning example of xian humanity by the Shrub regime:
"Udall said in one case, a veteran in his district committed
suicide after hearing about plans for the review. Officials
from New Mexico found the man, a Vietnam veteran, with
information regarding the review beside his Purple Heart
when he took his life."
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?article=3D32397
Apologies if any characters appear screwy below. It's the
embedded Chinese-language characters in the browser, not me.
Bob Dog
Atheist #153 =3D 1^3 + 5^3 + 3^3
EAC's chief cook and brainwasher
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"I always thought our house was haunted,
'Cause nobody said boo to me."
- John Hiatt
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VA under fire for plan to review all post-traumatic stress disorder
claims
By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Friday, October 21, 2005
WASHINGTON ? Veterans groups and House Democrats blasted VA
plans to review all post-traumatic stress disorder claims
because of irregularities in their compensation system, calling
it insulting to heroes who have served their country.
=E6=8F=9Fo the VA, this is simply a process seeking out voids in
paperwork,? said Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M, at a Thursday hearing on
Capitol Hill. =E6=8F=83ut to veterans, it=E6=8A=AF a jolting realization th=
at
their day-to-day struggles are being questioned again.?
In August, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced plans to
review 72,000 cases where veterans had received a 100 percent
disability rating for post-traumatic stress disorder, after an
investigation of 2,100 such cases found that more than 25
percent lacked justification for those claims.
Jon Wooditch, acting inspector general for the department, said
Thursday that the goal of the comprehensive review was not to
cut benefits but to find reasons behind inconsistencies in the
way claims are rewarded.
For example, in Illinois, only about 2.8 percent of PTSD cases
receive the 100 percent rating, and the average yearly payment
for treatment is $6,961. But in New Mexico, more than 12 percent
of PTSD receive that highest disability claim, and the payment
average there is $12,004.
=E6=8F=A5e want to make sure everyone is receiving what they=E6=8A=AEe enti=
tled
to under the law,? he said.
But critics called it a way for the department to save money by
shirking its duty to care for disabled veterans. Quentin
Kinderman, deputy director of legislative service for the
Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, called the IG
report flawed and the proposed review a waste of money.
=E6=8F=9Fhere is very little potential to reduce the number of cases
here,? he said. =E6=8F=82nd we=E6=8A=B3e very concerned about the impact of
the review and publicity on veterans, especially those returning
from Iraq and Afghanistan, who need the kind of counseling that
the VA can provide.?
Democrats echoed those concerns, and called for a halt to plans
to review the cases.
Udall said in one case, a veteran in his district committed
suicide after hearing about plans for the review. Officials from
New Mexico found the man, a Vietnam veteran, with information
regarding the review beside his Purple Heart when he took his
life.
=E6=8F=9Fhe manner in which [VA officials] have proceeded has done more
harm than good,? he said.
Cynthia Bascetta, director of income security issues at the
Government Accountability Office, said the VA does need to review
how it handles cases for efficiency purposes, but she told the
committee the department=E6=8A=AF proposed approach is flawed.
She said officials need to sample both completed claims cases and
rejected applications to find inefficiencies and mistakes in the
process, which Democrats also asked for.
Ranking member Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., also questioned the
review, noting that federal law prohibits veterans benefits from
being revoked unless officials can prove fraud occurred.
Wooditch said cases reviewed that lacked evidence to prove the
100 percent PTSD disability claim were likely not the result of
fraud, but instead simple mistakes in paperwork or administrative
review.
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