News & Opinion

House panel looks into sex allegations --WASHINGTON — Veterans Affairs officials said they're taking steps to improve safety at their facilities after a government watchdog reported hundreds of allegations of sexual assaults in recent years.

A female patient in a locked psychiatric unit at a veterans medical center was sexually assaulted repeatedly by a fellow patient. At an assisted-living facility also run by the Department of Veterans Affairs, a male patient was raped by his roommate, who turned out to be a convicted sex offender. At yet another VA facility, a female veteran reported that an employee made sexually inappropriate contact with her during treatment sessions.

WASHINGTON -- A Veterans Affairs official told a congressional panel on Monday the agency is making improvements to protect patients from rape in treatment facilities after Congress' investigative arm found nearly 300 reports of sexual assaults in the centers over three years.

Thursday, the US Department of Labor made grant applications available for the Urban and Non-Urban Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP).

WASHINGTON, DC – On Tuesday, June 7, 2011 Rep. Frederica Wilson (FL-17) joined her congressional colleagues Rep. Ros-Lehtinen (FL-18), House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller (FL-1), and Rep. David Rivera (FL-25) on a tour of the Miami Veterans Administration (VA) Hospital to discuss the ongoing string of HIV and hepatitis infections at the facility.

Employment statistics for June show little has changed for veterans trying to find work in a tough job market.

There have been nearly 300 alleged sexual assaults at Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities over three years, through the end of 2010, and many of the allegations were not reported to higher-ups by VA police as required by law, according to a government report released this week.

In the face of a damaging congressional report that disclosed 300 sexual assaults in VA hospitals, with patients often the victims, Veterans Affairs Department officials say they are committed to improving protections and prosecuting those who violated the law.

WASHINGTON -- Hundreds of people were sexually assaulted in Veterans Affairs facilities since early 2007, and many cases weren't reported to the proper officials, according to a government report released on Tuesday.

The Government Accountability Office reported Wednesday that there have been nearly 300 alleged cases of sexual assaults at Veterans Administration facilities over a three-year period through 2010, and that many of the alleged incidents were not reported up the chain of command by VA police.