VA chief quietly changing face of department
Modernizing a federal agency has been a process, but one that VA Secretary Dr. David Shulkin is navigating successfully.
(AP Photo)
(AP Photo)
PHOENIX — Modernizing a federal agency has been a process, but one that VA Secretary Dr. David Shulkin is navigating successfully.
“We’ve taken law that haven’t been changed since the 1930s and now we’ve modernized the approach,” Veterans Affairs Secretary Dr. David Shulkin told KTAR 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News on Wednesday.
He took over the department in February.
“Veterans can get decisions on disability claims and appeals” much faster and with less stress and confusion over finding the proper channels, Shulkin said.
Speedier response time can be directly attributed to the passage of the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act.
After passing both chambers, President Donald Trump signed the reform bill into law last week.
“Old practices of hiring and firing, old laws on how to get veterans benefits. This (issue) has spanned multiple administrations,” Shulkin said.
“We’ve had five major pieces of legislation … total bipartisan support.”
Another of those pieces of legislation put former Phoenix VA whistleblower Brandon Coleman in the federal government’s new Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection.
Coleman, who had been an addiction counselor at the Phoenix facility, was placed on administrative leave for nearly two years after calling out the hospital for mismanagement of suicidal patients in 2015.
He later fought the office for not protecting whistleblowers and retaliating against them, the latter an accusation that would be supported by an Office of Accountability review.
“Having people like Brandon, who have gone through this and tried to share information but it’s been difficult to get that information to the right people, having him (and other whistleblowers) as part of the office … making sure they can comfortably come forth with information … that’s the whole purpose of this office,” Shulkin said.
Over a half-million veterans have a more immediate need: “We have over 500,000 veterans in the path of (Tropical Storm Harvey), Shulkin said. “Our major medical centers are open.”
He added that hundreds of staff were working and the centers were well-stocked.
“We will be there for them.”
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Comments
4 Comments
Veterans asking for Americans Support
Most Americans believe that all Vietnam Veterans receive the same benefits and Health Care from the VA. This is NOT true. If your feet touch the ground or served in the inland waterway of Vietnam then you can receive NOT only Free Health Care benefits but they also can receive VA disability compensation based on the amount of disability you have by just applying for it.
Navy and Fleet Marines Personnel who serve in the Gulf of Tonkin supporting the “Police Action”, (they tell us it was not a WAR) have to PROVE they had “Boots on the Ground” or the cause of their illness was due to their service in the Navy.
In January of 1991, the US Congress, by unanimous consent of both the House and Senate, passed a law (Public Law No: 102-4) that provided the same benefits to all Members of the Service that receive the Vietnam Service Medal the same benefits. However in 2002 the General Consul of the Veterans Administration decided on HER OWN that the way Public Law No: 102-4 was written, it didn’t cover anyone who did not have “Boots on the Ground”. There are still Members of Congress that are still serving that have said that is not true, they wanted to COVER ALL VETERANS that Served within the area of Vietnam.
Since 1991 when Public Law No: 102-4 was passed the number of diseases and illness caused by Agent Orange exposure has increased. In the future the may may increase. As you know they can take and look at Veterans who were in the Vietnam War and those who serve in other parts of the world and they can see that those who serve in the Vietnam are have a much high rate of suffering from these diseases and illness associated with Agent Orange Exposure.
These Veterans have served their Country when they were asked to and now their Country is turning their back on them. Yes they can receive some health care but they have to pay a share where other with the exact same diseases and illness not only receive the health care they deserve and receive BUT they are receiving Compensation for suffering these diseases and illnesses.
We are not asking for anything more that we deserve. We did our job and now it’s time for our Country to fulfill its obligation to their Veterans and provide them with the benefits they rightly deserve.
One other FACT that not only does some Veterans but Most Americans do not know about is the fact that OUR Government has paid close to 300 Millions dollars to clean up Agent Orange in Vietnam. Now I am not saying we should NOT help pay for it but What about the Veterans who helped defend that Country.
Some people are wondering how can Members of the Navy who did NOT set foot on Vietnam Land get exposed to Agent Orange. The way this happened is by way or water. As you know water is very important to human, it is also very important to ships. A Naval Ship will take in water from which it is sailing in, which more than like will be Salt Water and distill it into Fresh Water that the Naval Personnel can drink, bath in, cook with, and many other functions that they may need. The distillation is suppose to remove chemicals and other items from the water. It turns out that when it comes to Agent Orange is actually enhances the amount of Dioxins instead of removing it.
You maybe asking yourself what can you and other American do. You can contact you Members of Congress and asked them to support The Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act, HR-299 in the House and S-422 in the Senate.
Mike Yates
Blue Water Navy Awareness on Facebook
WE WERE THERE TOO on Facebook
thebluewaternavyawareness@gmail.com
He signed a bill passed by the House and Senate. This was a longtime bipartisan effort.
At least Trump is following through on his promise to fix the VA!