WATCH: Senator Destroys Republicans for Underfunding VA by $850 Million

Pax Aeon · Oct 5, 2015

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"VA cuts come one day after denial of healthcare for 9/11 responders.

Yesterday, members of the Senate approved the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill (MilCon-VA). The main focus of the bill was originally intended to give a much needed boost to care for veterans. But like most legislation that makes its way through the house, the MilCon-VA bill in its current form will cost taxpayers more while providing $857 million less for veterans benefits and programs. Opponents of the bill were vocal in their disgust for the GOP majority and their continued efforts to underfund VA programs. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) addressed the house just before the vote to explain the shortfalls of the proposed bill.

We made a sacred commitment to our veterans when we sent them to war that we would do whatever it takes it take care of them when they returned, this bill does nothing to address that promise. Disappointingly, this bill takes an ax to needed funding for the VA, underfunding medical care by over $500 million dollars, which is equal to the cost of providing care for more than 60,000 veterans.
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The bill also includes more than $340 million to purchase an additional missile program and NATO actions, which will, in no way, benefit wounded veterans." - Source
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The article speaks for itself, or should I say, the GOP as a whole.

waltky · Oct 19, 2015

Allison Hickey resigns under pressure...

VA Undersecretary Resigns amid Pressure from Lawmakers, Vets Groups
Oct 16, 2015 | Veterans Benefits Administration Under Secretary Allison Hickey on Friday stepped down from the Veterans Affairs Department, where VA Secretary Bob McDonald said he accepted her resignation "with regret."

Hickey had been under pressure to resign by some lawmakers and veterans organizations, most recently for allowing a VA senior executive to move into a job that she coerced her predecessor to leave. Diana Rubens, now director of VA regional office in Philadelphia, also picked up $274,000 in moving assistance, according to the VA's Office of the Inspector General, which recommended that Hickey should be disciplined for choosing Rubens. The IG's findings also prompted The American Legion to renew its own call for Hickey to go, which it first made in 2014 after reports emerged of VA medical centers concealing the scope of veterans awaiting appointments by keeping names on unofficial lists.

Veterans Affairs Undersecretary for Benefits Allison Hickey speaks to veterans and VA employees at a "Healthy Heart" event in Washington, D.C.

McDonald made no reference to any VA scandal in announcing Hickey's resignation but praised her work with the department and her prior service with the U.S. Air Force. "The Department of Veterans Affairs, and I personally, appreciate all that Allison has done to help transform VA for the veterans we are privileged to serve," McDonald said. "She has been an exceptional colleague and an even better friend, to me. Her commitment to excellence and service to our country is unquestioned, and we wish her all the best in her next endeavors."

McDonald credited Hickey with leadership in increasing to more than 5 million the number of veterans and survivors receiving monthly compensation and pension benefits, as well as reducing the claims backlog by nearly 90 percent – from 611,000 in 2013 to 75,316 currently, while also improving accuracy. "Allison has served our country with honor for more than 30 years," McDonald said, "in the United States Air Force on active duty, in the Air National Guard, in the Air Force Reserve, [and] retiring with the rank of brigadier general as the director of the Air Force's Future Total Force office at the Pentagon, and here at VA as the Under Secretary for Benefits."

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See also:

VA Cites Phoenix Facility for Poor Urology Care
Oct 16, 2015 -- Staffing shortages and a lack of access to clinical records unnecessarily endangered the health of several Phoenix patients battling prostate and bladder cancer, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs said Thursday.

In a new report, the VA's Office of Inspector General cited several failures of the Phoenix VA's urology care. Patients' appointments were canceled because of a failure to address a staffing crisis. Non-VA providers' clinical documents were not readily made available to health care administrators, according to the review. In all, the inspector general's office said 10 patients experienced delays in care that put them at risk. U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, called the details in the report "absolutely tragic and appalling." "No veteran should ever be denied care after he put his life on the line in our country," the Georgia Republican said in a statement. "I expect every person responsible for this tragedy to be held accountable."

The embattled Phoenix VA Health Care System was at the center of a national scandal last year about wait times and other problems that led to a system-wide overhaul. The former director of the Phoenix operation lost her job amid reports administrators falsified waiting lists in order to collect bonuses. Isakson said the report was following up on several quality-of-care problems that were identified in the Phoenix VA Health Care System last year. U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla. and chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, said the report is another reminder that VA leaders still have a lot of work ahead of them. "It's well past time for VA to clean up the mess in Phoenix. That means providing veterans with the care they have earned in a timely fashion and swiftly firing any employee standing in the way of this important task," Miller said.

More than 1,400 patients experienced delays in getting new evaluations or follow-up appointments with urology-affiliated physicians. "Patients who experienced delays also likely experienced frustration, confusion, and often fear related to not getting appointment," the report stated. The 10 patients who were most affected included a man in his 60s with a history of prostate cancer. A follow-up appointment in February 2013 was canceled by the VA clinic and never rescheduled. When the man saw a primary care physician 10 months later, the cancer had spread to his spine and he died in April 2014. The inspector general's report recommends that the Phoenix VA's interim director ensure resources are in place to guarantee timely urological care. It also called for non-VA providers' patient care records to be readily accessible in an electronic database.

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McCain Hits VA Over Pick to Lead Southwest Region VA HealthCare
Oct 16, 2015 | A Veterans Affairs Department decision to appoint as head of a Southwest regional health network an official who allegedly gave false testimony to Congress about appointment wait times has drawn the ire of Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, who says “veterans in my state deserve better than to have a director who misled Congress about patient wait times or understated the severity of the VA’s failures.”

McCain made known his objection to Dr. Skye McDougall’s selection to head the regional network that includes the VA Medical Center in Phoenix in a letter Wednesday to VA Secretary Bob McDonald. “I believe that this selection does nothing to regain veterans’ confidence that the VA has been reformed in the aftermath of the tragic scandal during which veterans died waiting for care while senior VA executives collected monetary bonuses,” McCain wrote. The VA declined to comment on the letter beyond saying it would respond to McCain’s office. The Phoenix VA hospital was ground zero to the patient wait-times scandal that rocked the department last year and led to the resignation McDonald’s predecessor, Eric Shinseki.

Whistleblowers reported the hospital maintained a secret list of veterans seeking appointments, which it kept separate from the official list in order to conceal the scope of the hospital’s inability to meet demand. Subsequent investigation by the VA’s Inspector General’s office determined the ploy was systemic across VA. The IG also concluded that delays in getting care contributed to the deaths of some veterans. McDougall is the chief medical officer and acting director of the VA’s Desert Pacific Healthcare Network, which includes the VA’s Greater Los Angeles Medical System. She is slated to take over the Southwest region during the first week of November. In testimony before the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations on Feb. 10, 2015, McDougall said the “average wait time for a new patient [at the L.A. system] right now is about four days.”

But data and whistleblower information reported by CNN in March indicated that the average wait time for a new patient there was 48 days, with some veterans waiting six months to be seen. House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Florida, asked the VA Office of the Inspector General in July to investigate the discrepancy between her testimony and the CNN report. The VA denies her testimony was false, and said the discrepancy in wait times is the result of the VA appointment system registering a “create date” when an appointment is made as well as a “preferred date” given by the veteran. “The create date and the preferred date could be the same, but usually they are not the same,” the VA said. The VA measures both dates.

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Pax Aeon · Oct 20, 2015

waltky said: ↑

Allison Hickey resigns under pressure...<snip>
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What you proved is the complete and total inability of the GOP to do their constitutionally mandated duty, in the case, the oversight of the VA. Rather than take action to fix the problems with the VA, instead, these supremely ignorant war mongering cowards cut funding, hoping the problems will correct themselves at the cost of vet services.

Zorro · Nov 1, 2015

Clinton shrugs off the deaths of 300,000 veterans.

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/cupp-clinton-shrugs-deaths-300-000-veterans-article-1.2413263

btthegreat · Nov 1, 2015

Pax Aeon said: ↑

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"VA cuts come one day after denial of healthcare for 9/11 responders.

Yesterday, members of the Senate approved the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill (MilCon-VA). The main focus of the bill was originally intended to give a much needed boost to care for veterans. But like most legislation that makes its way through the house, the MilCon-VA bill in its current form will cost taxpayers more while providing $857 million less for veterans benefits and programs. Opponents of the bill were vocal in their disgust for the GOP majority and their continued efforts to underfund VA programs. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) addressed the house just before the vote to explain the shortfalls of the proposed bill.

The bill also includes more than $340 million to purchase an additional missile program and NATO actions, which will, in no way, benefit wounded veterans." - Source
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The article speaks for itself, or should I say, the GOP as a whole.
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Pax, I have noticed a reluctance of posters so far, to discuss the VA BUDGET that came out of the GOP Congress, that you described in your opening post. I did not read about Hillary in your opening post. I did not read about Under secretary Hickey in your opening post either. Unless I am misconstruing your OP badly, they are diverting and dodging, rather than speaking with moral authority and conviction about this Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill to which you referred. But why would they do that? Aren't they proud of the commitment and honor, this republican bill has bestowed on our veterans?

FreshAir · Nov 1, 2015

Pax Aeon said: ↑

`

"VA cuts come one day after denial of healthcare for 9/11 responders.

Yesterday, members of the Senate approved the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill (MilCon-VA). The main focus of the bill was originally intended to give a much needed boost to care for veterans. But like most legislation that makes its way through the house, the MilCon-VA bill in it’s current form will cost taxpayers more while providing $857 million less for veterans benefits and programs. Opponents of the bill were vocal in their disgust for the GOP majority and their continued efforts to underfund VA programs. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) addressed the house just before the vote to explain the shortfalls of the proposed bill.

The bill also includes more than $340 million to purchase an additional missile program and NATO actions, which will, in no way, benefit wounded veterans." - Source
`

***************
`
The article speaks for itself, or should I say, the GOP as a whole.
Click to expand...

republicans want to underfund the VA, then blame Obama for problems in the VA because of their underfunding....

Pax Aeon · Nov 1, 2015

btthegreat said: ↑

Pax, I have noticed a reluctance of posters so far, to discuss the VA BUDGET that came out of the GOP Congress, that you described in your opening post. I did not read about Hillary in your opening post. I did not read about Under secretary Hickey in your opening post either. Unless I am misconstruing your OP badly, they are diverting and dodging, rather than speaking with moral authority and conviction about this Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill to which you referred. But why would they do that? Aren't they proud of the commitment and honor, this republican bill has bestowed on our veterans?
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It shows. For example;

1 - How many times Veterans concerns have been discussed during this years GOP debates?

2 - GOP: Dishonoring Our Veterans

3 - Ben Carson: We Dont Need a Department of Veterans Affairs and Vets groups upset with Carson's plan to eliminate VA

4 - The Republicans hate talking our caring for our Veterans except when the opposition brings up the concern; Top congressional Republicans slam Hillary Clinton for VA comments

waltky · Nov 16, 2015

What will it mean to retirees?...

Military Retirement Overhaul Set to Roll Out During Next Two Years
Nov 11, 2015 | Congress approved a historic overhaul of the military retirement system Tuesday, all but ensuring it will become law and the Defense Department will begin the rollout.

But troops will not get access to the new 401(k)-style retirement accounts that are the centerpiece of the overhaul until 2018. In the meantime, some key issues such as new programs to educate service members on the tricky world of investing and retention bonuses still need to be worked out, according to the Military Officers Association of America, the countrys largest officer advocacy group. The new blended system of accounts and pensions will replace the current retirement system, which pays out only after two decades of service, and is included in the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act. Following a vote in the Senate, the annual defense policy bill is now on its way to President Barack Obama, who is expected to sign it. I would argue this is the most significant reform legislation that has been passed in 30 years, Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, a lead architect of the legislation, said during the floor vote Tuesday.

The $607-billion NDAA bill will modernize the 70-year-old military pensions and extend retirement benefits to include the more than 80 percent of troops who now leave the service with no pension, McCain said. Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, ranking member on the Armed Services Committee, said the reforms will put the Pentagon on better financial footing and set the stage for further overhauls in military pay and benefits. Troops will not see any of the retirement changes for two years. New recruits who sign up beginning in October 2017 will automatically have 3 percent of their pay diverted into a Thrift Savings Plan account, which the Defense Department will match with an amount equal to 1 percent of their pay. After two years of service, the Pentagon match could be increased by another 5 percent of pay. Anybody who comes in after that date will automatically be in the system, they wont have a choice, said Steve Strobridge, director of government relations at the MOAA.

Those future service members will be able to adjust their contribution amounts or opt out of the system, but only after completing financial literacy training at their first permanent duty station. The 20-year pensions will remain for all but they will not be as lucrative for future service members. To support the new retirement accounts, future pensions will only be worth 80 percent of their current value. Troops who are already in the military and have less than 12 years of service can choose the assured pensions or opt into the new blended program, which will look very similar to the 401(k) accounts that are the norm in the civilian world. About 50 percent of those troops can choose to opt in during a one-time sign-up window through 2018, according to congressional research estimates, but participation will come with the same financial risks inherent with investment accounts, Strobridge said. Obviously, the big issue is, How much return are you going to get on your money? he said.

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WATCH: Senator Destroys Republicans for Underfunding VA by $850 Million

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WATCH: Senator Destroys Republicans for Underfunding VA by $850 Million

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