As the leading voice for the post-9/11 community, IAVA continues to
create awareness on issues and topics impacting our community. Below are
articles and news sources from the past week:
10/9
VETERAN NEWS COVERAGE
Stars and Stripes: First monument honoring all military women to be unveiled at Arlington
By Nikki Wentling
The Women in Military Service for America Memorial, at the gateway to
Arlington National Cemetery, is regularly placed on lists of “hidden
gems” within the nation’s capital — a perspective on the memorial that
its leaders are trying to change.
Connecting Vets: Trump tweets video touting military, veteran accomplishments
By Elizabeth Howe
The two-minute-long video of the president, wholly dedicated to
touting his contributions to military personnel and veterans, included
mention of the Army’s new uniforms, troop pay increases, Department of
Veterans Affairs approval rates and the Mission Act.
NBC Buffalo: Gillibrand pushing for new legislation that would provide veterans coverage who have diseases linked to ‘burn pits’
By Staff
Gillibrand was at the Veterans One-stop Center of WNY as she tries to
get a law passed that would require the VA to cover claims for veterans
who have diseases linked to ‘burn pits.’ ‘Burn pits’ are areas on
military bases that are used to get rid of waste and ammunition by
burning them with jet fuel.
InsideNJ: Booker, Blackburn Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Help Improve Maternal Health Outcomes for Pregnant Veterans
By Staff
U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
introduced a bipartisan bill, Delivering Optimally Urgent Labor Access
for Veterans Affairs, or the DOULA Act, to establish a pilot program to
encourage the use of doulas in the Veterans Health Administration to
support pregnant veterans and improve maternal health outcomes.
New York Times: Trump Suggests Gold Star Families May Be to Blame for His Infection
By Jennifer Steinhauer
In an interview on Fox Business, Mr. Trump described an event at the
White House on Sept. 27 with a group of Gold Star families — those whose
relatives have died in military conflicts — and said he had “figured
there would be a chance” he would become infected there, because the
family members “come within an inch of my face sometimes.”
The Guardian: Trump’s Afghanistan withdrawal announcement takes US officials by surprise
By Emma Graham-Harrison
Donald Trump has announced on Twitter that he wants to bring all US
troops home from Afghanistan by Christmas – a plan that came as a
surprise to administration officials and which puts complicated peace
negotiations in jeopardy. Multiple officials told the Associated Press
they had not been informed of any such deadline and military experts
said it would be impossible to withdraw all 5,000 US troops in
Afghanistan and dismantle the US military headquarters by the end of the
year.
10/8
IAVA NEWS COVERAGE
Law360: Veterans Urge 9th Circ. To Hear Challenge To DEA’s Pot Status
Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have urged the Ninth
Circuit to reconsider the classification of marijuana, writing that the
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s designating the drug a highly
controlled substance has impeded medical research that could save lives.
The nonprofit Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America in their brief focused on suicides among returning soldiers and cannabis’s potential to treat post-tramatic stress disorder.
We Are The Mighty: Navy updates its CBD product regulations
By Jessica Evans
The latest Navy update follows the House of Representatives’ approval
on an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would
allow service members to use legalized CBD products. Of course, as with
all things, the military is going to take its time in making a final
decision about the legality of CBD products. But with backing from
big-name veteran organizations like the IAVA, maybe there’s a chance that CBD will be coming to a commissary near you.
VETERAN NEWS COVERAGE
Military.com: ‘Tainted,’ ‘Screw This:’ Study Reveals Male and Female Vets Have Different Suicide Triggers
By Steve Beynon
The study, published in September in the journal Social Science &
Medicine, found that, of a pool of 25 male and 25 female veterans who
had made a recent suicide attempt, different gender-specific thought
patterns emerged. According to the veterans’ own recollections of their
thinking in the periods immediately preceding their suicide attempts,
women tended to recall feeling “shameful,” “tainted” and “worthless,”
while men said they felt “it just wasn’t worth it,” “I’ve had enough,”
and “screw this.”
Military.com: Trump Orders DoD, VA and Other Agencies to Probe Link Between Pandemic and Suicides
By Richard Sisk
President Donald Trump has ordered the military, the Department of
Veterans Affairs and other government agencies to come up with a plan
within 45 days to address mental health issues caused by the COVID-19
pandemic that may lead to suicide.
TownHall: How Congress and Partisanship Continue to Fail Our Warfighters [Opinion]
By Matthew Betely
A few weeks ago, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Rep. Raul Ruiz
(D-CA-36) introduced The Presumptive Benefits for War Fighters Exposed
to Burn Pits and Other Toxins Act of 2020, which is the first
substantive piece of legislation that would address the criminal-like
behavior of the VA, specifically, denying 80% of veterans’ claims for
burn-pit-related illnesses.
NorthJersey.com: VFW demands that special prosecutor investigate COVID-19 deaths at NJ veterans homes
By Scott Fallon
One of the largest veterans groups in New Jersey called Wednesday for
the appointment of an independent prosecutor to investigate the high
number of COVID-19 deaths at two state-run veterans homes after 47 new
deaths were confirmed by NorthJersey.com last week.
Government Executive: Civil Rights Groups Pressure VA Ahead of GAO Racism Audit
By Erich Wagner
GAO has agreed to investigate the prevalence racism at the Veterans
Affairs Department after a survey revealed that the vast majority of
bargaining unit employees had either experienced or witnessed acts of
discrimination on the job.
Military Times: Trucking school owner sentenced to four years in prison for GI Bill fraud
By Leo Shane III
The owner of a California trucking school was sentenced to four years
in prison on Tuesday for a GI Bill scam which drew more than $4 million
in fraudulent payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs over
four years
Stars and Stripes: ‘Thousands’ of veterans with bad paper discharges might not know they can upgrade
By Steve Beynon
Veterans kicked out of the military due to negative behavior related
to post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and sexual
trauma have been upgrading their discharges after a 2017 law change, but
there are potentially thousands of others left without access to care
or benefits because of less-than-honorable discharges.
New York Daily News: Veterans group may have been exposed to COVID during White House visit
By Brian Niemietz
Members of the Greatest Generations Foundation were “quietly” warned
by the White House on Oct. 2 that their visit may have put those in
attendance at risk. The indoor event honoring Gold Star Families came a
day after a Rose Garden celebration for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney
Barrett, where several attendees later tested positive for COVID-19,
including President Trump.
10/7
VETERAN NEWS COVERAGE
ConnectingVets.com: Civil rights leaders call out SecVA, president over reports of racism at Veterans Affairs
By Abbie Bennett
Days after a government watchdog announced it would investigate the
Department of Veterans Affairs over allegations of widespread racism at
the massive federal agency, emails went out canceling antiracism events
at VA.
The Hill: The nation’s understanding of military veteran suicide is incomplete [Opinion]
By Jim Lorraine
The cause of this misunderstanding is that national records
underrepresent the reality of veteran suicide within several
communities. Correcting this is an essential step towards ensuring that
policymakers, service providers and communities understand the true
scope of veteran suicide.
Bloomberg Government: Fiscal 2020 Civilian Contracting Hits Record $228 Billion
By Robert Levinson
The Department of Veterans Affairs increased its contract spending
about $4.4 billion in fiscal 2020 over fiscal 2019 — about 15%. The
biggest single increase at VA in fiscal 2020 was on the Patient Centered
Community contract. This contract, held by Triwest Healthcare Alliance
Corp., allows veteran patients to access care in their local communities
under certain conditions.
Wall Street Journal: How New Jersey Nursing Home Suffered One of America’s Deadliest Outbreaks
By Christopher Weaver and Nora Eckert
Nearly 100 people died during the height of the coronavirus outbreak
at the Menlo Park Veterans Memorial Home in April, more than 10 times
the number in a typical month. Administrators discouraged the use of
masks, conserving them in a storage closet as more residents and workers
sickened, employees said. The nursing home’s chief executive waited
more than a week after one resident tested positive to alert families.
10/6
VETERAN NEWS COVERAGE
Stars and Stripes: Families of veterans who die from coronavirus would have survivor benefits protected under House bill
By Steve Beynon
A House bill would ensure that any veteran who dies from coronavirus
in the care of the Department of Veterans Affairs would have
service-connected disabilities noted in the cause of death to protect
survivor benefits.
Military.com: The VA Is Working Harder Than Ever to Connect with Isolated Veterans [Opinion]
By Paul R. Lawrence
The pandemic slowed travel. So we’ve found another way to stay
connected: conducting multiple telephone town hall meetings each week.
Since March, I’ve conducted 69 tele-town halls in 50 states and
connected with more than 2.5 million veterans.
mHealthIntelligence: Congress Expands Veteran Access to Telehealth for Mental Health Care
By Eric Wicklund
A bill headed to the President’s desk will expand efforts by the
Department of Veterans Affairs to improve veteran access to mental
health services, including offering more services via telehealth.
Medill News Service: New Productivity Targets for Counselors Could Hurt Mental Health Care for Veterans: GAO
By Arnab Mondal
New productivity expectations for Department of Veterans Affairs
mental health counselors requiring them to see more patients could be
detrimental to the quality of care they deliver, a Government
Accountability Office report warns.
MeriTalk: Legislation Introduced to Address VA Transparency Issues
By Jordan Smith
A bill Introduced by Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Joe
Manchin, D-W.Va., would require the Secretary of the VA to submit a
report to Congress on the use of security cameras at VAMC’s. This
legislation follows in the wake of the deaths of veterans at the
Clarksburg, VA Medical Center.
Military Times: GI Bill protections extended for student veterans dealing with campus coronavirus changes
By Leo Shane III
As part of the budget deal approved last week, Congress extended
several financial protections for student veterans whose education plans
have been disrupted by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Post and Courier: SC attorney could pay nearly $3 million for scheme targeting veterans and investors
By Andrew Brown
The owner of a small law firm in South Carolina could be ordered to
pay nearly $3 million for her role in orchestrating a nationwide
financial scheme suspected of cheating veterans and retirees out of
millions of dollars.
Blue Virginia: New Warner Campaign Ad Emphasizes Work to End Tragedy of Veteran Suicides
By Staff
On Monday, Senator Mark Warner’s re-election campaign announced it
has begun airing a new campaign ad, “It Has To End,” highlighting the
tragedy of veteran suicides in the U.S. The latest ad is part of a
seven-figure, eight-week statewide television buy.
10/5
VETERAN NEWS COVERAGE
New York Times: For Veterans, Bonds Forged in Battle Are Tested by 2020’s Rancor
By Dave Philipps
Toxic rhetoric and political polarization are doing what nothing else
could: driving apart ex-Marines who had one another’s backs through
wars and the stresses of civilian life. The Facebook group the men once
relied on for support is now clogged with divisive memes and partisan
conspiracy theories, disputes over policing and protests, and, of
course, strong views on the president. Many say they still want to
support their fellow Marines but cannot stand the toxic political
traffic.
Military Times: Veterans unemployment flat for September as national rate declines
By Leo Shane III
Even as the national jobless rate dropped from the previous month,
the overall veterans unemployment rate remained largely unchanged at 6.4
percent in September, the same level reported by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics in August. The rate for veterans from the Iraq and
Afghanistan wars era rose slightly over that time frame, from 7 percent
in August to 7.5 percent in September. The figures translate into about
570,000 veterans looking for work last month, up almost 300,000
individuals from one year ago.
Military Times: Union officials praise plans for investigation into accusations of racism at Veterans Affairs
By Leo Shane III
Officials from the largest federal workers union on Friday hailed
news of an upcoming investigation into problems of racism within the
Department of Veterans Affairs, saying that attention on the problem is
overdue. The Government Accountability Office has agreed to investigate
charges of racism within the department stemming from an AFGE membership
survey during the summer.
CBS Minnesota: ‘I Became Hopeless’: Veteran Grateful He Asked For Help After Suicide Attempt
By Reg Chapman
The state of Minnesota will recognize the second annual Minnesota
Veteran Suicide Prevention and Awareness Day. The hope is to get
veterans to ask for help and use the state and federal resources
available to keep them safe.
Military.com: The VA Is Working Harder Than Ever to Connect with Isolated Veterans
By Paul R. Lawrence
While our country is dealing with the effects of the COVID-19
pandemic, the Veterans Benefits Administration within the Department of
Veterans Affairs has modified its outreach to meet veterans where they
are in a safe environment: by conducting multiple telephone town hall
meetings each week.
