Congressmen Dissatisfied With VA’s Explanation Of TBI Funds
Congressman Richard Burr (R-NC), ranking member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and Congressman Brad Miller (D-NC) are assessing the VA’s response to the accusation that none of the $6.3 million originally set aside for traumatic brain injury (TBI) research and clinical services has been used for that purpose.
In a letter offering an explanation, Eric K. Shinseki, secretary of Veterans’ Affairs, stated that approximately $3.4 million was spent on “lease payments, operation expenses, salaries and relocation.” Shinseki added that of the remaining $2.9 million, $450,000 has been allocated towards developing new treatment protocols in Waco, TX.
Burr and Miller require further review. They had asked Secretary Shinsekl to provide them with a detailed accounting.
Robert Van Boven, former director of a Texas research facility that has since shut down, was discharged after his contention that $2 million of the $6.3 million had been diverted.
Traumatic Brain Injury is an all-too-often occurrence in this nearly decade’s-old war. It has been estimated that approximately 4,000 military personnel are hospitalized with traumatic brain injury each year.
Diabetes Can Be Disabling
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), approximately 23.6 million people in the United States have diabetes; of these nearly 5.7 million have yet to be diagnosed. And although there are many diabetics who function with little or no complications, there are others who due to the severity of their illness or a lack of vigilance on their part, can become partially or completely disabled.
What Is Diabetes?
A person with diabetes lacks insulin or has a decreased ability to use insulin, or a combination of both. Insulin is the hormone in our bodies that converts sugar to energy. In cases where diabetes is out of control, unconverted sugar and fat remain in the body and can, over time, damage vital organs.
The types of diabetes can be broken down into four major categories: Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes, Prediabetes, and Gestational Diabetes. Gestational Diabetes occurs during pregnancy when a woman’s body becomes intolerant to glucose. In this instance, the woman is given medication to normalize blood glucose levels. Gestational Diabetes, many times, can be temporary – that is, after the mother gives birth, her glucose levels often go back to normal ranges. However, women who have had Gestational Diabetes run a higher risk than the rest of the population of developing diabetes later in life.
In Prediabetes, blood glucose levels are higher than are considered normal, but not high enough to be categorized as having diabetes. Often, life style changes including regulating your diet or increasing exercise, can prevent Prediabetes from becoming Type 2 Diabetes. But people with Prediabetes are more likely than the rest of the population to develop Type 2 Diabetes.
Between 90% and 95% of all diabetes cases are Type 2 Diabetes. This form of the disease generally can be associated with aging, obesity, and family history, among other factors. As with other forms of diabetes, a strict diet and regular exercise is critical.
Type 1 Diabetes (or Juvenile Diabetes) usually occurs in children and young adults. Type 1 Diabetes typically is an autoimmune disease. or, in some cases, Type 1 may be a result of genetics.
Is Diabetes Disabling?
Yes, it can be. In fact, the leading causes of blindness, kidney failure and lower extremity amputations may be attributed to this debilitating disease. Additionally, diabetics spend far more on health are than do the rest of us. So, not only can diabetes cause a person to stop working; it also can cause that person to go into debt for prohibitively expensive medical expenses.
Preventing Complications
The best way to prevent complications from any form of diabetes is first to know whether you have it. Too many people don’t. After a diagnosis, the diabetic patient should keep in close contact with his or her physician, and follow the prescribed treatment regimen without wavering.
Legislative Update
Press Release from: www.afge.org
AFGE Seeks Clarification From DoD On Derailed Insourcing Plan
Washington, D.C. . . . The American Federation of Government Employees is seeking clarification from the Defense Department regarding Defense Secretary Robert Gates’s announcement earlier this week that the department is reversing plans to replace contractors with full-time civilian employees.
In an attempt to save money and reduce excessive reliance on expensive service contractors, Gates last year said he would cut the number of service support contractors by 33,000 during the next five years and replace them with federal employees. But on Monday, Gates said these cut contractor positions will not be replaced.
Gates said he was not satisfied with how much money DoD has saved through insourcing during the first year of implementation. However, because the department has not yet conducted a full inventory of its contractor workforce and integrated those results into the budget process, as required by law, it is unable to determine the costs and savings from insourcing.
Savings from insourcing are more than offset by new service support contracts. Dod says it spent 39 percent of its total workforce budget on service support and advisory contractors in 2009, up from 26 percent in 2000.
“The department’s budget is in critical condition because of decades of excessive privatization,” said AFGE National President John Gage. “Surely, we should not give up on the promising but short-lived insourcing effort after just one year.”
Gage said he will be seeking clarification from the Defense Department about its insourcing plans, as well as announced plans to eliminate three Defense agencies and freeze hiring for most jobs.
AFGE will work with Congress and the department to ensure that DoD continues to be able to hire civilian employees to perform critical and sensitive functions that never should have been outsourced, as well as functions that can be performed more efficiently in-house, he said.
The State Of Employee Benefits
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 74% of all American workers in the private sector have retirement benefits through an employer-provided plan. That number is in stark contrast to part-time workers, only 39% of whom in private industry had access to retirement plans.
Also, 84% of private industry workers had access to employer-provided medical benefits; 74% had access to paid sick leave. Here are more findings from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
- Sixty-five percent of private industry employees had access to retirement benefits, compared with 90 percent of state and local government employees. Eighty-five percent of state and local government employees participated in a retirement plan, a significantly greater percentage than for private industry workers, at 50 percent.
- Among full-time state and local government workers, virtually all (99 percent) had access to retirement and medical care benefits. part-time workers’ access to these benefits was more limited in both private industry and in state and local government.
- Medical care benefits were available to 71 percent of private industry workers, compared with 88 percent among state and local government workers. About half of private industry workers participated in a plan, less than the 73 percent of state and local government workers.
- Employers paid 82 percent of the cost of premiums for single coverage and 70 percent of the cost for family coverage, for workers participating in employer sponsored medical plans. The employer share for single coverage was greater in state and local government (89 percent) than in private industry (80 percent). For family coverage, the employer share of the premiums was similar for private industry and state and local government 70 and 73 percent.