“The First Amendment of the Constitution grants all Americans the right of free speech and religion. This week, however, there are allegations that these basic liberties are being violated at the Houston National Cemetery by prohibiting the use of the word ‘God’ on cemetery grounds.
If true, then we, and the Courts, must take immediate action against the activism that is… Read more »
Yesterday, the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs held an oversight hearing to obtain an update from Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) on the problems that have plagued the Cemetery. It was disclosed at the hearing that boxes of records from the Cemetery had recently been discovered at an off-site public storage facility on June 10, when a bill for the facility… Read more »
Today, the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs heard testimony concerning the apparent disconnect between Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) mental health programs and disability compensation in helping veterans heal from the invisible wounds of war. Witnesses were called to bring forth a diversity of suggestions to better assist veterans seeking mental health treatment, while… Read more »
Today, the Subcommittee on Health questioned members of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and several veterans service organizations (VSO) regarding the recent GAO report on sexual assaults at VA facilities. Although VA has formed a work group to begin to address the recommendations set forth by the GAO, it has not yet implemented a… Read more »
Today, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report entitled, “VA Health Care: Actions Needed to Prevent Sexual Assaults and Other Safety Incidents.” In the report, requested by Rep. Jeff Miller, Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and Rep. Bob Filner, Ranking Member of the Committee, GAO found that between 2007-2010, 284 sexual assaults… Read more »
Yesterday, the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs held a hearing entitled, “How to Improve Underperforming Regional Offices.” The oversight hearing focused on the performance of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regional offices in adjudicating veterans claims for disability compensation.
At the end of May, VA had more than 800,000 disability… Read more »
Today, the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs met to discuss how to put America’s veterans back to work. With witnesses from both the private and public sectors, the Committee heard testimony that focused on measuring the effectiveness of current veteran job-training programs, bridging the gap between employers and veterans, and how to improve the system to help veterans… Read more »
Yesterday and today, the House of Representatives passed new legislation to support veterans. Legislation included a bill to help cut down on the bureaucracy experienced by veterans with pending claims by eliminating unwanted duplication of review of claims (H.R. 1484—as amended, 418-1), as well as the implementation of a recognition program in the Department of Veterans Affairs to… Read more »
Today, the House of Representatives affirmed its commitment to America’s veterans by passing four pieces of legislation helping and honoring veterans of all generations. Legislation included fixes to the Post-9/11 GI Bill to keep student veterans in the school of their choice (H.R. 1383—as amended, 389-0); establishes a new process for the placement of monuments at Arlington… Read more »
Today, the Subcommittee on Health met to review the Federal Recovery Coordination Program. The Committee heard testimony that even though more than three years have elapsed since the program was implemented, systemic shortfalls persist including a lack of overall coordination and collaboration between the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.
“It appears that rather than… Read more »
