VA GIVES VETERANS BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT FOR MISPLACED CLAIMS
On October 16th of this year, the Department of Veterans Affairs discovered that documents about to be shredded were, in fact, applications submitted by U.S. Military Veterans that had never been processed. This error has caused veterans and their families significant delays in obtaining the benefits they are entitled to receive. In response to this discovery, this week, the VA announced special procedures to address this problem.
An audit conducted by the VA’s Inspector General shed light on this potentially devastating mistake – a mistake that could have caused veterans, their families and survivors to be denied claims altogether if their applications had been disposed of.
The special procedures put in place to rectify this mishandling covers the period between April 14, 2007 through October 14, 2008. According to the Inspector General, “ . . . VA will be guided by two principles – full accountability for VA staff and insuring veterans receive the benefit of the doubt if receipt of a document by the VA is in question.”
Furthermore, the VA has stated they will treat all missing applications resubmitted under these special procedures as if they were submitted on the original date, according to the veteran or claimant. While that may mean the difference between a veteran receiving his or her entitled benefits or not receiving them, it is clear that the mishandling of applications at the very least inflicted tremendous inconvenience upon those who have served our country.
To mitigate the situation, the VA has been working with other veterans organizations. The agreed upon new procedures will help veterans whose applications were shredded or misplaced to establish that they had previously submitted claims to the VA, despite the fact that the VA retains such no records. Under the new procedures, Veterans and their families have until November 17, 2009 to re-file.
Those Veterans who are not covered under the special procedures but who believe their pertinent information has gone missing, may resubmit documentation at any time. If an application was submitted prior to April 14, 2007, benefits will be awarded so long as the Veteran can provide evidence supporting the earlier submission.
According to the VA, the facility records management officer now controls all regional office shredding equipment and operations. VA staff were given separate receptacles for document shredding, and those receptacles will be subject to review by their superiors. Two people must now review documents before they can be shredded.
For more information about missing documents, or if you are concerned that you are among those whose application may have been destroyed, you can call 1-800-827-1000.
VINDICATION FOR VETERANS OF THE 1ST GULF WAR
It has been over 17 years since the first Gulf War in which over 700,000 American troops and a coalition of 34 countries successfully defeated Saddam Hussein’s army in Kuwait. While that short conflict was resolved, nearly one-fourth of the U.S. Veterans who valiantly fought in it continue to struggle with varying physical ailments.
The Military and the scientific community have consistently denied any link between the Gulf War and the collection of illnesses and conditions many have attributed to it (known as Gulf War Syndrome). That all changed on November 17, 2008, when a scientific panel mandated by Congress issued a report stating that Gulf War Syndrome is, in fact, real. For some, the report may have come too little too late, as many Vets were denied treatment for their disorders and dismissed.
Among the many disorders associated with Gulf War Syndrome are:
•Memory loss;
•Muscle pain;
•Constant headaches;
•Gastro problems;
•Chronic fatigue:
•Sink rashes;
•Neurological disorders;
•Cardiovascular disorders; and,
•Menstrual disorders.
The Cause?
Researchers have concluded that Gulf War Syndrome is a result of exposure to pyridostigmine bromide, a drug the Military gave to troops to protect them against nerve gas and pesticides. This has been the theory for many years, but until now Veterans suffering from GWS have largely been ignored or told their symptoms were caused by stress.
The new report acknowledging the reality of Gulf War Syndrome is a product of a Research Advisory Group first organized by Congress in 2002. Perhaps finally, after 17 long years of battling illnesses, these Veterans will be eligible for medical treatment and benefits.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE . . . Recent USPS Proposal to Refinance Postal Retiree Health Benefits
The payment schedule statutorily mandated by the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 (PAEA) requires the Postal Service to make an annual payment ranging from $5.4 to $5.8 billion from 2007 to 2016. In addition, under PEA, the Postal Service makes a separate payment to the Offices of Personnel Management (OPM) for its annual retiree health benefit premiums until 2016. When this payment schedule was being considered in 2006, the Postal Service believed the payment plan was achievable; financial circumstances have changed that analysis.
To address the Postal Service’s immediate financial distress, there is an option that could reduce the Postal Service’s expenses by roughly $2.3 billion in FY2009, or $28.1 billion through 2016. Congress could amend the PAEA to leave the ten-year PAEA payment stream intact, but allow the Postal Service to pay retiree health premiums out of the trust fund, rather than make a separate payment to OPM. That option would simply accelerate a provision in PAEA which states that after 2016, premium payments would no longer be paid separately, but would be drawn from the RHBF. SOURCE: USPS, Government Relations
Legal Levity . . . (little known, funny facts about Law)
In 1649, Massachusetts’s Puritan government ruled the following: “Any childe over 16 who shall CURSE or SMITE their natural FATHER or MOTHER, or act in a STUBBORNE or REBELLIOUS manner shall be put to death.”
New York City’s administrative code still requires that hitching posts be located in front of City Hall so that reporters can tie their horses.
In Las Vegas, it’s against the law to pawn your dentures.
City Ordinance number 352 in Pacific Grove, CA makes it a misdemeanor to kill or threaten a butterfly.
Did You Know? Take The History Quiz . . . All About Abe
1. Where was Lincoln born?
2. Who was Lincoln’s first-term Vice President?
3. Which Lincoln legislation made millions of acres of government land available to men over 21 by paying a small processing fee?
4. Other than his position against slavery, what other civil rights movements did Lincoln support?
5. Abe Lincoln was the only U.S. President to obtain . . . . ?
ANSWERS: 1. Hardin County, Kentucky 2. Hannibal Hamlin 3. Homestead Act of 1862 4. Female Suffrage 5. Lincoln obtained a U.S. Patent