Following enactment of bipartisan legislation in the winter of 2001, the first Patriot Day was observed on September 11, 2002. Then with passage of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act in 2009, the president has each year proclaimed September 11 to be Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance. The exercises of… Read More »
Reporting recently for Southern California Public Radio, Hannah Harris Green visited a theater workshop at the famed La Jolla Playhouse outside San Diego, where veterans come together to write stage projects. Iraq War veteran and playwright Maurice DeCaul began the workshop and others around the country with a grant from the Theater Communications Group. When… Read More »
In May, James Clark, writing for Task and Purpose, told readers, “The Department of Veterans Affairs cost taxpayers $5.5 billion dollars in improper payments last year.” That estimate came from a report by the Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, and it represents an increase of $500 million from 2015 to 2016. Mr. Clark’s analysis… Read More »
On Thursday, May 11, the Associated Press reported that Congressional Democrats and Republicans had reached an agreement on legislation that would make it easier for the Department of Veterans Affairs to fire employees. Progress on this issue has been stalled since wait-time scandals erupted in 2014, when it was revealed that employees attempted to cover… Read More »
On May 17, 2017, the National Organization of Veterans’ Advocates, Inc. presented a statement to the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs concerning pending legislation entitled S.B. 1024, Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017. Founded in 1993, NOVA “represents more than 500 attorneys and agents assisting tens of thousands of our nation’s military veterans,… Read More »
When Independence Day rolls around, it’s important to take a little time, before the barbeque and the fireworks, to reflect on our nation’s founding and the principles that make this country unique. What began in the 1770s as an economic revolt over the “tyranny” of “taxation without representation” morphed into a sacred struggle to establish… Read More »
On May 23, the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of H.R. 2288 — the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017. This came weeks after DAV (Disabled American Veterans) national service director Jim Marszalek appeared before Congress to call for the bill’s passage. As Mr. Marszalek testified, “The new appeals framework developed… Read More »
As mentioned, in Part 1 of this series of blog posts on the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017, this blog will discuss two topics; Dockets at the Board of Veterans’ Appeals and Advancement on the Docket. If the bill is passed into law, there will be two separate dockets maintained at the… Read More »
On Sunday, May 21st, the House Committee on Veterans Affairs (HVAC) passed H.R. 2288, the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017. If passed into law it will mean many changes for the VA and for our veterans. One notable revision is the options in which veterans may appeal their rating decision. The bill… Read More »
Testifying before the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs committees, leaders of the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), and Disabled American Veterans expressed concern that too much outsourcing of healthcare under a new Choice program could undermine the mission of the VA. Some warned against “all-out privatization” that could eventually lead to the… Read More »
