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Written by: Editor

Published: 17 April 2015

Created: 17 April 2015

Last Updated: 17 April 2015

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has announced the award of 20 contracts for the Assisted Living Pilot Program for Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury (AL-TBI).

Originally slated to end in 2014, the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (“VACAA”) extended this program through October 2017.

“We are pleased to extend this valuable program and provide specialized assisted living services to eligible veterans with traumatic brain injury that will enhance their rehabilitation, quality of life and community integration,” said Dr. Carolyn Clancy, VA’s Interim Under Secretary for Health, “TBI is one of the prevalent wounds of the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and VA remains committed to taking care of those veterans suffering from TBI.”

Under the AL-TBI program, veterans meeting the eligibility criteria are placed in private sector TBI residential care facilities specializing in neurobehavioral rehabilitation.

The program offers team-based care and assistance in areas such as speech, memory and mobility.

Approximately 202 veterans participated in the AL-TBI Pilot Program in 47 facilities located in 22 states.

Currently, 101 veterans participate in the pilot as VA continues to accept new eligible patients into the program.

In October, VA issued a request for proposal (RFP) for vendors wishing to participate in the program.

In accordance with the RFP, VA has awarded 20 contracts to facilities located in 27 states.

The contracts went into effect on April 1, 2015. The program is currently effective through October 2017, in accordance with VACAA.

For more information about the TBI program, visit www.polytrauma.va.gov .

For information about VA’s work to implement the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014, see http://www.va.gov/opa/choiceact/documents/FactSheets/Progress-Report-March-2015-Fact-Sheet.pdf .

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Written by: Editor

Published: 31 March 2015

Created: 31 March 2015

Last Updated: 31 March 2015

WASHINGTON, DC – The federal initiative to provide timely decisions on disability payments to veterans has crossed a major milestone in its final sprint to eliminate the backlog of veterans’ benefits claims.

The major transformation effort to apply new technology and process solutions has paid off at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

It reduced its inventory of backlogged claims from a high of 611,000 claims in March of 2013 to fewer than 200,000 this week, while at the same time improving decision quality.

“Make no mistake, we’re not slowing down short of the finish line,” said Under Secretary for Benefits Allison Hickey. “Our goal is to eliminate the claims backlog by the end of 2015 – meaning all veterans will receive timely and accurate decisions on their disability claims.”

Hickey credited a combination of factors for the 67-percent drop in backlog: first, the extra hours of work put in by dedicated benefits claims processors across the nation, who have worked evenings, Saturdays and Sundays to drive the backlog down; as well as procedural efficiencies backed by powerful automation tools and paperless claims processing.

In addition, she cited the transformation of Veterans Benefits Administration’s training and quality assurance programs resulting in steady increases in the accuracy of decisions.

Just a few years ago, claims processors handled 5,000 tons of paper annually, an amount equivalent to 200 Empire State Buildings.

In less than two years, VA converted claims processing to a 21st century digital environment where claims for VA benefits and services can be submitted and processed, and benefits delivered, online.

Veterans increasingly are filing claims electronically from the start at https://www.ebenefits.va.gov .

Veterans can submit their applications online, upload their supporting documentation, and check the status of their claim through a multi-channel Web portal boasting nearly 60 self-service features.

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Written by: Editor

Published: 28 March 2015

Created: 28 March 2015

Last Updated: 28 March 2015

IGO, Calif. – On Tuesday, the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) leadership met with the Northern California Veterans Cemetery (NCVC) Monuments and Memorials Advisory Committee (MMAC) and community members.

During this meeting, CalVet officials announced existing monuments and memorials at the cemetery will remain in place.

Additionally, CalVet will be reappointing the MMAC committee members.
 
“Reappointing members to the Monuments and Memorials Advisory Committee is an important first step in ensuring the community is effectively represented and provided the opportunity to voice their ideas and concerns,” said CalVet’s Deputy Secretary, Veterans Services Keith Boylan. “The community’s input is integral to the development and growth of the cemetery moving forward, and we are accepting applications from past members as well as new members for the committee.”
 
CalVet is preparing regulations to standardize the monuments and memorials approval process at all state Veteran cemeteries. The regulations will be based on National Cemetery Administration Shrine Standards and will be publicly discussed through the California Rulemaking Process.
 
For more information about the NCVC, including how to apply for MMAC membership, please visit www.calvet.ca.gov/VetServices/Pages/Monuments-and-Memorials-Advisory-Committees.aspx .

MMAC applications will be accepted at through April 30, 2015.

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Written by: Editor

Published: 24 March 2015

Created: 24 March 2015

Last Updated: 24 March 2015

SACRAMENTO – On Sunday, March 29, at 1 p.m., the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet), the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Honor Committee, and the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 500 Sacramento Valley host the unveiling of 31 new names engraved on the California Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Capitol Park.

“CalVet is privileged to honor our Vietnam veterans who died in service to our country,” said CalVet Acting Secretary Debbie Endsley. “Sunday’s poignant ceremony provides our state an opportunity to display our everlasting gratitude.”

Among the 31 additional names are 10 California Veterans already engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in the District of Columbia.

The remaining 21 names are California veterans who died aboard the USS Frank E. Evans when the destroyer sank in the South China Sea on June 3, 1969.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Honor Committee was created when Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. signed Assembly Bill 287 into law on September 6, 2013.

The committee is tasked with compiling a list of names of Vietnam Veterans from California to be added to the California Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

The committee also must include the names of California Veterans who later died as a result of illness or injuries, including physical or mental injuries documented by the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, or licensed medical professionals, that can reasonably be assumed to have resulted from military service in the Vietnam War.

Under the provisions of the law, written by Assemblymember Jim Frazier Jr., the committee must compile a list of names to be added to the memorial by November 1 of each year. The unveiling occurs March 29, the day before “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day” events scheduled for March 30.

For more information, including each veteran’s name and home town, please visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Honor Committee web page at www.calvet.ca.gov/Vietnam .

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Written by: Editor

Published: 21 March 2015

Created: 21 March 2015

Last Updated: 21 March 2015

The unemployment rate for veterans who served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces at any time since September 2001 – a group referred to as Gulf War-era II veterans – declined by 1.8 percentage points over the year to 7.2 percent in 2014, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this week.

The jobless rate for all veterans, at 5.3 percent, also declined from a year earlier.

In addition, 29 percent of Gulf War-era II veterans reported having a service-connected disability in August 2014, compared with 16 percent of all veterans.

In 2014, there were 3.2 million veterans who had served during Gulf War era II.

Twenty percent of these veterans were women, compared with 4 percent of veterans from World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam era. Nearly half of all Gulf War-era II veterans were between the ages of 25 and 34.

This information was obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly sample survey of about 60,000 households that provides data on employment and unemployment in the United States.

Data about veterans are collected monthly in the CPS; those monthly data are the source of the 2014 annual averages presented in this news release.

In August 2014, a supplement to the CPS collected additional information about veterans on topics such as service-connected disability and veterans' current or past Reserve or National Guard membership.

Highlights from the 2014 data:

– The unemployment rate for male veterans declined to 5.2 percent in 2014. The rate for female veterans edged down to 6.0 percent.

– Among the 573,000 unemployed veterans in 2014, 59 percent were age 45 and over. Thirty-seven percent were age 25 to 44, and 4 percent were age 18 to 24.

– Veterans with a service-connected disability had an unemployment rate of 5.9 percent in August 2014, the same rate as for veterans with no disability.

– Nearly 1 in 3 employed veterans with a service-connected disability worked in the public sector in August 2014, compared with nearly 1 in 5 veterans with no disability.

– In 2014, the unemployment rate of veterans varied by state, ranging from 1.4 percent in North Dakota to 8.5 percent in Maryland.

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Written by: Editor

Published: 02 March 2015

Created: 02 March 2015

Last Updated: 02 March 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-5) announced that the U.S. Department of Defense has issued a rule to implement Thompson’s legislative provision requiring every American flag purchased by the Department of Defense (DOD) to be 100 percent manufactured in the United States, from articles, materials, or supplies that are 100 percent of grown, produced or manufactured in the United States.

Thompson’s provision passed last Congress as part of H.R. 3547, the Fiscal Year 2014 omnibus appropriations bill, and was signed into law by the president in January 2014.

“This Pentagon rule implements my legislation to make sure every American flag DOD buys is made in America, by American workers with American products,” said Thompson. “As a veteran myself, I am proud that because of this legislation, our brave men and women in uniform will never again have to serve under a non-American made US flag.”

Thompson’s provision, which the DOD rule codifies, applied the Berry Amendment to the American Flag.

The Berry Amendment, originally passed in 1941, prohibits DOD funds from being used to acquire food, clothing, military uniforms, fabrics, stainless steel, and hand or measuring tools that are not grown or produced in the United States, except in rare exceptions.

Thompson’s provision applied the same rules for the DOD’s acquisition of American flags, which previously were not listed as a covered item.

Precedent already exists for such a provision. Currently, the Department of Veterans Affairs is required to only purchase U.S.-made American flags for servicemembers’ funerals.

Thompson’s provision passed as part of H.R. 3547, the Fiscal Year 2014 omnibus appropriations bill. The DOD has now codified Thompson’s provision in its new rule issued Monday.

Thompson is proud to represent California’s fifth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties.

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Written by: Editor

Published: 25 February 2015

Created: 25 February 2015

Last Updated: 25 February 2015

On Wednesday, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), ranking member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, blasted House Republican leadership for holding critical Coast Guard funding hostage to score political points.

Funding for the Coast Guard will run out on Saturday, putting 41,000 active-duty military personnel in harm’s way without pay unless Speaker Boehner allows a clean vote on funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

“The Coast Guard is currently underfunded to meet its mission goals, and now House Republican leadership wants to shut it down. This would force our service members to serve their nation without pay. It would increase dangers on our seas. Instead of shutting down our security, we should immediately fund Homeland Security operations,” said Garamendi.

“It is unbelievable that on the same day we held a hearing about next year’s Coast Guard budget request, the Coast Guard is preparing for a shutdown due to the Republican leadership’s failure to pass this year’s budget. If Congress fails to pass a clean DHS funding bill by Saturday, our brave active-duty Coast Guard members will be forced to put themselves in harm’s way without pay. It’s time to put the politics aside, and pass a clean DHS funding bill now,” said DeFazio.

While operations that most immediately threaten human life will continue, all other operational activities will be suspended or terminated.

This includes vessel safety inspections, maintenance of aids to navigation, ice breaking operations, maritime license and credentialing activities, and environmental and fisheries enforcement.

If Congress does not enact legislation to fund DHS, uniformed, civilian, and retired Coast Guard personnel will be immediately and directly impacted:

– None of the Coast Guard’s 41,141 Coast Guard active-duty military personnel will receive pay after they receive their Feb. 28 paycheck (regardless of the fact that they are required to report to duty);

– Approximately 6,300 civilian employees – more than 75 percent of the Coast Guard’s civilian workforce – will be furloughed on February 28; and

– None of the Coast Guard’s 49,022 retirees and survivors will receive their retired pay after they receive a Feb. 27 pension check.

Almost 27,000 (or 86 percent) of the Coast Guard’s enlisted workforce live in the general community, not in government or military housing. 

The enlisted personnel will face immediate financial hardships of having to pay rent, buy groceries, or pay back a loan with no income. 

These military personnel may be required to report to duty but they will not receive any back pay until Congress acts.

In addition, a DHS shutdown will significantly disrupt the Coast Guard’s recapitalization and acquisition activities. 

The civilian acquisition workforce will be furloughed and, thus, unavailable to continue mission support. 

The furloughed employees will include almost all contracting officers and business financial specialists across the Coast Guard.

As a result, the Coast Guard will no longer have the ability to make or process invoices and payments, award contracts and execute contract modifications, administer and oversee contractor performance, and provide sufficient project oversight. 

Major, multi-billion dollar system acquisition programs for the National Security Cutter, Offshore Patrol Cutter, and Fast Response Cutter, will grind to a crawl.

Without sufficient civilian personnel in Coast Guard contracting, finance, and acquisition positions, disbursements to vendors will cease and responses to requests for information from audit and oversight entities may be delayed or curtailed.

Moreover, depending on the length of the shutdown, the Coast Guard may incur interest payments associated with late invoice payments, and would be unable to take advantage of discounts for early payment of invoices.

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Written by: Editor

Published: 14 February 2015

Created: 14 February 2015

Last Updated: 14 February 2015

WASHINGTON, DC – On Thursday, Congressman John Garamendi (D-Fairfield, CA), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, joined President Barack Obama at the signing ceremony for the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans (SAV) Act, H.R. 5059.

This bipartisan legislation, which Garamendi cosponsored and voted for in January, is designed to stem the epidemic of veteran suicide.

They were joined by Democratic, Republican, and Independent Members of Congress as well as veterans, military family members, and veterans’ advocates.

“In America, far too many veterans take their lives every day, shattering families and cutting promising lives tragically short. Veterans, including many who live in the Third District, are coming home from Afghanistan and Iraq with traumatic brain injury and depression. We need to do much more to help them, and the SAV Act is a good start,” said Congressman Garamendi, a Member of the House Armed Services Committee who represents two Air Force base communities (Travis and Beale) in Congress.

“The toll of war isn’t always seen, but the physical and psychological effects last long after the war ends,” Garamendi added. “Veterans suffering from mental health problems need our compassion, solidarity, and support. I’m glad the Administration and Congress were able to work together on a plan to prevent veteran suicides. I look forward to monitoring the effectiveness of the SAV Act and to building upon this work.”

Named in honor of Marine Corporal Clay Hunt, an Iraq and Afghanistan War veteran who was awarded the Purple Heart and dedicated suicide prevention advocate who tragically took his own life – this bill expands access to mental health services for our nation’s veterans and increases the capacity and efficiency of VA care to deal with the challenge of more than one million veterans returning from war.

The bill:

● Establishes a peer support and community outreach pilot program to assist transitioning servicemembers with accessing VA mental health care services.

● Requires the VA to create a one-stop, interactive website to serve as a centralized information source regarding all mental health services for veterans.

● Takes steps to address the shortage of mental health care professionals by authorizing the VA to conduct a student loan repayment pilot program aimed at recruiting and retaining psychiatrists.

● Requires a yearly evaluation, conducted by a third party, of all mental health care and suicide prevention practices and programs at the DOD and VA to find out what is working and what’s not working and to make recommendations to improve care.

● Authorizes a GAO report on the transition of care for PTSD and traumatic brain injury (TBI) between the DOD and VA.

● The SAV Act has the support of Veterans Service Organizations including the Military Officers Association of America and the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

For more information on suicide prevention and the veterans crisis line, visit http://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/suicide_prevention/ .

Congressman Garamendi represents California’s Third Congressional District, including the Beale and Travis Air Force Bases communities and thousands of veterans.